March 13, 2025 • 35 mins
Planning a trip to Canada? Watch this before you go. Travel Lemming’s Director of Marketing Taylor Herperger shares everything you need to know to plan the perfect trip to Canada. Taylor details her essential things to do & see, places to visit, how to get around, travel tips, when to visit, & so much more.
A special thanks to Tortuga for sponsoring this episode.
👉 Get 10% off at Tortuga: https://travellemming.com/tortuga/
📰 Articles from Travel Lemming.com
- When to visit Canada: https://travellemming.com/best-time-to-visit-canada/
- Driving in Canada: https://travellemming.com/driving-in-canada/
- Places to Visit in Canada: https://travellemming.com/places-to-visit-in-canada/
- Things to Do on Vancouver Island: https://travellemming.com/vancouver-island-things-to-do/
- Canada Road Trips: https://travellemming.com/canada-road-trips/
- Alberta Itinerary: https://travellemming.com/alberta-road-trip-itinerary/
- Things to Do in Banff: https://travellemming.com/things-to-do-in-banff/
- Where to Stay in Prince Edward Island: https://travellemming.com/where-to-stay-in-prince-edward-island/
- Safety in Canada: https://travellemming.com/is-canada-safe/
- Canada Travel Tips: https://travellemming.com/canada-travel-tips/
💻 Perspectives from TravelLemming.com
- Weird things about Canada: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/weird-things-about-canada/
🎙️ Other Links Mentioned:
-Travel Lemming Community Meetups: https://www.meetup.com/pro/travel-lemming/
#Canada #CanadaTravel #CanadaTips
Segment Timestamps
00:00:00 – Episode Teaser
00:00:27 – Intro & Meet Taylor
00:03:10 – Canada Layout
00:04:42 – Best Cities
00:08:36 – Sponsor: Tortuga Backpacks
00:10:14 – Planning & Budget Tips
00:15:15 – Top National Parks
00:19:41 – Best Time of Year to Visit
00:21:51 – How to Get Around
00:28:55 – Etiquette & Taboos
00:30:43 – Weather & Safety Tips
00:33:20 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We're talking about all things Canadatoday on the Travel Lemming Podcast.
Here's a 30 second teaser of this episode.
more than 60 percent of Canadians livesouth of Seattle, which is actually
pretty mind boggling to think about.
if you are on a budget, some places can bea lot harder to visit such as Vancouver.
It is a very expensive city.
So the thing about BAMP, however, isthat because it's so popular, it's one
(00:22):
of Canada's most popular destinations.
It gets absolutely packed with people.
If you love dinosaurs, you haveto go to the Badlands in Alberta.
Drumheller is probably the mostpopular and well known of the
places to go for dinosaurs.
If you haven't visited our friendlyneighbors to the north, this episode
will surely inspire you to get packing.
Have And this episode is sponsored byTortuga Backpacks, which we will tell
(00:46):
you a little bit more about later.
So if you're an American,Canada is one of the easiest
international destinations to visit.
It borders 13 of our United States, so ifyou live in the northern part of the U.
S., there's probably a major Canadian citywithin a two hour flight from your home.
It's a beautiful country.
The people are sweet as can be.
But I'm going to let our Canadaexpert be the one to really convince
(01:06):
you why you should go to Canada.
So without further ado, welcometo the show, our born and raised
Canadian Taylor Herberger.
Hi, Betty.
So happy to be here.
yeah, so I am a born and raised Canadian.
I live in Winnipeg,Manitoba at the moment.
Yeah, and I've been with TravelMing,gosh, for almost six years.
I'm the director of marketing andI'm also the podcast producer.
So I'm the lucky person whogets to edit this afterwards.
(01:30):
Yes, for our regular listeners,you would never know it, but Taylor
is a part of every single episode.
She and her editing team put in hoursof work for the podcast and make it
the seamless show that it is today.
So I want to tell you, Taylor, fromthe bottom of my heart, And Nate and
all of our listeners, I'm sure, howgrateful I am for all the work you do to
make the Travel Lemming podcast exist.
(01:51):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So now let's get into Canada.
So Taylor, I know you're a Canadian,but what makes you an expert on Canada?
Yeah, so like you said, I ama born and raised Canadian.
I was born in Saskatchewan,which is a prairie province,
just a little bit west of centre.
So I grew up there.
After high school, I moved to Ontarioand I lived in Toronto for about seven
(02:15):
years, so I got to know Ontario very well.
After that, I long term travelledin there quite a bit too, so I'm
skipping ahead on the timeline.
But I moved out to Alberta and Ispent a year living in Alberta and
after that, I moved to Winnipeg.
So I've now lived in four provinces.
I've also traveled coastto coast in Canada.
So I have technically beento all 10 lower provinces.
(02:37):
So in Canada, there are 10provinces and three territories.
I haven't had any meaningful experiencesin New Brunswick yet, so I can't totally
say that I've been to New Brunswick.
I have driven through it, but Idon't think a gas station counts.
So, but I have had meaningful.
Experiences and I've traveledcoast to coast from the Southern 10
provinces, so I know Canada very well.
I've spent most of my lifehere when I'm not traveling.
(02:59):
Amazing.
Well, I think you've provenyourself as an expert here.
So speaking of like the provincesand whatnot, can you start by kind
of painting a picture for listeners?
How Canada is laid out.
Absolutely.
So Canada is actually the secondlargest country in the world and I
am going to pull up a number here.
It has a land mass of 9.
(03:20):
985 million kilometers squared, which isjust a little bit larger than the USA.
It has the longest coastlineof anywhere in the world.
Canada's coastline borders the PacificOcean in the West, the Arctic in the
North, and the Atlantic in the East.
Like I said, it has 10 provincesand 3 territories, and each of these
places has its own distinct culture.
(03:40):
So I would say that there are alot of Canadianisms that, really
bind Canada together as a country.
Each of the regions, is very distinct.
So they always say it's likeit's a mosaic, not a melting pot.
And so the center in the north,people do live in these regions,
but they are vastly underpopulated.
(04:02):
So most of the Canadiansactually, I'm going to put a stat
here, so according to BigThing.
com, actually, 90 percent of Canadianslive within 100 miles of the U. S. border.
more than 70 percent of Canadians livebelow the 49th parallel, and actually
more than 60 percent of Canadians livesouth of Seattle, which is actually
pretty mind boggling to think about.
(04:24):
But, very cool.
If you pull up a map, the GTA in Torontois the most densely populated part of
Canada, and that's where a lot of, Andthat is actually below the 49th parallel.
So
Seattle stat is so wild to me.
I can't even, I need to look at a map,but it just doesn't make any sense to me.
But
I know,
so what are the best citiesin Canada, in your opinion?
(04:46):
That's a big question.
course.
I know, I know it's huge,but if you can break it down
so I'm going to start with, thisis very controversial, but I have
to mention Toronto because itis Canada's largest metropolis.
It's incredibly diverse.
It's the financial hub andit has a ton of culture.
So, a lot of Canadians wouldprobably bristle at me mentioning
(05:06):
Toronto first because, it is.
With the rest of Canada, it's not alwaysindicative of the culture of the rest
of Canada, but I do have to mentionit because it's an incredible city.
I mean, I, like I said, Ilived there for seven years.
It's very near and dear to my heart.
Yeah, and there's just endlessamounts of things to do there.
I also want to mention Montreal.
(05:26):
So this is located in Quebec.
They do speak French.
There is a first language, but youwill be able to get by with English
when you're in Montreal proper.
Thank you If you venture out ofMontreal, many people only speak French,
but Montreal is such a cultural hub.
There's always like art museumsand it's one of the best places
for gastronomy in Canada.
(05:46):
There's festivals.
Oceaga is one of the best festivals thatI've personally been to in Montreal.
And they do winter very well there too.
There's a ton of winterfestivals, so that's very cool.
I just wanted to, ask you what Oshiaga is.
Yeah, of course.
Oceaga is actually a music and artsfestival in Montreal that happens
every summer in Parc Jean Drapeau,and it brings in a ton of people.
(06:08):
It's so much fun.
They get a lot of reallybig and popular performers.
So definitely recommend thatif you're going to Montreal.
very cool.
So what are your other favorite cities?
I also have to mention Vancouver.
That's also one that people knowof when they think of Canada.
Vancouver is located in British Columbiaand it's right on, it's not on the coast.
So you have Vancouver, which is onthe ocean, and then there is Vancouver
(06:32):
Island, which is right beside it.
But Vancouver is right on that coast.
I would characterize Vancouver asit's very hippie dippy, especially
as you get, a little bit moreinto the Specific neighborhoods.
