r/TravelCanada

Hi everyone,

My family and I try to do a long-haul trip once a year, we are based in Spain. In the last 3 years we have done Japan, California+Grand Canyon and Zion and China. All the trips came with the challenges of travelling with little kids but we did enjoy all of it! For 2027 I am eyeing Canada as a potential destination, as my eldest is starting primary education and travelling during term time might become a little more difficult (he can skip a few deays, but maybe not two full weeks).

My initial idea was travelling in August/early September to Calgary and doing the Rockies, and then flying back from Vancouver, as I saw cheap flights for this summer and hope to see similar low cost routes for summer 2027. However, I had a look at the prices of accommodation in Banff and Vancouver just to get a sense of it, and bloody hell, they are super expensive. We aim to spend between €100-200 a night depending on location, but the cheapest I've seen in these areas is around €350. With those prices, I think we are totally out of budget.

So my question is: do you have any tips for cheaper family-firendly accommodation in these areas? Or can you suggest other nice places in Canada that are slightly cheaper but also worth visiting from Europe? When we visited the US in 2025 it was slightly more expensive than China or Japan, but we could still find good affordable hotels.

Also, we could travel in late March-early April, over the Easter school holidays, but would it be worth it going to the Rockies? I suspect it'd be too cold and probably we would miss out on all the hikes etc.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions!

My friend and I are trying to decide between Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal for a 4-day trip this upcoming July. We are leaning more towards Toronto or Montreal for the conveinance, as we are coming from New York City, but are open to options (we plan on flying). We're both women in our late 20's interested in museums & exploring off the wall spots but also like to experience nightlife. We're generally pretty-laid back when it comes to traveling- i.e. not having a set itineary and going with whatever looks cool. I'm also a distance runner & would love to get a long-run in while traveling. Any advice would be appreciated- cheers!

Hello all! I'm currently in the planning stages of a Canadian road trip and wanted to seek advice from those who have done a similar trip before. I'm starting my third year in University this year and wanted to start planning out this trip I would like to take in two years when I graduate, as I've never actually left Ontario ever and thought seeing more of Canada would be a great way to celebrate.

I may be planning this way too early, but I figure it's better to have a plan sooner rather than later lol.

I know there are already a lot of resources online and probably quite a few posts in this subreddit about cross-country trips, but I thought I’d ask anyway and get some opinions/advice directly from people who’ve done it.

The rough plan I have right now is to start in the GTA area, drive towards the west coast, passing through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC. I was thinking of taking a month to do this trip. I think that's more of a realistic timeline since Canada is quite massive.
While I've heard great things about the provinces to the east of Ontario, I think I'll skip those this time around. I don't particularly want to backtrack through Ontario before the westward part of the trip.

My current plan is to have a little camp setup with me so I can stay in campsites along the way instead of hotels. I know the campgrounds I've stayed at in Ontario have had shower setups and other facilities, so I'd want to try to find similar campgrounds in other provinces.

So yeah, that's the basic idea that I have right now. I've done some research on it, but wanted to get people's opinions and ask some questions:

- Does this seem realistic or more like a pipe dream?
- Would it be doable in the way I'm describing it?
- Are there any places I should be sure to see that are a must-see?
- Is there any advice that you guys have that I should consider?
- How much should I be planning to drive daily so the trip is still enjoyable?
- Are there parts of Canada I should be careful around? Like highway stretches and such?
- Are there places I should be avoiding?

I'm open to hearing any and all advice that you guys may have for this sort of trip! Thanks!

I’m planning my birthday for early October this year, and I really really want to find a beautiful, rainy small town that I can hole up in either a cute bed and breakfast or small cabin or boutique hotel and read for 5 days straight, occasionally heading out to explore a vibey Main Street with small shops and cute quintessentially small town eateries or walk to a book shop or through a park while it drizzles. Rain is super important, think like constant showers or showers during the morning or afternoon and the drizzle or fog the rest of the day ❤️

Hi! I’m planning my first trip to Vancouver early July and would love some advice.

I haven’t booked a hotel yet and am trying to figure out the best area to stay, wanting somewhere walkable, safe, close to touristy spots, good food, and nightlife. Looking at Yaletown, Gastown, or Coal Harbour but open to suggestions.

I’m hoping for a mix of sightseeing, scenic walks, great food, maybe a hike, and one night to really dress up for a nice dinner, drinks, and possibly some fun nightlife after.

