Where to Stay

Overview

Lodging in Canada works much like it does at home. You will find the same hotel chains, roadside motels, B&Bs, vacation rentals and campgrounds, booked the same ways. The differences are in the details: taxes and fees added after the room rate, short summers that squeeze demand into a few weeks, provincial and city rules that have shut down many short-term rentals, and a national park reservation system that sells out in hours.

Price tiers on this page are for a room for two per night: $ under C$150 (about $107), $$ C$150–300 (about $107–215), $$$ C$300–550 (about $215–390), $$$$ over C$550.

Hotels and motels

Canadian hotels price by the room, as in the US, and the big chains are all here: Marriott (including Delta Hotels, a Canadian brand Marriott now owns), Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, Best Western and Choice. Fairmont, now part of Accor, runs the famous railway châteaux, among them the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, the Banff Springs, the Chateau Lake Louise, the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and the Empress in Victoria. Canadian chains include Sandman and Coast in the West, Canalta on the Prairies, and the Quebec-based Germain group with its Le Germain and Alt hotels.

Check-in is usually 3 or 4 pm and checkout 11 am or noon. A card hold for incidentals is standard, and a debit card hold can tie up your money for days, so use a credit card. Many mid-range highway and suburban chains include breakfast; downtown hotels usually don't.

What a room costs

Motels

Roadside motels are everywhere in rural Canada, from the Gaspé Peninsula to the BC Interior. Many are family-run, spotless and cheap, and in places like the Gaspé, Cape Breton and the small towns outside the Rockies they are often the only option. In Quebec the word is the same, motel. Seasonal motels in Atlantic Canada and Quebec often open in May or June and close by mid-October. Some still prefer cash or a phone booking, and a few don't list on the big booking sites.

Indigenous-owned hotels

A growing number of hotels are owned by First Nations, and several are standouts in their own right: Skwachàys Lodge in Vancouver, an arts hotel with Indigenous artist-designed rooms, and the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations in Wendake, just outside Quebec City, which pairs the hotel with a Huron-Wendat museum. See Indigenous Canada for more.

Taxes and fees on your bill

The rate you see is almost always before tax. On top of it you pay the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) or the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), provincial tax where it applies to rooms, and in many places a local accommodation tax. It is normal for the total to come out 15–20% above the nightly rate, and more if the hotel adds its own fees. See money for sales tax across all purchases.

Local rates change and differ from town to town, so treat the third column as a guide to what you may see, and read the booking's final screen for the real total.

Destination marketing fees

Some hotels, especially in Ontario and BC, add a "destination marketing fee" or "DMF," often around 3%. The hotel collects it to fund local tourism promotion; it is not a government tax. Some hotels treat it as optional, so if you see one on your bill, ask at the front desk whether it can be removed.

When to book

Canada's tourist season is short and intense. Most of the country fills from late June to Labour Day, the first Monday of September, and the best-known places fill months ahead. These are the windows that catch Americans out.

The Rockies

For Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay in July and August, book hotels 6–12 months ahead, and earlier for the Fairmonts, the lodges at Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and anything with a view. Canmore, just outside Banff, and Golden and Radium Hot Springs in BC are good overflow bases. Jasper is still rebuilding after the 2024 wildfire, which destroyed part of the town, so its room supply is tighter than before; see the Rockies. Parks Canada campgrounds open on a single launch day per park, usually late January to mid-February, and Banff's and Jasper's summer weekends go within hours.

Atlantic Canada

Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick are busiest in July and August, and Cape Breton is also packed in late September and the first half of October, when fall colors and the Celtic Colours music festival coincide. Book the Cabot Trail for those weeks by spring. PEI cottages for July and August are often booked by the previous winter. In Newfoundland, rooms in Gros Morne, Twillingate, Bonavista and Fogo Island are limited, so book for June to August by early spring, along with any Marine Atlantic ferry crossing.

Quebec

Quebec City's old town fills in July and August and during Carnaval in early February; three to six months ahead is safe. Montreal rooms jump in price around the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which moved from June to late May starting in 2026, and on big festival weekends. The province's construction holiday, the last two weeks of July, is when much of Quebec goes on vacation at once, so Charlevoix, the Gaspé, Tadoussac and Mont-Tremblant are at their fullest. Book those regions months ahead for July. See Quebec City and Quebec regions.

Long weekends and events

Canada's long weekends fill cottage country, parks and nearby towns: Victoria Day in late May, Canada Day on July 1, the Civic Holiday on the first Monday of August in most provinces, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. Quebec also celebrates the Fête nationale on June 24. Big events drive city prices: the Calgary Stampede in July, the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and hockey playoff runs. See when to go and festivals.

B&Bs and gîtes

B&Bs are common in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Victoria and small-town Ontario, and they are often the most memorable way to stay. Most have two to five rooms, the owners live on site, and breakfast is a real meal. In Quebec a B&B is a gîte (or gîte touristique), and breakfast is often the high point: homemade bread, local cheese, maple syrup and fresh fruit.

