Planning Your Trip

Around 4500 kilometres wide; with two ocean coasts, an arctic north, a temperate south; a province-wide mountainous belt, a swathe of great plains, desert badlands, pine forests on billions of years-old "shield' rock; five of the world's biggest lakes and maybe a million small ones, the grand Atlantic entrance of the St. Lawrence seaway, and three island provinces.

The cities and towns are nearly as diverse as the landscape, from some of the most cosmopolitan and well-known cities in the world - Vancouver's placid Pacific Rim style, Toronto's fast-paced electric bustle, Montreal's sophisticated and artsy internationalism - to a plethora of cozy county towns strung across the great north of America, and everything between.

Historically speaking, Canada's a bit of a new kid on the global block, but before it enters the European history books, there were thousands of years of Native American history which left their own legacies and monuments, many of them still on display today.

So there's a lot to see.

Travel Tips

Canada is one of the safest and most comfortable places to travel in the world. So, just keep a couple basic pieces of advice in mind.

Make sure to know a little about the area you're in, whether city or wilderness. Ask a resident or knowledgeable fellow traveller for tips on getting around (without getting lost), danger spots, sketchy neighbourhoods, and other pertinent points.

• Be polite, and as friendly as you can, but always with a bit of scepticism in reserve. Canadians are usually helpful, polite, kind people, and sometimes exceptionally friendly. It's not likely you'll run into tricksters, scams or menacing types; probably the worst you could experience is a cold shoulder from time to time. Just be aware, and take things one step at a time when making new friends and acquaintances.
• The above kept in mind, make friends! It'll keep you sane, and people you meet will always have information to help you have a safer and more excellent trip.
• Be wary of getting overly intoxicated with strangers in a strange land.
• Let someone know where you're going and when you mean to be back, whenever possible.
• Be adventurous, but be sane. Know the risks of what you're doing, especially in a wilderness situation.
• Fortunately pickpockets are not very common in Canada, but a money belt for cash and documents never hurts.
• Pack light, and keep valuables on your person or in lockup. Always have a bit of cash in a backup location; stashed in your main pack for instance when you're out and about.