Canada by Design powered by Discover Holidays
Designing a Distinct Way to Travel Canada

We love-live-breathe-dream Canada & Alaska! You have seen it all and would like to bring the “wow” back into your vacation? We can make it happen. Our selection of product is hand-picked and designed to suit even the most discerning traveler’s needs and preferences. Always paying close attention to quality, logistics and comfort. No matter what you choose to do, we offer tailor-made personal service and solutions to help you to your perfect vacation!
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Reviews and Recommendations for Canada by Design powered by Discover Holidays
98%
of 66 guests
recommend
recommend

Virtuoso Traveler Reviewed
All reviews are from confirmed guests sharing exclusive insights
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Recommended
Victoria Island and Butchart Gardens
By: Sally & Lyman
Reviewed on: 30 Aug 2016
We finished up our cruise by spending two days in Vancouver with a trip out to Victoria and Butchart Gardens. What a way to cap off a fabulous cruise. Butchart Gardens has been on our bucket list for a while and it didn't disappoint - truly some of the most beautiful gardens and flowers we have ever seen. Got to take advantage of great restaurants in Vancouver and stayed at The Rosewood Georgia Hotel - fantastic. We want to go back to Vancouver just to stay at the Georgia again....
Recommended
Fun in Vancouver
By: JB and LB
Reviewed on: 22 Jul 2016
Punctual - clean cars - knowledgeable drivers
Travel Advisor:
Alan Abelson
Recommended
Great info!
By: Claire
Reviewed on: 28 Jul 2016
Would use this again.
Travel Advisor:
Marisa L. Cole
Recommended
short stay in B.C.
By: *
Reviewed on: 19 Jul 2017
Arrangements for hotel, ferry and other transportation, done right
Travel Advisor:
Alan Abelson
Recommended
Banff and Lake Louise
By: Mike
Reviewed on: 08 Aug 2017
Yes they were fantastic. Guides were engaging and knowledgeable and fun to be with.
Travel Advisor:
Frances Boyce
Recommended
Canada
By: Constant traveler
Reviewed on: 12 Aug 2017
They were very responsible and there was never a problem with their arrangements. The communicated well including a detailed description of pickups etc.
Recommended
Tripreview
By: Mtravel
Reviewed on: 29 Aug 2017
They were very reliable. Got us exactly the tour with the time we needed
Recommended
Gray Line Tour to Victoria
By: Rex
Reviewed on: 28 Sep 2017
The tour to Victoria was exactly what we hoped for.
Travel Advisor:
Timothy Krenzien
Recommended
Dive into Mintreal
By: Deborah
Reviewed on: 08 Oct 2017
Great tour guide, very knowledgeable and thoughtful. There was a hitch with the service providing the car- had a long wait. Don’t know where the error occurred.
Travel Advisor:
Debbie Elias
Recommended
Vancouver
By: Ann
Reviewed on: 11 Oct 2017
It was good. The first day tour of Vancouver was not that complete and we really did not need a guide. The second day day going to Stanley park, the countryside was informative, complete, and beneficial to all ages involved. David was our driver and he was excellent, professional, and very informative.
Travel Advisor:
Ann Harrison
Recommended
DH Review
By: Cotton
Reviewed on: 14 Oct 2017
not applicable as the tour was not taken due to a mix up on our part
Recommended
Silent Partner
By: Bill
Reviewed on: 18 Nov 2017
Totally unaware, which I suppose is the whole idea with a tour operator. Great trips with no hiccups- cannot do better than that!
Travel Advisor:
Rachel Hardy
Recommended
Great Tours
By: Thompson Fam
Reviewed on: 19 Jan 2018
Walking Tour of Historical Montreal and the Food/Aromas Tour were great. Both guides were friendly, informative, and flexible. They connected well with the family. We had a location/meeting place miscommunication for the Food Tour, but it was resolved quickly and without issue.
Travel Advisor:
Cristina Buaas

Recommended
Eastern Canada
By: Belinda
Reviewed on: 31 May 2018
Discover Holidays provided a lot of good information and maps. I appreciated the Lonely Planet guide on arrival to my hotel in Montreal. The only criticism was they were difficult to get a hold of out of hours when they had double booked rooms for me in Halifax. My travel advisor, however, was able to get in touch with them to sort it out.

