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Welcome to a new post about Canada, this time a post where we will explain everything to you Traveling to Canada with children.

For us, being able to travel to Canada as a family has been a real gift. It has been, without a doubt, one of the best destinations we have chosen and experienced so far on our many family trips.

It must also be said that we are one of those enthusiastic families where there is no destination from which we do not take advantage, learning, excitement and joy.

Greece y Poland They had always sounded like their favorite countries to travel to among my children, but since they set foot in the West Coast of the United States And this year, Canada, North America, is positioning itself at the top of our family trips.

In this post, I will try to explain to you Why travel to Canada with children? and everything that Canada can offer you as a family in 30 plans that we fell in love with, both adults and children, on our last trip.

 I hope you find it useful and, above all, that if you end up travelling to Canada, you enjoy it as much as we did.

AN IMPORTANT TIP: Don't travel to Canada without a good travel insurance, avoid big problems. It is one of the first requirements that they tell you on the Canadian government website along with the processing of the And so.
We recommend you the Iati Star We hired this insurance after a good comparison and study of the different ones on the market. It is the only one that exceeds one million euros of coverage. Without a doubt, it is the best for North America, where breaking a leg costs you €150.000, as happened to a friend of ours in the USA. Another positive thing is that Iati has an app for virtual visits.
I leave you here a link where you have a 5% off for any Iati travel insurance.

About us

Why visit Canada with children

Before continuing with this post, I want to explain the reasons why we have enjoyed Canada so much with our children aged 8 and 12.

If you are wondering if you should travel to Canada with children, it is probably because they are too young, right? After all these years of travelling with my children, I always say the same thing. There is no place that is not worth traveling with them, if it is the place we want to go to. go. And in the end, If you are well, they will be more than well.If they see you happy and motivated, they will be too.

Canada, a country with many plans for children

For the site, it doesn't matter, Everything is adaptable, everything is made for everyoneYou may not do some things, but you do many other things that you would not do without them.

Canada is no exception. It has all kinds of plans and for all audiences, ages, physical conditions and mentalities.

Anyway, Canada has a thousand options to do with children, whether cultural, nature-related, or leisure and adventure-related.

Nature, always a good plan with children

For us the most relevant thing was the nature, family walks, which you will find of all kilometers and difficulties, adapted for children. A whole adventure, where to find many squirrels, above all, and some Other animals. For the Bears, don't worry too much, it's not normal to encounter bears on busy roads., which are the ones with low difficulty and suitable for children. Honestly, with the noise that children make, no bear would normally come near them lol. We only saw them on the road and one on the entire trip to Canada and another in the United States.

Cultural and leisure activities in Canada with children 

After nature, the museums and adventure and leisure activities were other great attractions that we enjoyed a lot as a family. From canoeing to rafting or crossing hanging bridges, among many visits to open-air museums, excellent with children.

Tips for traveling to Canada with children

In this second section, I want to try to help you with those tips for traveling to Canada that I did not have and, instead, I wish I had known before going.

First of all, I'll leave you with the super complete post with 30 tips of all kinds. Then I've tried to summarize some of those 30 tips that apply more specifically to traveling with children, although as everything is relative because perhaps they are also tips that can help adults too, and vice versa, those that I haven't put here surely also apply to traveling with children. In short, read the 30 tips instead, where everything you want to know is.

Read our post with 30 tips for traveling to Canada

In our post about 30 tips for traveling to Canada You will find a lot of rabbits that I would have liked to have before going to Canada. But here I will try to summarize some that are important with children and will be useful to you.

Bring them binoculars

We before leaving We bought 2 of these binoculars which are quality and price-performance ratio They were very useful for the whole family during our trip. Our kids were excited about them and were able to see animals up close with them. It was a great idea to take them with us in our suitcases.

Parks Canada Explorer Program

Parks Canada has a educational and entertaining children's program which is a must-do in any National Park or Historical Site you visit in Canada. 

It's easy, ask at the National Park Visitor Center or at the entrance to museums or historic sites and they will give you a book. Once you have completed it, you must take it back to where you received it. And here's the big surprise: you will receive a very cool little gift: a hanging badge, which you can collect during the trip. The best souvenir of the trip you will have in years.

