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What Makes Canada Special?

By Matthew G. Bailey Leave a Comment

What makes Canada special?

From May 15th – October 11th, my wife and I, along with filmmaker Justin Brunelle, traveled the whole of Canada, coast to coast to coast, to find out what makes Canada special. We experienced so many of the best things to do in Canada but we also interviewed people from all backgrounds to ask them what they think makes Canada such a great country.

We interviewed a wide variety of people, including celebrity astronaut Chris Hadfield, interpreters from Parks Canada, museum curators, tour guides, and even Syrian refugees. We heard many different answers to our question and it was so inspiring and heartwarming to hear the love that everyone had for their country, whether they had been here for generations or had just arrived.

It was an incredible trip, to say the least, and we actually experienced all of the things that people said they loved about Canada. They talked about their love for immigration and we heard the stories of many refugees. They talked about their love for the people and we met so many friendly and welcoming people from each province and territory. They talked about their love for the diversity of the country and we met with dozens of different cultures along the way. And of course, they all mentioned the nature and the landscapes and how vast Canada really is. This we really experienced, as we drove all the way from Newfoundland to Tuktoyuktuk and beyond. [Read more…] about What Makes Canada Special?

Calgary’s National Music Centre Offers Backstage Pass Tour

By Matthew G. Bailey Leave a Comment

Studio Bell Calgary
Looking up at Studio Bell, Calgary, Alberta.

Since opening its doors in 2016, the National Music Centre’s Studio Bell has been one of Calgary’s hottest attractions. Housed in one of the cities most stunning buildings, the NMC brings musical education to the masses, including Canada’s Music Hall of Fame, interactive educational programming, artist incubation, and over 2,000 rare instruments and artifacts such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and one of Elton John’s pianos.

For those who want more, the National Music Centre also offers the Backstage Pass Tour, an incredible way to experience the studios where musicians record, a variety of musical instruments from this century and many before it, and even an up close and personal look at the Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio, a unique setup that was used by some of the worlds most famous bands and Canadian musicians, including Dire Straits, Deep Purple, Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Maiden. [Read more…] about Calgary’s National Music Centre Offers Backstage Pass Tour

7 Tips For Driving the Dempster Highway to the Arctic

By Matthew G. Bailey 34 Comments

Last updated: April 2nd, 2020

One of the most epic road trips in all of Canada is the Dempster Highway, a 700-km dirt road stretching from Dawson, Yukon to Inuvik, NWT. The highway takes you from one territory to another, passing the Arctic Circle and all sorts of magnificent scenery, and finally linking up to the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk-Highway, which takes you all the way to the Arctic Ocean.

During our 150-day road trip across Canada, this was one of our most epic experiences. After all, how often can you say you drove past the Arctic Circle? The landscapes are so incredible and because we went in the fall, we were greeted by an array of beautiful colours, ranging from dark reds to golden yellows. It was truly a road trip we’ll never forget and a trip that many people wish to take. After all, this is one of the best things to do in Canada.

As mentioned in the beginning, however, the Dempster Highway is a 700-km dirt road with very little services offered along the way. In fact, there’s only one and it’s in a place called Eagle Plains, which is located around the 400-km mark. Due to the highway’s isolation and rough surface, you must do some planning before you go. We read all sorts of blogs and info sites before embarking on our journey and quite frankly, many of them scared the shit out of us. Now that we’ve been on the Dempster Highway ourselves, I can say that some of them exaggerated quite a bit, but probably for good reason – to really make sure people prepare before making such a long-isolated journey. [Read more…] about 7 Tips For Driving the Dempster Highway to the Arctic

Travel Hacking in Canada

By Matthew G. Bailey 1 Comment

First Class Emirates Travel Hacking
Sitting aboard Emirates First Class from India to Dubai
 
As many of you know, we travel around Canada quite a bit, exploring the best things to do from coast to coast to coast. However, we also travel around the world as much as we can and have visited six continents, 38 countries, and over 250 cities over the last seven years. In fact, it’s our love for world travel that also led to our love for exploring Canada, as travelling around the world made us appreciate the incredible scenery, attractions, and culture of our home country.
 
For me, it all started with a solo trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia way back in 2009. Then, in 2012, I had the opportunity to do an exchange semester at a university in Malaysia. So, Karla and I travelled to Southeast Asia for an entire year, visiting Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and China. Our passion for travel multiplied and we just didn’t want to stop. At the same time, we didn’t have the money to pay for a lot of trips, so I started learning about something called travel hacking, which inevitably led to the creation of CanadianFreeFlyers.com.