Recommended
Transfers
By: Cathy
Reviewed on: 07 Jun 2018
Everything was correct
Travel Advisor:
Sherry Wilczewski
Recommended
Great Tour
By: JJR
Reviewed on: 11 Jun 2018
We had a great tour of Victoria. Our tour guide tailored the trip to our interests and was very informative. We were very pleased.
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein

Recommended
Too many buses
By: MEBS
Reviewed on: 27 Jul 2018
A few too many bus tours for my taste. How long can you sit? The drivers were fine. MIKE, in particular (Brewster tours) was excellent. He is a treasure. The content of his talks was intelligent, creative, and entertaining. We were lucky enough to have him as our driver for two days. WE MISS YOU, MIKE!
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy

Recommended
Tour Operator
By: j
Reviewed on: 13 Aug 2018
Discover Holidays Inc. arranged everything perfectly.
Travel Advisor:
Linda Buck

Recommended
?
By: Julie
Reviewed on: 14 Aug 2018
Didn’t work directly with them, but the plans they did for Amy were fabulous.
Travel Advisor:
Amy Rectenwald

Recommended
wonderful vacation
By: Kate Long
Reviewed on: 14 Aug 2018
We had a wonderful vacation in Alaska through Discover Holidays. The tours, trains and hotels were all first class. We saw everything we wanted to and fit everything in along with a fishing trip. they did a great job of scheduling right down to drivers and schedules.

Recommended
Montreal
By: Travel
Reviewed on: 13 Aug 2018
Great tours, would definitely recommend!

Recommended
Yours
By: Bob
Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2018
Tours were what we were looking. Very informative and not too long. We got a good look at each city without too much time wasted on tourist attractions.
Travel Advisor:
Laura Wallace

Recommended
Victoria/Vancouver
By: Frank
Reviewed on: 03 Oct 2018
Everything went off like clockwork. Quality arrangements. Great fun
Travel Advisor:
Alan Abelson

Recommended
Some Mix Up
By: Fred
Reviewed on: 26 Sep 2018
The hotel, tours, and activities included in our visit were first rate. There was, however, a bit of mix up with what we needed to obtain our passes to some attractions. Vouchers were not provided before our trip. Not sure if it was Discover Holidays or our travel agent. I think because Discover Holidays is so well known, the situation was quickly rectified at our destination and we had a great experience.
Travel Advisor:
Peter Rubin

Recommended
Glad We Did It
By: Elizabeth
Reviewed on: 10 Oct 2018
Our private tour guide, Linda, was very pleasant, knowledgeable and accommodating. She took us to some wonderful places we would not have been able to see otherwise. We appreciated the experience.
Travel Advisor:
Debbie Hires

Recommended
Toronto to Vancouver October 2018
By: Yoda
Reviewed on: 01 Nov 2018
These folks have obviously worked on designing a quality experience for the train traveler. Canada by Design has stream lined travel by rail by taking into account a lot of potentialities that could potential happen. They are prepared with contingency plans to make the traveler feel safe and taken care of.
Travel Advisor:
Rachel Hardy

Recommended
Whistler Ski Trip
By: Tyson C.
Reviewed on: 11 Feb 2019
I had less exposure to the operator as most was with Advisor.
Travel Advisor:
Meredith Price

Recommended
Moraine Lake Lodge was the gem
By: Nellie
Reviewed on: 26 Jun 2019
Good advice on rental car, and hotels. Rocky Mountaineer also booked through them I think. Prices of hotels were steep but in some cases (see title) there were so many (unadvertised) free extras like lunch and guided hikes it was good value. Loved L’Hermitage in Vancouver for the friendly service and upgrade! Very glad we didn’t stay at Lake Louise it was a zoo.

Recommended
Discover Holidays
By: ELM
Reviewed on: 25 Jun 2019
Discover Holidays is one of the largest operators in the Western Canada region and it is very difficult to not use their company. Our experience except for one mishap with Discover Holidays worked well, especially if there was something wrong, we notified our Trip Advisor and she got it corrected. When working with the large Tour Companies, our group found that our travel advisor was essential.
Travel Advisor:
Kristina Miller

Recommended
montreal and quebec city
By: Elyse
Reviewed on: 11 Jul 2019
both our guides were excellent and thorough. our quebec city guide Raymond Lemieux might have been the best, most knowledgable and warm guide we have had yet.

Recommended
Canadian Rockies Honeymoon
By: AGM
Reviewed on: 24 Jul 2019
Our trip was fantastic! We loved the Glacier tour, heli-hiking, and all of our drives. The only tour we didn't love was the Evening Wildlife Safari in Banff. We just stayed on a bus the whole time where the windows were tinted so it wasn't even very easy to spot wildlife, and we just went on main roads surrounding Banff. However, all the hotels were fantastic. That said, the hot tub was under renovation at Buffalo Mountain Lodge, so that was kind of a bummer. Overall, it was a great trip!
Travel Advisor:
Jessica Hart

Recommended
Rocky Mountaineer & VIA
By: Anaclète
Reviewed on: 05 Aug 2019
The service on both trains could not have been better.

