Travel to Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world, and the distances shape every trip. Vancouver and Toronto are about 3,360 km apart in a straight line, so most visitors pick one or two regions and fly between them. Visa-exempt travelers who fly in need an eTA, which costs CAD 7 on the official Government of Canada site.

Our Canada travel tips are sorted by region and by topic: British Columbia, Alberta and the Rockies, Ontario, Québec, Things to Do and See, Outdoor and Nature, Food and Drinks, Where to Stay and General Travel Tips.

Visa and Entry Requirements for Canada

If you hold a passport from a visa-exempt country, such as the UK, EU countries, Australia or Japan, and you fly to Canada or change planes there, you need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). It costs CAD 7, you need your passport, a credit or debit card and an email address, and most applications are approved within minutes. Some applicants are asked for documents by email within 72 hours, so apply before you book. Apply only on the official eTA page on canada.ca, because unofficial websites charge extra for the same form.

If you arrive by car, bus, train or boat, cruise ships included, you need no eTA, only a valid passport. US citizens need neither a visa nor an eTA, though a valid passport is recommended. US green card holders don’t need an eTA either, and when they fly they show their passport and green card. Travelers of all other nationalities need a visitor visa, and you can apply for a visitor visa online.

Short visits are normally up to six months. Border officers can ask for a return or onward ticket and proof that you can pay for your stay, even if you stay with friends. Declare all food, and declare it on your customs card if you have visited a farm before the trip. Check what applies to your passport with the entry requirements by country and with your own government, for example GOV.UK.

Important Cultural Information

Canada has two official languages, English and French. French is the majority language in Québec, and you’ll hear it in parts of New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba too. A “bonjour” before you switch to English goes a long way in Montreal and Québec City. The country is a federation of ten provinces and three territories and a constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III as head of state and a prime minister leading the government.

The Indigenous peoples of Canada are the First Nations, the Inuit and the Métis. Their languages, art and place names run through the whole country, from the totem poles of the West Coast to Inuktitut in Nunavut, and many tours and cultural centers are run by Indigenous communities. Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are deeply multicultural, so expect food and festivals from every continent. More on this in our look at Canada’s culture and traditions.

Canadians value politeness, and a please and thank you go a long way. Don’t treat Canada as an extension of the US, as many Canadians take that personally.

Money in Canada

The currency is the Canadian dollar (CAD), often written C$. Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere, including for small amounts, and contactless payment is normal. Carry a little cash for markets, tips and remote areas. When an ATM or card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, choose Canadian dollars instead.

Prices on menus and shelf tags usually don’t include sales tax, which is added at checkout. The federal GST is 5 percent everywhere. Ontario charges a combined HST of 13 percent, Nova Scotia 14 percent, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island 15 percent. British Columbia adds a provincial tax of 7 percent and Québec 9.975 percent, while Alberta and the three territories charge only the GST.

Tipping is expected. In restaurants, 15 to 20 percent of the bill is usual, and many people work it out on the amount before tax. Card machines suggest percentages, and you can enter your own. Bartenders, taxi drivers, hairdressers and tour guides expect a tip too.

Banks, ATMs and Cards

The five large banks are RBC Royal Bank, TD, Scotiabank, BMO and CIBC, and in Québec you’ll also see Desjardins, a cooperative. Their ATMs, often called ABMs in Canada, are in every town and take foreign Visa, Mastercard, Plus and Cirrus cards. Machines inside bank branches usually cost less than the private ATMs in bars, shops and gas stations, which add their own fee. The screen shows the fee before you confirm. Debit cards issued in Canada run on the Interac network, so a foreign debit card sometimes fails in small shops that only take Interac. Pay by credit card there or carry some cash.

Banknotes are made of polymer, and the coins include the $1 loonie and the $2 toonie. Canada stopped handing out the penny in 2013, so cash totals are rounded to the nearest five cents, while card payments are charged to the cent. Some border towns and souvenir shops accept US dollars, but at a poor rate.

Health, Insurance and Emergencies

Dial 911 for the police, an ambulance or the fire service anywhere in Canada.

Canada’s provincial health care plans cover residents only. Medical treatment is very expensive, so take travel insurance that covers treatment and medical evacuation, especially if you plan to hike, ski or drive in remote areas. If you are referred to a hospital, call your insurer quickly. Ticks and biting insects are a risk in summer, and altitude can affect you on hikes and ski slopes in the Rockies around Banff and Lake Louise. Ask a travel clinic about vaccines at least eight weeks before you go.

If you’re looking for travel insurance, we are an affiliate of SafetyWing, a travel medical insurance provider.