• Check whether the bathroom is private, en suite or shared. Older houses sometimes have shared baths.
• Expect a two-night minimum on summer weekends, and cancellation windows of a week or more.
• Tell the host your arrival time. Many have a check-in window, such as 4 to 7 pm, and nobody at the desk after that.
• Some don't take children under a certain age or pets.
• Small hosts sometimes ask for payment by Interac e-Transfer, Canada's bank-to-bank system, which US bank accounts cannot use. Ask for a credit card option when you book.
• Air conditioning is less common than in the US, especially in older houses in Quebec and the Maritimes. If a heat wave matters to you, ask.

Inns and lodges

Country inns are a Canadian strength: restored farmhouses and Victorian mansions in the Eastern Townships, Charlevoix, the Annapolis Valley and Niagara-on-the-Lake, usually with a dining room that is the best restaurant in town. A few belong to Relais & Châteaux, such as Manoir Hovey in North Hatley, Quebec, Auberge Saint-Antoine in Quebec City, and Langdon Hall in southern Ontario. These are mostly $$$–$$$$, and dinner-inclusive packages are common.

Backcountry lodges

The Rockies have historic lodges you reach only on foot, skis or by helicopter. Skoki Lodge, built in the early 1930s, is about 7 miles (11 km) from the Lake Louise ski area by trail. Shadow Lake Lodge in Banff is about 8.5 miles (14 km) in. Mount Assiniboine Lodge is reached by helicopter from near Canmore or by a long hike. Rates include meals, run in the $$$$ range per night for two, and summer dates often sell out soon after booking opens. Check each lodge's site for its booking date.

Cottages, chalets and cabins

Renting a cottage on a lake is the classic Canadian summer, and many Americans make it an annual trip. In Ontario it is a cottage; in Quebec, a chalet; in northern Ontario you will also hear camp. The main areas are Ontario's cottage country (Muskoka, Haliburton, the Kawarthas, Georgian Bay and the Bruce Peninsula), Quebec's Laurentians and Eastern Townships, PEI and the Nova Scotia shore, and BC's Okanagan and Shuswap lakes. See Ontario.

How cottage rentals work

• Weekly rentals in summer. In Ontario cottage country, July and August rentals usually run a full week, most often Saturday to Saturday, with some Friday or Sunday changeovers. Check-in tends to be late afternoon and checkout mid-morning.
• Minimum stays elsewhere. In spring and fall, two- or three-night minimums are typical, longer on long weekends. Quebec chalets are more often rented by the night with a minimum.
• Booking early. The best summer weeks book the winter before, and many families rebook the same week every year.
• Cost. A modest lakefront cottage in a popular area often runs several thousand Canadian dollars a week in July and August, and big Muskoka lake houses far more. Shoulder weeks in June and September are cheaper and quieter.
• Deposits and contracts. Expect a deposit, a written agreement and a damage deposit. A cottage rental agency or a major platform gives you more protection than a private owner.

What surprises Americans

• Many cottages run on a septic system and well water. Follow the rules on what goes down the drain, and ask whether the tap water is drinkable.
• Bring or confirm linens and towels; some rentals don't supply them.
• Internet and cell coverage can be weak. Ask before you plan to work remotely.
• Many cottages have no air conditioning, and blackflies and mosquitoes are fierce in May and June.
• To drive a motorized boat in Canada you generally need proof of competency. Visitors operating their own boat for a short stay can usually use their home state's boating certificate, and rental boats come with a safety checklist that counts while you rent. Check Transport Canada's current rules.
• Stock up in town. In Ontario, beer and wine are now sold in many grocery and convenience stores as well as the LCBO and Beer Store. See drinks.

Short-term rental rules

Canada's housing shortage has pushed provinces and cities to clamp down on short-term rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo. The rules are aimed at hosts, but they affect you: an illegal listing can be removed and your booking cancelled, sometimes close to arrival. A registration or license number on the listing is the best sign that a rental is legal.

British Columbia

Since May 1, 2024, short-term rentals in most BC municipalities with 10,000 or more people, and in smaller communities next to them, have been limited to the host's own principal residence plus one secondary suite or garden cottage on the same property. That covers Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and most of the Lower Mainland. Small, isolated communities and resort areas are exempt, including Whistler and Tofino. Hosts must register each unit with a provincial registry and renew every year, and listings without valid registration are being removed, with existing bookings canceled. Vancouver also requires a city business license number on each listing.

Quebec

Quebec requires every short-term rental to hold a registration certificate from the provincial tourism registry, known by its old name, the CITQ, and the number must appear on the listing. Platforms must check it. Montreal is stricter: under the city's current rules, renting out a principal residence to tourists is allowed only from June 10 to September 10, for a maximum of 31 days in that period, and not at all in the Lachine, Saint-Laurent and Saint-Léonard boroughs. Hosts must post a city permit visible from the street. An entire apartment rented short-term that is not someone's home needs a commercial permit, allowed only in limited areas. In practice, a Montreal "entire apartment" listing in October or March is a red flag unless it shows a commercial certificate.

