Practical Travel Tips for Visiting Canada

The bigger Canadian travel sites bury practical information at the bottom of long pages. We try to put it on top. Here's what we'd want a friend to know before flying in for the first time.

Entry Requirements

Citizens of the United States can enter Canada with a valid U.S. passport or a NEXUS card. They do not need an electronic travel authorization (eTA). Land-border crossings from the U.S. accept enhanced driver's licences from a few border states; air travel always requires a passport.

Citizens of most visa-exempt countries (UK, EU member states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and many others) need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to fly into Canada. The eTA application is online, costs CAD $7, and is normally approved within minutes. Apply at the official Government of Canada website — it's the only authorized portal. There are dozens of unofficial sites that charge much more for the same service.

Citizens of countries that require a visitor visa (the list is long — check the Canada IRCC website) need to apply at a visa application centre in their country. Processing times vary widely; allow at least 4 to 12 weeks.

Money & Tipping

The Canadian dollar (CAD, sometimes shown as C$) trades at a discount to the U.S. dollar — typically somewhere between 1.30 and 1.40 CAD to the USD. Sales tax is added at the till, not included in the listed price, and varies by province (5 percent in Alberta and the Territories, up to 15 percent in the Atlantic provinces). What you see on the menu is not what you pay.

Tipping is expected and broadly North American. Sit-down restaurants: 15 to 20 percent of the pre-tax total (the card reader will often suggest tip levels — it's fine to enter a custom percentage). Bartenders: a dollar or two per drink. Hotel housekeeping: a few dollars per night, left in the room. Taxis and rideshares: about 10 percent. Hairdressers: 15 to 20 percent. Tour guides: 10 to 15 percent.

Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere. Tap-to-pay (contactless) is universal up to CAD $250 per transaction. Cash is rarely required but useful for tips, farmers' markets, and small-town businesses.

When to Go

Canada has four sharp seasons. Summer (late June through August) is the easiest to plan around: warm, long daylight, every attraction is open, but it's also the busiest and most expensive. Spring (late April to mid-June) is unpredictable but cheap. Fall (mid-September to mid-October) gives you spectacular foliage in eastern Canada and clear weather almost everywhere. Winter (December through March) is real winter — cold, snow, occasionally brutal, but it's also the only time you can ski, see the Northern Lights reliably, or skate the Rideau Canal.

If you only have one trip and want to see "Canadian" Canada, mid-September is the consensus best week. The summer crowds have gone home, the weather is still warm during the day, the leaves are turning in Ontario and Quebec, and prices have dropped.

Climate by Region

Atlantic Canada: maritime, mild summers (around 20°C), foggy winters that rarely drop below -10°C. Halifax averages about 124 fog days a year.

Quebec and Ontario: continental. Hot, humid summers (Toronto and Montreal regularly hit 30°C), cold and snowy winters (-10 to -25°C). Spring is short; fall is glorious.

The Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta): the most extreme climate in the country. Winter -20 to -40°C, summer 25 to 35°C, very dry, very sunny year-round. The cold is dry, which makes it more bearable than damp Toronto cold at the same temperature.

British Columbia: wet, mild winters on the coast (Vancouver averages 6°C in January); hot dry summers (28°C in July). Mountain weather is its own thing.

The North: subarctic to Arctic. Yellowknife winters average -22°C; Whitehorse is milder. Summer days run 20 to 22 hours of daylight.

Getting Around

Canada is enormous, and the way to get between cities depends entirely on the corridor.

The Quebec City–Windsor corridor (Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, Windsor) has frequent VIA Rail service. The trains are comfortable, the stations are downtown, and the airport savings on a 4-hour journey often vanish once you account for transit and security at both ends. Toronto-Montreal in 5 hours; Toronto-Ottawa in 4.5; Montreal-Quebec City in 3.

The cross-Canada VIA Rail train (the Canadian) runs from Toronto to Vancouver three times a week and takes four days. It's a tourist experience rather than transportation.

Internal flights are essential outside the central corridor. Toronto-Calgary, Toronto-Vancouver, Toronto-Halifax: 4 to 5 hours each, multiple daily flights. Air Canada and WestJet are the major carriers, with discount carriers like Flair and Lynx Air on selected routes.

Buses (Megabus on the Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa corridor; Maritime Bus in Atlantic Canada; FlixBus in southern Ontario) are cheap but slow. Greyhound exited Canada in 2018 and has not returned.

