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Canada has long been one of the world’s most in-demand destinations, and it helps that there’s enough of it to go around. The world’s second-largest country, with the longest coastline to boot, is a utopia of Attenborough-worthy national parks, major cities, invigorating outdoor activities and soul-soaring road trips. Mother Nature flourishes from Vancouver Island in British Columbia through to the Rocky Mountains in Alberta.

The extremes are hard to fathom, too. In the Yukon, dog-sledding across frozen lakes is the norm, while watching icebergs pass by like clouds in the country’s Atlantic region, which  are closer to London than they are to Calgary, will reset your sense of scale. Another unspoilt natural resource is the night sky — particularly when the transformational northern lights explode across the horizon in the Northwest Territories. Oh, and Canada is also one of the sweetest places on Earth, with boundless maple forests in Quebec. Hold the diet for now.

See the latest rules and restrictions for visiting Canada

Main photo: Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada (Alamy)

Start in one of the major cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver before hitting the open road, where huge skies collide with national parks, hot springs, pop-up-book mountains and golden prairie lands. North America’s largest country packs in a lifetime’s worth of highlights but you’ll struggle to get beyond one province without the luxury of time. Here are a selection of epic adventures to get you started.

Go in summer to kayak Ontario’s Thousand Islands, or sleep in a tent under the stars in Jasper National Park. In winter, pack a polar fleece for champagne snow on British Columbia’s Powder Highway, or polish up your French to max out Quebec’s Francophone ski resorts (Mont Tremblant in Laurentians National Park is a favourite). Up for a wilderness and wildlife adventure? Pick laughably blue Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains for spotting brown and black bear, wolf and reintroduced bison, or head further north — that’s 2,000 miles north — to the Arctic perimeter of the Northwest Territories to see one million reindeer antlers under the northern lights.

Churchill in Manitoba, and the surrounding Wapusk National Park, is the world’s polar bear capital, while the glacier-capped Coast Mountains in British Columbia is the territory of tail-flipping, body-popping orcas. And, in a Zodiac zipping around off Vancouver Island, you’ll realise that seeing an acrobatic killer whale isn’t something you ever get used to. Expect your adrenaline levels to skyrocket.

From frontier-style lodges to faux Scottish castles fitted with baronial towers and tartan carpets, memorable places to stay are not difficult to find in Canada. With all that open space, outdoor options abound, whether it’s renting a tepee in Nova Scotia’s endless spruce forests, or hunkered in an igloo in the world’s northern lights capital, Yellowknife. Most of all, remember that this is the trip of a lifetime, so max out your credit card on a memory-maker such as the Fairmont Banff Springs, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort near Tofino on Vancouver Island, or Fogo Island Inn on the cove-nibbled Atlantic Canada coast.

Riding the rails of the storied Canadian Pacific Railway is top of the list. The Rocky Mountains have a tendency to turn even the most world-weary travellers into overexcited schoolchildren and the Rocky Mountaineer, running from Vancouver to the lakes of Banff National Park, delves deep into Canada’s adventurous backyard. A road trip along the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, and Niagara Falls in Ontario, are essential. Culinary adventures are also available on tap — experience crustacean elation in Nova Scotia, the lobster capital of Canada (lobster-flavoured beer, anyone?), or wolf down Albertan barbecue by a campfire. Whether you try Rocky Mountain oysters (deep-fried bull’s testicle) is entirely your call.

Experience crustacean elation in the lobster capital of Canada in Nova Scotia (lobster-flavoured beer, anyone?)

A growing indigenous tourism offering is now showcasing some of Canada’s First Nations stories. Head to the spirit bear-populated coasts of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest (aka North America’s Amazon), the ice fields and mirror-skinned lakes of the Yukon’s Kluane National Park, or the talon-shaped Haida Gwaii archipelago. Or simply admire a cedar-plank longhouse or an aged totem pole in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.

The vastness of Canada’s tourism offering means it’s best to time your trip based on your destination and focus. December to March is best for winter pursuits, wowing auroras and ice wine in Ontario. Or if it’s national parks you’re after, target the months between May to September. The thrills of major cities are on offer year-round, though the summer months tend to be the most popular, and easy to navigate weather-wise, especially if you intend on walking. For the best value, go in the shoulder season around September and October.

Best time to visit Canada

What is the cheapest way to travel across Canada?
If you want to see as much as possible on a trip to Canada, opt for a car or camper van. Distances are vast, “gas” is cheap, and the soul-stirring highlights (a lifetime’s worth of national parks and outdoor activities) are best reached on a road trip. Prefer the passenger seat? Ditch the car to go the whole hog from Halifax to Victoria on a long-distance train-and-ferry ride — you can even spot a polar bear from your window seat in Manitoba.

What is Canada known for?
You’ll get your fill of poutine, maple syrup, horseback Mounties, ice hockey, Tim Hortons and Justin Bieber, but the country is so unfathomably large and increasingly diverse that it’s impossible to define. What unites the provinces is an obsession with  outdoor life and wildlife-packed national parks. Canadians themselves are unerringly polite and helpful too, while First Nations culture is a world apart even for North America.

When is the best time to visit Niagara Falls?
June to August brings bumper-to-bumper cars and RVs to North America’s most spectacular waterfall, located on the US-Canada border, so come during the shoulder season in May or September. Or come in winter to see the waterfall covered in icicles. Rather than rush a road trip, plan a few days: as well as a must-do Maid of the Mist cruise, the area has water parks, postcard-pretty Niagara-on-the-Lake and some of the best wineries in Canada.

Currency
Canadian Dollar

Additional reporting by Qin Xie.

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