Canada
Big landscapes, and more than one memorable way to cross them.
Canada is the second-largest country in the world, and its landscapes are on that scale: the peaks and turquoise lakes of the Rockies, the forests and islands of the Pacific coast, the prairies, the Great Lakes and the Atlantic shore.
It is also a country of very likeable cities, from Vancouver, between the mountains and the sea, to Toronto, Montréal and Québec City in the east. The question for most visitors is not whether there is enough to see but how to travel between the parts they choose: by train, by road, by air, by sea or a mixture of them.
Auria Travel is an independent UK travel agency, and we arrange holidays to Canada of many kinds: escorted tours, rail journeys including the Rocky Mountaineer, self-drive routes, city breaks and trips that combine the Rockies with an Alaska cruise.
How Auria can help you travel in Canada
Canada rewards planning, because the distances are large and the best-known experiences are in demand. Tell us what has drawn you to it, whether that is the Rockies, the wildlife, a particular train or a city, and our travel professionals will work out how the pieces fit.
If a tour operator already offers a holiday that does what you want, such as an escorted tour of the Rockies with the rail journey included, we will find it and book it. If your ideas need something of their own, we can put the trip together: flights into one city and home from another, hotels and lodges, rail tickets, car hire and the nights in between.
Where it helps, we work with trusted local experts in Canada to join the arrangements up: a transfer waiting when your train arrives, a driver between Banff and Jasper with stops along the way, a guided wildlife tour, a floatplane or a boat trip on the coast. The aim is that the journey works as one trip, not a set of separate bookings you have had to line up yourself.
Ways to see Canada
- Rail journeys
- The Rocky Mountaineer travels by day between Vancouver and the Rockies, in glass-domed coaches, with nights in hotels along the way. Other trains cross the country at a slower pace.
- Escorted tours
- A planned route through the Rockies or across the country, with a tour manager, hotels and many excursions included.
- Self-drive
- Good roads, well-spaced stops and scenery from the car window. Popular in the Rockies, on Vancouver Island and in the east.
- Cities
- Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal and Québec City each make a few days in their own right, or the start and end of a longer trip.
- Cruise and stay
- Alaska cruises sail from Vancouver in the summer months, and pair naturally with time in the Rockies before or after.
- Winter
- Skiing at Whistler and in the Rockies and, in the north, a chance of seeing the northern lights.
Tailor-made and multi-centre Canada
Most Canadian holidays are multi-centre by nature. The skill is in the order, the pace and the way each stage connects to the next. Planning around your brief lets you choose how to travel each leg: by train where the journey is the point, by road where you want to stop when you like, and by air where the distance is too great for either.
Rail and the Rockies
Vancouver, then the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff, Lake Louise or Jasper, with time in the national parks before flying home from Calgary.
The Rockies and an Alaska cruise
A week in the mountains followed by a cruise north from Vancouver along the Inside Passage, or the other way round.
A western circle by road
Calgary, Banff, the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, then west through the mountains to Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
Cities of the east
Toronto and Niagara Falls, then Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City, by train or by car.
East and west together
A few days in Toronto or Montréal, a flight across the country, and the Rockies or the Pacific coast to finish.
Combines well with: Alaska
Places and experiences
The parts of Canada most visitors from the UK come for, and what makes each worth the journey.
The Canadian Rockies
Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper, in a chain of national parks: glacier-fed lakes, high passes and, between them, the Icefields Parkway, a road through the mountains that is a destination in itself.
The Rocky Mountaineer
A train that travels only in daylight between Vancouver and the Rockies, with meals served on board and the scenery passing at a pace you can take in. We can book it on its own or build it into a longer holiday.
Vancouver and the Pacific coast
A city between mountains and sea, with Stanley Park, the harbour and good food. Vancouver Island and Whistler are within easy reach, and Alaska cruises leave from the port.
Wildlife
Bears, elk, bighorn sheep and eagles in the mountains, and whales off both coasts. Sightings are never certain, but a guided trip with someone who knows where to look improves the odds.
- Toronto and Niagara Falls
- Canada’s largest city, on Lake Ontario, with the falls about an hour and a half away by road.
- Montréal and Québec City
- French-speaking Canada: a lively modern city, and a walled old town above the St Lawrence river.
- The Atlantic provinces
- Fishing villages, lighthouses and seafood in Nova Scotia and its neighbours, at a gentler pace.
When to go
The season depends on what you want to do, and on where: Canada spans several climates.
- Summer (June to August)
- The warmest months and the busiest, with long days, open mountain roads and the widest choice of things to do. The Rockies and the Rocky Mountaineer are in high demand.
- Late spring and early autumn
- May, and September into October, are quieter and often cost less. Autumn brings colour: golden larches in the Rockies and maples in the east. Some high lakes and roads are still under snow in May.
- Winter (December to March)
- Cold, with snow for skiing in the west and frozen lakes and winter festivals in the east. Some mountain roads and attractions close.
- Trains and cruises
- The Rocky Mountaineer runs from spring to autumn, and Alaska cruises in the summer months, so trips that include them are planned around those seasons.
Planning your trip
Canada is easy to travel in, but its size shapes every itinerary.
- Distances
- Vancouver to Calgary is about a thousand kilometres by road, and Toronto to Vancouver is around five hours by air. It is better to see one or two regions well than to try to cover the country.
- How long
- Ten days to two weeks suits the Rockies and Vancouver. Add a week for an Alaska cruise or for the cities of the east.
- Open-jaw flights
- Flying into one city and home from another, such as into Calgary and out of Vancouver, avoids retracing your route.
- The Rocky Mountaineer
- It travels in daylight and stops overnight, with your hotel included, so the days on board are part of the holiday and not just a way of getting somewhere. Departures are on set days, and the rest of the trip is planned around them.
- Booking ahead
- Summer accommodation in the national parks is limited and the rail journeys sell out. Nine months to a year ahead is not too early for a summer trip.
- Driving
- Roads are good and traffic is light outside the cities. Allow more time than the map suggests: you will want to stop.
Thinking about Canada?
Tell us which parts of Canada you would like to see, whether a rail journey or a cruise is part of the picture, roughly when you would like to travel and who is going. We will suggest a route and the best way to travel each part of it.
