Rail Travel Tours - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Susanne R.

We just returned from the fall tour of the colors of Lake Superior. We had a good time however some of the days on the bus were far too long with not enough stops. We would tour museums some days until 7 or 8pm in the evening before dinner! Much too late! The Agawa canyon train was fabulous! And we loved the visit to Dynamic Earth mining company! We did learn alot about this area. There were a couple of hotels that were less than desired for location and some meals provided were cold and unseasoned. We ate far too many sandwiches and had a few meals on the bus and train. More games on the bus would be fun to pass the time, we could do trivia for the area and museums. Some of the museums were quite rushed as they were so late in the day but then you don't feel like you learned anything anyways. The guides were good and the bus driver awesome! We don't regret the trip, it was beautiful scenery and we learned so much!

Lexi M.

FALSE ADVERTISING & LACK OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
I took the ‘Ride The Rails To See The Whales’ tour July 4-10, 2023. It was significantly more expensive than booking it myself but it was a trip of a lifetime so I felt I’d spend the extra money for Daryl Adair’s ‘knowledge & expertise’ to avoid expensive mistakes and regrets. This review is specifically about Daryl’s service as the tour operator (& not about VIA Rail, Churchill, the excursions or services provided by anyone else other than Daryl).

His site states the Cabin for 1 has a private toilet so I upgraded just for this. HE NEGLECTED TO TELL ME THIS TOILET CAN’T BE USED AT NIGHT SO THE UPGRADE WAS WASTED MONEY.

He advertised that the meals on the train “will be freshly prepared by the VIA Chef” but there was only a Kiosk with a limited selection of small pre-packaged entrees that were microwaved. The guide said Daryl wasn’t aware that there wouldn’t be a dining car or a Chef. IT IS HIS JOB TO KNOW THIS, TO CHARGE ACCORDINGLY AND TO ADVERTISE HONESTLY BUT HE FAILED TO DO THIS. If this was a genuine error he should have refunded the difference but he chose to keep the profit.

The entrees were small so many purchased extra food (out of pocket) because they were hungry. He only allowed 1 cup of coffee or tea with meals & if you don’t like either, you had to pay out of pocket for something else. Fruit & vegetables weren’t included in the entrees or available to buy which meant 4 days on the train without either. For these reasons, all of us bought food in Churchill for the return trip. He promised Chef prepared meals as part of a very expensive package BUT WE WERE NICKLE & DIMED WITH UNEXPECTED EXTRA FOOD EXPENSES THAT DARYL DIDN’T DISCLOSE TO US.

He advertised there would be heritage discussions & presentations on the train, a tour of Thompson with a visit to the Heritage North Museum & an optional dog sled tour on the last day in Churchill NONE OF WHICH WERE ARRANGED OR OFFERED (all ads uploaded below).

The excursions were pretty much everything Churchill has to offer so it would’ve been easy to book the trip myself & I would’ve saved his fees/ the $600 up-charge for travelling single/ the cost of the Chef prepared meals, presentations & tour that I didn’t get/ and he certainly didn’t save me any money on the room upgrade with the private toilet that I couldn’t use. The disappointment I felt about what I paid him in light of these issues tarnished the trip for me.

I completed & signed the evaluation given to us & invited him to contact me to discuss my concerns prior to submitting a review. It’s been 6 months and he hasn’t contacted me, so he clearly isn't interested in discussing concerns or possible resolutions. He’s demonstrated a lack of transparency, integrity, knowledge & customer service in his role as the tour operator and in conclusion, paying Daryl Adair to book the trip was a VERY EXPENSIVE MISTAKE!

Marg C.

We had a great time on the Buggies and Bears trip in early Nov 2022. The train was comfortable, meals quite good, and the camaradery with the tour leaders and other passengers was outstanding. We enjoyed a very busy 3 days in Churchill, seeing all the sights from a warm bus and the bears from the tundra buggy. Meals in Churchill were not fancy, but tasty and wholesome with fresh salads-- even though all produce has to come a long way in November. We enjoyed meeting some of the people who live and work in Churchill and would be happy to go again with Brent and Brenda to see the town again!