It's known as being very, eclecticand easygoing and laid back, even
though it is a really big city.
It's very cool.
(06:53):
Then I'm also going to mention Calgary,
most people go to Calgarywhen they want to go to Banff.
So it's, the closest airport and majorhub to Banff, and it's about an hour away.
So, but they also havethe Calgary Stampede.
So that's another reallyBig reason to go there.
There's a lot of great restaurants,galleries, art, that kind of stuff
too, but very, it's more Western.
(07:13):
So when you think of Calgary, I liketo kind of liken it to the Texas of
Canada, where you have a lot of, cowboyculture, for lack of a better word.
I also want to mention Charlottetown.
So Charlottetown and Prince EdwardIsland as a whole is one of my
favorite places in all of Canada.
It's a very small city, but it has aton of charm, a ton of coastal charm.
(07:34):
The people there are just fantastic.
So nice.
being greeted with some of, like,Canadians in general are very polite,
but I would say the most polite inCharlottetown and Prince Edward Island.
I personally live in Winnipeg, so Ihave to give a shout out to Winnipeg.
It gets a bad rap for being oneof the coldest places, like, in
the world, but, which is definitelytrue in the wintertime, but we have
(07:55):
an incredible restaurant scene,actually, a lot of restaurants that
are, end up going elsewhere in Canadaare usually tested on the people of
Winnipeg because we do go out so much.
And yeah, it's a prairie city, so youhave a laid back attitude, but then it's
also a city of almost a million people,so it's a little bit more urban as well.
And for listeners, I know that Taylorjust mentioned so many awesome cities.
(08:17):
If you want to learn more about them,Taylor has guides to all of these,
like the best cities in Canada, whichyou can check out at travellemming.
com we'll give you some more informationon that at the end of the show, but all
of these will be linked in the show notes.
So if you want to do more of a deepdive into these places, definitely check
out Taylor's articles on the website.
And now a quick message from oursponsors over at Tortuga backpacks.
(09:26):
So I know it's a hard questionbecause Canada is so massive But how
would you recommend someone startsplanning their trip to Canada?
So I recommend picking a large city,renting a car and going from there.
So whether you want to go to Toronto,Montreal, Ottawa, or Charlottetown
in Prince Edward Island, Vancouver.
Renting a car and then going from there.
So I would recommend picking a citybased on the types of things you
(09:49):
like to do and the vibe you want andthen exploring around that place.
Where should budgettravelers stay in Canada?
Yeah, so as of recording this in March2025, Canada's dollar is actually about
30 percent less than the USA's andabout 35 percent less than the euro.
So right now, if you're from eitherof those places is a great time
(10:10):
to visit Canada because you areessentially getting it on sale.
That's it.
If you're on a budget, you canfind great budget hotels in most
places, especially if you visitduring the spring, fall or winter.
So I would characterize high season,of course, in Canada being the summer.
Everyone generally wants tocome here when it's warm.
So if you do visit in one ofthe shoulder or off seasons,
(10:31):
you will get a discount as well.
However, if you are on a budget,some places can be a lot harder
to visit such as Vancouver.
It is a very expensive city.
For example, a couple years ago, Iwent there in the summertime and even
a budget holiday and hotel near theairport was like almost 500 a night.
So it's harder to visit those places ifyou're not visiting in the off season.
(10:55):
So pick the time of year wisely.
However, I am impartial to the prairiesas great budget friendly destination
born and raised, like I said, inSaskatchewan and living in Manitoba.
Now, although some people mightdisagree with me, Prince Edward
Island, the maritimes in generalare also better for budget.
But generally, if you areon a major budget, stay away
from the large metropolises.
(11:16):
Something else I will say on budgetis when you think of budget or you're
a budget backpacker, you think aboutstaying in hostels, and Canada just
doesn't have that many hostels.
You'll find them definitely in likeToronto, I think I've heard of them
in Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, butwhere I live in Winnipeg, it's a
city of almost a million people, andthere are no hostels to be found.
So you really have to think about thatwhen you're trying to find accommodations.
(11:40):
And you mentioned the prairies.
I know it's kind of self explanatory,but can you tell us a little bit
about what exactly the prairies are?
Yeah, for sure.
So you have the West and then you haveso British Columbia, you have the Rocky
Mountains and the Rockies and in Alberta.
So beyond.
The Rockies in Alberta iswhen the prairie start.
So the three prairie provinces inCanada are generally characterized as
(12:02):
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
So there's a lot of agriculture in theseprovinces, a lot of rolling prairie land.
generally flat, so to speak, and actuallySaskatchewan, one of the funny things
people say is that you can watch yourdog running away for days on end because
of how flat it is in Saskatchewan.
(12:23):
But big agriculture places.
So those are the three prairie provinces.
so it's kind of likethe Midwest in the U. S.
Exactly.
Yes.
Yep, and those are the provinces,like, for, American, listeners,
viewers, those are the provinces,like, above North Dakota, Minnesota,
Montana, that kind of thing.
Well, not, not the mountainsin Montana, but yes.
(12:43):
And when you're talking about justlike how it's kind of like a 30 percent
discount compared to Americans, like I'ma flight attendant and so many times I get
sent to Vancouver or Calgary or Toronto.
And it's so nice because I feellike I'm like a King there.
Cause I can go out and, and youknow, I don't have to pay an arm
and a leg to go get dinner there.
So yeah, if you're an Americanlistener, it's really, it's nice.
(13:06):
Even if you're looking for budget optionsin Canada, like you're going to get.
A very affordable trip, compared tothe prices that you're going to be
getting in most large American cities.
Totally.
I completely agree.
Where should outdoorsypeople stay in Canada?
Yeah.
So like I said, I mean, Canadais a country of just over 40
million people and it's the secondbiggest country in the world.
(13:28):
So a lot of places arejust vast wilderness.
So it's really easy foroutdoorsy people to come here.
However, if you do want a littlebit of civilization, I would
recommend a few places in particular.
So the first place I wouldrecommend outdoorsy travelers is
of course the Rocky Mountains.
So these are located in BritishColumbia and Alberta in Western Canada.
(13:48):
And of course, almosteveryone has heard of Banff.
There are other, Nationalparks out there as well.
So you have like Jasper, you haveKootenay National Park, you have my
personal favorite, Yoho, which Iactually nominated Yoho National
Park for one of the best places totravel in 2025 on our annual list.
Other great places thoughfor outdoorsy travelers, I
(14:08):
would recommend the Maritimes.
Some of the best hikes I've done in theworld are actually in the Maritimes.
So for example, Newfoundland andPrince Edward Island, there's some
incredibly gorgeous hikes there.
Again, going west, I wouldhave to recommend Vancouver
Island for outdoorsy travelers.
This is a very similarplace to, like, Seattle.
(14:30):
It's very close, of course.
So, of course, it has much of thesame, topography and outdoorsy,
like, the giant trees, the ocean.
Whale watching that kind of thing onVancouver Island and then a more of a
hidden gem actually for outdoorsy people Iwould recommend eastern Manitoba as well.
So you have a Canadian shield, butthere's lots of vast wilderness So
(14:51):
one of my favorite provincial parksthat I love going to is called.
Nopaming Provincial Park.
And it is absolutely gorgeous.
There's just trees for miles,lakes, and yeah, if you want a place
that's a little bit more off thebeaten path, I would recommend that.
Amazing.
And you mentioned Yoho National Park,which, if you haven't checked out
our list of the best places to travelin 2025, Yoho National Park lands
(15:14):
the number four spot on that list.
We actually have an entire podcast thatwe released, New Year's Eve on that.
So make sure to check thatout after this episode.
Speaking of national parks, can youtell us a little bit more about some
of the best national parks in Canada?
I know there's so many gorgeousdestinations Throughout the country.
Absolutely.
So Canada has a lot of national parks.
(15:35):
Of course, a lot of them are a littlebit more north and hard to get to.
So I'll just kind of rambleoff some of the most accessible
and best ones in my opinion.
So one of the most famous ones, andit's also the first national park
in Canada, Of course is Banff.
This is a bucket listdestination for many travelers.
Banff is, like I said earlier, about anhour's drive from Calgary and you have
(15:56):
turquoise lakes, you have incrediblehikes, you have towering Rocky Mountains.
It's absolutely stunning.
Two of the best accommodations, I wouldsay, in Canada are located in Banff
National Park, which are the FairmontBath Springs, so that's the castle.
And then also Chateau Lake Louise.
Both of them, you can't go wrong.
They're absolutely gorgeous.
so the thing about BAMP, however, isthat because it's so popular, it's one
(16:18):
of Canada's most popular destinations.
It gets absolutely packed with people.
