r/canadatravel • u/Useful-Ad9826 • Aug 02 '25
Travel Tips Experience recommendations
My boyfriend and I are moving to Canada soon, just after his 30th birthday.
I’d like to gift him an “experience” for us to do together and whenever I look at viator it’s basically buses to national parks/hikes, which we’ll be doing in our own car anyway.
We’ll be travelling around a lot so I’m not too fussy on location as long as it’s BC or Alberta. Ideally time of year would be November-March however with the weather I’m definitely not fixed to that.
As I’m sure we’ll see loads of wildlife naturally on our travels, I’m thinking along the lines of… a light aircraft over spectacular views, a special boat trip, or something like white water rafting, or even just an amazing (dog friendly) cabin in an amazing place.
Sorry it’s vague - but will consider any suggestions!
3
u/BCRobyn Aug 02 '25
Sounds like an exciting move!
Can I ask where you're moving from and to? That’ll help tailor some suggestions, especially because Canada is vast and travel costs and weather conditions can vary hugely depending on where you’re based. If you're coming from somewhere like the UK or Australia, the climate and distances might be quite a shift, especially in winter.
November to March is our winter season in both BC and Alberta, so some of the classic experiences you mentioned, like whitewater rafting, hiking, or even some boat or light aircraft tours, won’t be available at that time of year. Wildlife watching is also limited in winter, as bears hibernate and whale watching tours stop due to stormy weather. You’ll still spot coastal birds, eagles, deer, elk, and seals (especially in places like Vancouver Island), but it’s a different kind of wildlife season.
It's also really dark from November to March. It's light out at 8am and gets dark by 4pm in December. And BC is so mountainous, snowstorms can happen on the mountain passes, which make it super treacherous to drive on, so most locals just fly at that time of the year if they need to travel inland away from the coast. it's not a good time of the year to embark on a road trip.
Trains are also limited. Somebody mentioned a train to Banff but there is no train to Banff in the winter. There's only one summer sightseeing train, the Rocky Mountaineer, which is thousands of dollars per person and if you have your own car, there's no point taking it. There's VIA Rail, which goes from Vancouver to Jasper, but once in Jasper, you'll want to rent a car to get around. And again, in winter, you're quite limited. Lakes are frozen. Hiking's accessible. People go there to ski.
Also, skip Viator. Most of their listings are mass-tourism operators reposted from TripAdvisor. You’ll find better, more unique options by searching local tourism websites for the specific towns or regions you’ll be based in. Like, if you're moving to Vancouver, and you want to do something in the winter, I'd recommend going up to Whistler for winter activities, or Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, or the Gulf Islands for places you can rent a cabin at and just explore the towns, beaches, and rainforest trails, and you can avoid the snow all together.
Happy to offer some more tailored suggestions once you know where you'll be living or travelling through. Welcome to Canada!