OVERVIEW
Can’t decide which Canadian destination speaks to you most? With this journey, you don’t have to! Have it all from sea-to-sea as you start off your adventure in the east and make your way by flight and train to the west coast. See how the country’s cultural diversity undulates when you swap the tight-knit communities of the maritimes for the energizing pulse of major cities like Toronto and Montreal, reach new heights in the Rockies and witness some of Canada’s most enigmatic scenes on Vancouver Island.
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Transport: Rail/Flight/Private Vehicle -
Hotel: 20 hotel in 4-star and above hotels -
24/7 Support: We’re behind the scenes, monitoring every leg of your trip. You will have one dedicated point of contact throughout your journey.
EXPERIENCE
This is a sample itinerary curated and designed to offer the highest value and experience. Keep in mind that each one is customizable — we love to personalize the experience for every operator and traveller!
The Itinerary
The scenes of St. John’s combine hilly streets lined with rainbow-hued row homes and coastlines lined with jagged rocks and dotted with bobbing fishing boats. Take a jaunt up Signal Hill to visit the Cabot Tower—a Gothic-revival fortress that dates back to the year 1900—for views over craggy cliffs and the wild Atlantic. You also won’t want to miss a stop at Quidi Vidi, a small fishing village within the city, where you’ll find one of the oldest wooden buildings in North America and a fantastic microbrewery. With a population of just over 300,000 people, Halifax is eastern Canada’s largest city yet still maintains a small-town feel. The waterfront is the place to be and home to many of the city’s top sights like the Seaport Farmers Market, the oldest continuously running market in North America, and museums such as the Canadian Museum of Immigration. For more history and culture, be sure to check out the Citadel National Historic Site for a deeper understanding of the city’s roots. Seated on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in rural Halifax, the village of Peggy’s Cove perfectly embodies the maritime spirit. Colourful homes and fishing huts sit atop rocky outcrops along the Lighthouse Route, which guides the way to the cove’s iconic white-and-red lighthouse.
After a few days in Quebec City, you may start to believe you’ve ended up in France. But don’t be fooled: this is the heart and soul of the French Canadian identity. As one of North America’s oldest settlements and bearing official UNESCO World Heritage status, a wander amid its 17th-century houses and ramparts feel like a step back in time. Heighten the atmosphere with a meal and coffee at a street-side bistro before a visit to the must-see Chateau Frontenac in the Old Town. The capital of Canada’s only fully-French province, Montreal injects European charm into a cosmopolitan North American metropolis. Seated on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River and anchored by the mountain that lends the city its name (Mont-Royal), you’ll never find yourself too far from nature. Hike up the Mont-Royal to a lookout point for epic views over the city or hit up the beach at Parc Jean Drapeau. Foodies can delight their palette at the Atwater Market or a with a stroll through Little Italy. Feel transported to another century as you stroll the cobblestoned streets of the Old Port and gawk at Neo-gothic Notre-Dame Basilica.
Known as Canada’s economic core and largest city, Toronto gives you the kind of buzz that only a big city can. If you can dream it, you can find it here. Want to spend the day on the beach? Hop in a water taxi and head to the island for a day on its sandy shores with incredible views of the skyline. Craving nature? The Evergreen Brickworks offers a leafy respite within the city or head a bit further east to the Scarborough Bluffs for a trek along clay cliffs lining the waters of Lake Ontario. Depending on the season, sports fans can hit up a game (NBA, NHL or MLB—take your pick), art lovers should stop by the AGO and the ROM, and food-and-drink enthusiasts can indulge their senses through Kensington Market or St. Lawrence Market—voted by National Geographic as the best market in the world! Niagara is home to both a natural wonder of the world and is Canada’s top wine region—all just two hours from Toronto’s downtown core. The booming Niagara Falls, known on the Canadian side as the Horseshoe Falls, is truly a magnificent sight, which you can experience up close on a cruise through its misty offshoots. The nearby region of Niagara-on-the-Lake offers a calmer side of things with a charming old town and elevated restaurants, where you can sample some of the region’s top vintages (in particular, don’t miss trying Ice Wine—a Niagara specialty!).
Banff is a resort town within the greater Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. As the country’s oldest national park, it was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for its outstanding natural beauty. A lovely main street passes through the village, lined with wood and red-brick buildings backdropped by rugged snow-capped mountains. Venture into the town’s environs to indulge in the area’s famous hot springs or hike the 4.3 km trail up Tunnel Mountain for a bird’s-eye view of the valley and make friends with the local wildlife along the way. The village comes to life at night, with many bars and restaurants serving up local fare and craft brews. Lake Louise is one of Canada’s proudest landscapes; prepare to be stunned by the turquoise blue waters that reflect like a mirror the jagged peaks and pine trees that hug its perimeter. After you’ve snapped a few pictures, explore the surrounding trails for more epic viewpoints or keep things lakeside and hop in a canoe to take in the scene from a different perspective as you paddle across toward the Victoria Glacier. The following day, you’ll travel along the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper which offers ample opportunities to marvel at natural wonders, including more picturesque lakes (like the unfathomable cobalt blue waters of Bow Lake) and rushing waterfalls (among them include the Athabasca Falls, which are perhaps the areas most impressive). Eventually, the journey takes you to the alpine town of Jasper and its National Park, placing you deep in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies. Jasper National Park is the largest of the Rockies protected areas and home to a collection of wildlife such as moose, caribou and grizzly bears.
Whistler is a top destination for skiers, mountain bikers and anyone looking for a posh mountain getaway. Its two monstrous peaks, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain, join at their bases in a polished pedestrian-only village, bustling with large outdoor patios, boutiques, restaurants and bars. While the pretty resort town is undoubtedly a draw, the real star is the epic outdoor adventure that awaits in a wonderfully mild climate. Zip up the gondola for hikes through alpine meadows, set up a picnic lunch at Alta Lake before a kayak journey to nearby Green Lake or book a round of golf at one of Whistler’s premium courses. Vancouver is as beautiful as it is lively. Here, outdoor enthusiasts and city dwellers are one and the same; you can hike, bike, swim and ski, all within the city limits, and find an organic wine bar or high-end restaurant for a night on the town. Get lost on a stroll through Stanley Park—an urban patch of green (well, at 450-hectares, a bit more than a ‘patch’), hugged by the shores of English Bay. Take a water taxi over to Granville Island, where you’ll find boutique shops, art galleries, a brewery and a fresh food market. Head to Lynn Canyon for a worthy component to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (with fewer tourists) and take to the surrounding trails amid a forest of Douglas firs and deep gorges. Off the coast of Vancouver sits its island of the same name, and it’s here where you’ll find British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria. As nods to its British colonial heritage, Victorian-style architecture and English gardens define the city’s aesthetic, particularly noted through the lavish Craigdarroch Castle and the blooms of Butchart Gardens. Pedal stress-free on one of the city’s designated bike paths (they have more than in any other city in Canada!) and revel in nature at the Beacon Hill Park. History enthusiasts shouldn’t miss a visit to the Royal BC Museum and admirers of Canadian art can check out works by Victoria native, Emily Carr, at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
