Canada Holiday

[Summersoul]

Hey
So we have decided to book our next holiday to Canada next year. We were planning to go 16 years ago but I fell pregnant with DD1 and we never went. If you were me with DH and 2 teenage DDs where in Canada would you go? I love the idea of Banf or Lake Louise but DH really wants to see Niagra falls .... anyone have any advice?

For me it would definitely be lake Louise and banff area, then glacier national park. I love the national parks. Niagara Falls is great but it's only a day and so would have to figure out where to go for the rest of the holiday...I'm not sure that the surrounding areas would be as spectacular as banff and surrounding. You could always take an internal flight to Toronto for a few days.

We had a fabulous holiday in Canada a few years ago. Toronto, Niagara, Bruce Peninsula (great lakes), Algonquin national park, white water rafting, Ottawa and Montreal. My DC were 17, 15 & 13.
If you want any more info, please DM and I will share 😁

Banff and lake Louise are amazing. My daughter did a ski season in Banff and I had a great week visiting her. It's beautiful and such a friendly place.

I've not been to Lake Louise but by all accounts it is fantastic. I have been to Niagara Falls and it was distinctly underwhelming.

🇨🇦 is my spiritual home, one of my favourite places is Prince Edward Island (East Side, favourite book is Anne of green gables!), however the best Canadian holiday I've done was a few days in whistler then a week on vancouver Island both in the summer, completely stunning (I have done whistler in winter as well but I'm more of a human snowball than snow boarder so prefer all the mad summer activities). As a previous poster mentioned niagra is stunning when stood in the right place, turn slightly left and you get a view of what looks alarmingly like Blackpool!

Vancouver and Vancouver Island are gorgeous

I spent a couple of years living in Lake Louise and Banff.
Hands down my favourite places ever.
I then lived in Toronto for a bit and wasn't so keen, went to Niagara a couple of times and it was very anti-climatic.

We did a week in Banff and Jasper then flew to Toronto for a week with a day trip to Niagara.
We’ve also combined a week in the Rockies with a week in Vancouver Island and a few days in Vancouver.

Both were amazing holidays and I’d go back like a shot. Niagara Falls themselves were amazing and the boat trip was brilliant but it’s only a day. We found loads to do in Toronto.

Be warned, your teens will need to be double jabbed or under current regulations they’ll have to quarantine for 2 weeks.

Go to BC! Vancouver, Victoria, mountains, beach good weather!

I'm sure you know this but it's worth noting that all three of the places you have mentioned are extremely touristy and will be overrun in the summer months. By all means see them, but there are many more beautiful, less popular places to visit too. Taking the sleeper train through the Rocky Mountains is a thrill.

You could fly into Calgary, make your way up to Jasper, then get the sleeper to Vancouver (I'm not sure if it's running this year) and do Vancouver/Whistler and over to Vancouver Island if you want.

Ooh, watching! We want to go in 2023. We would look at Toronto to PEI but lake Louise looks like heaven.

DH said the other day, let’s include Niagara and I reminded him that we have both already been separately and agreed it was a depressing town which only existed for the falls. I would imagine the real nature eg lake Louise would be much better for the soul.

I've not done the west but Toronto is great and very close to Niagara Falls so could do that

We did Nova Scotia and St Brunswick too on the same trip which were beautiful, but my favourite place was Prince Edward Island - I am a big Anne of Green Gables fan though!

Banff and Jasper are gorgeous. We loved Peyto lake

We went in 2019 and did Toronto, Niagara Falls/ Niagara on the Lake, Ottawa and then a week in a lake cabin near Algonquin National Park. It was amazing, loved all of it however felt Ottawa was too much like ‘home’. Our DCs were 14 and 10.

COVID allowing, we are booked to go in June and will do a week in a lake cabin in Ontario, a week in Vancouver then back to Toronto for 4 nights. We loved Toronto and both DCs preferred it to New York, although they were quite a bit younger when we went there.

All the Canadians we met were so friendly and helpful, loved it.

Thanks all. I'm also thinking vancouver is a definite option. Soooo many great places it's hard to choose

I think you either have to decide to do Vancouver and then either Vancouver Island or Rockies OR fly into Toronto and see Toronto, and South towards Niagara. Vancouver option is much more green, wooded, natural imo whilst Toronto and Ontario was more metro, cool and modern. Depends what you are after!
Another Canadian holiday we did was flying into Halifax Nova Scotia and travelling North to Pictou and over to PEI. Great seafood and felt like going back to the 1950's!

If you do the Nova Scotia option, Acadia national park in Maine is stunning too if there's time.

We were looking at Vancouver island in July after a boat trip in Alaska. It’s very booked up! You need to decide quickly.

I wouldn’t bother to see Niagra falls. I’d stay west in BC. There’s great info to be had in the Lonely Planet books but I think it’s late to be booking. These places are very popular!

The islands are a must if you visit the west side. We did a 3 day camping/kayaking trip in the San Juan islands (the US side) this year with 12 & 9 year olds and watched orcas swim by.

@TizerorFizz

We were looking at Vancouver island in July after a boat trip in Alaska. It’s very booked up! You need to decide quickly.

I wouldn’t bother to see Niagra falls. I’d stay west in BC. There’s great info to be had in the Lonely Planet books but I think it’s late to be booking. These places are very popular!

Thanks. We are looking at next Summer 2023 hopefully it's not too late to book but better get cracking

@Summersoul
Sorry! I thought you meant this summer! I would start doing research though. Especially for Vancouver Island where there’s not so much accommodation in some more remote areas. We are intending to go VI at another time with other areas of BC such as yolo. We have had a wonderful holiday in the great bear rainforest - but not with DC!

Hoping to do a Canadian trip in the next few years. Looking at the west side so this is great for ideas. So many options!

I’ve went to Toronto 2019 and we loved the city. We did NIagra as a day trip. The falls and boat ride were amazing. We took the town/amusement bit for what it was.

Lake Louise/ lake moraine has become so touristy in the last few years they run buses in a park and ride service because the car parks can’t cope. Just so you know. They are stunning, but a bit overrun

I would buy the British Colombia and The Canadian Rockies Lonely Planet guide and look at their itineraries. This gives a first class overview of the area and gives ideas for less touristy places. There are other routes and parks that will be great.