Wi-Fi and Internet in Canada

Free Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafes, libraries, malls and airports. Bell, Rogers and Telus run the three large mobile networks, and you can buy a prepaid SIM card in their shops, in electronics stores and at the airport, or set up an eSIM before you fly. Coverage is good in cities and along the main highways, but it drops out in the mountains, in many national parks and across most of the North, so download offline maps before you head out.

Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi, like ExpressVPN. Read our post about why it’s important to use a VPN while traveling.

Arrival in Canada

Toronto Pearson (YYZ) is the busiest airport in Canada, with about 47 million passengers in 2025, followed by Vancouver (YVR), Montréal-Trudeau (YUL) and Calgary (YYC), the gateway to Banff. Edmonton (YEG), Ottawa (YOW) and Halifax (YHZ) have international flights too, and Halifax is the usual way into Atlantic Canada.

Most land crossings are on the border with the USA, and you need no eTA when you arrive by car, bus or train. Consider Europcar for car hire in Canada.

Areas of Canada

Driving across Canada takes at least a week, so treat each region as its own trip. Ottawa is the capital and Toronto the largest city.

British Columbia

Vancouver sits between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, with Stanley Park, the seawall and beaches inside the city. Spend two days in Vancouver, keep a list of things to do in Vancouver on a rainy day, and stay in a historic hotel downtown. BC Ferries sails from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay near Victoria in about 1 hour 35 minutes. Victoria, the provincial capital, is on Vancouver Island, as are the Butchart Gardens and Craigdarroch Castle.

North of Vancouver, Whistler is the ski and mountain bike resort of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Here is a stay at the Westin in Whistler Village. Inland, the Okanagan has lakes, orchards and wineries. Cycle the trestles of the Kettle Valley Railway through Myra Canyon near Kelowna, taste wine on the Naramata Bench and eat from the farms of the Similkameen Valley.

Alberta and the Rockies

Banff, Canada’s oldest national park, is a 90-minute drive west of Calgary, and the Icefields Parkway runs north from Lake Louise to Jasper. You need a Parks Canada pass to stop in the parks. Moraine Lake Road has been closed to private vehicles year-round since 2023, so you get there by the Parks Canada shuttle, by public transit, with a commercial operator or by bike, and the road is open only in the summer months. In winter, Banff has three ski areas, frozen lakes and hot springs. Read our guide to Banff National Park in winter, and pick from these cabins to rent in Banff and cozy cabins across Alberta.

The Prairies

Manitoba and Saskatchewan, together with eastern Alberta, are the prairie provinces, with wheat and canola fields under wide skies and thousands of lakes further north. Winnipeg grew where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet. The Forks, the old meeting place at the junction, has a market hall and riverside paths, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights stands next to it. Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba and Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan have lakes, forests and bison. In southern Saskatchewan, Grasslands National Park is a dark-sky preserve, so camp there on a clear night for the stars. VIA Rail’s Canadian stops in Winnipeg and Saskatoon on its way across the country.

Ontario

Toronto is Canada’s largest city. Go up the CN Tower, walk the neighborhoods of Queen West and Kensington Market, and see the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Here are our fun things to do in Toronto and our guide to Toronto’s nightlife. Niagara Falls is about 130 km south of Toronto by road.

Ottawa, the capital, lies on the river that divides Ontario from Québec, with Parliament Hill, the national museums and the Rideau Canal, which turns into a skating rink in winter. See our guide to Ottawa’s royal sights, the best breakfast spots in Ottawa and how to spend Canada Day in Ottawa.

Québec

Québec is French-speaking, and it feels it. Montreal has the Old Port, the Mile End bagel bakeries and long summer festival nights. Learn how to experience Montreal like a local, read a local’s guide to partying in Montreal, and think twice before you rent a car there, as our post on driving in Montreal explains. East of Montreal, Saint-Hyacinthe makes an easy day out.

Québec City has the only walled old town in North America north of Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Château Frontenac above the St. Lawrence. Further east, the Maritime regions of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Côte-Nord and the Îles de la Madeleine follow the river to the sea. Plan a road trip through Québec’s Maritime regions, then see where to stay and what and where to eat along the way.

Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada is the four provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Halifax has the waterfront and Pier 21, and Peggy’s Cove is a short drive away. In New Brunswick, the tides of the Bay of Fundy shape the Hopewell Rocks, and Prince Edward Island is the setting of Anne of Green Gables. Marine Atlantic ferries sail all year from North Sydney in Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques in Newfoundland, and in summer also to Argentia. On Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park has fjords and mountains on the west coast.