 Book fun and practical accommodations

An important part of traveling is always accommodation. Therefore, whenever you can, consider Practical and also fun accommodationsThis is a tip for traveling to Canada, but it will also be useful in many other places.

For practicality, especially if you travel with your family like us, I always recommend camping apartments or bungalows or motorhome or camper, which have a kitchen and that is a great point in favor of saving and pampering the children with meals.

TIP: If you want to do this route by Canada by motorhome Like us, we recommend renting a motorhome. Do it in Calgary or Vancouver with Road surfers, a company we would repeat with. Roadsurfer  gave us un discount of 150 $ that you as readers can also benefit from applying the DISCOUNT CODE: KUCAVANAAMERICA

Spray Parks, a free plan that is a hit with the little ones

It depends on the area you go to, if you travel in summer you may encounter some very hot days, as happened to us in the Drumheller area and the Valley of the Dinosaurs in Alberta Provincial Park. On those days you will discover the Best plan in Canada in the heat and with children: spray parks.

There are spray parks in almost every town and city, usually right next to the regular playground. It's a super fun water play area for kids. A free activity that they'll love!

 

 

Top 30 things to do and see in Canada with children

Having seen the initial tips for travelling to Canada with children, here are the Top 30 things to do with your little ones in Canada.

I warn you first of all that Almost everyone is in the western canada area that is the that we know more about, so perhaps there are more plans in the east that are not in this Top 30 and deserve to be.

Visit the Tyrell Museum: The World's Most Amazing Dinosaur Museum

Undoubtedly, Drumheller calls itself the Dinosaur capital of the worldBoth Drumheller and the so-called Dinosaur Valley that leads to Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park are a mind-blowing landscape.

A must-see place to visit in Canada with children, where the Tyrell Museum is one of the must-sees. 

Never, ever, have we seen so many dinosaur skeletons and in such a place. A place World Heritage Site by UNESCO, one of the most spectacular, where more than 1000 have been found. 400 dinosaur skeletons of more than 40 species.

Discover Fort Steele, an intact village from 1882 Canada

One of the Open-air museums that we liked the most This was the first Canadian town. A partly rebuilt and partly intact village dating back to 1882. A space with actors and shows where you can discover the history of Canada and this ancient Canadian town.

Children will also find many farm animals here and can even ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

Go canoeing on the Lake Louise, Lake Morain or Emerald Lake

One of the star activities in Canada is embark on a kayak or canoe on one of the thousands of lakes in Canada.

For us, doing it in one of its most beautiful emerald lakes was something we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Visit Boo Bear

On Kicking Horse Mountain there is a very special bear. A Little Grizzly Bear Orphan  who was adopted and rescued at this ski resort and who today lives happily and safely on many square meters. With much respect, today you can go and visit him and see him. To access it there is a fun part for children. You have to go up on a chairlift!

Enter Canada's largest treehouse and an enchanted forest

The Enchanted Forest, not far from Revelstoke, is home to hundreds of impressive sculptures and wooden tree houses recreated in the original tales. But there is one that is very special, the largest tree house in Canada with 3 floors and very impressive.

A place that children will love, large, very entertaining and beautiful.

Go shopping at a Walmart and be amazed by the big purchases and where there are even McDonalds in the supermarkets

Canada at the supermarket is like the United States: all in a big way. Giant cereal packets, giant ketchup, etc… Everything giant.

Crossing a suspension bridge like Indiana Jones

You can do it in Golden or Vancouver paying or in Drumheller for free, but the suspension bridges on rivers are beautiful, fun and a must-see when visiting Canada with children.

Bathe in hot springs

Bathing in hot thermal waters in Canada is possible, and in many places. In the Rocky Mountains area we were able to do it in different places. such as Banff, Radium Hot Springs, Fairmont Hot Springs, among other sites that exist.

Discover the importance of the railway in Canada at the Revelstoke Railway Museum

For Canada, the railway is a union. In a country as large as Canada and with such difficult travel due to snow, ice and cold, it was a great achievement to achieve a railway that would unite the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic. 

