From the airport to the city centre Canada

There are several airports that handle international flights, the largest and busiest of which are in Vancouver (yvr.ca), Toronto (torontopearson.com) and Montreal (admtl.com). All provincial and territorial capitals and major cities have airports, and there are a variety of regional airports for domestic flights. Domestic fares are often quite expensive, but some low-cost airlines such as Flair Airlines (https://flyflair.com/), Lynx Air (www.flylynx.com) and Swoop (www.flyswoop.com) offer good fares (although they do not necessarily cover all provinces and territories).
The country's major airports have a good transportation system to get you to the city center, including public transit and express shuttle services by bus or train. Of course, you'll also find cabs (including services like Eva, Lyft and Uber), limousines, car rental companies and hotel shuttles at major airports. To plan your trip to downtown, check the relevant airport's website.

Arrival by train Canada

VIA Rail serves all of Canada from east to west (viarail.ca), except for Newfoundland and Labrador and the three territories. In addition to major lines such as the Canadian (Vancouver-Toronto), the Windsor-Quebec Corridor and the Ocean (Montreal-Halifax), there are also regional trains such as the Jasper-Prince Rupert line in Western Canada, Winnipeg-Churchill in Manitoba and Montreal-Jonquiere in Quebec. From Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, the Amtrak railway company (francais.amtrak.com) allows you to travel to the United States. Although it is quite pleasant to travel by train, the fares can be higher than by bus. However, travel cards are available to offer flexibility and savings for those who plan to use the train a few times during their trip.
In addition to these national networks, there are private lines such as the Rocky Mountaineer, which connects Vancouver to Banff/Lake Louise and Jasper, the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, which operates in Alaska, the Yukon and northern British Columbia, and the Train de Charlevoix, which follows the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and La Malbaie. A great way to combine travel with a tourist excursion!

Arrival by boat Canada

With such a huge waterway system, it should come as no surprise that there are countless ferries in Canada. Among the most popular, BC Ferries serves dozens of ports along the West Coast (bcferries.com), Ontario Ferries provides access to some of Ontario's islands (ontarioferries.com), the Société des traversiers du Québec offers more than a dozen marine services in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf areas (ferries.com), and Marine Atlantic (marineatlantic.ca), Bay Ferries and Northumberland Ferries (ferries.ca), which offer several routes in the Atlantic Provinces.
Marine services are also available between Canada and the United States, including Washington State Ferries, which operates between British Columbia and Washington State (wsdot.wa.gov/ferries), Alaska Marine Highway System, which operates between Alaska, British Columbia and Washington State (ferryalaska.com), and Bay Ferries, which operates between Nova Scotia and Maine (ferries.ca).

Public transport Canada

Intercity buses. In addition to the VIA Rail train that serves most of the Canadian provinces, the country benefits from a network of intercity buses, which vary according to the provinces and territories or according to the destination (may be non-existent in some municipalities and no service in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut). For example, there is BC Bus North in British Columbia (bcbus.ca), Rider Express from British Columbia to Ontario (and soon Quebec, riderexpress.ca), Megabus in Ontario (ca.megabus.com, also serves Montreal in Quebec and several American cities), Orléans Express in Quebec and as far as Ottawa in Ontario (orleansexpress.com), Maritime Bus in the three Maritime provinces (maritimebus.com), etc. However, there is no pan-Canadian network, each company operating in its own province or territory or combining several. Crossing the country by bus is therefore a challenge. That said, with the final departure of the U.S. company Greyhound in 2021 (except for a few border destinations), the country's intercity carriers want to introduce a pan-Canadian system that will allow the purchase of a single ticket, regardless of the number of bus companies used.

Urban transportation. Every medium and large city in the country also has a public transit system. Cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, for example, have well-developed bus, subway and/or light rail systems, not to mention bus and/or commuter rail service throughout the metropolitan area. It is possible to purchase day passes, multi-day passes, weekly passes or monthly passes, depending on the length of your stay.