Rhona K.

My husband (Gordon) and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip, leaving Winnipeg on Sept. 23 to Sept. 28, 2022. We met great people on the bus, saw fantastic scenery, enjoyed great food and enjoyed the stops along the way. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful country as Canada. A big appreciative Thank You to Daryl and Brent Adair, and our bus driver - Milton - for taking care of all of us so well and ensuring that we all enjoyed our trip.

Diane F.

One star is too much for this company. Rail Travel tours should not be in business and definitely not serving seniors. The customer service was a disgrace, poorly organized and everything was on the cheap!. Hotel rooms were booked on the wrong dates by the company and in accommodations that would barely make a 1 star rating as they were UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Forcing the seniors to go from one hotel to another in the same town because they didn't book it ahead of time or forgot to book it. Over-priced and over 95% of the travelers on our trip from Winnipeg to Prince George were very dissatisfied. It was sold to the passengers as at least a 4 star trip but it was low budget all the way for a very high price. No company should be allowed to be in business especially when they treat seniors so poorly.

Colleen W.

Just got back from Belugas in Churchill. Had a great time. The train was quite late getting into Churchill, but that was the railways fault as there was not a replacement crew available and our engineers had to take mandatory rest period. The meals on train were very good. When we arrived the bus was there to take us to hotel. We had to use some of our free time to do a couple of local tours in town and really saw almost everything fairly easily. We were supposed to go on a boreal forest walk but it was raining fairly heavily so we misse Kimd that but we were kept busy on a bus tour outside the townsite. The hotel in Churchill was more than adequate although the meals were average at best. If one takes the time and chats to folks you can meet some. Very cool nteresting people with wonderful stories. We saw Belugas in harbour, went to Fort Prince of Wales,. took in the missile range, toured a wonderful museum of native art and history, went to Cape Merry, got up close to the grain terminal in the Port and even watched the second grain shipment arrive. Our tour guide did his best to make sure we saw and experienced everything we wanted. There were things beyond his control and our group just rolled with it and we had a great time. This tour had several 80+ year olds, a couple of other medical issues including me with a broken heel(2weeks post injury) and on a foot powered scooter. There were a couple of places I couldn't scoot into (got pushed to the Fort in a tundra wheel chair), but I did all the tours including getting on and off the boat. Would recommend this tour, even if you have a gimpy leg!

S B.

Terrible company. I wish I could give a zero star review. My parents (both seniors) just returned from the ‘Fall in the Canadian Mountains’ trip. Once the payment was made, the company would not return any calls or emails about trip details until we got a paralegal involved.

Accommodations off the train were at the worst possible hotels with terrible service, unsafe bathrooms (no bath mats, no handles to get in/out of baths - absolutely unsuitable for seniors), and rooms far from the entrance where baggage had to be carried up two flights of stairs. In one hotel, the only clothing storage was a hanger dangling from a nail on the wall. The front desk told my Dad that most guests bring their own hangars. What

One excursion was a 90-minute bus ride each way to the Columbia Icefield for an all-terrain vehicle tour, which WASN’T EVEN RUNNING that day. Even though this excursion was included in the cost of the tour, no refund was given to the tour participants.

Meals served by the tour organizer were awful, including a frozen meatball, macaroni and corn dinner WHICH WAS STILL FROZEN. My parents paid a lot of money for an absolutely garbage trip. Every aspect of the trip’s organization was mishandled and managed by complete amateurs.

nick J.

This tour company should be avoided. The trip was poorly organized. While the trip from Winnipeg to Melville was nice as we were in the dome car, VIA does not own its own track. There can be delays as the passenger train waits for freight trains to pass. We were only 10 minutes late getting to Melville but we had to take the bus back to Winnipeg as the train was going to be hours behind schedule. The Classic Inn in Melville is a dump. There are no smoke detectors. See photo. The food was terrible. Except for the Yorkton Museum, the other museums were mediocre at best. The tour leader was reluctant to share information on the trip home. He actually wanted to have stops on the way home as the bus would arrive before the scheduled arrival of the train. This was an expensive, disappointing tour.