Hello Canadians
We are a danish family looking for advice about Canada..
We want to visit your incredible country next summer, but are unsure where we should go, we have teenagers so they really want the weather to be nice and warm, but us parrents want to go and explore your nature and see some wild animals, while living close to a sizeable city with an airport..
Where is that ? Hope you have some good advice
What do your kids call warm ? More than 30 degrees ? I was in quebec a few years ago, it was never more than 30. Always between 20 and 30
I would say mid 20’s and higher is what we are looking for
Ok. Quebec is nice and closer than the west. Toronto + Niagara falls is a must too. But everything can’t be done in a single trip it’s so Big.
I dont think I can even imaging how big it is, wont Toronto be extremly turisty next summer with the World Cup ? We would rather stay clear of too many turists were we live, but Niagra Falls would be amazing
Honestly I didn’t thought of the World cup, I thought it was only in USA 
I loved Toronto cause it feels like a little New York, quite different from all nature around in Canada.
I’m afraid I haven’t been (unless you count Toronto when I was about 7 
) but Vancouver, Vancouver Island and a road trip over to Calgary via Banff etc is on my wish list. It looks so beautiful.
Consider Ottawa Ontario the nation’s capital. Strategically located between Ontario and Quebec it could be a great starting point from which you could travel. A small very manageable city with many museums, theatre, restaurants, etc but also less than 1/2 hr travel into rural and wild adventures! Ottawa is on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation if you are interested in our history. Realistically for a 1st trip these two Provinces have a lot to offer and would be all you could cover! But Canada is vast … and the Maritimes, the Prairies, BC and Canada’s north would each fill an entire other holiday … tokeep you coming back for more of the true north strong and free!
Highly recommend Vancouver area! The weather is very good in the summer (July - August), usually not too hot. We live in the Fraser Valley and there is a lot to do - lakes, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, rivers, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, camping, cycling.
If you home base somewhere near Vancouver you have the big city, Whistler, Squamish, and can drive 3-4 hours to Okanagan which is lake country, or if you’re ambitious, 8 hours to Banff, world-renowned beauty. You can also take the ferry and go to Vancouver Island which is beautiful and lots to do there.
Hello KasperIbsen
I would recommend finding a small town, near a major Canadian city (within 125km), and include a vehicle exchange as part of your Exchange. That way, you can enjoy day trips to the city but feel more like a local with small town experiences. This is why we live in Olds, AB - it is only an hour into Calgary (pop. 3 million people), 45 min. drive to Red Deer (300k people) and 80 min. drive to Banff (major tourist draw in the Rockies). We can enjoy everything from Museums, professional sports events and cultural events only found in major cities to medium sized quaint boutique shopping, coffee bars, movie theatres, etc. to the wild nature and sports mecca of the Rockies - all within a short drive. In our small town, we have everything we need, rarely hear sirens, can walk anywhere we need to get to, there is no rush hour and people are friendly.
Thank you so much for your excellent advice One holiday in Canada is clearly not enough..
Welcome to the Forum and our HE community
Welcome to the Forum, and thank you so much for this great advice. Vancouver is certainly on my wishlist. Please do feel free to share your HE home link
Welcome to the HE community and our Forum and thank you so much for your local area knowledge. It’s invaluable! Please do feel free to share your HE home link Happy HomeExchanging.
I am a Canadian, living on the East Coast.
Canada is a vast country, and there is only one direct flight, as far as I know, from Denmark to Canada, and that is an 8-hour flight via Scandinavian Airlines or Air Canada from Copenhagen to Toronto. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and located in the south-central part of the country. Of course, from there, you can take connections to virtually every other part of the country. However, for your first trip to Canada, I’m not sure that you want to spend all your time on airplanes… travel to the west coast is a 6-hour flight out of Toronto, and to the east coast is a 2-hour flight.
Over 25C every day and near a sizeable city with an airport means you would need to be in a southerly place like Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, or Vancouver. These are all big urban centers with large suburban areas, so you would still have to travel some distance by car to explore nature. Seeing wild animals is not an easy thing because they are by nature reclusive and you’re not likely to see them just driving around in a car or hiking in popular tourist areas, you would need to get away far from the big cities.
My advice for a first trip to Canada would be Toronto and area. I say this not in a self-serving way because I live in New Brunswick which is on the east coast and a 2-hour flight from Toronto. In Toronto you will see a large vibrant city on a huge lake which is as large as an inland sea, and lots of entertainment and cultural sights and activities. Niagara Falls is only a 1-hour drive away. The capital city of Ottawa is a 5-hour drive away. Two hours to the north of Toronto is a beautiful natural area of lakes, forests, and wilderness parks.
If you enjoy Toronto and want to explore more of Canada, your next trip could be a longer journey to Vancouver where you can see magnificent mountains and coastal scenery as well as vast forests. Vancouver is probably the large Canadian city where you are closest to nature and to the possibility of seeing wild animals relatively nearby.
A third trip could be to the east coast to Halifax, Charlottetown, St.John’s, or Moncton where you would see a different kind of coast, not mountainous but also wild nature and somewhat better than the west coast if you’re into beaches and swimming. Also the location of the world famous Anne of Green Gables stories and possibilities of seeing icebergs in July! (in Newfoundland), and whales. And now the self-serving part… our home is a 5-minute walk from a wonderful sandy private beach and 10-minute drive to one of the 10-best beaches in Canada 