The best spots in Canada for a romantic getaway
Looking to ignite — or rekindle — the flame? Canada has incredibly dreamy spots to inspire romance.
Sometimes it’s the circumstance: you’re caught in a snowstorm or an elevator. Or it’s the moment: a glance, a missed train or the time you picked up the wrong coat. But sometimes it’s the place that leads to fireworks and passion. Canada has nine of the best. From the storm-battered Pacific coastline to a frozen fortress near Québec City, these are the top romantic getaway destinations across the country—places with unmatched scenery, seclusion and atmosphere.
Is Port Rexton, Newfoundland and Labrador, worth the drive for a romantic getaway?
A charming small-town maritime getaway
Port Rexton and Trinity sit along Newfoundland’s rugged coastline, where colorful saltbox houses, windswept landscapes and sapphire waters make for a quiet escape far from the ordinary. Credit: Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador
Port Rexton, three hours north of St. John’s on Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula, feels like a place time forgot, in a good way. Charming saltbox houses dropped onto the windswept landscape like a sprinkling of colorful jujubes. The scene is set with white picket fences and meandering country lanes.
If you’re parched, head over to Port Rexton Brewing Co., an artsy microbrewery just steps from the Skerwink Trail trailhead. It's the kind of place where one pint easily turns into two, especially when you're swapping stories from the trail. The Skerwink Trail is renowned for its dramatic sea cliffs, hidden coves, and sweeping ocean views, making it one of Newfoundland's most spectacular coastal walks. And if you’re specifically looking for icebergs, the season runs May through June and is worth timing a visit around.
Why do couples keep coming back to the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino?
Storm watching on the wild Pacific
The Ancient Cedars Spa at the Wickaninnish Inn offers couples massages in a cedar cabin perched above the crashing waves of Tofino. Secluded, forest-surrounded and steps from the Pacific. Credit: Destination BC / Anthony Redpath
Lapping waves are lulling, but the surf that pounds Tofino’s wild West Coast is nothing short of electrifying. Add to that a candlelit tub with a view of the Pacific and a couple’s massage in a cedar cabin perched above the crashing waves and you’ve got something that outlasts the weekend. The Ancient Cedars Spa at the Wickaninnish Inn is where that happens. Cedar walls, old-growth forest outside the window, ocean below.
“The Wick” earns its reputation. Secluded, sophisticated and genuinely quiet, especially in winter, when you’re inside cocooning in a luxe robe with nowhere to be. Winter storm-watching season runs November through February. Tofino is roughly six hours from Vancouver by ferry and car, or a short flight into Tofino-Long Beach Airport. Book weekend stays six to eight weeks ahead during peak season.
What makes Niagara-on-the-Lake one of Ontario’s most romantic villages?
19th century romance
Niagara-on-the-Lake sits at the heart of Ontario wine country, where cyclists and couples move between 39 vineyards along winding country roads lined with Victorian architecture. Credit: Destination Ontario
If you prefer your romance vintage-style, Niagara-on-the-Lake is a 19th-century village that moves at a deliberate pace. Perfect for strolling arm in arm past Victorian houses and brick mansions hung with overflowing flower baskets. There’s no particular reason to hurry, and that’s the point. Niagara-on-the-Lake is located just under two hours from Toronto.
Dine out locally, then cycle to any of the area’s 39 wineries to taste their icewine. Niagara-on-the-Lake produces more icewine than anywhere else on earth. Unwind at the end of the day at an antique-filled mansion: the Prince of Wales vintage hotel in town or the 17-acre Riverbend Inn & Vineyard overlooking the vines.
Does Waterton Lakes really look like a fairy tale?
A fairy tale setting in the Rockies
Waterton Lakes National Park sits where the Canadian Rockies meet the Montana border. The Prince of Wales Hotel has overlooked this glacial lake landscape for nearly a century. Credit: Katie Goldie (@goldiehawn_)
Waterton Lakes looks like something out of a fairy tale, especially when fleeting beams of light illuminate the Prince of Wales Hotel, set high up on a grassy bluff overlooking the glaciers reflected in the glassy lake. It’s an icon that’s been capturing travelers’ imaginations for decades, and it’s still just as magical.
