Discover Canada

Haida Gwaii: A Journey to One of Canada's Most Extraordinary Islands
There are parts of Canada that feel remote because they are a long drive from the nearest large city. Haida Gwaii feels remote in a more fundamental way. Sitting off the northwestern coast of British Columbia and separated from the mainland by Hecate Strait, the archipelago has an atmosphere unlike almost anywhere else in the country. Ancient forests reach toward wild Pacific beaches, small communities are scattered across the islands, and Haida culture is not simply part of the region’s history but a living presence throughout the journey. Haida Gwaii... Read more...
The Gaspé Peninsula: Québec's Great Coastal Road Trip
The Gaspé Peninsula deserves to be mentioned whenever Canadians talk about the country’s great road trips. It combines mountains, fishing villages, enormous cliffs, French Canadian culture, maritime history and hundreds of kilometres of coastline into a route that feels increasingly dramatic the farther east you travel. The classic journey follows Route 132, and the biggest mistake is trying to complete it too quickly. Bonjour Québec promotes a roughly 885-kilometre Gaspésie loop that can be travelled in about seven days, while a broader Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie itinerary extends to approximately 1,270... Read more...
Prince Edward Island Beyond Green Gables: How to Really Explore Canada's Island Province
Prince Edward Island is small enough that travellers are tempted to rush it. You can cross the province remarkably quickly if your only objective is getting from one end to the other, but doing so misses almost everything that makes the Island worth visiting. Prince Edward Island works best when you stop thinking about distances and begin thinking about coastlines. Tourism PEI divides the province into three principal scenic routes: the North Cape Coastal Drive, Central Coastal Drive and Points East Coastal Drive. The complete Points East route alone covers... Read more...
Grasslands National Park: Discovering the Canada That Exists Beneath an Enormous Sky
Many Canadians have been taught to associate beautiful wilderness with mountains, forests and lakes. Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park offers an entirely different definition. At first glance, the landscape can appear almost empty. There are no towering peaks competing for attention and no giant waterfalls announcing where you should point the camera. Instead, rolling prairie, coulees, badlands and huge skies stretch toward a horizon that feels impossibly distant. The longer you stay, the less empty it becomes. Grasslands National Park is divided into West Block and East Block, and travellers should... Read more...
Northern Ontario's Lake Superior Coast: Canada's Inland Sea Road Trip
One of the strangest things about travelling around Lake Superior is how quickly you stop thinking of it as a lake. The horizon disappears beyond the water. Storms generate real surf. Rocky headlands stretch into vast expanses of blue. Beaches can feel more Atlantic than inland, and entire sections of the Canadian shore remain remarkably undeveloped. For Canadians living in southern Ontario, one of the country’s best road trips may be hiding within their own province. Begin in Sault Ste. Marie and drive north on Highway 17 toward Wawa. The... Read more...
The Northwest Territories by Road: Waterfalls, Bison and the Wild South Slave
Many Canadians assume that seeing the Northwest Territories requires an expensive flight to Yellowknife followed by another flight into the wilderness. That is one way to experience the territory, but there is another option that deserves far more attention. You can drive north. The southern Northwest Territories can be reached by highway through northern Alberta, creating one of Canada’s most unusual road trips. The Wood Buffalo Waterfall Route runs through the South Slave region and connects a succession of rivers, waterfalls, communities and northern landscapes. Spectacular NWT describes the main... Read more...
The Great Ontario Sampler: Toronto, Niagara, Prince Edward County and Algonquin
Ontario is too large to see in one vacation. Trying usually produces an itinerary involving enormous amounts of driving and very little actual travelling. Instead, a first-time Ontario trip should demonstrate the province’s contrasts. Start with Canada’s largest city. Move to one of the world’s great waterfalls. Spend time in wine and farm country. Then finish beside a lake in the Canadian Shield. Give yourself eight to ten days. Start With Two or Three Days in Toronto Toronto is best explored as a collection of neighbourhoods rather than a list... Read more...
