Activities in Canada
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FEATURED
Small-Group Maligne Canyon Icewalk in Jasper National Park
3 hours (Departs Jasper, Canada)
by Viator
Take a break from skiing and experience the wonders of the Maligne Canyon during this small-group winter wonderland icewalk in the heart of Jasper National Park…Not LP reviewed
from USD$56.21 - All activities
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McNabs Island Ferry
Fine sand and cobbled stone shorelines, salt marshes, abandoned military fortifications and forests of maple, beech and red spruce paint the scenery of the 400-hectare McNabs Island in Halifax Harbour. In all there are 30km of roads and trails to explore close to the city yet far away from its clatter and clamor. Staff of the McNabs Island Ferry will provide you with a map and an orientation to the island.
For camping reservations, contact the Department of Natural Resources; due to increased fire risks from rotting trees ploughed down by Hurricane Juan campfires are currently prohibited on the island. The ferry runs from Fisherman's Cove in Eastern Passage, a short drive…
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Granville Island Brewing
Canada’s oldest microbrewery offers half-hour tours where the smiling guides will walk you through the tiny brewing nook (production has mostly shifted to larger premises) before depositing you in the Taproom for four generous samples, often including the summer-favorite Hefeweizen, mildly-hopped Brockton IPA or the recommended Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale. You’ll spot many of these brews in bars and restaurants around the city. You can also buy some takeout in the adjoining store – look out for any seasonal or special-batch tipples that might be worth a try (the Ginger Ale is a winner).
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Old Québec Tours
This tour operator has a variety of tours from three-hour walking tours (adult/child $22/11) to 4½-hour tours out of town that take in the Montmorency waterfall and Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré (adult/child $49/23) or Île d’Orléans (adult/child $65/38). There are also adventure excursions, including whale-watching from June to October and dogsledding and visits to the ice hotel in the winter. You’ll be given the rendezvous point when you make your reservations.
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Ghost Tours of Québec
Local theater actors or storytellers lead you through the streets of the Old Town by lantern recounting the hangings and hauntings of Old Québec. The 90-minute tours are great fun and usually finish with a visit to the city’s most haunted building. Tours leave from the sitting area (98 Rue du Petit-Champlain near Blvd Champlain) in the Old Lower Town. Buy your tickets from the Ghost Tours of Québec office or from the guide 15 minutes before the tour.
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Ovarium
The excellent staff and the Ovarium weightlessness experience have garnered a loyal following at this day spa. Packages are available, such as the half-day ‘Essential’, a flotation bath followed by a massage ($115). Ovarium’s flotation tanks are egg-shaped tubs filled with water and 2000 cups of Epsom salts, making you gravity-free.
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Arctic Nature Tours
In an office behind the Nova Inn near the entrance to town, Arctic Nature offers numerous tours, the most popular being a half-day flight to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic coast ($280 per person). It offers a $35 Inuvik town tour, boating in the Mackenzie Delta ($65 per person) and air excursions to untouched places such as Herschel Island.
reviewed
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Small-Group Maligne Canyon Icewalk in Jasper National Park
3 hours (Departs Jasper, Canada)
by Viator
Take a break from skiing and experience the wonders of the Maligne Canyon during this small-group winter wonderland icewalk in the heart of Jasper National Park…Not LP reviewed
from USD$56.21 -
Island Queen
Two-hour trips push off at 10am daily and three-hour trips at 1pm.