Would love recommendations for where to stay, must-do spots/activities, best food (especially a nice dinner spot), and any bars or clubs worth checking out.

Just trying to plan the perfect first trip with good vibes, good food, and one fun night out. Thanks!

Hello, there's so much to do and I need some honest advice

I'm heading from Calgary to Vancouver all by public transport (can't drive)

The plan was to be in Calgary for 2 days with the first day finding a church and then just exploring the city. Then using the second day to go on a group tour to Drumheller

Then onwards to Banff/Canmore with one day on a group tour and the other day doing short hikes independently

And lastly overnight bus it to Vancouver and spend the day walking through in North Vancouver's creeks & suspended bridges.

I'm now really questioning how I'm spending my time. Should I rather take away the city day in Calgary and have an extra day staying in Canmore?

Drumheller is quite a spenny tour, is it worth going to Vs having an extra day in the rockies?

I think you can see that I want to be in nature as much as possible, but I also want a diverse experience. Coming over isn't cheap! And probably won't happen again.

My trip is in August. Thank you for reading :)

I'm spending a couple of days in Victoria and planning to take the ferry to Vancouver in order to board my flight home out of Vancouver. I'm wondering how reliable the ferry service is. Specifically, is it reliable enough that I can count on getting to Vancouver on the same day as my flight, or should I plan to take the ferry to Vancouver a day before my flight just to be on the safe side?

Hello folks,

I need to travel to Canada on May 26, but my passport expires on May 27. I currently live in the US and already applied for a new passport through my consulate, but they told me it may take a few weeks to arrive.

The consulate suggested that I could travel to Canada first with my current passport and then wait there for the new passport to arrive by mail. Do you see any potential issues with this plan? I’m mainly worried about airline staff (United) or Canadian border officers having concerns about such a short validity period on the passport. I have the official document that says that I have applied for renewal.

Thanks!

I am planning a trip this summer. Below are my wide dates. Please suggest me for the Eastern Canada trip.

20 July to 25 July - starting from Toronto and flying out from Quebec City on the evening of the 25th

26 July to 31 July - Banff and Jasper

1 Aug to 3 Aug - Vancouver area

I need help with 1st part, which is Eastern Canada, what places need to be included, and modes of transportation?

Hi all, just wondering. I have to travel to Canada for work in late august. I have a petty thef charge from when I was 19 which is about 17 years ago now. Do you expect I will have any issue at the border?

Hey,

Just got back from a week in Punta Cana with my partner. Flew out of Montreal with Sunwing, paid 1400$ each. Was feeling good about it tbh.

Then on day 3 we end up at the swim up bar with another couple from Toronto. Started chatting, comparing notes, and they tell us they paid 719$ each. Same exact week, same room category, same flight. They booked like 5 weeks before departure after watching the prices for a bit.

I almost choked on my pina colada lol.

The wife was telling me they have a whole system, they use some Canadian app or website that tracks all inclusive prices and pings them when stuff drops. I think she said it was called Palmaa or something like that. Apparently saved them a few thousand last year between two trips.

So now im sitting here trying to figure out if i was just naive my whole life or if everyone else already knows about this stuff. Few questions :

1. Is the "wait and watch" thing actually reliable or did they just get lucky ?
2. Anyone else here use price tracking tools for vacations ? Worth it or hype ?
3. Whats your general booking strategy ? Early bird ? Last minute ? Wait for drops ?

Honestly feel kinda dumb for not knowing about this. Cheers !

Hello. We are starting to think about a trip to Quebec City and Montreal. We are thinking of around 14 nights but it can be anywhere from 10 to 18 nights. We’re thinking of maybe 3-4 nights in Montreal and 4-5 nights in Quebec city. From there we would love to see some beautiful coastal scenery and interesting small towns. We are looking at either Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, or more Quebec province. The distances are far though. What would you recommend we add to the Montreal and Quebec City stops? We will rent a car but need to end the trip near an airport so that we can fly back to the US. Thank you so much for any suggestions.

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First time posting here. Looking for a kids safe (9,4) travel Itinerary within canada from July till september this year. This will be my first ever plan within Canada. So, please guide accordingly. I can do a road trip or book flights as well. Just want to get out of my lazy at home office and find something memorable for the kids and family. Please advise accordingly.