Places to visit in Canada
To get your head around the places to visit in Canada, look at it regionally. On the east coast you have the littoral loveliness of the Atlantic provinces, and out west you have British Columbia with that winning combination of Pacific coast and Rocky Mountains. Ontario, in the east, is falling down with lakes (250,000!) and, unlike the rest of Canada, people. Toronto, Canada's largest city, and Ottawa, its capital, are the cosmopolitan hubs here. The North refers to the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon, packed with aboriginal culture and adventures in the wilderness. The prairie provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are not just open grasslands and magnificent sprawling landscapes, but also home to the Rocky Mountains — as well as some of the best polar bear watching territories on earth. And then there's Quebec where, quite simply, la vie est belle. Si belle.
Our Canada Vacations
Canadian Rockies tour
Experience breath-taking scenery in the Canadian Rockies
From
US $2599
12 days
ex flights
Canadian Rockies adventure vacation
Walk, bike and canoe in the Canadian Rockies
From
US $3779 to US $3899
11 days
ex flights
Canada family adventure vacation
The perfect outdoor adventure for the whole family
From
US $2249
12 days
ex flights
Western Canada highlights tour
Ten days exploring natural highlights of West Canada
From
£1535
10 days
ex flights
Yukon dog sledding vacation, Canada
Husky adventure vacations in Yukon
From
CA $1465 to CA $4098
14 days
ex flights
Johnstone Strait kayaking expedition in Canada
Kayak & Whales Watching Expedition in Western Canada
From
CA $1495 to CA $1595
6 days
ex flights
Canadian wildlife & Vancouver Island vacation
Off the beaten track adventure into the Canadian Rockies
From
US $5079 to US $5199
15 days
ex flights
Canadian Rockies and Vancouver Island vacation
Valleys rich with wildlife, bear, deer & moose
From
US $5079 to US $5199
15 days
ex flights
West Canada vacation
Two week wildlife adventure through Western Canada
From
£2598
15 days
ex flights
Canadian Rockies activity vacation
Adventure through the Canadian wilderness
From
US $2780 to US $3090
15 days
ex flights
New England and Canadian east coast tours
Rugged, unspoiled and off the tourist trail
From
US $3379
10 days
ex flights
Churchill polar bear tour in Canada
A unique opportunity to encounter polar bears
From
£6595
7 days
ex flights
British Columbia wildlife vacation, whales and bears
Rugged scenery and wildlife of Western Canada
From
US $4979 to US $5449
10 days
ex flights
Anchorage to Mexico City overland tour
From Alaska to Mexico City through Canada & USA
From
£3990
55 days
ex flights
Arctic cruise vacations
Explore the Arctic: Greenland, Spitsbergen and Iceland
From
US $5050 to US $37995
10 days
ex flights
Desolation Sound kayaking expedition, Canada
Sea Kayaking Vacation in British Columbia's coastal paradise
From
CA $1075
5 days
ex flights
Canadian Rockies and Northern Lights tour
Discover the wintertime majesty of the Canadian Rockies
From
US $4305
11 days
ex flights
Kayaking with Orcas in British Columbia
Kayak with orcas and humpacks in beautiful British Columbia
From
US $1199
4 days
ex flights
Grizzly bear tour in British Columbia
Drift down rivers watching grizzly bears catching salmon
From
£3065
6 days
ex flights
Canada polar bears and beluga whales tour
Swim with Beluga Whales and spot Polar Bears in the Arctic
From
£4535
9 days
ex flights
Arctic wildlife cruise vacation, heart of the Arctic
Immerse yourself in Arctic culture and landscape
From
US $4995 to US $16495
13 days
ex flights
Canada wilderness vacation, Rockies & Vancouver Island
Experience the Canadian Wilderness and wildlife
From
US $4749 to US $4849
15 days
ex flights
Arctic Canada wildife vacation, birds, bears & belugas
Specialist led set-departure in the heart of Arctic Canada
From
£7995
8 days
ex flights
Canada rafting vacation on the Magpie river
One of National Geographic's top whitewater rafting trips
From
US $5195
8 days
ex flights
Canadian Rockies & wilderness walking vacation
Prepare for a journey deep into the Canadian Rockies.
From
US $3249 to US $3379
13 days
ex flights
Polar Bear watching in Canada
Live on the Arctic Tundra among polar bears
From
£8595
7 days
ex flights
Walking vacation in the Yukon and Alaska
Pure, unadulterated Arctic awesomeness
From
US $3379
14 days
ex flights
Baffin Island cruising expedition, Canada
Expert Led, Polar Bears Belugas, Narwhals, Inuit Culture
From
US $7200
13 days
ex flights
Canada vacation, national parks and wildlife
Beautiful Canada, Mountains to Oceans!
