CANADA
The Canadian classics.
The 15 most popular self-guided tours, with what each one actually includes, who runs it, and what you will pay.
Private, self-guided Bow River rafting in Calgary for 2–12 people. Sanitized rafts, included safety gear, and a city-park float.
“Great way to be outdoors! Excellent customer service from all the staff we interacted with. Highly recommend.”
Self-guided Vancouver bike or e-bike rental with a map for Stanley Park, Science World, Gastown, and Granville Island. Great bike lanes.
“The check in line was crowded when we arrived an hour after the store opened, but the staff kept things moving swiftly. Having reservations ahead of time for the e-bikes was wonderful and allowed us to explore many more miles of the city than we would have on foot. The map they shared was more…”
Self-guided treetop walk near Mont-Tremblant: a forest loop to a 40 m tower with big Laurentian views, wildlife stops, and easy grades.
“Awesome I’m not great with heights so this was challenging for me but well worth it.”
GPS-triggered smartphone audio for the Icefields Parkway. Offline after download, 45 stops, trivia, Jasper or Lake Louise.
“Mostly loved the tour with some minor quibbles. Enjoyed the history and and overview of the sights. Trivia was fine, but took too much time: skip either reading questions twice or the “thinking music “. Would have loved more geological facts”
Drive Cabot Trail with an offline smartphone audio guide: GPS-triggered stories, photo moments, and no data needed after download.
“Gorgeous drive and vistas. Lunch at the Keltic lodge was wonderful and scenic. Had a little trouble with the audio not self advancing”
Self-guided Ottawa bike route from $30 with helmet, lock and map linking Rideau Canal and Ottawa River in 2–4 hours.
“Bike were very Nice love this i got to explore places that i love easy to ride the bike Staff were professionnel”
Ride the tunnels at Journey Behind the Falls, then get Skylon Tower views plus Nikola Tesla audio on your phone in Niagara.
“The package was inclusive of Skylon Tower, Behind the fall & Tesla Audio tour. Behind the fall experience in winter is useless as the 02 windows are actually completely frozen, you cannot see anything. Also, Tesla Audio tour is quite misleading as we went with the impression that we would access the Nicola Tesla power…”
Fly seaplane from downtown Vancouver to Whistler’s Green Lake, then explore Whistler Village at your pace with a free shuttle.
“Bucket List for sure! Very professionally run seaplane company- beautiful trip to/from Whistler- great pilots and staff! Whistler is gorgeous and so much to do in a day- hiking, biking, walking, shopping, lunching….so glad we did this!”
Rent a city bike or e-bike near Parliament Hill for a self-guided Ottawa-Gatineau ride on safe paths with a custom RidewithGPS map.
“Great bikes for a 4-hour trip. A bit on the pricey side for the rent for 4 hours. Good explanation, but for a route you have to create an account, all this takes you 15 minutes if you are not familiar with it. The area is beautiful!!!”
Self-guided cycling along Ottawa’s Rideau Canal for the 200th anniversary with new Giant bikes, helmet, lock, map, and a simple route.
“Magnifique balade en velo le long du canal Rideau, meilleur moyen de déplacement pour découvrir ces sites bucoliques.”
Drive the Sea to Sky Highway with GPS-triggered audio stops from Vancouver to Whistler, flexible timing, and data-free narration for $8.22.
“Audio worked well.... Very informative and entertaining... Loved the quiz questions... Will use this site again”
E-bike your way through Kelowna’s Okanagan Valley with a phone guide, tastings at 3 wineries, and a farm-to-table lunch.
“We had a great day! It was such a fun way to see Kelowna and experience the wineries. The wineries we visited had a lot of variety. The tour operators were super organised and very passionate about their business. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to do a wine tour and see Kelowna…”
Drive the Bay of Fundy from Moncton to St. Martins with offline GPS audio, trivia, and UNESCO stops for one small group price.
“We could not complete the tour because we were sent to a provincial park that demanded money to use the road.”
Walk downtown Charlottetown with an offline, GPS-triggered audio guide. See key Confederation sites, churches, and waterfront stories for $11.99.
“It was a beautiful day to walk Charlottetown and learn some history. I have recommended it to friends and will try some of the other audio tours.”
A low-cost, self-paced smartphone walk through Halifax churches, gardens, and graveyards with GPS narration and optional trivia.
“It took a little time to figure out the navigation. The information was interesting. My traveling partner was unexpectedly unable to go on the tour, but enjoyed listening to the commentary afterwards.”