Fogo Island lies off Newfoundland’s northeast coast. You drive to Farewell and take the ferry to Stag Harbour, which takes 45 to 60 minutes. The island has the Fogo Island Inn, designed by Todd Saunders and completed in 2013, whose profits go back into the community through the Shorefast charity. Plan your visit with our guide to two days on Fogo Island.

The North

Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut cover more than a third of Canada, and their capitals are Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit. You come here for the northern lights from late summer to spring, for long summer days, and for wilderness such as Nahanni National Park Reserve with Virginia Falls. Great Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely inside Canada. On Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba, Churchill is where you watch polar bears from tundra vehicles in autumn, and VIA Rail runs a train there from Winnipeg. If you like the outdoors, read about the best places for trout and salmon fishing, mountain biking destinations and offbeat places to travel in Canada.

Transportation in Canada

Distances are long, so domestic flights save days. Air Canada and WestJet fly between all the large cities, for example from Toronto to Vancouver, Calgary or Halifax.

VIA Rail is the national passenger railway. Most of its trains run in the Québec City to Windsor corridor, linking Québec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The Canadian is the long-distance train between Toronto and Vancouver through the prairies and the Rockies, a trip of several days in sleeper or economy class. The Ocean runs three times a week between Montreal and Halifax, and smaller lines run from Jasper to Prince Rupert and from Winnipeg to Churchill. Check the current timetable, as freight traffic often delays the long routes.

If you drive, Canada drives on the right and measures speed in km/h. You may need an international driving permit, depending on your license, and rental companies often set a higher minimum age. Turning right on a red light is allowed in most of Canada, but not on the island of Montreal, where signs at the bridges and the airport remind you. In winter, snowstorms and avalanches close highways in Alberta and British Columbia, so use snow tires, carry emergency supplies and check the road reports. Read our guide on driving in Montreal.

Ferries are part of the road network on both coasts. BC Ferries links Vancouver with Vancouver Island and runs the 16-hour Inside Passage route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, and Marine Atlantic connects Nova Scotia with Newfoundland. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have metro or rapid transit systems, so you won’t need a car in the cities.

Where to Stay in Canada

Cities have hotels, apartments and hostels in every price range. In the Rockies and the countryside, cabins, lodges, motels and B&Bs are the norm, and national park campgrounds book out early for July and August. Look at these cabins in Banff, a historic hotel in Vancouver, the Westin Whistler, the places to stay in Québec’s Maritime regions and the best family camping locations in Canada.

Summer and the ski season are the busiest times, so book your stay months in advance for Banff, Whistler and the coasts. We recommend looking for accommodation on Booking.

What to Eat and Drink in Canada

Canadian food changes with the region, from Pacific salmon in British Columbia to lobster on the Atlantic coast. Dishes to try:

• Poutine – french fries and cheese curds under brown gravy, from Québec.
• Montreal bagels – smaller, thinner and sweeter than New York bagels, baked in wood-fired ovens.
• Maple syrup – Québec makes most of it, and in spring the sugar shacks serve whole meals around it.
• Butter tarts – small pastries with a sweet, runny filling, from Ontario.
• Nanaimo bars – a no-bake layered bar of chocolate, custard and coconut crumb, named after the town on Vancouver Island.
• BeaverTails – fried dough stretched flat and topped with cinnamon sugar.
• Caesar – Canada’s cocktail, made with vodka, clam and tomato juice and a salted rim.
• Ice wine – sweet dessert wine from grapes frozen on the vine, from Niagara and the Okanagan.
• Pierogies – Eastern European dumplings, common on the prairies.

Eat your way through Québec’s Maritime regions, start the day at one of the Ottawa breakfast spots, and taste the farms of the Similkameen Valley and the wineries of the Naramata Bench in British Columbia.

Things to Do and See in Canada

• Niagara Falls – the Horseshoe Falls seen from the Canadian side, about 130 km from Toronto.
• Banff and Lake Louise – turquoise lakes, glaciers and the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.
• Vancouver – Stanley Park, Granville Island and the ferry to Victoria.
• Old Québec – the walled city, the Château Frontenac and the Winter Carnival.
• Montreal – the Old Port, the markets and the summer festivals.
• Toronto – the CN Tower, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the neighborhoods.
• Churchill – polar bear watching on Hudson Bay in autumn.
• Fogo Island – outport villages, icebergs and the Fogo Island Inn.
• Castles – Casa Loma in Toronto, Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria and the Château Frontenac in Québec City.

For more ideas, see these offbeat places to travel in Canada and our best things to do in Vancouver.

Shopping in Canada

Every large city has its food markets. Go to Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver, St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, and the Jean-Talon and Atwater markets in Montreal, where Québec farmers sell cheese, maple products and seasonal produce. Montreal’s underground city, the RÉSO, links malls, metro stations and offices through tunnels, which helps in winter. West Edmonton Mall in Alberta is the largest mall in North America, with a water park and an ice rink inside.