From
£1795
8 days
ex flights
1. Alberta
2. Algonquin Provincial Park
3. Banff National Park
4. British Columbia
5. Canadian Rockies
6. Churchill
7. Fundy National Park
8. Jasper National Park
9. Newfoundland
10. Nova Scotia
11. Prince Edward Island
12. Vancouver Island
13. Yukon
2. Algonquin Provincial Park
3. Banff National Park
4. British Columbia
5. Canadian Rockies
6. Churchill
7. Fundy National Park
8. Jasper National Park
9. Newfoundland
10. Nova Scotia
11. Prince Edward Island
12. Vancouver Island
13. Yukon
Alberta
1. Alberta
As well as being home to Banff and Jasper National Parks, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, Alberta is all encompassing outdoorsiness. It is a winter playground of snowshoeing, ice skating, cross country and dog sledding. And in summer, the walking trails are out of this world. Seeing it all on horseback really allows you to immerse yourself in both this province’s cultural and natural heritage. Calgary and Edmonton are thriving cosmopolitan cities too.
Algonquin Provincial Park
2. Algonquin Provincial Park
Of course Canada has a protected park dedicated to canoeing. Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park has 1,500 lakes and over 200km of canoe routes. So, you can paddle for days in this most serene of wild places, spotting some of the park’s prolific moose as you go. Paddle with expert naturalists to spot otters, beavers, loons and wolves too. In winter, this becomes husky sledding and snowshoeing paradise.
Banff National Park
3. Banff National Park
In the province of Alberta, Canada’s oldest and most well-known national park, the mountainscapes and glistening waters of the likes of Lake Louise really are not ‘Photoshopped’. Banff is, quite simply, big on beauty. And bears. It’s totally wired for all things winter when the snow comes, the flower filled meadows and alpine trails are ripe for hiking in the spring, and gushing rivers for rafting in the summer.
British Columbia
4. British Columbia
Known as BC which should actually stand for ‘Bl**dy Cool’. In fact, in terms of landscapes and habitats, it is down right greedy. Rocky Mountains – tick. Whale watching – tick. Grizzly bear watching – tick. Extraordinary rail journeys – tick. Outdoor adventure in Yoho and Glacier National Parks – mega ticks. And then of course, there is the ever venturous Vancouver, with its eponymous otherworldly island, Canada’s largest Pacific island.
Canadian Rockies
5. Canadian Rockies
Although the Rocky Mountains stretch from British Columbia all the way down to New Mexico, Canada's Rockies are probably the most famous section, with the country's colonial connections creating a tourism market eons ago. You can easily spend two weeks here living the outdoor dream, hiking and rafting in Yoho National Park, canoeing and cycling in Banff National Park or fawning over the glacial gorgeousness of Whistler and Wells Gray Provincial Park.
Churchill
6. Churchill
Just south of the Arctic Circle, on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the province of Manitoba, this is considered by some to be the polar bear capital of the world. Inaccessible by road, this small port is the land of tundra buggies, or the larger polar rovers, all-terrain vehicles which enable you to view, photograph and study polar bears in safety. Like something out of Star Wars on Ice really.
Fundy National Park
7. Fundy National Park
Who doesn’t love a coastal national park, especially when those maritime marvels include the conifer covered Caledonian Highlands that descend down to the Bay of Fundy? If you are already envisaging a hiking in the morning, and kayaking in the afternoon scenario, Fundy is for you. And because Fundy is smack in the middle of the Atlantic migration flyway, birdwatching is superb here in spring and autumn.
Jasper National Park
8. Jasper National Park
In addition to Banff National Park, Jasper is in the Alberta Rocky Mountains, in the province of Alberta. It’s the largest of the Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks. It has everything you could want in mountain marvels with glaciers to gawk at, or climb, endless valleys for hiking, peaks to conquer, or alpine meadows just to mellow in. And of course, speedy rivers to raft down.
Newfoundland
9. Newfoundland
Newfoundland, the island, was a separate British colony until 1949, when it joined confederation with Canada and is now part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The latter being the adjoining coastal mainland, and both with extraordinary maritime history that ranges from whaling to military base during the Cold War. Today the whales are very much alive, with whale watching for humpbacks a highlight of the summer months here.
Nova Scotia
10. Nova Scotia
Although actually a peninsula, and Canada’s second smallest province, it feels like an island. Cape Breton Island, on its north coast, is actually part of Nova Scotia, as are the other 2,000 dotted around it, making this an island lover’s idyll. The capital, Halifax, is brimming with historic and contemporary maritime culture, but for exquisite, sweeping seascapes, hiking and kayaking in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a must.
Prince Edward Island
11. Prince Edward Island
This Atlantic island is actually a province in its own right, and Canada’s smallest. Also known as PEI, its red sandstone rock formations scattered along the shore are a photographer’s dream, and endless red sands every beach lover’s dream too. This is a place for families to find the feral within, with cycling and swimming galore. And dig out a copy of Anne of Green Gables. It was set here.