So even the last time I went, whichwas about this time last year in March,
Like, there was overflow parking just forChateau Lake Louise, and that's mostly,
it's people who are actually stayingthere, but everyone going to Lake Louise
and wanting to eat at the restaurant,like, it's just absolutely packed.
(16:39):
So, if you get a little bit over thepeople and want something more off
the beaten path, Yoho National Park islocated about an hour and a half away.
From Banff, and it's just asstunning, but you get like a
fraction of the crowds as well.
Yoho does struggle too witha little bit of overcrowding,
especially if you go in the summer.
I love hiking in these national parks,by the way, in the shoulder seasons.
(17:00):
I think that even if you go inMay, June, September, October, I've
been to both of these places inMarch, and they're not that cold.
These national parks really getshielded from a lot of the, like,
brutal winter cold by the mountains,so it's a little bit more temperate.
Also, in that area, there's KootenayNational Park, Jasper National Park.
Jasper National Park is oneof my favorite places as well.
(17:22):
So that That is the Rocky MountainsNational Parks that I would recommend.
If you go totally in the other direction,to eastern Canada, Prince Edward
Island National Park is stunning.
There's sand dunes, you havethe ocean right there, you have
red cliffs, incredible hikes,definitely recommend that one.
And it's an easy day trip as well fromCharlottetown if you go out that way.
(17:43):
I have to keep on plugging Manitoba,so Riding Mountain National Park
is about three hours from Winnipeg.
And, it's one of the best placesI would say in the prairies.
It's kind of like its own littleecosystem outside of vast prairie land.
So one of my favorite places, there'sactually a Nordic spa there, which you
have to go to tons of accommodation.
(18:03):
If you like boating and being good on thewater, I definitely recommend that too.
And then another one that's probablya little bit more underrated
and that people don't know aboutis Grasslands National Park.
So this one is in my home provinceof, well, what used to be my
home province of Saskatchewan.
And if you are looking forincredible stargazing, that's
probably one of the best thingsto do in Grasslands National Park.
(18:25):
There's also hoodoos,and really great camping.
Those are the national parks that I wouldrecommend off the top of my head here.
Where are some other notableplaces to visit in Canada?
Yeah, so if you want more of a uniquetrip, I would have to recommend
heading north to Yukon Territory,Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
I have to preface this by saying that I'venever been to any of these territories,
(18:47):
but they are a little bit more likeit's, it's northern Canada, right?
So very unique terrain there.
Actually, 1 of the places veryhigh on my list of places to go is
Dawson City in the Yukon territory.
It was the base during the 19thcentury Klondike gold rush and
the town has a bunch of really.
Preserved frontier style buildings.
So, yeah
(19:07):
That sounds amazing.
Thank you so much for that.
So are there any places yourecommend avoiding in Canada?
So I wouldn't say that there'sany area or city or anything
like that that is overwhelminglybad and that you shouldn't go.
However, I would recommend researchingthe neighborhoods in each place
you go, especially in the prairies.
Overall, the prairie cities do tend tobe hit with a little bit more crime.
(19:29):
And this is usually crime that's veryconcentrated as well to certain areas.
So just in your research, I wouldn'tlike put anywhere off of your list.
But definitely look up, just theneighborhoods to avoid in any place.
Sure, and we'll definitely touchmore on safety in a little bit.
I know we just talked a little bitabout this, but I want to ask you is
the best time of year to visit Canada?
(19:50):
So the best time to visit Canada summeris the obvious answer, but crowds and
popular places can be very intense and.
Absolutely gets more expensive.
Plus lately, actually, summer hasbeen bringing a lot of wildfires.
So depending on if there's wildfiresthat year, lately in the past
five years, there's been a lot ofthem and the air gets very smoky.
(20:10):
So that's usually likelate July, early August.
And it can get actuallyincredibly hot in the summer.
I know that when people thinkof Canada, it's usually, you
know, it's North, it's cold.
But it gets very hot herein Winnipeg, where I live.
For example, it goes like down tominus 30 degrees Celsius in the winter.
It can get up to plus 35 degreesCelsius in the summertime.
(20:32):
Of course, in the prairies, it'svery much of a good dry heat, but a
place like Toronto gets hit with alot of humidity in the summer, too.
So definitely have a placewith air conditioning.
Canada gets hotter than you think it does.
I so would also recommend.
However, of course, yes, summer.
All right.
Like I said, it gets very expensive sobecause that's when all the tourists go.
That's when even Canadians travel Soprices will skyrocket if you're looking
(20:55):
for somewhere a little bit more budgetfriendly I would recommend seeing the
leaves change color in like Ontario andQuebec This is late September and early
October if you're interested in skiingand snowboarding Visit during the winter.
There's, there's more places toski and snowboard, to outside
of the Rocky Mountains, so Iwould recommend specifically late
(21:15):
February, March, and even April.
Snow can last into the mountainsinto late spring, actually,
because of the elevation.
So, and in the winter, coastal placestend to be a little bit more temperate.
So, for example, Vancouver has a climateand Vancouver Island very similar to
Seattle, so you're not necessarily goingto get heaps of snow, but it's going to
(21:35):
be a little bit more temperate, a littlebit more of a rainy season, so very much.
It depends where you go in Canadafor when it's the best time to visit.
Absolutely, yeah.
So many different climates,different seasons.
You gotta figure out your goals, andthen you can figure out when to go.
Okay, so what's the bestway to navigate Canada?
Yeah, so if you're visiting abig city, you can 100 percent get
(21:59):
around by using public transit,Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, they
have great public transit systems.
Ubers and cabs are widely availablealso in all of the cities.
Another interestingoption too is via rail.
So this is a cross country train option.
It goes actually coast tocoast in Canada and it stops.
I'm just pulling it up hereon the VO rail website.
So it links more than 410stations in eight provinces.
(22:22):
And I know a lot of people love to do thesleeper train and just go coast to coast.
I've met people who havedone this multiple times.
It's a really cool thing to do.
And there's actually more trainroutes as well in eastern Canada,
such as between Toronto and Montreal.
So you can take the trainbetween those big cities.
Buses aren't as widely used, especiallybetween cities that are outside of
that, like, greater Toronto area.
(22:44):
They actually got rid ofGreyhound a few years ago.
So if you're visiting the prairieprovinces or Alberta or British
Columbia, even you can't necessarilyrely on buses to get around.
A lot of these cities, if you'regoing from city to city, you have to
either fly, which can cost quite abit of money, or you have to drive.
I would recommend for most ofthese places that it's easiest if
(23:04):
you're visiting multiple places inCanada, you generally need a car.
However, you can just stay in a bigcity and do guided tour day trips.
From that city as well.
So, for example, if you're staying inToronto, you can do a guided day tour to
a Niagara Falls, or you can actually eventake public transit to that place as well.
And like I mentioned,flights are a good option.
So, depending on where you'regoing, they can be relatively cheap.
(23:26):
If you're going from coast to coastin Canada, of course, this is going
to be a very expensive option.
Flight prices also very much dependon the type of year you visit Canada.
So, they can go as low as$150 Canadian round trip.
But that's generally the, the lowest.
So we don't quite have the samebudget options as they do in the USA.
(23:46):
Gotcha.
And, regarding renting a car, isit pretty easy to drive in Canada?
Yes.
So driving in Canada isvery similar to the USA.
Of course, each province hasa little bit different, rules
depending on where you are.
For example, some places will havelike a flashing red light if you
need to stop instead of a stop sign,which even gets me as a Canadian who
doesn't have that in, in Manitoba.
(24:08):
So you just need to look up some ofthose regional differences for driving.
But if you're comingfrom, Europe or the USA.
It's, it's very similar.
So
So you've already discusseda few awesome things to do in
Canada based on region, city.
What are some other majorthings to do in the country
that you haven't discussed yet?
yeah.
So like I mentioned the Via Railcross country sleeper train trip.
(24:29):
I think this is one of the best thingsto do in Canada and a great way to see
the whole country if that's on your list.
I also have to recommend seeingthe polar bears in Manitoba.
So Churchill is actually the polar bearcapital of the world and you can take a
train from Winnipeg or fly there as well.
In the summer, Churchill actuallyis also great for whale watching.
And so Wepusk Adventures is actuallyan Indigenous owned and operated tour
(24:52):
company located in Churchill, Manitoba.
So if you're going to go there,I recommend looking them up.
I also recommended somefestivals earlier as well.
So I talked about Oceaga.
I talked about Calgary Stampedeanother huge one, of course, is the
Toronto International Film Festival.
So I used to go here everyyear when I lived in Toronto.
I absolutely loved going tothe premieres of all the films.