In Revelstoke we found a very cool museum, where you can not only enter old trains, learn about the history of the Pacific Railway but where you will also have fun even in a simulator.

Spotting wildlife, a plan for Canada with children that never fails

One thing that is always a hit with kids in Canada is wildlife spotting. And it's not difficult to do.

Just bring a good pair of binoculars, walk in nature and enjoy. Squirrels of many types, deer, elks, moose, coyotes, porcupines, bison, thousands of colorful birds, bears... We were able to see all of this up close.. Of course, remember to talk to scare away the bears, hehe, it is better to see them from afar or on the road as is more common.

See desert in Canada: the Badlands

When we think of Canada, we think of mountains, lakes, but few people think of Canada as having a desert. Perhaps not a desert with dunes as such, but the Badlands are lands semi-desert very similar to the Bardenas Reales from Spain, which will amaze you with their shapes and canyons.

Visiting one of Alberta's old coal mine museums in Canada with kids

A plan we made that the whole family liked was the visit to the coal mine: the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site. 

This mine had guided tour with a little train and also inside the mine. The visit was very fun and full of learning!

Climb the Calgary Tower and look out over its glass floor

What a scare it gave us adults when we looked out of the tower Calgary on that glass floor. On the other hand, our little ones they had a great time! Hehehe How things are hehehe The truth is that it was really cool to go up and see that big city from up there.

Rafting on the Kicking Horse River

My children in the top ten that they made during the trip, They put this plan in top 1. The winning plan, the one they liked the most.

No wonder because I loved it too! The rafting we did in Golden on the Kicking Horse River was fun, safe for the little ones, where they could swim in the river with the neoprene and finishing with a barbecue was the icing on the cake.

Visit the museum of Banff National Park full of animals and with an Explorer booklet

My children liked this museum the most in the Rocky Mountain National Parks. Probably because they were able to see so many animals up close. Of course, dissected animals (that they gave me more than them.

Climb the tallest dinosaur in the world, in the Dinosaur Capital of the World

Another foolproof plan for a trip to Canada with children: get on a super T Rex.

And if you don't want to go up, it doesn't matter, you can always look at it from below playing in the spray park, a water park in front of it. It is located in Drumheller, the capital of the Dinosaurs, right in front of the city's tourist office.

Enjoy a rodeo and its family atmosphere

This was a great plan for the whole family, I won't deny it. Also, it was improvised in a very fortunate way. Calgary is the rodeo capital of the world and all of Alberta He is constantly enjoying rodeos, so keep an eye out for the signs and don't hesitate: go to a rodeo!

We were able to enjoy it at Patricia's the first weekend of September. There are 3 days of rodeo, throughout the weekend and the performances are from 16pm until late at night. There is no need to book, you pay the entrance fee of 10 dollars per adult, children free, and enjoy. A show for the whole family!

Take a long but easy walk with a great reward like Lake Boom

Doing Easy walks, but a bit long, which are a challenge to achieve great goal, are a sure success for children accustomed to walking like ours. This 10 km walk to and from the Boom Lake in Banff National Park, was the star of our children's walks. 

Visiting a canyon via walkways over the river, such as those in Johnston Canyon, is a must-see in Canada with children.

The psidings on rivers between steep walls They are quite an adventure for children and adults. One of these routes that we liked the most was the one Johnston Canyon. A must-see in Banff National Park and Canada.

See glaciers from afar, never stepping on them in summer to be responsible with them

Canada is full of glaciers. Without a doubt, the best place to see them is on the most beautiful scenic road in Canada: la Icefields Parkway, the ice fields road. There you can even get within a few metres of some of them, like the Athabasca. Something that the little ones will love. 

But in summer, remember, you have to be responsible and not to be participants in the destruction of glaciers. Stay away and don't step on them. They are disappearing fast enough, so it's not a big deal for us who are just passing through as tourists.

Take a gondola ride up to a great viewing point like Sulphur

I must say, first of all, that we did not go up by cable car to the top of the Sulfur Mountain. Here are my champions and their parents We climbed on foot. 12 km round trip and 800 meters of elevation gain. were the route challenge to climb Sulphur Mountain. 

