Tell me your favourite places in Canada

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Planning a trip to Canada but obviously, due to both time and money, can’t see it all! Vancouver Island is a definite no this time, but apart from that, where should prioritise?

Just to put a different spin on things (most people go west): I love the eastern seaboard, especially Prince Edward Island. Lighthouses, lobster, wonderful coasts, interesting cultural scene.
Also recommend a trip to Quebec City & Montreal.

Thanks, we really want to do Montreal, but also want to go to Calgary and flying between the two is much more expensive than flying between Vancouver and Calgary.
Vancouver city itself doesn’t seem to have much character (I’m happy to be corrected) but I like the look of some of the things to do there.
if lots of people agree that Montreal is better than Vancouver, I might just be persuaded to expand my budget slightly!

Banff - you can easily do a day trip to lake Louise as well.

Vancouver is a beautiful city. We visited in July and we found there was enough to do for at least 3/4 days. Stanley park, granville island, fly over Canada and we did a whale watching trip too. We were able to spend hours just walking around the city and soaking in the atmosphere. We found some awesome restaurants as well. Just check out trip advisor for reviews. The oysters and seafood are just to die for! If you have a car (which I def recommend) the drive up to whistler on the sea to Sky highway is fab stopping off at Squamish for lunch and a walk along the river. Also check out Deep Cove. It’s a beautiful little seaside town with lovely independent shops and restaurants and a lovely bay. I wish we’d had time to head over to Banff and Calgary but we only had 10 days. Definitely next time!

My immediate thought was Banff. I went there on an organised tour so wasn't there for long at all, but would have been happy to stay for longer.

I was part of a rocky mountaineer tour. I took the train from Vancouver to Lake Louise. 2 nights at lake Louise, 2 nights Banff and 3 nights Calgary.

Banff is a bigger place and has the gondola, the Hot Springs, lake minnewanker. There is a bus that takes you to all 3 as well
as stops in downtown Banff.

if you’re looking at Vancouver I would stick to the west coast for this trip. You could enjoy Banff, lake Louise, Calgary. Vancouver island. Possibly Kelowna. There’s so much. I would go during the summer as it is a more rainy location.

for the east cost you could fly into Toronto explore Niagara, blue mountain and then head to Montreal with a quick trip to Quebec City (personally i much prefer Montreal over Quebec City which is extremely touristy). You could finish off in PEI and fly back to Toronto before heading home.

We are just back from a 2 week holiday. Flew to Calgary and stayed in Canmore and Revelstoke. Did Icefield Parkway, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, Peyto Lake, Banff, raft trip on Bow Lake, Takakkaw falls, Roger’s Pass, Revelstoke Mountain. The scenery is breathtaking.. a holiday of a lifetime.

If you have children I’d definitely recommend Revelstoke and stay at Three Valley Gap. The hotel is a 1970s time warp but in a good way. It has a Heritage Ghost Town attached which you can explore after hours if you’re staying at the hotel. Revelstoke has an amazing Alpine Coaster. My son loved it.

Def Banff, Jasper etc over Montreal if you have to choose between them.

Waydugo.. we did the coaster in Revelstoke… fab!!

That's not really the east coast though!

Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI

Vancouver Island (I know you said not this time).

I've visited a few of those places and can confirm how utterly stunning they are. We drove from Vancouver to Calgary and it was so beautiful, my favorite place on earth!

@No1HolidayPlanner I am extremely interested in your itinerary as we are hoping to do something similar in 2027! did you go through a travel agent or book yourself? Any details you could share on itinerary or accommodation would be gratefully received 🙏

I have literally copied and pasted the below info from a previous thread I contributed to, it was specifically asking about child friendly travel, so please ignore the parts that reference that if not relevant to you!

We have had two holidays in Ontario over the past few years, we absolutely love it and would go back again and again. There is so much to explore once you get out of Toronto, and it’s so child friendly. You don’t have to drive too far to get to some really beautiful places!
Our first trip we spent a few nights in Toronto, then drove to a cabin up in the Muskoka lake region (a couple of hours drive), stayed there for a week exploring all the lovely little towns, spending lots of time out on the water, did some walking in Algonquin Provincial Park. Then we had a final few days in Prince Edward County. We stayed in a town called Picton, really lovely little town, lots of little shops and cafes, close to breweries, wineries, distilleries, all of which had food trucks or kitchens, very open to kids coming along. Also close to Sandbanks Provincial Park, which has gorgeous white sand beaches on the shore of Lake Ontario.
For our second trip we got out the city as soon as we arrived and we went up to some little towns on the shore of Lake Huron. We went to the Blue Mountain resort (which in winter is a ski resort, but in summer is like a massive outdoor playground, we had an amazing day there) we went up to Tobermory and Bruce Peninsula, did a boat trip and some walking. All very beautiful. Went on for a few days in Muskoka area, as we knew we loved it there. Then on for a few nights in a cabin with its own lake access and watersport equipment in the Haliburton Highlands. Another stop along the north shore of Lake Ontario for 1000 Islands, then a final few days back in Picton as we loved it so much.
These trips were done first with a nearly 4 year old, then 10 by the time we were able to return for the second trip. Happy to share accommodation recommendations/specific area recommendations if of interest to you. Eastern Canada seems to get bad press in contrast to the west, but we absolutely loved it.
Edited to add: we made it so that we didn’t need to drive longer than 3 hours between stops, and that was only one of the legs. Majority were around 1.5 hours, so felt very manageable for our child, who isn’t accustomed to super long car journeys. Even the 3 hour leg was fine, as we stopped for a quick walk.