(25:12):
And it's a whole event.
But if you're gonna go to TIFF, book youraccommodations in advance, because things
get crazy expensive, and they book up.
Very quickly.
Also, there's a ton of festivals inthe winter as well, such as Festival
de Voyageur here in Winnipeg.
So look up winterfestivals for coming then.
I also want to touch onindigenous experiences.
This is something that you definitelywant to prioritize on your trip to Canada.
(25:36):
So, Canada formed in 1867 underthe British Empire, but actually
indigenous peoples arrived hereat least 14, 000 years ago.
So, There's so much history here whenit comes to indigenous people that I
think that you should definitely justwhen you're looking up, say, you're
going to Alberta, like, indigenous tourproviders in Calgary, and you're going
(25:58):
to get some really cool things to do.
So speaking of Alberta, one of my.
favorite places to go for thisis called Writing on Stone
Provincial Park near Milk River.
It's right near the Montanaborder, kind of in the Alberta and
it's both a nature preserve andprotection for many First Nations.
So, the park actually featuresthousands of rock paintings and carvings,
(26:21):
a lot of which date to 1050 BCE.
And this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It's home to the largest collectionof rock art on the North American
Plains, and it's a sacredplace to the Blackfoot people.
So here you're going to find hoodoos, likeit's hoodoos for miles, just like rocks
jutting out of the landscape, campsites,hiking trails, also rattlesnakes.
(26:41):
So be careful, this is theAlberta Badlands, and we do have
rattlesnakes in that area of Canada.
They do not exist outside of it, butyou have to pay attention to that
when you're in Alberta for sure.
Sounds kind of like Arizona.
I didn't know that you guyshad landscapes like that.
Yeah, there's actually not too farfrom there, too, are sand dunes.
Like, we have full sand dunes withcacti growing out of them, so you have a
(27:03):
little bit of everything in Canada, for
That's awesome.
Okay, and another awesome thing to do thatI have to recommend is whale watching.
So, of course, this onlyreally applies to the coast.
But it's one of the bestthings to do in Canada.
And it's truly, I mean, youcan do this around the world,
but it's especially majestic.
So, I actually went and saw blue whales,which apparently are very unique.
They're not Often seen offthe coast of Newfoundland last
(27:26):
August and it was incredible.
Also another great thing todo in Newfoundland and St.
John's is to get screeched in.
So this is when you take ashot of rum, kiss a frozen cod
and eat a piece of bologna.
It's ridiculous and amazing.
And everyone who goes toNewfoundland has to do that.
And dinosaurs.
If you love dinosaurs, you haveto go to the Badlands in Alberta.
(27:47):
Drumheller is probably the mostpopular and well known of the
places to go for dinosaurs.
The Royal Tyrell Museum contains alarge collection of dinosaur fossils.
They also have the world's largestdinosaur, which is a giant model T Rex.
And you can actually climb tothe top with views from the jaw.
Kids love this.
I did this when I waslike 11 and loved it.
(28:08):
And then to the Southeast in Drumheller,there's the Atlas Coal Mine National
Historic Site, which explains a littlebit of, coal mining heritage in the area.
This place has great hikes.
There's dinosaurs.
There's like littletreks that you can take.
Not far from, Drumheller,is Dinosaur Provincial Park.
So this is a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site, and it's about
220 kilometers east of Calgary.
(28:31):
The park is one of the richestdinosaur fossil locations in the world.
So there have been, I'm justreading here, 58 dinosaur species
have been discovered at the park.
It's one of my favorite places.
The views are incredible.
There's literally dinosaur fossilsin the ground as you're walking again
in all these places, watch out forscorpions, watch out for rattlesnakes.
(28:52):
Cause I do have that.
So.
Yeah, those are my CHOP experiences.
Is there any Canadian etiquette thatvisitors should know before they go?
And, what about societal taboos?
Yeah.
So, I mean, I have to address theelephant in the room, and that is
that Canadians are very polite,and it's not just a stereotype.
We are very polite here.
So, generally, like, say if you'reout hiking, say hi when you pass.
(29:14):
In the prairies, and thiseven, like, takes people.
From urban Canada by surprise inSaskatchewan where I am from if you're
driving down the highway The personpassing you in the car will wave at
you and it's customary to do that Somore in the rural areas give a little
wave as you're going past someone onthe highway also The famous sorry.
(29:36):
We say sorry to everything.
Sorry doesn't actually mean sorry unless,like, it obviously does in a context.
It usually means excuse me.
They call it the Canadian standoff, butsay if you're both going to a door to open
at the same time, someone will often saysorry and, like, let you go ahead of them.
So it's usually like you havelittle polite standoffs and
it's, it's a real thing here.
(29:57):
Also don't be late.
There's, people are ingeneral are very punctual.
So try to show up on timeand then also tipping.
So tipping generally now in Canada,I think this is very similar in
the States now too, is a 15 to 20percent standard for service workers
at restaurants and coffee shops.
So yeah, I would just recommend justbe on your very best behavior and
(30:17):
you'll get along fine with Canadians.
very good to know.
I must say, my favorite passengersin the whole world are Canadians.
I love working flights to Canada.
People are so, so nice to me.
I, I swear, they're like, The, thesmoothest flights with the kindest people.
No one has any issues.
Everyone says sorry all thetime in A and I love it.
(30:38):
That, that makes me very proud to
Yes.
No, you guys really arejust the nicest people.
And very quickly, I know you touchedon this earlier, but how would
you characterize safety in Canada?
yeah.
So, I mean, overall Canada is very safeand even the most high crime places
in Canada generally still have a lowercrime rate than a lot of major US cities.
So, so even when you see those highercrime rates, yeah, like nothing
(31:00):
I've lived here my entire life.
been very safe as a solo female walkingaround by myself a lot of the time.
Very safe place.
And I actually live in one of themost dangerous places in Canada, and
I still feel very safe walking around.
It's mostly just knowing where to avoid.
So like I mentioned earlier, just doa quick neighborhood search on the
city before you go there, just tosee what, what areas to avoid what
(31:23):
people generally say about that.
So another big safety tip I wouldrecommend is prepare for the weather.
So, of course, it can get dangerouslycold here in the wintertime,
especially in northern Canada.
And in the prairie, so whereI live in Winnipeg, it can get
down to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
I'll put up the Fahrenheit on the screenfor those watching on YouTube, because
I don't know it off the top of my head.
(31:44):
But if you go out for five to 10minutes out in that weather, you
could get frostbite like it getsvery cold and it is quite dangerous.
So also, if you visit in thewintertime, make sure you know
how to drive on the snow and ice.
I see this a lot of people not knowinghow to handle a car, it's a little bit
different if you're driving on ice.
And if you're in the mountainsas well, you will need winter
(32:05):
tires and chains on your tires.
And no matter where you are in Canada,if you're here and it's more than minus
20 degrees Celsius, you may need to plugin your car, or it simply won't start in
the morning, or it'll leave you stranded.
So you'll need a boost.
So those are some tips there for safety.
Also, I mean, there's a lot of more runof the mill stuff, like, don't leave
your car unlocked, don't leave stuffin the backseat of your car open to
(32:27):
anyone maybe wanting to take it, don'twander around high crime areas, and then
also be wildlife smart if you're outhiking or doing any outdoorsy things.
Because there is quite a bitof wildlife, and wildlife
generally gets the right of way.
We want to coexist in a very peaceful way.
So, those would be my topsafety tips for Canada.
Yes.
Very good tips.
Pretty standard proactive measures to,to avoid getting into a bad situation.
(32:51):
Okay.
I think that about wrapsup our episode on Canada.
Is there anything else thatyou wanted to discuss Taylor?
You know, Canada is just a verybeautiful, incredibly diverse place.
Second largest country in theworld, like I said, so you should
definitely visit multiple times over.
It's not the same everywhere you go.
Toronto is not Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is not St. John's.
(33:12):
There is an undercurrent of Canadianismsthroughout the whole country and what
it means to be Canadian, but there area ton of regional differences, too.
So, come for yourself, see whatyou like, and, and yeah, we'd be
more than happy to have you here.
Well, that wraps up our episode today.
Listeners, make sure to check outTaylor's Canada Guides at TravelLemon.
(33:32):
com.
She's also written guides forplaces to visit in Mexico, Croatia,
and some other spots in Europe.
As well as some awesomeperspective pieces.
So of course we'll link all relevantarticles in the show notes for you
to check out after the episode.
Go to travellemon.
com, type in Canada in thesearch bar, and get reading.
We have over 1, 500guides for you to peruse.
(33:55):
Also, if you like this episode, make sureto like and subscribe to the podcast.
