We’re noticing that more and more people are noticing that Canada is a rather nice place to travel. Over 32 million people travel to the Great White North each year, and over 1 million Canadians call travel their line of work. It’s a nice place to visit, as it is so diverse, especially if you love the outdoors. And that fact is backed up by statistics that show that 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border: the rest is, for the most part, pristine wilderness, or small towns dotted around the massive country.
If we put the hotspots (Toronto, Vancouver, Alberta, Calgary etc.) aside for now, let’s focus on a truly interesting part of Canada that may not be on your travel radar: Haida Gwaii.
Positioned on the northwest of Canada, right on the Pacific Ocean, Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago off British Columbia’s west coast, in Canada. Wildlife-rich Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site includes remote islands and temperate rainforest. Centuries-old totem poles stand in the remains of the Haida Nation village known as SGang Gwaay Llnagaay. Naikoon Provincial Park, on Graham Island, has trails and beaches. It’s where many Canadians go for holidays that are out of the ordinary, and a place where the Haida Nation’s values and actions are genuine, and not a side-show.
Learn more about Haida travel tourism here.
Budget: $$
Typical Prices – hotel: CA $225; flights from £ 1,969; activities (whale watching) from US$ 145.82 pp
When to go: spring to summer
Family friendly: 4 of 5 stars
Public transportation: 3 of 5 stars
Main languages: English
English speaking: 5 of 5 stars
LGBTQ+ Equality Index rank: 90 / 100
Stay at the relaxing Dockside Daajing Giids. Watch your stress melt away. Click Here.
How to get there: BC Ferries operates a scheduled ferry service between Prince Rupert on the mainland across the Hecate Strait to Skidegate. There is also an Inside Passage scheduled route, which takes you from Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert, connecting with a second ferry to Haida Gwaii.
Virgin Atlantic fly regularly between London and Vancouver. Click here to book.
What a thrill – whale watching in the Vancouver Sound and beyond. Click here to book.