The leaves are turning, birds are migrating, snow is falling on the mountains, and pumpkin pie is fresh out of the oven. This is Canada in autumn!
But beyond those well-known seasonal tropes, what is Canada really like in autumn? Hear it firsthand from one of our past guests who you may recognize from our 2024 Trafalgar Unlocked Awards, Kate. She won the trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica with us, but we’re not here to talk about her overcoming her ziplining fears in the jungle – we’re here to look back on her trip to Canada, the story of which she told in her Trafalgar Unlocked Awards entry. It’s an incredible tale of solo travel, meeting your best friend, and flying over Banff in a helicopter.
Kate’s Trafalgar Journey
“Having a child at 22, I didn’t really get to travel as much as I would have liked to,” Kate explains. When her youngest daughter went to Canada on a school exchange trip, Kate decided to make the trip across from Australia to see Canada too – but on her own. “I thought, I’m going to go twin share and try my luck, and ended up meeting this awesome woman called Sharene. We shared a room, and by the time we hopped on a bus the next day we were besties. Everyone couldn’t believe that we didn’t know each other forever.”
Read on to discover more about why Kate loved Canada in autumn, what she discovered, and her tips for travelers thinking about making it their next trip.
Why did you travel with Trafalgar?
“You get to a certain age, and I don’t want to have to be worried about where I’m staying, or where the food’s bad, where I am – just to have everything looked after. And that’s what I just love about Trafalgar.
Everyone’s there because they want to be adventurous and see the sights. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in your 80s, your 50s or your 30s, everyone’s there with the right attitude. One of the things I loved about the Trafalgar trips I’ve done, is that it breaks down all age barriers.
I think happiness brings out the most in people. I was looking back on my photos and everyone that was on the trip, they were also photogenic and just beautiful. And it was because there was just radiating happiness.”
Tour not found.What was your first impression of Canada in autumn?
“Mind-blowing, there’s no other way to describe it. It is totally and utterly mind-blowing. It’s the mountains and the trees and the rivers – just the size of it all. It’s like on steroids. When you set off, it’s not actually the Rockies to start off with. But I was like, ‘Oh, this is amazing. How could it get better than this?’
Coming from Australia, we’ve got a couple of little ski resorts, but nothing to that sort of degree. I’d love to go back there in winter now, just to see the snow-capped mountains – which we did see a bit of, as the glaciers are all year round. But it’s exceptional. It’s unbelievable. I don’t even know how to put it into words!
It was one of those trips where you couldn’t stop looking out the window, because every time we turned a corner, there were the most beautiful vistas; the leaves and the trees and the animals, it was just superb. The glacier rivers, this amazing blue. Everything was in hyper color.
I love getting outdoors and seeing what nature has, and Canada is amazing for that.”
What surprised you?
“My biggest surprise was Butchart Gardens in Victoria. When I read that on the itinerary, I thought we’ll see a few flowers, whatever. Oh my goodness, it was like a fairy land, the most magnificent gardens I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m not a gardener but these gardens were exquisite, and being autumn that was absolutely a highlight.
This woman had gone in there and completely redone this old quarry. There’s a traditional English rose garden, and then there are other areas like a Japanese garden, and then she’s got an Italian garden, and all these different areas. They’re stunning. You just can’t imagine that anyone could have such a beautiful garden.
One thing Trafalgar do really well is getting in early, so there was only us wandering around. It’s so worth it, just to have that sense of solitude.”
Best memory?
“Probably the helicopter ride over in Banff over glaciers! I’d never been in a helicopter before. That was insane. I mean, there are so many good memories it’s hard just to say one or two,
The Rocky Mountaineer was amazing. I went Silver Class, whereas my friend Shereen, she was in Gold Class. I honestly loved Silver Class, that was brilliant. It feels so special. They’re waiting on you and giving all this beautiful food – and the scenery. That was really good fun.”
What wildlife did you see?
“We saw moose, we saw lots of wildlife. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see a bear. They were hiding from me, but we saw lots of deer, elk, and the moose, so lots of other wildlife. The eagles were amazing, and the wildlife was fabulous. I would love to have seen a bear – but it just gives me a reason to go back again, I guess!”
How did you prepare to visit Canada in autumn?
“You’ve just got to have the right gear. I did a lot of research on raincoats, wet weather shoes that are good for hiking. I honestly believe that the weather is never going to stop me, so I did a bit of research around gear – when I’m traveling, I love the preparation of going for a trip as much as I do being on the trip.
There was one day we went to a glacier, and we were supposed to go on a bus driving over it but they turned it off because of the weather. But Alex, our gorgeous tour guide, he got us to walk out onto the glacier, and then he had some sort of Canadian whisky that he gave us all a shot of. Standing on the glacier, the weather was just incoming, sleet in your face – but I love all of that and a shot of whisky to go with it was great.
Walking out onto a glacier and thinking, can I do this? Yes, I’ve done it. It was good fun.”
How was your Be My Guest Experience?
The Be My Guest Experience on this tour is with host Matricia, who runs the Warrior Women collective which aims to educate guests and reconnect them with the earth through fireside stories, traditional drumming, nature walks and stories of the indigenous Cree people.
“She had such an amazing knowledge, but also a really good way of passing it on. We did a few things that were sort of cultural immersion. We went to an indigenous center, we got spoken to, and we ate their food. That was fabulous. Walking through the bush, she was pointing out different food, things you could eat, medicines and things like that. They are very much in touch with the earth, and believe that they’re custodians of the earth.
It just hits you when you’re looking at a culture that’s 25,000 years old – seeing these mountains and knowing that generations have survived in the wilderness. It’s almost like walking into a cathedral, because you know that it’s so spiritual.”
Any tips for travelers visiting Canada in autumn?
“Just make sure you’ve got the gear for every weather, whatever is going to be thrown at you. Pack well and enjoy everything you can. Put yourself out there and do everything. Take on any of the added extras – don’t go that far and say, ‘You know what, I can’t afford the helicopter ride’. Stash away that extra $10 a week and just do every everything that you can do, because it’s incredible. It’s once in a lifetime trip.”
Ready to experience Canada in autumn? Discover our Canada tours now.