We have new episodescoming out all the time.
I want to let you know aboutour community meetups as well.
So if you live anywhere near Phoenix, SanFrancisco, Seattle, Denver, Nashville,
Chicago, San Juan, Puerto Rico, orVancouver, Come meet us in person.
(34:15):
We talk about all things travelwith like minded people over a pint.
So we'd love to meet you.
If there's anything that we didn'tcover today on Canada, and if you
have any questions, make sure todrop us a comment on this episode.
We will respond as quickly as we can.
We love to hear from our listeners,and we want to make sure that you get
all the information that you'd like.
I want to shout out our sponsorsat Tortuga Backpacks one last time.
(34:37):
Thank you guys so much for sponsoringthis episode of the podcast.
Thank you, Taylor, forbeing our Canadian expert.
You are a wealth of information, andit's been so lovely getting to, hear
all about Canada from you today.
Yes.
Thank you so much for having me on.
This was wonderful.
And thank you to our listeners forbeing here and listening to this
episode of the Travel Luming podcast.
(34:58):
We will see you on the next episode.
We're talking about all things Canadatoday on the Travel Lemming Podcast.
Here's a 30 second teaser of this episode.
more than 60 percent of Canadians livesouth of Seattle, which is actually
pretty mind boggling to think about.
if you are on a budget, some places can bea lot harder to visit such as Vancouver.
It is a very expensive city.
So the thing about BAMP, however, isthat because it's so popular, it's one
(00:22):
of Canada's most popular destinations.
It gets absolutely packed with people.
If you love dinosaurs, you haveto go to the Badlands in Alberta.
Drumheller is probably the mostpopular and well known of the
places to go for dinosaurs.
If you haven't visited our friendlyneighbors to the north, this episode
will surely inspire you to get packing.
Have And this episode is sponsored byTortuga Backpacks, which we will tell
(00:46):
you a little bit more about later.
So if you're an American,Canada is one of the easiest
international destinations to visit.
It borders 13 of our United States, so ifyou live in the northern part of the U.
S., there's probably a major Canadian citywithin a two hour flight from your home.
It's a beautiful country.
The people are sweet as can be.
But I'm going to let our Canadaexpert be the one to really convince
(01:06):
you why you should go to Canada.
So without further ado, welcometo the show, our born and raised
Canadian Taylor Herberger.
Hi, Betty.
So happy to be here.
yeah, so I am a born and raised Canadian.
I live in Winnipeg,Manitoba at the moment.
Yeah, and I've been with TravelMing,gosh, for almost six years.
I'm the director of marketing andI'm also the podcast producer.
So I'm the lucky person whogets to edit this afterwards.
(01:30):
Yes, for our regular listeners,you would never know it, but Taylor
is a part of every single episode.
She and her editing team put in hoursof work for the podcast and make it
the seamless show that it is today.
So I want to tell you, Taylor, fromthe bottom of my heart, And Nate and
all of our listeners, I'm sure, howgrateful I am for all the work you do to
make the Travel Lemming podcast exist.
(01:51):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So now let's get into Canada.
So Taylor, I know you're a Canadian,but what makes you an expert on Canada?
Yeah, so like you said, I ama born and raised Canadian.
I was born in Saskatchewan,which is a prairie province,
just a little bit west of centre.
So I grew up there.
After high school, I moved to Ontarioand I lived in Toronto for about seven
(02:15):
years, so I got to know Ontario very well.
After that, I long term travelledin there quite a bit too, so I'm
skipping ahead on the timeline.
But I moved out to Alberta and Ispent a year living in Alberta and
after that, I moved to Winnipeg.
So I've now lived in four provinces.
I've also traveled coastto coast in Canada.
So I have technically beento all 10 lower provinces.
(02:37):
So in Canada, there are 10provinces and three territories.
I haven't had any meaningful experiencesin New Brunswick yet, so I can't totally
say that I've been to New Brunswick.
I have driven through it, but Idon't think a gas station counts.
So, but I have had meaningful.
Experiences and I've traveledcoast to coast from the Southern 10
provinces, so I know Canada very well.
I've spent most of my lifehere when I'm not traveling.
(02:59):
Amazing.
Well, I think you've provenyourself as an expert here.
So speaking of like the provincesand whatnot, can you start by kind
of painting a picture for listeners?
How Canada is laid out.
Absolutely.
So Canada is actually the secondlargest country in the world and I
am going to pull up a number here.
It has a land mass of 9.
(03:20):
985 million kilometers squared, which isjust a little bit larger than the USA.
It has the longest coastlineof anywhere in the world.
Canada's coastline borders the PacificOcean in the West, the Arctic in the
North, and the Atlantic in the East.
Like I said, it has 10 provincesand 3 territories, and each of these
places has its own distinct culture.
(03:40):
So I would say that there are alot of Canadianisms that, really
bind Canada together as a country.
Each of the regions, is very distinct.
So they always say it's likeit's a mosaic, not a melting pot.
And so the center in the north,people do live in these regions,
but they are vastly underpopulated.
(04:02):
So most of the Canadiansactually, I'm going to put a stat
here, so according to BigThing.
com, actually, 90 percent of Canadianslive within 100 miles of the U. S. border.
more than 70 percent of Canadians livebelow the 49th parallel, and actually
more than 60 percent of Canadians livesouth of Seattle, which is actually
pretty mind boggling to think about.
(04:24):
But, very cool.
If you pull up a map, the GTA in Torontois the most densely populated part of
Canada, and that's where a lot of, Andthat is actually below the 49th parallel.
So
Seattle stat is so wild to me.
I can't even, I need to look at a map,but it just doesn't make any sense to me.
But
I know,
so what are the best citiesin Canada, in your opinion?
(04:46):
That's a big question.
course.
I know, I know it's huge,but if you can break it down
so I'm going to start with, thisis very controversial, but I have
to mention Toronto because itis Canada's largest metropolis.
It's incredibly diverse.
It's the financial hub andit has a ton of culture.
So, a lot of Canadians wouldprobably bristle at me mentioning
(05:06):
Toronto first because, it is.
With the rest of Canada, it's not alwaysindicative of the culture of the rest
of Canada, but I do have to mentionit because it's an incredible city.
I mean, I, like I said, Ilived there for seven years.
It's very near and dear to my heart.
Yeah, and there's just endlessamounts of things to do there.
I also want to mention Montreal.
(05:26):
So this is located in Quebec.
They do speak French.
There is a first language, but youwill be able to get by with English
when you're in Montreal proper.
Thank you If you venture out ofMontreal, many people only speak French,
but Montreal is such a cultural hub.
There's always like art museumsand it's one of the best places
for gastronomy in Canada.
(05:46):
There's festivals.
Oceaga is one of the best festivals thatI've personally been to in Montreal.
And they do winter very well there too.
There's a ton of winterfestivals, so that's very cool.
I just wanted to, ask you what Oshiaga is.
Yeah, of course.
Oceaga is actually a music and artsfestival in Montreal that happens
every summer in Parc Jean Drapeau,and it brings in a ton of people.
(06:08):
It's so much fun.
They get a lot of reallybig and popular performers.
So definitely recommend thatif you're going to Montreal.
very cool.
So what are your other favorite cities?
I also have to mention Vancouver.
That's also one that people knowof when they think of Canada.
Vancouver is located in British Columbiaand it's right on, it's not on the coast.
So you have Vancouver, which is onthe ocean, and then there is Vancouver
(06:32):
Island, which is right beside it.
But Vancouver is right on that coast.
I would characterize Vancouver asit's very hippie dippy, especially
as you get, a little bit moreinto the Specific neighborhoods.
It's known as being very, eclecticand easygoing and laid back, even
though it is a really big city.
It's very cool.
(06:53):
Then I'm also going to mention Calgary,
most people go to Calgarywhen they want to go to Banff.
So it's, the closest airport and majorhub to Banff, and it's about an hour away.
So, but they also havethe Calgary Stampede.
So that's another reallyBig reason to go there.
There's a lot of great restaurants,galleries, art, that kind of stuff
too, but very, it's more Western.
(07:13):
So when you think of Calgary, I liketo kind of liken it to the Texas of
Canada, where you have a lot of, cowboyculture, for lack of a better word.
I also want to mention Charlottetown.
So Charlottetown and Prince EdwardIsland as a whole is one of my
favorite places in all of Canada.
It's a very small city, but it has aton of charm, a ton of coastal charm.
(07:34):
The people there are just fantastic.
So nice.
being greeted with some of, like,Canadians in general are very polite,
but I would say the most polite inCharlottetown and Prince Edward Island.
I personally live in Winnipeg, so Ihave to give a shout out to Winnipeg.