Toronto and elsewhere

Toronto allows short-term rentals, meaning under 28 consecutive days, only in the host's principal residence, and hosts must register with the city and show the registration number on the listing. Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Halifax and many other cities have their own permit systems, and Nova Scotia requires provincial registration. Rules keep changing; when in doubt, check that the listing has a number and read the host's reviews.

Campgrounds and oTENTiks

Camping is how many Canadians see their country, and the campgrounds in national and provincial parks are excellent: wooded sites, clean washrooms with showers in the bigger ones, and lakes or mountains steps away. The full details are on the national parks page.

Parks Canada

Reservations are made through the Parks Canada Reservation Service. Each park opens its whole season on one launch day, usually between late January and mid-February, with dates announced in December. In the big western parks you join an online waiting room and get a random place in line. Some parks keep first-come, first-served sites; arrive early in the day.

An oTENTik is Parks Canada's tent-cabin hybrid: raised wood floor, canvas walls, beds with foam mattresses for up to six, a table and usually a heater. You bring bedding and cooking gear. In Banff, oTENTiks cost C$147.50 (about $105) a night. Parks also offer yurts, small cabins and the Ôasis, a teardrop-shaped pod, in some places.

Provincial parks

Provincial parks are often closer to cities and easier to book. Ontario Parks takes reservations up to five months before arrival, and the most popular summer sites at parks such as Algonquin and Sandbanks can go on the first morning they open. BC Parks, Alberta Parks and Nova Scotia use their own booking sites and windows. In Quebec, the province's parcs nationaux, such as Jacques-Cartier and the Hautes-Gorges, are run by Sépaq, which also offers ready-to-camp tents, cabins and chalets. Do not confuse them with the federal national parks.

Private campgrounds and RVs

Private campgrounds, including KOAs, are common near towns and highways and are often the only option with full RV hookups. Summer RV rentals, from companies such as CanaDream and Fraserway, book up by spring. See road trips.

Backcountry huts

The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) runs a network of mountain huts in the Rockies and Selkirks, including the Elizabeth Parker Hut at Lake O'Hara, the Stanley Mitchell Hut in Yoho's Little Yoho Valley, Bow Hut on the Wapta Icefield, and the Peter and Catharine Whyte (Peyto) Hut. Some are hiking huts, some are for ski touring, and some, such as Neil Colgan Hut, are for climbers with glacier gear and experience.

Huts provide foam mattresses, stoves and cooking and eating utensils; you bring a sleeping bag, food and everything else. You share bunk rooms and kitchens with other parties, and you clean up, chop wood and shovel snow before you go. Prices start at about C$40–60 (about $29–43) per person per night, with lower rates for members. Several huts use "Fair Access" booking periods that non-members can enter after creating a free account. Booking within seven days of your trip is done by phone with the ACC at 403-678-3200.

The famous Abbot Pass Hut, between Lake Louise and Lake O'Hara, is gone: it was dismantled in 2022 because the ground beneath it was eroding.

Hostels and budget stays

HI Canada, the Canadian arm of Hostelling International, lists about 28 hostels, and more than half are in Alberta and BC, many along the Rockies. The flagships are the HI Banff Alpine Centre and HI Lake Louise Alpine Centre, with private rooms as well as dorms. Along the Icefields Parkway, small wilderness hostels offer bunk cabins in spectacular settings, with simple facilities; some have no showers or running water. A membership is included with your stay, and members get deals such as 10% off some VIA Rail tickets.

Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa have independent hostels and small chains, including Saintlo, which runs the Ottawa Jail Hostel in a former 19th-century jail. Some universities rent dorm rooms in summer at hostel-like prices. Dorm beds are the cheapest option in most cities, though prices climb in July and August; a private hostel room usually falls in the $–$$ range.

Unusual stays

How to avoid rental scams

Every summer, Canadian police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warn about fake cottage and apartment rentals. The pattern is almost always the same: a listing with real photos copied from another site, a price well below the market for a peak week, a friendly "owner" who moves the conversation off the platform, and a request for a deposit by wire, e-Transfer, crypto or gift cards. When the renter shows up, the address belongs to someone else or doesn't exist.

1. Book and pay only through the platform, an established agency, or the property's own verified website. Never pay a host off-platform, even for a "discount."
2. Pay with a credit card, which lets you dispute the charge. Treat any request for a wire, e-Transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards as a scam.
3. Check for a registration number in BC, Quebec, Toronto and other cities that require one. No number is a reason to walk away.
4. Run a reverse image search on the photos and look up the address on a map and street view. Copied photos and mismatched views are the usual giveaways.
5. Be wary of peak-week prices far below similar listings, owners who are "overseas," and pressure to pay today.
6. For hotels, book through the hotel's own site or a major booking site. Lookalike websites and ads can impersonate real hotels and Parks Canada; the only Parks Canada booking site is reservation.pc.gc.ca.
7. Get a written agreement for any cottage with the dates, total price, deposit, cancellation terms and the owner's full name.

If you are scammed, report it to your credit card company right away, to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) and to the US Federal Trade Commission. See safety for other common scams.