Recommended
Canada by Design
By: Debbie
Reviewed on: 10 Aug 2019
We really enjoyed our tours!!
The timing was good and had great people working there.
Travel Advisor:
Monika Dysart

Recommended
Alaska trip
By: Satisfied customer
Reviewed on: 12 Aug 2019
*****very good*****
Travel Advisor:
Monika Dysart

Recommended
train to Seward
By: LIB
Reviewed on: 14 Aug 2019
All reservations were as promised. Train to Seward was fun and educational.
Travel Advisor:
Rochelle Lieberman

Recommended
Amazing in every single way!
By: Mel
Reviewed on: 01 Sep 2019
From start to finish our trip was just about seamless. In Alaska, we encountered mudslides & wildfires which caused us to spend an unplanned night in a random hotel away from our luggage. Using Discovery Holidays gave us peace of mind that no matter what was to become of our trip the next day, we were well taken care of. They were responsive, empathetic and communicative with us during the entire ordeal. Thankfully, the remainder of our trip went uninterrupted. I would use them again 100%!
Travel Advisor:
Shane Paquette

Recommended
Fall Cruise
By: Tommy
Reviewed on: 03 Oct 2019
A very good service.
Travel Advisor:
Peter Herff

Recommended
Via Rail Canadian
By: Carl
Reviewed on: 13 Oct 2019
Good food. Excellent staff. Everything worked. Enjoyable time in the round end observation car. Top rating
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy

Recommended
Vieux Québec City
By: JJR
Reviewed on: 26 Oct 2019
We had a lovely tour of Québec City and Île d’Orleans. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and left us eager to return.
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein

Recommended
Fun time
By: Mark
Reviewed on: 20 Aug 2021
Our great agent used these people and we had a wonderful time. They get a good score but Mallory our agent knows who’s good so she gets a great score.
Travel Advisor:
Mallory Tolbert
Recommended
canada
By: brendon cook
Reviewed on: 29 Jun 2022
I think they had tremendous tours ,and most worked as planned .the agent helps to make sure they connect well.one of the tours they should have been clearer that 2 nights was needed to achieve guided walks
Recommended
Trip
By: Carol
Reviewed on: 17 Jul 2022
Saw everything we wanted. Everything fit together nicely
Travel Advisor:
Stephenie Updegraff
Recommended
Adventure
By: Fun
Reviewed on: 21 Aug 2022
Everything was perfect and we appreciate your help in setting everything up… thank you
Travel Advisor:
Nancy Cushing
Recommended
Canada rockies
By: Carla
Reviewed on: 03 Sep 2022
Good …we enjoyed this part of our trip more than the Taulck part of it. The planning was good, as was attention to detail. They made it very easy to do this part of the trip
Travel Advisor:
Randie Rosenberg
Recommended
Trans Canadian Trip
By: Tina
Reviewed on: 08 Sep 2022
My experience was very good. They were very responsive to any questions or concerns. Everything went as planned, the guides were excellent and the the timing of tours were great and punctual.
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy
Recommended
Alaska
By: Sara F
Reviewed on: 23 Sep 2022
Overall we really enjoyed our trip! We had fun on everything they lined up for us and got safely around Alaska! My only critique is I really wish we were more prepared for our heli ice climbing excursion. We didn’t have a list of things to bring and showed up unprepared.
Travel Advisor:
Sarah Johnson
Recommended
Well coordinated trip across Canada
By: Crystal
Reviewed on: 16 Jun 2023
Our trip was well coordinated. Our transfers and guides were always on time. Most of the private tours were as described and well worth the time. A couple of the Sundog tors fell somewhat short of expectations particularly the one in Banff. The hotels and restaurants were all first class with excellent service. The one complaint would be the Fairmount Pacific Rim in Vancouver. The noise from the lobby bar was so loud we could hear it before we arrived. The front desk clerk had to come around the desk so that we could hear her over the noise. She said it was that way every night. Doesn't Canada have labor laws concerning the level of noise to which employee can be subjected?
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy
Recommended
Alaska & Canada
By: NC Traveler
Reviewed on: 25 Jun 2023
The tours and events included in our trip were informative, interesting, and on point with our trip goals. All arrangements were properly carried out so that we had no issues as we traveled
Travel Advisor:
April Swales
Recommended
Canadian Rockies
By: Lilnan
Reviewed on: 18 Jul 2023
The trip was wonderful! They provided excellent service, transportation, cuisine, and accommodations! I have recommended this trip to several friends who are interested in seeing the Canadian Rockies by train and helicopter!!
Travel Advisor:
Dianna Hetzel
Recommended
Communication and logistics
By: Lorraine
Reviewed on: 02 Jul 2023
Angela Walker was on board with both logistics and communication. She was available to us any time to sort things out “on the ground” so to speak.
Angela’s availability was much appreciated.
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy
Recommended
Great Adventure!
By: Bryn
Reviewed on: 20 Jul 2023
We were very pleased with the experiences provided by Canada by Design/Discover Holidays! The variety and quality of our excursions were outstanding and we all had a fantastic trip.
Travel Advisor:
Meredith Riley
Recommended
Tour Operator
By: Blue Eyes
Reviewed on: 31 Jul 2023
Excursions were everything that we were told about and expected. Guides were wonderful and very friendly. They were very knowledgeable. Were a joy to be around.
Travel Advisor:
Ann Caraway
Recommended
Tours
By: Hugh
Reviewed on: 17 Sep 2023
Unfortunately, we missed one of the tours, but the "foodie" tour of Granville Public Market was great. Tour guide was excellent and the combination of food and history of the businesses and market were superb.
Travel Advisor:
Marci Oakley
Recommended
little extra touches make a big difference in a trip
By: Gram
Reviewed on: 19 Mar 2024
We enjoyed our experiences staying at some of Canada's most iconic hotels. And where the first choice was not available, the recommended choice turned out to be better, in our estimation, than the more famous one.
Travel Advisor:
Jay Musgrove
Recommended
Canada by Design
By: Allen
Reviewed on: 27 Jul 2024
Canada by Design proved to be a great tour operator. Every stop, every transfer, and every destination proved to be perfect. Most impressive: all of our transfers were right on time. Our drivers were all courteous and knowledgeable in guiding us about Victoria BC and Vancouver. One driver who gave us a 4 hour tour or Victoria was especially helpful and courteous. His name was Micheal (yes, it is spelled with E before A because his mother was too sedated right after deliver to notice the typo when she signed his birth certificate). The Butchart Gardens and Whale & Wildlife Watching Tours were great. We may have to do this again and stay more than 4 days. Staying in the Fairmont Empress Hotel again is definitely on our to-do list for another trip.
Travel Advisor:
Julie Smothers
Recommended
absolutely yes
By: Mickey
Reviewed on: 05 Aug 2024
she is wonderful. always picks up the phone. excellent recommendations.
Travel Advisor:
Margret Brinson
Recommended
Great timing and quality travel
By: Sue
Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2024
They really did a great job with our trip from a pickup from airport to all day tours!
Travel Advisor:
Angela Walker
Recommended
Loved Canada
By: Mimibyrne
Reviewed on: 22 Aug 2024
I loved visiting Canada. The only issues we had with the trip had nothing to do wit Canada by Design but were airport related. One hotel was not the best but the view from the hotel was spectacular so that made up for it. Everything else was wonderful.
Travel Advisor:
Jeannine Bottorff
Recommended
Vancouver highlights
By: Vancouver highlights
Reviewed on: 19 Sep 2024
We really enjoyed all the activities planned, the hotel where we stayed, and MANY delicious seafood meals! Doing the Hop On-Hop Off tour to begin the trip was the perfect way to scope out the city and sites to come back and spend more time. We spent time on Granville Island browsing several of the exclusively local craft stores. We walked around Stanley Park and visited the beautiful aquarium. Unfortunately, we did not get to do the Gastown Foodie tour due to a last minute family emergency for the guide, but the whale watching and Butchart Gardens made up for it.
Travel Advisor:
Julie Mitchell
Recommended
Banff Review
By: Rhett
Reviewed on: 14 Oct 2024
We would highly recommend Canada by Design to other travelers. The trip to Banff was everything and more than we were imagining and the excursions we went on helped provide the total experience of Banff and the ability to see so many lakes, mountains, views, etc.. that we may have not done if we did not go on these excursions!
Travel Advisor:
Gina Allard
Recommended
Alaska excursions.
By: Greg
Reviewed on: 27 Sep 2024
We had a wonderful trip and tour guides, very knowledgeably, helpful and courteous.
Travel Advisor:
Cheryl Harris
Recommended
Great train journey
By: Great Journey
Reviewed on: 10 Oct 2024
Via Rail portion of the trip was disappointing. The 70 year old equipment is clean and well maintained but think about your modern auto. The train suspension is similar. The old cars are a rough ride.
The cabins are cramped and lack modern amenities. There are two 110 volt outlets. There are no usb outlets.
Train stations are dirty. Signage is inadequate. Long walks to get to the equipment.
There’s a reason that Rocky Mountaineer has their own terminal in Kamloops.
The food is good the staff is great. Staff in stations is inadequate.
An upgrade from Amtrak but not much.
Travel Advisor:
Rachel Hardy
Recommended
Canada Travel 2024
By: Mike
Reviewed on: 02 Jan 2025
The experience was excellent. Everyone associated with our experience was cordial, professional and went out of their way to be helpful and gracious. My only cautionary note would be the high cost of the day tour.
Travel Advisor:
Valerie Rooney
Recommended
Oh Canada!
By: Best Travel Agent
Reviewed on: 08 Feb 2025
We loved our trip to Toronto and Montreal!
Travel Advisor:
Heather Aycock
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