Even though you may think it was a nightmare, I must tell you the absolute truth: it was the route that my children say was the best of our entire trip through the Rockies.

The effort just to get to the top was rewarding: lots of squirrels and mountain goats came to visit us and even the squirrels climbed on top of the children. That, added to the incredible views from the top, will make us always remember this route and summit.

Anyway, as I said, there is a cable car, called Gondola, which takes you up effortlessly and in a fun way too.

Make a barbecue and marshmallows

Last year, on our trip along the West Coast of the USA, my children enjoyed this plan very much. Almost every night it was the plan for dinner and evening. Maybe that is why my children were so eager to go to Canada.

 The thing is that day we had the chance, day we They did not forgive making fire (which they learned to do by themselves and with flint), barbecue and for dessert marshmallows.

If you can, this is a great recommendation for a plan, you will never forget it and the stories you will tell that night will make the evening even more fun!

Eating in a restaurant with typical Canadian decor

You can't miss going to one of those restaurants with cdeer ornaments and red and black plaid blanketsEven though it's only pizza and hamburgers and it's not very healthy, it's a plan that has to be done someday.

Visit the Calgary Heritage Museum

This museum is one of the largest open-air museums of Canadian folklore from Canada. Full of historic houses, actors, workshops and activities, it is a great plan in Calgary with children.

Swim in one of Canada's thousands of lakes

In Canada there are so many lakes that you will find all kinds. From those that you would never swim in because they are so dirty, those that the water is so frozen that you get hypothermia and of course those that are good for swimming. If you ask at the visitor centers they will guide you to the best one. There are many with beaches prepared for bathing, and in none of them did we see any prohibition against bathing.

Eating pancakes with maple syrup, even at McDonalds you can get a Happy Meal with them

Going to Canada with children and Not eating pancakes with maple syrup would be a crime unforgivable. So much so that you would steal from my children all the breakfasts they had in Canada, which were pancakes with maple syrup, haha. At Walmart they sell some frozen ones that are delicious when you make them in a frying pan.

Go to Canada's most famous fast food restaurant: a Tim Hurtons

This is the most famous coffee chain in Canada, although it not only has coffee and pastries, it also has fast food.

The point is to soak up the culture from there and these coffee shops are Canadian culture.

By the way, a tip, try the Iced Capp, coffee with caramel ice cream and I don't know if there's something else that made me addicted and I already miss it here in Spain hahaha

Discover the National Parks Visitors Centers and their educational exhibits

In any of the 48 National Parks of Canada It is worth starting the visit at its Visitor Center. A place where they will not only give you the better information and recommendations, but they will also give the kids the Explorer booklets to earn their badges and where you can always visit very educational exhibits.

Take a photo in the typical red chairs of Parks Canada

A simple and easy plan, but one that cannot be missed. You will find them everywhere, don't worry.

Look for bear poop on your hikes: in July and August they have berries, they are easy to identify

This plan may surprise you, it may even make you laugh. To tell you the truth, I I neither planned it nor ever thought about it in doing ejjeje Now, the Explorer books have these things, you learn so much about bears and animal poop that then you become an explorer of poop everywhere hehehe. The best of all, that when we start observing, we don't stop finding them.

By the way, sorry for the photo haha, I had to give an example so you know what they are like before looking for them.

Have picnics in the thousand recreational areas that exist

Something that cuts costs and is great for families is to have a nice picnic outdoors. The best thing about Canada is that you will find Picnic tables anywhere that you can imagine, so take advantage of eating outdoors, it couldn't be better.

Map of what to see in Canada with children

Below, I'm leaving you the map I made with these 30 places and many more interesting places to visit in Canada with children. I hope it's as useful to you as it was to us.

Conclusions about traveling to Canada with children 

I hope this post has been of great help to you and gives you useful ideas for your future family trip to Canada.. This is always the purpose for which I write.

Remember that for the love I put into writing to you, the best thing you can do is tell me something down hereAnyone who knows me knows that I value it very much and it always gives me the strength to continue writing after more than 7 years of blogging.

Have a nice trip, family!