Churchill, Manitoba: How to Plan One of Canada's Greatest Wildlife Trips
There are ordinary vacations. Then there is Churchill. You cannot drive there. Polar bears wander through the surrounding landscape. Thousands of beluga whales enter nearby waters. The northern lights appear with remarkable frequency. The edge of Hudson Bay stretches toward the horizon. Churchill is one of those rare destinations where the logistics are part of the experience. It requires planning. It can be expensive. Weather can interfere. And it may become one of the Canadian trips you remember for the rest of your life. First Decide What You Want to... Read more...
Nunavut: How to Plan a First Journey to Canada's Arctic
Nunavut is not simply another province or territory to add to a Canadian travel checklist. Travelling there requires a different mindset. There are no roads connecting Nunavut with southern Canada, nor are there roads connecting its communities to one another. Travel Nunavut notes that the territory is accessible from the rest of Canada by air or sea, with major gateways including Ottawa, Winnipeg and Yellowknife. Weather frequently affects flights, particularly when travelling onward to smaller communities, so flexibility needs to be built into the itinerary from the beginning. For a... Read more...
New Brunswick's Fundy Coast: One of Canada's Most Underrated Road Trips
New Brunswick is frequently driven through on the way to somewhere else. Travellers heading toward Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island cross the province, stop for fuel and promise themselves that one day they will come back and explore it properly. The Fundy coast is an excellent reason to keep that promise. The Bay of Fundy shapes much of southern New Brunswick, creating enormous tidal changes, cliffs, islands, coastal forests and fishing communities. Tourism New Brunswick notes that Fundy tides can reach approximately 16 metres in parts of the bay,... Read more...
Québec City and Charlevoix: A Journey Through French Canada
There are places in Canada where geography dominates the trip. Québec City and Charlevoix offer something different. Here, landscape and culture are inseparable. You have the St. Lawrence River, mountains, agricultural land and small villages, but also centuries of French Canadian history, architecture, cuisine and language. For Canadians who have never spent meaningful time in Québec, this is one of the trips I would most strongly recommend. Give yourself five to seven days. Spend Three Days in Québec City Do not arrive in Old Québec, take photographs of Château Frontenac... Read more...
Newfoundland Road Trip: St. John’s, the Coast and the Wild Beauty of Gros Morne
If you want to understand why Canadians become attached to particular corners of this enormous country, Newfoundland is a good place to begin. It does not feel like anywhere else in Canada. The landscape is harsher. The communities feel more intimately connected to the sea. The place names are unforgettable. The music has its own rhythm. The humour has its own cadence. And once you leave St. John’s, stretches of Newfoundland can feel astonishingly empty. This is not the destination for a rushed three-day weekend. Give Newfoundland at least seven... Read more...
Alberta's Ultimate Road Trip: Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway and Jasper
The Canadian Rockies produce an interesting problem for travellers. Eventually you become numb to extraordinary scenery. The mountain you would have photographed fifty times on Day One barely gets your attention by Day Five because an even larger mountain is standing behind it. That is Alberta’s Rockies. For a first trip, allow seven to ten days. And resist the temptation to squeeze Banff and Jasper into a single weekend. Begin in Calgary Spend at least one day in Calgary before heading west. Explore downtown and the river pathways. Spend time around... Read more...
Vancouver Island: Victoria, Ancient Forests, Tofino and Canada’s Wild Pacific Coast
Vancouver Island requires a change in pace. The distances are not always enormous. The roads can be slow. The forests make you want to stop. The coastline constantly distracts you. And once you reach the Pacific side of the island, the journey begins feeling considerably more remote than the map suggests. For a first visit, plan seven to ten days. Start in Victoria Spend two days in British Columbia’s capital. Walk the Inner Harbour. Visit the Royal BC Museum if it is part of your interests and operating exhibitions appeal to... Read more...
The Yukon Road Trip: Whitehorse, Kluane and Dawson City
This series gives curated travel tips for Canadians and others wanting to discover more of this beautiful, vast country we call Canada!  There are Canadian road trips where the attraction is what waits at the end. The Yukon is different. The road itself becomes the destination. Mountains appear for hours. Rivers follow highways. Tiny communities sit hundreds of kilometres apart. Summer daylight seems reluctant to disappear. And distances that looked intimidating while planning begin to feel like part of the adventure. For a serious first visit, plan seven to ten days.... Read more...