Renting a car is cheap by international standards in most cities, more expensive in Vancouver. International driving licences are accepted for visitors. Most rental companies require drivers to be at least 21 (some 25) and charge surcharges for younger drivers. Most cars are automatic; manual transmissions are scarce.

Driving Notes

Canadians drive on the right. Speed limits are in kilometres per hour: 100 km/h on most highways, 50 in cities. Right turns on red are allowed everywhere except on the Island of Montreal. Seat belts are required for all passengers. Use of a handheld phone while driving is illegal in every province with significant fines.

Winter driving is a serious skill. Quebec law requires winter tires from December 1 through March 15; British Columbia requires them on most highways October to April; the other provinces don't legally require them but you should have them. All-season tires are not winter tires.

Roadside assistance: CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) is reciprocal with AAA in the U.S. and many international auto clubs. Wildlife collisions, especially with deer and moose, are real risks at dawn and dusk on rural highways.

Cell Service & Internet

Canada has three major mobile carriers (Rogers/Fido, Bell/Virgin, Telus/Koodo) and a few regional ones. Prices for visitors are high by international standards. Roaming on a U.S. plan often works fine; many U.S. plans now include Canada. From elsewhere, an eSIM from one of the international providers (Airalo, Saily, Holafly) is usually cheaper than a Canadian SIM. Public Wi-Fi is widely available in cafes, hotels, libraries, airports, and on most VIA Rail trains.

Health & Safety

Canada is broadly safe. Violent crime is rare in tourist areas. The biggest practical risks for visitors are weather (winter exposure, summer wildfires) and wildlife on highways.

Health care is excellent but expensive for non-residents. Canada's universal medicare system covers Canadian residents only. Travel insurance with at least CAD $1,000,000 in medical coverage is essential. A single emergency-room visit can run thousands of dollars; a hospital stay, tens of thousands.

Pharmacies are widespread (Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, London Drugs in BC). Common over-the-counter medications are similar to U.S. and UK names. Prescription medications generally require a Canadian prescription.

Etiquette

Most of the politeness clichés about Canadians have some truth. People say "sorry" reflexively. They hold doors. They thank bus drivers when getting off. Loud, aggressive behaviour in public stands out and is not appreciated.

Topics to avoid until you know your audience: Quebec separation, Indigenous land claims, oil-sands development, federal-provincial politics. Topics that almost always work: the weather, hockey, where you've been in Canada and what you liked.

Restaurant etiquette: tipping (above), staying to chat after the bill arrives is fine, splitting bills is normal and the server will not be annoyed. In Quebec, opening with "bonjour" rather than "hello" is polite and almost always reciprocated in kind.

Sample Itineraries

One week, first-timer, summer

Three nights in Toronto (CN Tower, Niagara day trip, Distillery District), then VIA Rail to Montreal for two nights (Old Montreal, Mount Royal), then Quebec City for two nights (walled old town, day trip to Île d'Orléans).

Two weeks, the Rockies and the West

Two nights in Vancouver (Stanley Park, North Shore), drive the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler for one night, then back south and east to Banff for three nights, the Icefields Parkway to Jasper for two nights, then south to Calgary for the flight home (or the Stampede if it's July).

Two weeks, the Atlantic

Fly into Halifax. Two nights there, then south shore to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay (one night), drive the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton (three nights), ferry to Newfoundland from North Sydney, drive across the island to Gros Morne (three nights), fly out of Deer Lake or St. John's.

What Locals Wish Visitors Knew

Canada is bigger than visitors expect. A "quick drive from Toronto to Banff" is two and a half days. Halifax to Vancouver is the same distance as London to Beirut.

Tipping is on top of tax, not the other way around.

"Canada Goose" jackets are the local stereotype but Canadians actually wear a lot of less expensive brands — Helly Hansen, Arc'teryx, Mountain Equipment Company, Roots, and the legitimately excellent Canadian-made brands like Kanuk and Quartz Co.

The maple leaf is everywhere but the Canadian flag with the maple leaf was only adopted in 1965. Older buildings often still have the older Red Ensign. Both are valid Canadian flags depending on your historical mood.

Most provincial liquor stores are government-run (LCBO in Ontario, SAQ in Quebec, NSLC in Nova Scotia). They have the broadest selection. Grocery stores carry beer and wine in some provinces; private liquor stores are common in Alberta and BC.