Good things to take home are maple syrup and maple sugar, ice wine, smoked salmon from British Columbia and Indigenous art. For Inuit art, look for the Igloo Tag, the label that certifies a piece was made by an Inuit artist. Buy First Nations art from galleries and shops that name the artist and the community. Pack ice wine and maple syrup in your checked bag, because liquids in hand luggage are limited at airport security.

Prices exclude sales tax, as explained under Money in Canada, and there is no general tax refund for visitors, as the GST and HST visitor rebate program ended in 2007. If you bring food, plants or animal products home, check the import rules of your own country first.

Nightlife in Canada

Toronto has the largest scene. Clubs and cocktail bars line King Street West and Ossington Avenue, and Queen Street West has live music venues. Read our guide to Toronto’s nightlife. Montreal stays out later than the rest of the country, with bars on the Plateau, Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Crescent Street open until 3 am. In summer, the Quartier des Spectacles hosts the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs, and many shows are free and outdoors. Here is a local’s guide to partying in Montreal. In Vancouver, Granville Street downtown is the club strip, while Gastown and Main Street have bars and breweries. Québec City’s Grande Allée is lined with terraces, and craft breweries are everywhere.

The legal drinking age is 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Québec and 19 everywhere else, and bars check ID. Last call is around 2 am in most of the country. Provinces control alcohol sales, so you buy it in liquor stores such as the LCBO in Ontario, the SAQ in Québec and BC Liquor Stores, in private liquor stores in Alberta, and beer and wine also in Québec’s grocery and corner stores. Since 2024, Ontario’s convenience and grocery stores sell beer and wine too. Drinking in public is restricted, though some cities allow it in certain parks. Driving after drinking or using cannabis brings heavy penalties, and the legal age for cannabis is 19 in most provinces, 18 in Alberta and 21 in Québec.

Seasons and Festivals in Canada

Summer, from June to September, is the main season for hiking, paddling and road trips, and the only time Moraine Lake Road is open. Wildfires can start in any season, but the risk is highest in summer in the western forests and grasslands and in the forests of Québec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. September and October bring fall colors to Ontario and Québec. From November to April, winter storms with freezing rain and blizzards are common, while Whistler and Banff run their ski season. Hurricanes can reach the Atlantic coast from July to November.

Canada Day. On 1 July, Canada celebrates Confederation in 1867 with concerts and fireworks, and Ottawa holds the largest party. In Québec, 1 July is also moving day, when many leases end and moving vans fill the streets. Read about Canada Day in Ottawa.

Other dates. The Calgary Stampede fills ten days in July with rodeo and chuckwagon races. The Québec Winter Carnival runs for about ten days in February, with Bonhomme Carnaval, ice palaces and snow sculptures on the Plains of Abraham.

Safety Tips for Canada

Canada is a safe country to travel in. Protect yourself against petty crime in the cities, keep your passport and valuables somewhere safe and carry a copy of your passport. Recreational cannabis is legal, but the rules differ by province and territory, and taking cannabis across the border in either direction is illegal.

The bigger risks are nature and weather. Follow Parks Canada’s visitor safety advice, keep away from closed trails, follow avalanche warnings in Alberta and British Columbia, and check wildfire alerts before you head into the forests in summer.

Wildlife. Bears live across the Rockies, also on busy trails near towns. In the national parks, keep at least 100 meters, about ten bus lengths, from bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes, and at least 30 meters, about three bus lengths, from elk, deer, sheep and moose. It is illegal to feed, entice or disturb wildlife in a national park, and fines go up to CAD 25,000. Carry bear spray when you hike, camp, bike or paddle in the mountain parks, and pack out all food and rubbish. If you see an animal by the road, stay in your car, take a quick photo and drive on. In Churchill, watch polar bears only from a tour operator’s tundra vehicle. Read our tips for visiting Banff National Park in winter.

If you plan a longer stay, our guide to the Canada working holiday explains how to work and travel for a year or more.

Conclusion

For a first trip of one to two weeks, choose one side of the country. In the west, fly into Vancouver, take the ferry to Victoria, then fly or drive to Calgary for Banff, Lake Louise and the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. In the east, combine Toronto and Niagara Falls with Ottawa, Montreal and Québec City by VIA Rail. On a second trip, add Atlantic Canada, the Prairies or the North.

Before you book, apply for your eTA or visitor visa on canada.ca, take travel insurance that covers medical evacuation, and reserve rooms and Parks Canada campsites early for July and August and for the ski season. Our General Travel Tips for Canada help with the rest.