Bike, scooters & co Canada

Many Canadian cities offer bike-sharing services (several packages available, electric bikes also offered depending on the city), whether it is with local companies such as Mobi by Shaw Go in Vancouver (mobibikes.ca), Bike Share Toronto in the country's economic capital (bikesharetoronto.com) and BIXI in Montreal (bixi.com), or the giants Bird and Lime. The latter also offer self-service electric scooters in some locations, but after pilot projects where anarchy took over, several cities have decided to ban them from public streets. You can find a list of participating cities on their respective apps, and be sure to ask about the requirements (minimum age, deposit, helmet use, etc.).

With a driver Canada

There are cabs almost everywhere in Canada, even in the villages. Most of the companies in the larger cities have their own app. Uber (uber.com/ca/en-ca/ride) is also available in more than 30 Canadian cities, while Lyft operates in British Columbia and Ontario (lyft.com/rider/cities). For longer distances, and to save money on trips, it is also worthwhile to consult centralized carpooling systems. Suggested companies are AmigoExpress (amigoexpress.com), Carpool.ca (carpool.ca) and Poparide (poparide.com).

By car Canada

Distances are very great in Canada and the road network becomes increasingly scarce as one progresses northward. In the south of the country, the Trans-Canada Highway runs from British Columbia to Newfoundland and is symbolized by a maple leaf (the island of Newfoundland is only accessible by ferry or plane). It should be noted that Nunavut is not connected to the Canadian road network, which means a particularly expensive flight, and that in many remote areas of the country, the roads are not paved.

French, Belgian and Swiss driver's licenses are accepted for a period of no more than three, six or twelve months (depending on the province or territory); if not, you will need an international driver's license (highly recommended outside Quebec, regardless of the length of your stay). If you wish to rent a car in Canada, you must be 21 years old, or even 25 years old for certain models, and have a credit card. Gasoline, which is sold by the liter, is less expensive than in Europe, and its price varies greatly from day to day and from company to company, much to the annoyance of Canadians.

As for regulations, the speed limit is 100 km/h on highways (or 110 or 120 km/h in some provinces), 70 to 90 km/h on regional roads and 50 km/h (sometimes less) in the city. The highway is always free except for the 407 north of Toronto, the A30 Express southwest of Montreal and the Cobequid Pass northwest of Truro in Nova Scotia, and about 20 bridges are also tolled, including those linking Canada to its American neighbor. Seatbelts are mandatory for all passengers and car seats for younger passengers. The maximum blood alcohol level is 0.08 g/l. Impaired driving can lead to a fine or more (frequent controls). In winter, the highways are generally cleared, but driving requires special reflexes and snow tires are strongly recommended (mandatory in some places, ask for information).

The traffic rules and signs are more or less the same as in Europe, with a few differences. Traffic lights are placed on the other side of the street intersection. There is no right of way in Canada (right of way is given to the first one to arrive) and it is allowed to turn right at a red light everywhere except when a sign indicates that it is forbidden and on the island of Montreal. You must come to a complete stop when following or passing a stopped school bus (almost always yellow) with its red flashers on. In cities with streetcars, such as Toronto, vehicles must also come to a complete stop at least 2 metres behind the rear door of a stopped streetcar to ensure the safety of passengers.

As for parking, no problem in the region. But in the city, parking is often difficult and, before stopping your vehicle, you may have to read three or four signs to know if you are on the right sidewalk, in the right time slot and thus avoid a ticket or, worse, an impoundment! Also check if the spaces are paid for, which may very well be the case. Warning: it is strictly forbidden to park in front of a fire hydrant. If you make a mistake, you can be sure that you will receive your ticket within 5 minutes. Also, be aware that you can only park your vehicle in the direction of traffic. If you plan to stay several days in a major Canadian city, check the city hall website to see if temporary parking passes are available. They allow you to park your vehicle in a specific area for 24 hours, 48 hours or a week and the formalities are simple and can be done online. You can leave your vehicle parked during your stay, which will save you a lot of headaches.