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Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Colonizing the melted ski slopes in summer and accessed via lifts at the village’s south end, Whistler Mountain Bike Park offers barreling downhill runs and an orgy of jumps, beams and bridges twisting through 200km of well-maintained forested trails. Luckily, you don’t have to be a bike courier to stand the gonad-crunching pace: easier routes are marked in green, while blue intermediate trails and black diamond advanced paths are offered if you want to Crank It Up – the name of one of the park’s most popular routes. Outside the park area, regional trails include Comfortably Numb (a tough 26km with steep climbs and bridges); A River Runs Through It (suitable for a…
reviewed
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Hastings Racecourse
What it lacks in stature – this isn’t exactly the Kentucky Derby – Vancouver’s mountain-view Hastings Racecourse more than makes up for in good old-fashioned fun. It’s an alternative day out if you’ve covered all the usual spectator sports; they’re used to seeing first-timers who don’t know how to place a bet here and will be more than happy to show you how to part with your money. Even if you bet small, there’s an undeniable thrill when the bell sounds, the gates open and the thoroughbreds speed off around the dirt track. If you’re here in August, drop by for BC Cup Day, the biggest race card of the year, complete with live music, family-friendly acti…
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Moose Cree Outdoor Discoveries & Adventures
Run by the Moose Cree First Nation, this outfit offers customized trips incorporating cultural activities (storytelling and traditional foods, for example), along with canoeing in summer and snowshoeing in winter. The friendly and laid-back staff will ask you two questions when tailoring your adventure: ‘what do you want to experience?’ and ‘what are you not looking for?’ From there, they can organize absolutely anything, just make sure to give them plenty of time. Prices vary greatly depending on whether you’re one person or many, and whether you want a one-day island tour or a weeklong wilderness expedition. These highly recommended trips offer a unique opportunity to e…
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Naturally Superior Adventures
Naturally Superior Adventures is based 8km southwest of Wawa. Its lodge quietly sits along Lake Superior between a craggy expanse of stone and smooth sandy beach. A day on the grounds is itself a memorable experience, as cool mists roll through in the afternoon and the evening sun gently melts into the lake. Naturally Superior guided day trips ($95) depart several times a week, while relaxed weekend kayaking trips ($350) feature an afternoon of instruction, a night at the lodge, and a night of beach camping while paddling on Lake Superior. These trips are suitable for total beginners. Intermediate paddlers can be outfitted with their own kayaks and canoes for $35 to $45 p…
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Vancouver to Victoria and Butchart Gardens Tour by Bus
13 hours (Departs Vancouver, Canada)
by Viator
Cruise to Vancouver Island for a full day, small group guided tour and find your way through the capital city of British Columbia. Spend the day exploring Victo…
Not LP reviewed
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Quebec City and Montmorency Falls Day Trip from Montreal
12 hours (Departs Montreal, Canada)
by Viator
Leave Montreal for the day and visit Quebec City, the historic heart of French Canada. You'll take a full day sightseeing tour through Quebec with a local licen…
Not LP reviewed
from USD$83.16 -
Cycling & Mountain Biking
You can cycle on the highways and on most of the trails in and around town. Excursions of all varieties are possible, whether you're looking to ride for a few hours, a day or several days with overnight stops at campgrounds, hostels or lodges. Two good, short cycling routes close to Banff run along Vermilion Lakes Drive and Tunnel Mountain Drive.
For something more challenging, go 1km past the Banff Springs Golf Course to the 14km Rundle Riverside Trail, which plunges into the backcountry with a lot of rough riding along the way.
Ski Stop runs self-guided trips in the backcountry that include van shuttle, bike, gear and map and Bactrax organizes two-hour rides from around …
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Haliburton Forest
This privately owned woodland, 30km north of Haliburton town, can be accessed through its main office on Kenneisis Lake. The recommended ‘Walk in the Clouds’ four-hour guided hike ($95) takes you on a pulse-quickening adventure along suspended planks (20m above the ground) through the treetops while providing a bird’s-eye view of the woods below. A visit to the Wolf Centre is included; here visitors can glimpse a pack of wolves (at a safe distance, of course) as they meander through their 6-hectare enclosure. Thick pillows of snow in the winter encourage a thriving snowmobiling culture, and dogsledding is a popular attraction as well ($185 for a full-day guided tour inclu…
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Circuit 500/Action Commando Paintball
Canada’s largest indoor go-kart center provides plenty of amusement for gearheads. Sharpen your skills in 10-minute races on a large indoor karting track. The racers blaze around the circuit at speeds of up to 75km/h. Uniforms and safety helmets are provided. True addicts sign up for all-you-can‑drive specials ($75 for 24 hours); otherwise, it’s $23 to $26 per race. You can also let off steam in a round of paintball on four terrains strewn with obstacles, bunkers, pyramids and catacombs. The games pit security agents against thieves in a dozen splattering scenarios. A one-hour package ($38) includes mask, paint gun and 100 paintballs.