It gets a bad rap for being oneof the coldest places, like, in
the world, but, which is definitelytrue in the wintertime, but we have
(07:55):
an incredible restaurant scene,actually, a lot of restaurants that
are, end up going elsewhere in Canadaare usually tested on the people of
Winnipeg because we do go out so much.
And yeah, it's a prairie city, so youhave a laid back attitude, but then it's
also a city of almost a million people,so it's a little bit more urban as well.
And for listeners, I know that Taylorjust mentioned so many awesome cities.
(08:17):
If you want to learn more about them,Taylor has guides to all of these,
like the best cities in Canada, whichyou can check out at travellemming.
com we'll give you some more informationon that at the end of the show, but all
of these will be linked in the show notes.
So if you want to do more of a deepdive into these places, definitely check
out Taylor's articles on the website.
And now a quick message from oursponsors over at Tortuga backpacks.
(09:26):
So I know it's a hard questionbecause Canada is so massive But how
would you recommend someone startsplanning their trip to Canada?
So I recommend picking a large city,renting a car and going from there.
So whether you want to go to Toronto,Montreal, Ottawa, or Charlottetown
in Prince Edward Island, Vancouver.
Renting a car and then going from there.
So I would recommend picking a citybased on the types of things you
(09:49):
like to do and the vibe you want andthen exploring around that place.
Where should budgettravelers stay in Canada?
Yeah, so as of recording this in March2025, Canada's dollar is actually about
30 percent less than the USA's andabout 35 percent less than the euro.
So right now, if you're from eitherof those places is a great time
(10:10):
to visit Canada because you areessentially getting it on sale.
That's it.
If you're on a budget, you canfind great budget hotels in most
places, especially if you visitduring the spring, fall or winter.
So I would characterize high season,of course, in Canada being the summer.
Everyone generally wants tocome here when it's warm.
So if you do visit in one ofthe shoulder or off seasons,
(10:31):
you will get a discount as well.
However, if you are on a budget,some places can be a lot harder
to visit such as Vancouver.
It is a very expensive city.
For example, a couple years ago, Iwent there in the summertime and even
a budget holiday and hotel near theairport was like almost 500 a night.
So it's harder to visit those places ifyou're not visiting in the off season.
(10:55):
So pick the time of year wisely.
However, I am impartial to the prairiesas great budget friendly destination
born and raised, like I said, inSaskatchewan and living in Manitoba.
Now, although some people mightdisagree with me, Prince Edward
Island, the maritimes in generalare also better for budget.
But generally, if you areon a major budget, stay away
from the large metropolises.
(11:16):
Something else I will say on budgetis when you think of budget or you're
a budget backpacker, you think aboutstaying in hostels, and Canada just
doesn't have that many hostels.
You'll find them definitely in likeToronto, I think I've heard of them
in Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, butwhere I live in Winnipeg, it's a
city of almost a million people, andthere are no hostels to be found.
So you really have to think about thatwhen you're trying to find accommodations.
(11:40):
And you mentioned the prairies.
I know it's kind of self explanatory,but can you tell us a little bit
about what exactly the prairies are?
Yeah, for sure.
So you have the West and then you haveso British Columbia, you have the Rocky
Mountains and the Rockies and in Alberta.
So beyond.
The Rockies in Alberta iswhen the prairie start.
So the three prairie provinces inCanada are generally characterized as
(12:02):
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
So there's a lot of agriculture in theseprovinces, a lot of rolling prairie land.
generally flat, so to speak, and actuallySaskatchewan, one of the funny things
people say is that you can watch yourdog running away for days on end because
of how flat it is in Saskatchewan.
(12:23):
But big agriculture places.
So those are the three prairie provinces.
so it's kind of likethe Midwest in the U. S.
Exactly.
Yes.
Yep, and those are the provinces,like, for, American, listeners,
viewers, those are the provinces,like, above North Dakota, Minnesota,
Montana, that kind of thing.
Well, not, not the mountainsin Montana, but yes.
(12:43):
And when you're talking about justlike how it's kind of like a 30 percent
discount compared to Americans, like I'ma flight attendant and so many times I get
sent to Vancouver or Calgary or Toronto.
And it's so nice because I feellike I'm like a King there.
Cause I can go out and, and youknow, I don't have to pay an arm
and a leg to go get dinner there.
So yeah, if you're an Americanlistener, it's really, it's nice.
(13:06):
Even if you're looking for budget optionsin Canada, like you're going to get.
A very affordable trip, compared tothe prices that you're going to be
getting in most large American cities.
Totally.
I completely agree.
Where should outdoorsypeople stay in Canada?
Yeah.
So like I said, I mean, Canadais a country of just over 40
million people and it's the secondbiggest country in the world.
(13:28):
So a lot of places arejust vast wilderness.
So it's really easy foroutdoorsy people to come here.
However, if you do want a littlebit of civilization, I would
recommend a few places in particular.
So the first place I wouldrecommend outdoorsy travelers is
of course the Rocky Mountains.
So these are located in BritishColumbia and Alberta in Western Canada.
(13:48):
And of course, almosteveryone has heard of Banff.
There are other, Nationalparks out there as well.
So you have like Jasper, you haveKootenay National Park, you have my
personal favorite, Yoho, which Iactually nominated Yoho National
Park for one of the best places totravel in 2025 on our annual list.
Other great places thoughfor outdoorsy travelers, I
(14:08):
would recommend the Maritimes.
Some of the best hikes I've done in theworld are actually in the Maritimes.
So for example, Newfoundland andPrince Edward Island, there's some
incredibly gorgeous hikes there.
Again, going west, I wouldhave to recommend Vancouver
Island for outdoorsy travelers.
This is a very similarplace to, like, Seattle.
(14:30):
It's very close, of course.
So, of course, it has much of thesame, topography and outdoorsy,
like, the giant trees, the ocean.
Whale watching that kind of thing onVancouver Island and then a more of a
hidden gem actually for outdoorsy people Iwould recommend eastern Manitoba as well.
So you have a Canadian shield, butthere's lots of vast wilderness So
(14:51):
one of my favorite provincial parksthat I love going to is called.
Nopaming Provincial Park.
And it is absolutely gorgeous.
There's just trees for miles,lakes, and yeah, if you want a place
that's a little bit more off thebeaten path, I would recommend that.
Amazing.
And you mentioned Yoho National Park,which, if you haven't checked out
our list of the best places to travelin 2025, Yoho National Park lands
(15:14):
the number four spot on that list.
We actually have an entire podcast thatwe released, New Year's Eve on that.
So make sure to check thatout after this episode.
Speaking of national parks, can youtell us a little bit more about some
of the best national parks in Canada?
I know there's so many gorgeousdestinations Throughout the country.
Absolutely.
So Canada has a lot of national parks.
(15:35):
Of course, a lot of them are a littlebit more north and hard to get to.
So I'll just kind of rambleoff some of the most accessible
and best ones in my opinion.
So one of the most famous ones, andit's also the first national park
in Canada, Of course is Banff.
This is a bucket listdestination for many travelers.
Banff is, like I said earlier, about anhour's drive from Calgary and you have
(15:56):
turquoise lakes, you have incrediblehikes, you have towering Rocky Mountains.
It's absolutely stunning.
Two of the best accommodations, I wouldsay, in Canada are located in Banff
National Park, which are the FairmontBath Springs, so that's the castle.
And then also Chateau Lake Louise.
Both of them, you can't go wrong.
They're absolutely gorgeous.
so the thing about BAMP, however, isthat because it's so popular, it's one
(16:18):
of Canada's most popular destinations.
It gets absolutely packed with people.
So even the last time I went, whichwas about this time last year in March,
Like, there was overflow parking just forChateau Lake Louise, and that's mostly,
it's people who are actually stayingthere, but everyone going to Lake Louise
and wanting to eat at the restaurant,like, it's just absolutely packed.
(16:39):
So, if you get a little bit over thepeople and want something more off
the beaten path, Yoho National Park islocated about an hour and a half away.
From Banff, and it's just asstunning, but you get like a
fraction of the crowds as well.
Yoho does struggle too witha little bit of overcrowding,
especially if you go in the summer.
I love hiking in these national parks,by the way, in the shoulder seasons.
(17:00):
I think that even if you go inMay, June, September, October, I've
been to both of these places inMarch, and they're not that cold.
These national parks really getshielded from a lot of the, like,
brutal winter cold by the mountains,so it's a little bit more temperate.
Also, in that area, there's KootenayNational Park, Jasper National Park.
Jasper National Park is oneof my favorite places as well.
(17:22):
So that That is the Rocky MountainsNational Parks that I would recommend.