HerbertVonDoodlebug

i booked it all independently. We did 5 nights in Canmore - decided on there as close to Banff but more affordable- still expensive though. Stayed in an Airbnb at Lodges of Canmore- outdoor pool and jacuzzis. Day 1 - Icefields Parkway. Did a 12 hour trip through Banff Jasper Collection. It’s quite a drive so decided to do an organised trip to enjoy the scenery.. but easy to do independently. The journey was incredible- apparently voted 3rd best scenic route in the world! Day 2 easy day walking around Canmore. then a 2 hour raft trip on Bow River. Day 3- a day in Banff. Day 4 - drove to Lake Louise park and ride and shuttle to Lane Louise and Lake Moraine- need to pre book shuttle with Parks Canada- incredible scenery. Day 5- Takakkaw Falls and Roger’s Pass en route to Revelstoke. Here you could include a 2 day stay in Golden to do the Skywalk and Kicking Horse white water rafting. We stayed a week in Revelstoke as our son is there for the summer- but 2-3 days would be fine. The pipe coaster at Revelstoke Mountain resort is fab- plus mountain biking and cable car rides. We drove back to Calgary to fly home.. but equally you could fly out of Vancouver stopping at Salmon Arm and Whistler and a few days in Vancouver. I highly recommend it 😊

We flew up from Vancouver to the Great Bear Rainforest. 2 hour flight. Then did a boat trip for a week where we saw vast numbers of whales, bears and even a wolf. Not recommended for DC but for adults it’s peaceful and a real wilderness.

We are visiting family in Nova Scotia this summer. We are planning a trip to Lunenberg, which is the most gorgeous little fishing town, with many wooden houses in different colours going down to the harbour. It has been used as a film location several times I think - you might recognise it from the fantasy TV series 'Haven' from a few years back. (On that they pretended it was in Maine USA).

Also in the East we visited Quebec City a few years ago, which is amazing. So picturesque, and it has the feel of an old European city.

Of course the West is fantastic for scenery. Banff, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine. It makes you think of those illustrations of heaven in a Jehovah's Witness leaflet iykwim.

But you can't really see the whole of Canada over a 2 or 3 week holiday so you have to choose really.

Just back! We did Vancouver, Cariboo, Williamslake & Whistler. Whistler is absolutely stunning. Travelled with 2 kids. We did the peak to peak gondola in Whistler, went to a Rodeo in Williamslake, did horse riding, canoeing, mountain biking etc
A real adventure holiday!

Vancouver is better than Montreal. I've lived in both.

I'd do Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Whistler, Banff, Lake Louise.

Lol just seen your update

Glad you had a good time!

I disagree with Vancouver not having character; there are lots of things to see and do! You could use it as a starting or ending point to venture further into BC. Like others have said, a slow road trip from Van to Calgary is a good idea, with stops in Whistler, Okanagan area, south-east BC (Kootenay area) before going through the Rockies to Banff, Canmore and Calgary.

I live in north-west BC, with friends and relatives in Okanagan and Vancouver Island (Victoria), so I am familiar with those areas.

I love Whistler in the summer time, there are lots of biking trails and little lakes to swim and kayak in. The Okanagan area amazed me the first time I saw it, since I didn't realize Canada had such a desert area; it's beautiful. If you are going inland to central BC, I would recommend early summer, rather than August, since we have had so many forest fires, it may block the views of the mountains.

As a proud Canadian, we have so many beautiful areas to show off. I am originally from Niagara area, with it's fruit and wine growing area, and small quaint towns once you venture off the highways. Picton was mentioned above, and yes, that area is really lovely as well.

Tough decisions on where to go; you just have to narrow it down and try not to see too much at one time.

PEI and NS are both absolutely amazing! And NF if you have time.