Shoulder-season travel, curated
Canada, in the quiet season
The Cabot Trail without the coach tours. The Rockies before the June rush. Eleven places, the months they are at their best, and the operators who run the trips — with real prices in Canadian dollars.
Where do you want to go?
Choose what you want from the trip and when you can travel. We’ll show the places in their useful months.
What kind of place?
Choose a trip type, a month, or both.
When are you travelling?
Showing all 11 places.
Alberta Rockies
Banff and Lake Louise
The national park everyone pictures, in the weeks when you can actually park.
- Mountains
- Wildlife
- Lakes
- +1
Jan–Feb · May–Jun · Sep–Oct
4 trips
Southern Alberta
Calgary and the foothills
A big-sky city with Kananaskis an hour away and no coach tours in it.
- City
- Mountains
- Food
- +1
May–Jun · Sep–Oct
1 trip
Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky
Vancouver and the BC coast
Mountains, sea and the best Asian food in the country, without the cruise-ship weeks.
- City
- Coast
- Food
- +2
Mar–May · Sep–Oct
1 trip
Vancouver Island west coast
Tofino
Open Pacific, old-growth rainforest and a surf town that is better in a storm.
- Coast
- Wildlife
- Indigenous-led
- +1
Oct–May
2 trips
Interior British Columbia
Okanagan
Canada’s wine valley at harvest, with the tasting rooms to yourself.
- Wine
- Lakes
- Food
- +1
Apr–May · Sep–Oct
No trips listed yet — tell us you're interested
Whitehorse, Kluane and the Klondike
Yukon
Aurora, tundra colour and 45,000 people in a territory the size of Spain.
- Aurora
- Wildlife
- Winter
- +2
Feb–Mar · Aug–Sep
4 trips
Ontario cottage country
Muskoka
Lakes, granite and red maples two hours north of Toronto, once the cottagers go home.
- Lakes
- Food
- Winter
Jan–Feb · May–Jun · Sep–Oct
4 trips
Niagara Peninsula
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Wineries, the Shaw Festival and a flat cycling road along the river, twenty minutes from the Falls.
- Wine
- Food
- City
Jan · May–Jun · Sep–Oct
2 trips
Greater Toronto
Toronto
The most multicultural city in the world, best eaten neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
- City
- Food
May · Sep–Oct
No trips listed yet — tell us you're interested
Southern Quebec
Quebec City, Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships
A walled city, a mountain coast with whales, and a lake district with its own cider route.
- City
- Food
- Winter
- +3
Feb–Mar · Sep–Oct
6 trips
Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia coast
The Cabot Trail at peak colour, fishing villages after the season, and the world’s highest tides.
- Coast
- Food
- Wildlife
- +1
Jun · Sep–Oct
6 trips
Featured packages
Hand-picked departures from operators we have spoken to.
FeaturedQuebec City, Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships2 nightsWendake Longhouse Winter Experience
Two nights in a Huron-Wendat longhouse-style lodge with storytelling, snowshoe walks and traditional cuisine.
- Indigenous
- Culture
- Guided
From $640 per person
approx. £340 / €397
FeaturedMuskoka4 nightsAlgonquin Fall Colours Canoe Trip
Four nights canoe-camping through Algonquin at peak colour with a guide, gear and moose-spotting dawn paddles.
- Adventure
- Wildlife
- Guided
From $1,160 per person
approx. £616 / €719- FeaturedQuebec City, Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships4 nights
Old Quebec Winter Carnival Long Weekend
Four nights inside the walls during Carnaval, with an ice-canoe race viewing, night parade and Hôtel de Glace visit.
- Culture
- Guided
From $1,280 per person
approx. £680 / €794 
FeaturedTofino4 nightsTofino Grey Whale Migration
Four nights on the Pacific Rim during the grey whale migration with two whale trips, a hot-springs boat day and storm-season rates.
- Wildlife
- Guided
From $1,460 per person
approx. £776 / €905
FeaturedYukon4 nightsYukon Aurora Hunt
Four nights near Whitehorse with three guided aurora nights at a wilderness camp, a wildlife preserve visit and hot springs.
- Northern lights
- Guided
- Wildlife
From $1,590 per person
approx. £845 / €986- FeaturedNova Scotia coast6 nights
Cabot Trail Fall Colours Drive
Six nights looping the Cabot Trail at peak foliage, with inns in Baddeck, Chéticamp and Ingonish and a Celtic Colours concert ticket.
- Self drive
- Culture
- Food
From $1,890 per person
approx. £1,004 / €1,172
Canadians: share your favourite off-season place
The inn that stays open through November. The trail that is better in the rain. Tell us where you go when nobody else does — we read every submission and publish the good ones.
Share a placeGet the quiet-season list
New places and trips, a few times a year.