A Canadian Adventure to Remember

Our clients Julia and Jane recently returned from an unforgettable adventure through Canada, sharing a glowing review and a superb collection of photographs.

Canada is firmly on travellers’ radars at the moment, and its appeal only seems to be growing. In fact, our Travel specialist Steve is travelling to Ontario this weekend while our Managing Director Felicia is planning a kayaking and glamping wildlife safari on Vancouver Island for next summer.

With its vast landscapes, exceptional wildlife and endless opportunities for adventure, it’s easy to see why Canada is attracting so much attention – 2025 was a record-breaking summer for Canadian tourism, and 2026 is shaping up to be another standout year, with international arrivals continuing to climb and global interest in the country reaching new highs.

Julia had never travelled outside of Europe before and when her brief came in with an urgent and passionate request to simply ‘see whales close up’, then we couldn’t wait to get to work on creating something unforgettable! Due to her requirement to travel during school holidays, British Columbia quickly became the best option for a wild adventure. Working with our brilliant local expert, we devised a rich and in-depth road trip that delivered Julia’s wish list and so much more!

From my first contact with Felicia, she listened to exactly what I wanted and went about planning it carefully and considerately. I had not got a clue where to start and really appreciated her knowledge and professionalism. I would also like to thank her for being patient with my anxieties and sometimes panicked questions. She understood how much this all meant to me and reassured me when I was unsure.

The itinerary was brilliantly planned and detailed. We referred to the main itinerary daily during our trip and found it really useful. It was also reassuring to have Felicia and your local partner on hand to answer any questions we had and to share our experience with.

                    

All of the accommodation was good, we especially liked the smaller hotels in Campbell River and Alert Bay due to their location and more personal touch. We had an issue at our first hotel about payment but it was quickly resolved.

We can’t thank Felicia enough for the inclusion of the interaction with the First Nation people throughout our trip. It definitely added so much to our experience. We loved seeing the T’sasala Cultural Group perform their traditional Kwakwaka’wakw songs and dances at the ‘Na̱mg̱is Traditional Big House and having First Nations people lead our wildlife tours gave us a deeper understanding of the local wildlife and the peoples connection with it. We found the people’s stories moving and inspirational.

                   

We appreciate now why we were encouraged to explore the north of Vancouver Island. Our trips out from Alert Bay and Port Hardy took us into remote locations where we could experience the area in all its wildness and beauty. We were blessed to have amazing encounters on all of our trips. To see the grizzly bears so close was incredible.

Our guides were very knowledgeable and we felt very safe, despite being taken deep into the forest, hiking newly made paths and crossing a river before we saw the bears. My favourite trip was definitely the last. Seeing the humpback whales lunge feeding was definitely my dream come true. Our guide was amazing. He knew many of the whales by name but he still got as excited as we were when we encountered them so close. His passion shone through. Our pilot was excellent and again we felt totally safe despite having giant whales so close and even under the boat.

                      

We were quite daunted looking at our itinerary but every hotel, ferry trip and tour was there waiting for us and we just enjoyed the ride! Exhausting as it was!

It was a dream come true, over and above! Our guides described our encounters as ‘unreal’ and ‘crazy’. It was a ‘pinch me I’m dreaming’ experience, amazing, incredible, wonderful! We run out of words! We feel extremely privileged and blessed by the whole experience and thank everyone involved in making it happen.

Trips like Julia and Jane’s show exactly why Canada continues to leave such a strong impression. From the remote landscapes and First Nations culture of northern Vancouver Island to extraordinary encounters with grizzly bears and humpback whales, their journey makes a persuasive case for going north and going wild. If their experience has inspired you, visit our Canada destination page or contact us directly to start shaping a journey around the parts of the country that most appeal to you – enquiries@odyssey-world.co.uk / +44 117 313 7070.