Travel Guide Canada - inspiration for your travels

With a wealth of dynamic cities to visit and some of the most picturesque landscapes in the world, Canada is a first-choice destination for people planning a fun-filled motoring holiday with friends or family. Sprawled right across the entire American continent, this vast, progressive nation offers all the right ingredients for intrepid road-trippers looking for that perfect mix of urban thrills and head-spinning views, interspersed with enough tourist sights and natural attractions to keep travellers coming back time and time again.

Top of the list for many visitors are the incredible Rocky Mountains which are unparalleled for their soaring peaks and crystal-clear lakes. Located just an hour's drive from Toronto along the US border, the incredible Niagara Falls are without doubt one of the country's most favoured must-see attractions that can be viewed up close from a number of strategically-positioned viewpoints. Classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1985, Old Quebec (Vieux-Quebec) is one of the most historic places in Canada with many interesting museums and galleries to visit, not to mention fashionable boutiques and numerous fine-dining restaurants.

As one of the world's leading car hire companies, Auto Europe works very closely with all the world’s top car rental companies in over 28,000 convenient pick-up locations in more than 190 popular destinations, including Vancouver and Calgary. You can book a cheap car hire in Canada in a few clicks using the Auto Europe booking engine or by getting in touch with our award-winning rental specialists and they will be more than happy to find you the best deal.

With our Travel Guide Canada you'll find all the information you need regarding the many different options available when visiting this magnificent country, such as being able to pick up your car in one destination and dropping it off in another, plus all our regular promotions offering free upgrades, additional drivers, winter tyres and much more to further enhance your driving holiday in Canada.

Look over the Canada travel guide topics listed below and take a look at each page for information on a specific aspect of travelling in Canada.

• Canada Car Hire Guide - This guide offers you a full overview of everything you need to know about hiring a car in Canada.
• Canada Driving Information - Learn helpful information about driving in Canada. From tips and driving laws to speed limits, parking and more.
• Canada Fleet Guide Options - Information about our car hire options for your trip to Canada.

Road trips with my car hire in Canada

Over forty times the size of the United Kingdom, this vast country has a plethora of possibilities for a exhilarating road-trips with a low-cost car rental in Canada, starting from Toronto, the country's largest city. A short drive north brings you to Georgian Bay with its lovely setting of pine-dotted islets seemingly floating in Lake Huron's crystalline waters. The snow-capped summits of British Columbia are another major draw for visitors exploring the country on four wheels, with the vibrant city of Vancouver often proving to be the region's number one attraction for people exploring Canada's picturesque Pacific coast by car.

There are endless road-trips options to choose from in Canada and below we have compiled a special section with our most interesting itineraries for you to discover.

Cabot Trail - This scintillating motorway snakes right the way along the Cape Breton coastline, passing through a succession of thick forests and picturesque fishing towns and villages en route. Visitors can experience the natural beauty of the Cape Breton Highlands as they drive along this 298-kilometre-long (186 mile) coast road, rewarding travellers with some of the most spectacular scenery in Canada.

Pacific Rim National Park - This lesser known part of the country is a treasure trove of natural attractions and spectacular coastal scenery to be found on the west side of the Vancouver Island. Spread over 500 square-kilometres, the drive follows west Canada's long rugged Pacific shoreline and includes many unmissable attractions, including Long Beach (located on Highway 4) and the very picturesque West Coast Trail.

Icefields Parkway - Taking in the dramatic Rocky Mountains for more than 200 kilometres, the amazing Icefields Parkway is without doubt one of the world's most scenic road-trips. Linking Lake Louise with Jasper (Alberta), it winds along the Continental Divide through soaring rocky mountain peaks, ice-fields and vast sweeping valleys. Don't miss!

Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec Triangle - The three magnificent cities of Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa are maneageble with a car hire in Canada due to their relatively close proximity. Each of the cities boasts an abundance of top-class attractions and are connected by some of the best motorways in the country. The route between Montreal and Quebec follows the Saint Lawrence River, passing the enchanting Mont-Saint-Bruno National Park en route.