Reserve a room in the chalet-style lodge, located just north of Montana and Glacier National Park. Together, Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park formed the world’s first International Peace Park, designated in 1932. After an evening chapter of your own making, you can get up early, find a cup of coffee and watch the sun paint the scene just for you two.
Where is the best place in the world to see the northern lights as a couple?
Witness the magic of the northern lights
Aurora Village in the Northwest Territories sits in the aurora zone, where the northern lights appear on roughly 240 nights per year, viewed from heated outdoor seats that swivel 360 degrees. Credit: ITAC
There are few experiences that stop people mid-sentence when they try to describe them. Catching the aurora borealis at Aurora Village in the Northwest Territories is one. Yellowknife sits directly beneath the auroral oval which is the atmospheric band where geomagnetic activity concentrates. Here the northern lights appear on roughly 240 nights per year—more than almost anywhere on earth.
Aurora Village sets you up well for it: gourmet dinner, warm drink in hand, heated outdoor seats that swivel 360 degrees so you don’t miss a thing. The green and purple light moves across the sky in curtains, yet no photograph quite captures it. Peak viewing season runs mid-November through early April.
What makes the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton so special for couples?
Walking on top of the world
The Skyline Trail is a 5.1-mile loop in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Timed at sunset, the descent toward the ocean cliffs offers an unobstructed view of the Atlantic fading into dusk. Credit: Lora Pope (@explorewithlora)
What’s more heady than feeling like you’re at the top of the world, together? That’s the Skyline Trail. Clifftop boardwalks above the Atlantic make it a poetic landscape in stunning Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the crown jewel of Cape Breton Island.
Plan your descent of the easy 5.1-mile loop for the sunset. The Atlantic coast burns orange as you go, the boardwalk path descending toward the cliff edge in a way that makes the whole thing feel earned. The glow over the water as you wind down toward the ocean cliffs tends to stay with you long after the day is done. The Skyline Trail is free to access and takes two to three hours from start to finish. Parking reservations are required from late June through October, so book through Parks Canada when they open in May.
Is Fogo Island really as remote and romantic as people say?
Architecture and isolation at the edge of the Atlantic
Fogo Island Inn sits on the edge of the world. The 29-room inn is owned by Shorefast, a registered charity that reinvests profits back into the local community, making every stay an act of economic participation in island life.
Fogo Island Inn is off the northeast coast of Newfoundland—and getting there is a whole production. You fly into Gander, drive an hour to the ferry terminal, then take the 45-minute ferry to the island. Or you can skip all that with a 30-minute charter flight from Gander, but most people don't. The journey is part of the experience.
The inn itself looks like nothing you've seen. Architect Todd Saunders grew up in Newfoundland and came back to build this angular, glass-walled structure raised up on stilts over the North Atlantic. Floor-to-ceiling windows in every room. In winter, you'll be mid-conversation when an iceberg floats past and nobody talks for a while.
Twenty-nine rooms. Three Michelin Keys. Part of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection of hotels. There's a wood-fired sauna and a cinema that does programming with the National Film Board, which feels very on-brand for a place this remote. Your rate covers meals, guided excursions and a community host—someone local who walks you around the island introducing you to the people who've lived there for generations.
What is it actually like to stay at the Ice Hotel near Québec City?
Cozy in a frozen fortress
Hôtel de Glace is rebuilt from scratch each winter just outside Québec City. Rooms carved from ice blocks, vaulted ceilings and a hot tub under the stars stand for only three months before melting in spring. Credit: Renaud Philippe
There’s nothing wrong with a good fantasy—and that’s the stuff of whimsical Hôtel de Glace. Unique in North America, this is an entire fortress-like structure made of ice and snow that stands for only three months a year. Located just outside Québec City, the hotel opens in January and runs through mid-March.
It’s all there: fur-lined beds made of ice blocks, champagne flutes chiseled in ice, vaulted ceilings, glittering chandeliers, elaborate snow carvings and a hot tub under the stars. Reservations open in the spring for the following winter season and suite-style rooms usually sell out within weeks.