If you go totally in the other direction,to eastern Canada, Prince Edward
Island National Park is stunning.
There's sand dunes, you havethe ocean right there, you have
red cliffs, incredible hikes,definitely recommend that one.
And it's an easy day trip as well fromCharlottetown if you go out that way.
(17:43):
I have to keep on plugging Manitoba,so Riding Mountain National Park
is about three hours from Winnipeg.
And, it's one of the best placesI would say in the prairies.
It's kind of like its own littleecosystem outside of vast prairie land.
So one of my favorite places, there'sactually a Nordic spa there, which you
have to go to tons of accommodation.
(18:03):
If you like boating and being good on thewater, I definitely recommend that too.
And then another one that's probablya little bit more underrated
and that people don't know aboutis Grasslands National Park.
So this one is in my home provinceof, well, what used to be my
home province of Saskatchewan.
And if you are looking forincredible stargazing, that's
probably one of the best thingsto do in Grasslands National Park.
(18:25):
There's also hoodoos,and really great camping.
Those are the national parks that I wouldrecommend off the top of my head here.
Where are some other notableplaces to visit in Canada?
Yeah, so if you want more of a uniquetrip, I would have to recommend
heading north to Yukon Territory,Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
I have to preface this by saying that I'venever been to any of these territories,
(18:47):
but they are a little bit more likeit's, it's northern Canada, right?
So very unique terrain there.
Actually, 1 of the places veryhigh on my list of places to go is
Dawson City in the Yukon territory.
It was the base during the 19thcentury Klondike gold rush and
the town has a bunch of really.
Preserved frontier style buildings.
So, yeah
(19:07):
That sounds amazing.
Thank you so much for that.
So are there any places yourecommend avoiding in Canada?
So I wouldn't say that there'sany area or city or anything
like that that is overwhelminglybad and that you shouldn't go.
However, I would recommend researchingthe neighborhoods in each place
you go, especially in the prairies.
Overall, the prairie cities do tend tobe hit with a little bit more crime.
(19:29):
And this is usually crime that's veryconcentrated as well to certain areas.
So just in your research, I wouldn'tlike put anywhere off of your list.
But definitely look up, just theneighborhoods to avoid in any place.
Sure, and we'll definitely touchmore on safety in a little bit.
I know we just talked a little bitabout this, but I want to ask you is
the best time of year to visit Canada?
(19:50):
So the best time to visit Canada summeris the obvious answer, but crowds and
popular places can be very intense and.
Absolutely gets more expensive.
Plus lately, actually, summer hasbeen bringing a lot of wildfires.
So depending on if there's wildfiresthat year, lately in the past
five years, there's been a lot ofthem and the air gets very smoky.
(20:10):
So that's usually likelate July, early August.
And it can get actuallyincredibly hot in the summer.
I know that when people thinkof Canada, it's usually, you
know, it's North, it's cold.
But it gets very hot herein Winnipeg, where I live.
For example, it goes like down tominus 30 degrees Celsius in the winter.
It can get up to plus 35 degreesCelsius in the summertime.
(20:32):
Of course, in the prairies, it'svery much of a good dry heat, but a
place like Toronto gets hit with alot of humidity in the summer, too.
So definitely have a placewith air conditioning.
Canada gets hotter than you think it does.
I so would also recommend.
However, of course, yes, summer.
All right.
Like I said, it gets very expensive sobecause that's when all the tourists go.
That's when even Canadians travel Soprices will skyrocket if you're looking
(20:55):
for somewhere a little bit more budgetfriendly I would recommend seeing the
leaves change color in like Ontario andQuebec This is late September and early
October if you're interested in skiingand snowboarding Visit during the winter.
There's, there's more places toski and snowboard, to outside
of the Rocky Mountains, so Iwould recommend specifically late
(21:15):
February, March, and even April.
Snow can last into the mountainsinto late spring, actually,
because of the elevation.
So, and in the winter, coastal placestend to be a little bit more temperate.
So, for example, Vancouver has a climateand Vancouver Island very similar to
Seattle, so you're not necessarily goingto get heaps of snow, but it's going to
(21:35):
be a little bit more temperate, a littlebit more of a rainy season, so very much.
It depends where you go in Canadafor when it's the best time to visit.
Absolutely, yeah.
So many different climates,different seasons.
You gotta figure out your goals, andthen you can figure out when to go.
Okay, so what's the bestway to navigate Canada?
Yeah, so if you're visiting abig city, you can 100 percent get
(21:59):
around by using public transit,Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, they
have great public transit systems.
Ubers and cabs are widely availablealso in all of the cities.
Another interestingoption too is via rail.
So this is a cross country train option.
It goes actually coast tocoast in Canada and it stops.
I'm just pulling it up hereon the VO rail website.
So it links more than 410stations in eight provinces.
(22:22):
And I know a lot of people love to do thesleeper train and just go coast to coast.
I've met people who havedone this multiple times.
It's a really cool thing to do.
And there's actually more trainroutes as well in eastern Canada,
such as between Toronto and Montreal.
So you can take the trainbetween those big cities.
Buses aren't as widely used, especiallybetween cities that are outside of
that, like, greater Toronto area.
(22:44):
They actually got rid ofGreyhound a few years ago.
So if you're visiting the prairieprovinces or Alberta or British
Columbia, even you can't necessarilyrely on buses to get around.
A lot of these cities, if you'regoing from city to city, you have to
either fly, which can cost quite abit of money, or you have to drive.
I would recommend for most ofthese places that it's easiest if
(23:04):
you're visiting multiple places inCanada, you generally need a car.
However, you can just stay in a bigcity and do guided tour day trips.
From that city as well.
So, for example, if you're staying inToronto, you can do a guided day tour to
a Niagara Falls, or you can actually eventake public transit to that place as well.
And like I mentioned,flights are a good option.
So, depending on where you'regoing, they can be relatively cheap.
(23:26):
If you're going from coast to coastin Canada, of course, this is going
to be a very expensive option.
Flight prices also very much dependon the type of year you visit Canada.
So, they can go as low as$150 Canadian round trip.
But that's generally the, the lowest.
So we don't quite have the samebudget options as they do in the USA.
(23:46):
Gotcha.
And, regarding renting a car, isit pretty easy to drive in Canada?
Yes.
So driving in Canada isvery similar to the USA.
Of course, each province hasa little bit different, rules
depending on where you are.
For example, some places will havelike a flashing red light if you
need to stop instead of a stop sign,which even gets me as a Canadian who
doesn't have that in, in Manitoba.
(24:08):
So you just need to look up some ofthose regional differences for driving.
But if you're comingfrom, Europe or the USA.
It's, it's very similar.
So
So you've already discusseda few awesome things to do in
Canada based on region, city.
What are some other majorthings to do in the country
that you haven't discussed yet?
yeah.
So like I mentioned the Via Railcross country sleeper train trip.
(24:29):
I think this is one of the best thingsto do in Canada and a great way to see
the whole country if that's on your list.
I also have to recommend seeingthe polar bears in Manitoba.
So Churchill is actually the polar bearcapital of the world and you can take a
train from Winnipeg or fly there as well.
In the summer, Churchill actuallyis also great for whale watching.
And so Wepusk Adventures is actuallyan Indigenous owned and operated tour
(24:52):
company located in Churchill, Manitoba.
So if you're going to go there,I recommend looking them up.
I also recommended somefestivals earlier as well.
So I talked about Oceaga.
I talked about Calgary Stampedeanother huge one, of course, is the
Toronto International Film Festival.
So I used to go here everyyear when I lived in Toronto.
I absolutely loved going tothe premieres of all the films.
(25:12):
And it's a whole event.
But if you're gonna go to TIFF, book youraccommodations in advance, because things
get crazy expensive, and they book up.
Very quickly.
Also, there's a ton of festivals inthe winter as well, such as Festival
de Voyageur here in Winnipeg.
So look up winterfestivals for coming then.
I also want to touch onindigenous experiences.
This is something that you definitelywant to prioritize on your trip to Canada.
(25:36):
So, Canada formed in 1867 underthe British Empire, but actually
indigenous peoples arrived hereat least 14, 000 years ago.
So, There's so much history here whenit comes to indigenous people that I
think that you should definitely justwhen you're looking up, say, you're
going to Alberta, like, indigenous tourproviders in Calgary, and you're going
(25:58):
to get some really cool things to do.
So speaking of Alberta, one of my.
favorite places to go for thisis called Writing on Stone
Provincial Park near Milk River.
It's right near the Montanaborder, kind of in the Alberta and
it's both a nature preserve andprotection for many First Nations.