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Campfires Under the Northern Lights in Whitehorse, Yukon

By Matthew G. Bailey 2 Comments

photographing the milky way

For anyone visiting Canada’s north, witnessing the aurora borealis (or the northern lights as they are also known) is almost always high on their bucket list. After all, who can look at photographs of green, pink, and purple ribbons of light dancing across the sky and not want to book a northern lights holiday? Having grown up in Fort.McMurray, Alberta, I saw them all the time, but once I moved down South, I didn’t see them for many, many years. So, when I was up in Whitehorse, Yukon, it was on my bucket list to see them as well.

Since we wanted to experience the options that tourists have when visiting the area, we contacted Northern Tales and asked about their northern lights vacation packages. Located right in the Best Western hotel in Whitehorse, they’re conveniently located for anyone visiting the area. In fact, accommodation at the Best Western is included in some of their packages. We ended up trying out their Basic Aurora Borealis package, which basically consists of a few nights at the Best Western combined with late-night viewings outside the city. [Read more…] about Campfires Under the Northern Lights in Whitehorse, Yukon

Tips For Your Next Winter Ski Vacation

By Matthew G. Bailey Leave a Comment

ski lake louise
If you’re a regular reader of Must Do Canada, you’ve probably noticed that we love skiing. For anyone living in Canada, finding something to do in the winter should be a priority, otherwise, it’s going to be long, cold, and boring four to six months. For us, we love many things, but our favorite winter activity is hitting the slopes, especially those around Banff National Park. Not only is skiing very fun, it’s also a great way to get out and enjoy nature.

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Fat-Tire Biking in a Winter Wonderland

By Matthew G. Bailey Leave a Comment

Best things to do in the winter

As much as I love biking in the summer months, I’ve never considered doing it in the winter. Not only is it cold but I always thought that it would be super difficult, what with all the snow and ice and slush. Well, that’s not the case with fat-tire biking! The first time I saw fat-tire bikes was at Burning Man as people used them to push through the sand. I thought they looked really cool but didn’t see the practicality outside of biking on a sandy beach. Then, winter came to Canada and suddenly I saw this new sport come to life. I noticed people posting photos of them fat-tire biking on snowy trails and thought it looked like a great way to get outdoors during the colder months. Then we went to Panorama, BC for a weekend and finally had the opportunity to try them out ourselves. [Read more…] about Fat-Tire Biking in a Winter Wonderland

Flying Over Yellowknife in a Float Plane – It’s the Thing to Do

By Matthew G. Bailey Leave a Comment

Views of Yellowknife

If you ever find yourself visiting the charming city of Yellowknife, do not miss the chance to get inside a floatplane and tour the area from the sky. Whether you’re going flightseeing or being flown to a secluded lake for some incredible fishing, floatplanes are the thing to do in Yellowknife.

Prior to our visit in August 2017, I had never been inside a floatplane before. I had been in many little 4-seater planes, helicopters, and a variety of massive jetliners. I had also jumped out of a plane and even flew one myself – albeit just for a few minutes. However, flying in a floatplane had always been on my bucket list. I find it so cool that you can land them on lakes and rivers and in a place like Yellowknife, there’s a reason why floatplanes are all the rage. [Read more…] about Flying Over Yellowknife in a Float Plane – It’s the Thing to Do

Heli-Snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies

By Matthew G. Bailey 24 Comments

Helicopter Tour in the rocky mountains

No matter where we go, taking a helicopter tour is one of our favourite activities. It’s such a great way to see beautiful scenery from the sky and to get a different perspective of the area. We’ve taken helicopter rides in many different areas but one of our favourite places to take a helicopter tour is in Banff National Park.

We recently had the opportunity to go heli-snowshoeing with Rockies Heli Canada, which is located almost half-way between Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. It’s basically in the middle of the famous Icefields Parkway and right next to the Instagram-famous Abraham Lake. They offer a variety of helicopter tours and the one we did was the 20-minute flight with a 1-hour snowshoeing tour.

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Five Ways to Enjoy the Winter in Banff National Park

By Matthew G. Bailey 1 Comment

best things to do in banff in winter

For Calgarians, Banff is an easy weekend getaway. For others, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime dream trip. Regardless of where you live, however, it’s easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Located just over an hour from Calgary, Banff is a great place to unwind and find adventure. While the summer is the parks busiest time of year due to warm weather and summer holidays, winter is an equally amazing time with far fewer crowds. In fact, winter might be our favourite time to explore the Rocky Mountains as it really feels like a winter wonderland. With snow-covered pine trees surrounded by tall mountains, there’s never a dull moment in Banff National Park. [Read more…] about Five Ways to Enjoy the Winter in Banff National Park