Tied with Hôtel de Glace in the romance department: Québec City’s iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. It’s one of the world’s most photographed hotels, thanks to its castle-like architecture that has stood on the cliff above the St. Lawrence River since 1893—and still stops people on the street below.
Is dog sledding in the Yukon as romantic as it sounds?
Dogsledding through the snow
Dog sled expeditions outside Whitehorse run through 160 acres of Yukon wilderness. Guests can learn to mush or ride through hushed forests where the northern lights appear on winter nights. Credit: Destination Canada
An adventure together is just as romantic as a candlelit table for two. Try explorer-style adrenaline with a backcountry dog sled ride for two through the Yukon. Sky High Wilderness Ranch, just outside of Whitehorse, can arrange dog sled expeditions from your base at a private cottage on endless acres of wilderness.
Learn to mush or just enjoy the exhilarating ride through the hushed forest. The Yukon opens up fast once you’re out of town, boreal forest giving way to frozen lakes, the sky enormous overhead. The best window for both dog sledding and aurora viewing is December through March, and on clear nights the lights come out above the treeline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time of year to visit Canada for a romantic trip?
It depends on what you’re after. For the northern lights, dog sledding and the Ice Hotel (Hôtel de Glace), plan for December through March. For long summer days on the coast, hiking or cycling through wine country, late June through September works across most provinces. Fall is the best time for Québec, Ontario and Nova Scotia, September and October in particular.
Which Canadian destination is best for a first romantic trip together?
Niagara-on-the-Lake. Under two hours from Toronto, walkable and you don't have to overthink it. Wine tastings during the day, dinner somewhere good, maybe a Shaw Festival show if you're into theater. The whole weekend kind of plans itself. Now if you're the type of couple that would rather watch 30-foot waves hit a coastline than sip Riesling, opt for Tofino in storm season. Totally different experience, but it works.
What is the most affordable romantic getaway in Canada?
Port Rexton, Newfoundland and Labrador. The guesthouses out there cost way less than anything comparable in BC or Ontario, and what you get for the money is kind of ridiculous. Icebergs floating past sea cliffs. Lupins everywhere. A coastline that has no business being this good at this price point. If Newfoundland feels too far, Cape Breton is the other smart pick. The Skyline Trail doesn't cost a thing, and the whole region runs cheaper than the spots everyone already knows about.
How far in advance should I book the Wickaninnish Inn, Fogo Island Inn or Hôtel de Glace?
Sooner than you'd guess. The Wickaninnish Inn's storm-watching season is November to March and weekend rooms fill up six to eight weeks before. Fogo Island Inn is tighter: only 29 rooms and they require a three-night stay, so anything in summer or around holidays is gone months out. Hôtel de Glace is its own thing. Bookings open every spring for the season starting the following January. And the nicer suite-style rooms? Gone in weeks.
Do you need to travel far from a major city to reach these destinations?
Not always. Niagara-on-the-Lake is less than two hours from Toronto and Hôtel de Glace is about a 30-minute drive from Quebec City. Waterton Lakes is roughly two-and-a-half hours from Calgary. For the more remote experiences such as Aurora Village, Port Rexton, Fogo Island and Tofino, getting there tends to become part of the experience. Fogo Island requires a flight to Gander plus a drive and ferry.
Destination
Sources
Aurora Village, Yellowknife NWT: auroravillage.com
Cape Breton Island: cbisland.com
Cape Breton Highlands National Park: parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ns/cbreton
Destination Canada: travel.destinationcanada.com/en-us/things-to-do/best-spots-canada-romantic-getaway
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac: fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec
Fogo Island Inn: fogoislandinn.ca
Parks Canada, Waterton Lakes National Park: parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton
Riverbend Inn & Vineyard: riverbendinn.ca
Sky High Wilderness Ranch, Whitehorse Yukon: skyhighwilderness.com
Travel + Leisure: travelandleisure.com
Valcartier Vacation Village, Hôtel de Glace: valcartier.com/en/lodging/hotel-de-glace-ice-hotel/
Vintage Hotels, Prince of Wales (Niagara): vintage-hotels.com/prince-of-wales
Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino BC: wickinn.com
Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake: wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com