What to do in Canada

It's simply not possible to see and do everything that Canada has to offer in just one trip; you'll need to visit dozens of times in order to do that. Nevertheless, there are certain places you cannot miss if you're planning to enjoy some of country's highlights when you rent a car in Canada, such as Niagara Falls and the amazing Rocky Mountains.

• Toronto: On the shores of Lake Ontario lies Canada's biggest city - Toronto - one of the most vibrant and visually striking places on the planet. Don't miss the iconic CN Tower which has a height of more than 500 metres and offers its many annual visitors head-spinning views from the viewing gallery at the top. If you only have time to visit one museum, make sure it's AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), one of the best museums in North America with around 100,000 pieces collected from all over the world, including many European masterpieces.


• Quebec: Charming and very cosmopolitan, Quebec is a thriving metropolis located in the north of the country and a city that boasts one of the loveliest Old Towns in the whole of Canada. Dating from 1608, Vieux Québec (Old Quebec) is the city's fortified colonial core where visitors can discover many fine monuments and attractions from that period, including the Citadel, Place d'Armes and the Parque Historique de l'Artillerie.


• Montreal: With its lovely old buildings, Old Montreal (the historic heart of the city) is a great place to go for an evening stroll before relaxing in one of its many waterfront restaurants. The centre of Montreal is a huddle of skyscrapers, churches and first-rate museums, most notably the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (the largest attraction of its kind in Canada) and the fascinating Redpath Museum with its large collection of rare exhibits portraying the country's natural history.


• Churchill: A small town on Hudson Bay in the far north of Manitoba province, Churchill is a place that ranks prominently on the tourist map due to its abundance of polar bears, which roam the area during the cold season and can be easily viewed in their natural habitat on jeep safaris. It is also a very popular spot for whale-watching, especially in July and August when thousands of beluga whales choose to inhabit the warmer waters of the enchanting Churchill River.


• Dawson City: A visit to Dawson City in the north-west of the country means taking a step back into Canada's history. This iconic frontier town was once the centre of the great Klondike Gold Rush which began in 1896. One of the town's most important tourist attraction's is the Dawson Historical Complex, a protected site that encompasses the historic core of the town.

A bit of history

Canada's history began with the arrival of the Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago. The Vikings (the first European) landed but it was the French who were the first to become properly established in the country and in 1608, Samuel de Champlain established a settlement on the cliffs overlooking the St Lawrence River which is known as Quebec City today. Canada has always been a loosely linked country, a confederation of provinces, not a union of states. Two massive waves of immigration, one before 1914 and the other between 1945 and 1972 which poured 6.5 million assorted Europeans and Americans into the country, which besides providing labour and essential skills created a kaleidoscope of cultures. Today, Canada is officially bilingual in English and French, a fact that strongly reflects the country’s history as a land once furiously contested by two of Europe’s great powers.

Frequently Asked Questions about travelling in Canada

Now that we’ve given you some inspiration and ideas for a fascinating road-trip in Canada, you might still have a couple of questions about travelling around this incredible country. In the section below, you will find a selection of our most frequently asked questions regarding car rental in Canada, as well as a few phrases that might prove useful during your travels. You'll find plenty of advice on which vehicles will be best suited to your forthcoming journey, whether or not you will require a visa and what power supply is most common in Canada, plus a whole lot more. Should you require personal assistance from one of our staff, please do not hesitate to contact us for help with your reservation. You'll also find plenty of advice and other car hire-related information in our popular travel tips section where we cover a wide variety of topics ranging from coverage protection to all the rules and regulations regarding minimum and maximum age requirements and any driving restrictions that might apply in Canada, etc.

Useful Links

Canada Airport Information

Official Tourism Website of Canada

Gov.uk Canada Travel Advice