My wife and I are planning a trip to Canada (probably 2011 or 2012), other than the obvious (Vancouver, Toronto, Niagra falls etc) where should we go and what should we do?

If time, etc permits, I would suggest a stopover in Calgary if you like mountains—Lake Louise area near Banff is spectecular as is Jasper, just north of there. As you know, great biking to be had in the Vancouver, BC area.

I wouldn't try doing Niagara/Toronto and Vancouver on the same trip.

But Vancouver & the Rockies yes, or Toronto & Niagara, yes.

If you do the Rockies, Canmore is about 1 hour drive west of Calgary and a good base for doing the mountains. Visit Banff while you're there, but stay in Canmore, it's cheaper; drive up the Icefield Parkway towards Jasper too. Lake Louise is very pretty, but nearby Moraine Lake is supposedly more picturesque. The Athabasca glacier is quite impressive too. If you want to park up while in the National Parks you'll need a Park Permit, which can be quite expensive.

In Vancouver itself, Stanley Park is nice; Chinatown is worth a look and the shopping in downtown is quite impressive.
En route between Canmore & Vancouver is Kamloops, it can get quite warm there in the summer (39decC in August while we were there), quite popular with the 'freeride' crowd. Okanaga valley is Canada's vineyard. The high route from Kamloops to Vancouver can be almost desert-like scrub in places, more like you'd imagine Nevada/California to be…

And don't be disappointed if you don't see too much wildlife. We saw 1 elk, umpteen magpies, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks etc, half a dozen eagles, but not a single moose, bear, wolf, coyote, cougar or anything else remotely dangerous in 2 weeks. Oh, and some semi-tame raccoons in Stanley Park

Lake Louise is about an hour further from Canmore; Vancouver is 9 hours the 'quick' way or 11 hours if you take the high route

some photos

banff national park is fantastic. winter for skiing is superb. never been in summer but heard it can get quite busy in the main towns. better than whistler for scenery and less commercialised. take in the hot springs in the winter for a superb experience (hot springs in most hotels, but with bar service at the banff springs hotel!)
however, i don't know how it compares much to anywhere else, but is a great country what i have seen of it!

Went to Banff two years ago. Saw deer randomly walking about the town. Saw moose by the side of the road.

Whistler last year, also nice though bit less of a town and more of a resort.

Off to Fernie in two weeks. Can't wait.

I spent 6 weeks in Canada a few years ago. I stayed in a place called Cranbrook BC but went to Lake Louise a few times and the views were spectacular.

I used to open my curtains in morning and the rocky mountains were staring at me! It was much better than the view i have now!!

If i could, i would have lived there and never came back i liked it that much.

I wouldn't try doing Niagara/Toronto and Vancouver on the same trip.

We were thinking about spending a week in Toronto to explore the city and see Niagara and then fly west and spend 2 weeks in the Rockies / BC etc and then fly home from there (or start in Vancouver then retun via torono), is this a reasonable plan or a bit too optimistic?

We've been to Canada snowboarding for the last 3yrs. Great place, great people, great views. Need to go back and see Whistler in summer..

Enjoy, you'll love it! Wherever you go..

sounds ok like that

if I go there again I won't be coming back 😉

Whistler. Next question.

seems reasonable to me, I would say fly from Toronto to Calgary, drive through banff and up the icefields parkway to jasper, then back down, you'll need a day to do each direction and then onto Vancouver, that'll probably use 3-4 days depending upon what you do at either end of the parkway. You can easily see most of Vancouver in under a week which would leave a few more days to go up to whistler or over to the island.

When are you planing on going? I spent christmas in canada- my uncle lives there so we went around with him. Everything was snowy. We went to banff for a few nights and stayed in the Banff park lodge- we got some sort of deal that gave us free entry to- the outdoor hot springs, a gondola trip up sulphur mountain, entry to the museum, the sulphur thing and free coffee and cake in the afternoon. It was really good, it is like our version of Bath just not as old. Then we went to BC and stayed in invermere. Also we went to some really cool hot springs next to a frozen river-smelt a bit eggy but it was a pretty different experience. We also went to lake louise but it was frozen so we went on a sleigh ride-pretty cool place. Like the beer advert says 'we have more square feet of awesomeness per person than anywhere else on earth' or something like that…………

My lake Louise picture

we moved to Calgary recently so lots of pics on my flickr so help yourself
loads to do around Banff, oneof the highlights so far has been Johnson Canyon

heres a taster{Lake Louise}

Thanks everyone.

deserter, you've got some great pics there 😀

i found toronto a bit dissapointing. imo its just another big north american city – nowt special.

montreal is much mroe pleasant, characterful and interesting ime.

I've recently got back from living in banff for the last 14 months and I can honestly say that it is the most beautiful, amazing place I have ever been. Just make sure you get out on the hiking trails into the mountains to escape the crowds in summer(biking's a bit limited due to it being a national park, but what there is, is stunning). If you like a pint of three its one hell of a party town too. Vancouver is also the nicest big city I have ever been to if you want a more cosmopolitan vibe.
To be honest, Toronto is no different from any city, the whole East is pretty uninspiring compared to the West. Canada is a massive place but nearly everything worth seeing in my opinion is west of Calgary.
If your considering the Rockies and want some insider info feel free to PM me (I worked in the tourist industry there for a year).

Spending 3wks in and around Saskatoon visiting friends who emigrated last year.

We spent 2 years living in Alberta. The Rockies were a 3 hour drive away so we spent most weekends in them during the winter and did a couple of big road trips in the summer time.

Info and pics on our blog here which we had running at the time.

Canada is an amazing place – can't wait to go back and visit.

what is the best way to get money when in Canada?

Trekster – Member

what is the best way to get money when in Canada? [/quote]

If your under 30 you can get a 12 month open working visa through BUNAC (www.bunac.org) that allows you to work anywhere for a year. If your older then you need to have an in demand skill to work there.

As said above: it's probably best not to do east and west in a single trip. It can be done if you fly (or better yet, take VIA rail – from Toronto to Vancouver), but means you will have no time to explore either area.

If you stay east, though, can I strongly suggest you go to Quebec? Montreal is a spectacular city – like a cross between Paris and New York – while Quebec City is one of the most romantic places in North America. And you can always go MTBing at one of the countless, magnificent ski hills in between.

Look up Mont Ste-Anne, Mont Tremblant, Mont Orford, Sutton, Owl's Head… it's all beautiful.

But as you can probably guess, no matter where you go, you won't go wrong.

Lucky enough to have a brother who lives in Calgary, Banff and the Rockies are well worth a visit. And a second vote for Johnson Canyon

On our last visit we flew into Calgary spent a few days visiting my brother before taking the Rocky Mountaineer train to Vancouver absolutely awesome. Managed 3 days in Whistler wife and daughter enjoyed the tourist attractions while I got 2 days riding with Ticket2Ride.

what is the best way to get money when in Canada?

we got over on a 2 year work permit as I'm a truck mechanic{huge demand for some trades}

absolutely loads of Brits and Aussies working as ski instructors etc{mostly youngsters though}

My brother lives in Canada and he took me to Banff, Lake Louise and the Emerald Lake. I found it all amazing – you'll love it

My Emerald Lake pic:

Here's my Moraine Lake picture (just up the road from Lake Louise):

Ref bloodyshins comment above about the biking round Banff being a bit limited I have to disagree. This book is an absolute goldmine of info about the local (and some not quite to so local) trails around Banff:

Here's a pick from one of the rides in the area:

More pics here from 4 days of riding trails from the book.

Kannanaskis just outside the park has loads of rides in that book,we use it when the snow melts