Canada Hotels

You want to visit Canada, but the country is so vast it's hard to know where to begin. Organized tours can help narrow your vacation plans to include the highlights of an area -- say, British Columbia or Quebec. You can even find Canadian tours tailored to your specific interests whether you're a gourmand, bird watcher or adventure hound.

If you would like to experience the rolling hills, lush foliage, snowy mountain tops and beautiful valleys of the second largest country in the world, Canada, consider doing it by rail. Canada has numerous rail vacations the entire family can enjoy.

Canada offers one of the most diverse selections of ski vacations in the world. Whether your pleasure is a five-star luxury vacation at a world-class resort or a rustic, serene back-country escape to a lodge without electricity or running water, you'll find it in Canada. While the skiing is diverse, it's concentrated into a few provinces, so narrowing down a destination is not a daunting task.

While air travel is the quickest way to get from the east coast to the west coast of Canada, taking the train allows you to get more intimate with the world's second-largest country. Canada's national rail system, VIA Rail Canada, provides coast-to-coast service, with sleeper cars, on-board entertainment and all-inclusive packages that combine rail travel with hotel stays in various cities.

Canada is the world’s largest country in total area, including its waters and in winter ice and permafrost cover the majority of the Canadian Arctic. Canada boasts the longest coastline in the world and has eight distinct forest regions, including the extensive boreal forest in the Canadian Shield. Canada also has numerous lakes and fresh water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and Coast Mountains, making it an ideal winter getaway for winter adventurers.

A horseback-riding vacation is an opportunity to get away from it all and get back to nature. In Canada, these vacations include options from rugged, primitive trips to vacations with lodging in local inns. The rivers, lakes and mountains of Canada provide scenic views along the riding trails. Horseback-riding vacations are available for all levels of riders, including children, making these adventures suitable for individuals or families.

Canada offers a range of equine vacation options, from attending the annual Calgary Stampede Rodeo or Spruce Meadows horse shows as a spectator, planning a trail riding adventure with your own horse or scheduling a guided riding vacation with one of the many ranches and farms throughout the country. Take your riding skill level and interests into account when selecting the Canadian equine vacation that works best for you.

The impulse to escape for a weekend to do a bit of traveling can be strong, but flying to a country where you don't speak the language for only two or three days doesn't make much sense. By the time you figure out how to get around and order food, you'll be on your way home. Why look far afield? Just to the north, Canada has a few world-class cities that make for great weekend escapes.

Planning a family vacation to a country as massive and diverse as Canada produces a bewildering array of options. Since you have a multitude of destinations to choose from, it’s wise to select the area of the country you want to visit, and then choose the places in that area you want to explore. Fortunately, there are plenty of family-friendly places you can choose from. Keep in mind that in order to re-enter the US, you will need to have a valid passport card for each member of your family over the age of 5.