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Vancouver to Whistler by Train Rail Tour
by Viator
Ride the rails from Vancouver to Whistler on the spectacular Whistler Mountaineer train, passing through some of the world's most rugged fjords and mountains. T…
Not LP reviewed
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Cypress Provincial Park
Around 8km north of West Van via Hwy 99, Cypress offers some great summertime hikes, including the Baden-Powell, Yew Lake and Howe Sound Crest trails, which plunge through forests of cedar, yellow cypress and Douglas fir and wind past little lakes and alpine meadows. In winter, the park’s Cypress Mountain resort area – site of the snowboard and freestyle skiing events at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – makes this one of the city’s favorite snowbound playgrounds. From downtown Vancouver, drivers should cross the Lions Gate Bridge to the Upper Levels Hwy via Taylor Way in West Vancouver. Follow the signs to the park entrance.
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Université de Montréal Adult Education Department
Your best chance at full French language immersion is on ‘the Mountain’ at Université de Montréal. Université de Montréal Adult Education Department has terrific programs that include night or weekend courses, courses in everything from beginners’ French to Québec culture to advanced courses in written French. This is a very proud French-language campus so people are not prone to making le switch so feared by French-language students. Many Americans and South Americans attend this program in summer as a kind of study vacation as it’s cheaper than flying to Europe.
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Ontario Place
A 40-hectare fun park, Ontario Place is built on three artificial islands. A ‘Play All Day’ pass gets you into most of the thrill rides and attractions, including Soak City water park, and walk-up seating at the Cinesphere, a spiky, space-age gooseberry screening IMAX films. Kids go berserk at soft-play areas like the H2O Generation Station and the Atom Blaster. Additional attractions like the human-sized MegaMaze and House of Blues concerts at the Molson Amphitheatre cost extra. Discounted passes may be available after 5pm and for grounds-only admission. On rainy days, many of the rides, activities and restaurants close.
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Paramount Canada’s Wonderland
During summer keep your kids occupied at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, a state-of-the-art amusement park with over 60 rides. Highlights include some lunch-losing roller coasters, an exploding volcano, a 20-hectare Splash Works water park, and the Fantastic World of Hanna-Barbera for the young ’uns. Queues can be lengthy; most rides operate rain or shine. Wonderland is a 45-minute drive northwest of downtown Toronto on Hwy 400. Exit at Rutherford Rd, 10 minutes north of Hwy 401. Alternatively, from Yorkdale or York Mills subway stations catch GOTransit’s hourly Wonderland Express Bus. Parking costs $10.
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Strøm Nordic Spa
For a get-away-from-it-all experience, it’s hard to top this beautifully set spa located on the Île des Soeurs, a few kilometers south of downtown. The trim Nordic-style buildings overlook a watery and tree-lined expanse, with grassy lawns and outdoor pools and tiny waterfalls from which to enjoy the pretty scenery. A good range of treatments and packages is available, and there’s also a good bistro on hand. Hour-long Swedish massages are $80, and you can add in the ‘thermal experience’ for $34 – featuring use of outdoor Jacuzzis, thermal and Nordic baths, Finnish sauna and eucalyptus steam bath.
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Complexe Aquatique de L’île Ste-Hélène
Originally constructed in 1953, this outdoor pool complex was completely demolished and rebuilt when Montréal scored the 2005 World Aquatic Championships. The state-of-the-art facilities are now open to the public. The diving pool (complete with underwater viewing windows) and competition pool are mainly reserved for hosting competitions or for training competitive swimmers and athletic teams. But the championships’ magnificent 55m-by-44m warm-up pool is open for recreational swimming. There’s also a bay-like portion of the pool with a shallow, gently sloping bottom that’s great for kids and families.
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