Vancouver Island
12. Vancouver Island
It’s unusual for a province’s capital to be on an island, but this insular idyll is home to Victoria, just one of the island’s ‘capital’ experiences. There is nothing insular about its demographic though with aboriginal, Chinese and British cultures all shining in their own inimitable ways. Vancouver Island also boasts vast wilderness, with mountains, giant fir forests and empty coves. Where out of the blue, a whale appears.
Yukon
13. Yukon
Way up North and way out there on the wilderness scale. Especially in winter when the Yukon comes into its own. Husky adventures, or mushing, are a vacation of a lifetime and you get some serious mushers in the Yukon, with options for anything from 3-8 day expeditions, staying in lodges or toasty winter tents. In summer, swap sled for saddle to discover mountainous ridges, creeks and valleys at their most verdant, on horseback.
Our top Canada Vacation
Canada family adventure vacation
The perfect outdoor adventure for the whole family
From
US $2249
12 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2020: 3 Aug
2020: 3 Aug
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Canada or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
Canada Sample Itineraries
12 day Canadian Rockies family vacation
Vancouver > Whistler > Wells Gray Provincial Park > Jasper National Park > Icefields Parkway > Yoho National Park > Lake Louise > Banff National Park > Calgary
Vancouver > Whistler > Wells Gray Provincial Park > Jasper National Park > Icefields Parkway > Yoho National Park > Lake Louise > Banff National Park > Calgary
8 day husky sledding vacation in Yukon
Whitehorse > Dawson city > Dempster Highway > Tombstone Mountains > Whitehorse
Whitehorse > Dawson city > Dempster Highway > Tombstone Mountains > Whitehorse
11 days British Columbia wildlife vacation
Vancouver > Vancouver Island > Nanaimo > Pacific Rim National Park > Campbell River > Elk Falls Provincial Park > Orford River > Quadra Island > Victoria > Vancouver
Vancouver > Vancouver Island > Nanaimo > Pacific Rim National Park > Campbell River > Elk Falls Provincial Park > Orford River > Quadra Island > Victoria > Vancouver
Canada Travel Times
The following times give you a rough idea of the travel times between the main attractions in Canada.
Banff National Park – Jasper National Park on the scenic Icefields Parkway: 3 hours without stopping. But stopping is a must.
Vancouver – Toronto : 4 hours 30 minutes by air
Nova Scotia to Newfoundland: 5-7 hours by ferry
Vancouver – Victoria: 1 hour 35 minutes by ferry
Winnipeg – Churchill: 2 hours by air
Toronto – Vancouver: 3 days & 4 nights by train
More about Canada
Canada is a four season country, no doubt about it, but Canadians embrace every season, even the harshest winters, with adrenalised enthusiasm.
Canada is all about freedom and openness, both in its landscape and culture, and this Canada travel guide aims to capture some of that, directing you to wilderness areas which are like nowhere else on earth.
When it comes to things to do in Canada, people usually think of mountains first, but what some people forget is that these landscapes, and seascapes too, are packed with extraordinary wildlife.
Vacations in the Canadian Rockies are full throttle adventures, where your feet barely touch the ground (and not just because you’ll spend half the time up in the mountains).
Vacations to Vancouver Island are an all-you-can-eat buffet of mountains, surf beaches, sacred rainforest, off-the-grid towns and choppy, whale-rich ocean.
The tiny town of Churchill in the far north of Canada, just south of the Arctic Circle, is polar bear watching central, handled by experts in safety, weather and of course wildlife.
An exhilarating way to discover the Canadian wilderness, husky safaris in Yukon belong to a long tradition of using dog sleds in this remote region during the winter.
Wildlife should be an integral part of any BC tour, with bear watching and whale watching here some of the best in the whole of the Americas...
Traveling in Canada with children is all about finding the wilderness without and a bit of the feral within.
We have some superb Canadian experts on hand here at Responsible Travel to give you all the Canada travel advice you need.
This is a big country with some big issues, such as drilling in the Arctic or protecting land and cultural rights for indigenous peoples.
protection
Photo credits: [Page banner: chris salt] [Alberta: Matheus Bandoch]
[Algonquin Provincial Park: ilya_ktsn]
[Banff National Park: Matt Thomason]
[British Columbia: Sarah Schimschal]
[Canadian Rockies: Alex Williams]
[Churchill: BDougherty]
[Fundy National Park: James Bates]
[Jasper National Park: Jeanne18]
[Newfoundland: Johnathan Nightingale]
[Nova Scotia: Suchakra Sharma]
[Prince Edward Island: don2845]
[Vancouver Island: Patjosse]
[Yukon: Bureau of Land Management Alaska]
[Sample Itineraries: Marcelo Vaz]
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