So, the park actually featuresthousands of rock paintings and carvings,
(26:21):
a lot of which date to 1050 BCE.
And this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It's home to the largest collectionof rock art on the North American
Plains, and it's a sacredplace to the Blackfoot people.
So here you're going to find hoodoos, likeit's hoodoos for miles, just like rocks
jutting out of the landscape, campsites,hiking trails, also rattlesnakes.
(26:41):
So be careful, this is theAlberta Badlands, and we do have
rattlesnakes in that area of Canada.
They do not exist outside of it, butyou have to pay attention to that
when you're in Alberta for sure.
Sounds kind of like Arizona.
I didn't know that you guyshad landscapes like that.
Yeah, there's actually not too farfrom there, too, are sand dunes.
Like, we have full sand dunes withcacti growing out of them, so you have a
(27:03):
little bit of everything in Canada, for
That's awesome.
Okay, and another awesome thing to do thatI have to recommend is whale watching.
So, of course, this onlyreally applies to the coast.
But it's one of the bestthings to do in Canada.
And it's truly, I mean, youcan do this around the world,
but it's especially majestic.
So, I actually went and saw blue whales,which apparently are very unique.
They're not Often seen offthe coast of Newfoundland last
(27:26):
August and it was incredible.
Also another great thing todo in Newfoundland and St.
John's is to get screeched in.
So this is when you take ashot of rum, kiss a frozen cod
and eat a piece of bologna.
It's ridiculous and amazing.
And everyone who goes toNewfoundland has to do that.
And dinosaurs.
If you love dinosaurs, you haveto go to the Badlands in Alberta.
(27:47):
Drumheller is probably the mostpopular and well known of the
places to go for dinosaurs.
The Royal Tyrell Museum contains alarge collection of dinosaur fossils.
They also have the world's largestdinosaur, which is a giant model T Rex.
And you can actually climb tothe top with views from the jaw.
Kids love this.
I did this when I waslike 11 and loved it.
(28:08):
And then to the Southeast in Drumheller,there's the Atlas Coal Mine National
Historic Site, which explains a littlebit of, coal mining heritage in the area.
This place has great hikes.
There's dinosaurs.
There's like littletreks that you can take.
Not far from, Drumheller,is Dinosaur Provincial Park.
So this is a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site, and it's about
220 kilometers east of Calgary.
(28:31):
The park is one of the richestdinosaur fossil locations in the world.
So there have been, I'm justreading here, 58 dinosaur species
have been discovered at the park.
It's one of my favorite places.
The views are incredible.
There's literally dinosaur fossilsin the ground as you're walking again
in all these places, watch out forscorpions, watch out for rattlesnakes.
(28:52):
Cause I do have that.
So.
Yeah, those are my CHOP experiences.
Is there any Canadian etiquette thatvisitors should know before they go?
And, what about societal taboos?
Yeah.
So, I mean, I have to address theelephant in the room, and that is
that Canadians are very polite,and it's not just a stereotype.
We are very polite here.
So, generally, like, say if you'reout hiking, say hi when you pass.
(29:14):
In the prairies, and thiseven, like, takes people.
From urban Canada by surprise inSaskatchewan where I am from if you're
driving down the highway The personpassing you in the car will wave at
you and it's customary to do that Somore in the rural areas give a little
wave as you're going past someone onthe highway also The famous sorry.
(29:36):
We say sorry to everything.
Sorry doesn't actually mean sorry unless,like, it obviously does in a context.
It usually means excuse me.
They call it the Canadian standoff, butsay if you're both going to a door to open
at the same time, someone will often saysorry and, like, let you go ahead of them.
So it's usually like you havelittle polite standoffs and
it's, it's a real thing here.
(29:57):
Also don't be late.
There's, people are ingeneral are very punctual.
So try to show up on timeand then also tipping.
So tipping generally now in Canada,I think this is very similar in
the States now too, is a 15 to 20percent standard for service workers
at restaurants and coffee shops.
So yeah, I would just recommend justbe on your very best behavior and
(30:17):
you'll get along fine with Canadians.
very good to know.
I must say, my favorite passengersin the whole world are Canadians.
I love working flights to Canada.
People are so, so nice to me.
I, I swear, they're like, The, thesmoothest flights with the kindest people.
No one has any issues.
Everyone says sorry all thetime in A and I love it.
(30:38):
That, that makes me very proud to
Yes.
No, you guys really arejust the nicest people.
And very quickly, I know you touchedon this earlier, but how would
you characterize safety in Canada?
yeah.
So, I mean, overall Canada is very safeand even the most high crime places
in Canada generally still have a lowercrime rate than a lot of major US cities.
So, so even when you see those highercrime rates, yeah, like nothing
(31:00):
I've lived here my entire life.
been very safe as a solo female walkingaround by myself a lot of the time.
Very safe place.
And I actually live in one of themost dangerous places in Canada, and
I still feel very safe walking around.
It's mostly just knowing where to avoid.
So like I mentioned earlier, just doa quick neighborhood search on the
city before you go there, just tosee what, what areas to avoid what
(31:23):
people generally say about that.
So another big safety tip I wouldrecommend is prepare for the weather.
So, of course, it can get dangerouslycold here in the wintertime,
especially in northern Canada.
And in the prairie, so whereI live in Winnipeg, it can get
down to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
I'll put up the Fahrenheit on the screenfor those watching on YouTube, because
I don't know it off the top of my head.
(31:44):
But if you go out for five to 10minutes out in that weather, you
could get frostbite like it getsvery cold and it is quite dangerous.
So also, if you visit in thewintertime, make sure you know
how to drive on the snow and ice.
I see this a lot of people not knowinghow to handle a car, it's a little bit
different if you're driving on ice.
And if you're in the mountainsas well, you will need winter
(32:05):
tires and chains on your tires.
And no matter where you are in Canada,if you're here and it's more than minus
20 degrees Celsius, you may need to plugin your car, or it simply won't start in
the morning, or it'll leave you stranded.
So you'll need a boost.
So those are some tips there for safety.
Also, I mean, there's a lot of more runof the mill stuff, like, don't leave
your car unlocked, don't leave stuffin the backseat of your car open to
(32:27):
anyone maybe wanting to take it, don'twander around high crime areas, and then
also be wildlife smart if you're outhiking or doing any outdoorsy things.
Because there is quite a bitof wildlife, and wildlife
generally gets the right of way.
We want to coexist in a very peaceful way.
So, those would be my topsafety tips for Canada.
Yes.
Very good tips.
Pretty standard proactive measures to,to avoid getting into a bad situation.
(32:51):
Okay.
I think that about wrapsup our episode on Canada.
Is there anything else thatyou wanted to discuss Taylor?
You know, Canada is just a verybeautiful, incredibly diverse place.
Second largest country in theworld, like I said, so you should
definitely visit multiple times over.
It's not the same everywhere you go.
Toronto is not Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is not St. John's.
(33:12):
There is an undercurrent of Canadianismsthroughout the whole country and what
it means to be Canadian, but there area ton of regional differences, too.
So, come for yourself, see whatyou like, and, and yeah, we'd be
more than happy to have you here.
Well, that wraps up our episode today.
Listeners, make sure to check outTaylor's Canada Guides at TravelLemon.
(33:32):
com.
She's also written guides forplaces to visit in Mexico, Croatia,
and some other spots in Europe.
As well as some awesomeperspective pieces.
So of course we'll link all relevantarticles in the show notes for you
to check out after the episode.
Go to travellemon.
com, type in Canada in thesearch bar, and get reading.
We have over 1, 500guides for you to peruse.
(33:55):
Also, if you like this episode, make sureto like and subscribe to the podcast.
We have new episodescoming out all the time.
I want to let you know aboutour community meetups as well.
So if you live anywhere near Phoenix, SanFrancisco, Seattle, Denver, Nashville,
Chicago, San Juan, Puerto Rico, orVancouver, Come meet us in person.
(34:15):
We talk about all things travelwith like minded people over a pint.
So we'd love to meet you.
If there's anything that we didn'tcover today on Canada, and if you
have any questions, make sure todrop us a comment on this episode.
We will respond as quickly as we can.
We love to hear from our listeners,and we want to make sure that you get
all the information that you'd like.
I want to shout out our sponsorsat Tortuga Backpacks one last time.
(34:37):
Thank you guys so much for sponsoringthis episode of the podcast.
Thank you, Taylor, forbeing our Canadian expert.
You are a wealth of information, andit's been so lovely getting to, hear
all about Canada from you today.
Yes.
Thank you so much for having me on.
This was wonderful.
And thank you to our listeners forbeing here and listening to this
episode of the Travel Luming podcast.
(34:58):
We will see you on the next episode.
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