Canada by Design | Canada Rail Vacations  Bewertungen 

I cannot recommend Canada by Design. They did not come anywhere close to living up to the expectations set on their website and all the reviews that they post.
Essentially, all they did was book hotels and a rental car—tasks that I could have easily done myself. The value added for the price paid was non-existent.
What made matters worse was the complete lack of support when we actually needed it. While on our trip, we encountered an issue and reached out to them for assistance. The person who spoke with the gentleman trying to help us was incredibly rude and dismissive. Instead of offering a solution, they eventually hung up on him with no resolution to our problem.
Paying for a "service" that provides nothing more than basic bookings and then being treated with disrespect when things go wrong is unacceptable. I will never use this company again.

Our contact Julie McAulay made everything so simple and seamless from the original tour design to assisting with payment methods and compiling the itinerary in an easy to understand format. The holiday Julie designed for us was fantastic to say the least, the tours were fantastic, the hotels were luxurious and the Rocky Mountaineer of course was a highlight. The added little surprise of an upgrade at Lake Louise was also very special. Many thanks to Julie and and the team, we cant recommend you highly enough and will definitely be contacting you again to experience the Eastern side of Canada. Kind regards Mike and Hele.

In July, 2025 I did the trip “Toronto to the Canadian Rockies by Train with Via Rail and Rocky Mountaineer”. Alekh at Canada by Design did a great job of putting together this trip for me with adjustments to meet my desired options. He was so helpful in his suggestions of the best way to travel on the Via Rail and he worked with me to choose the day excursions in Jasper and Banff that fit my interests (which were outdoor experiences like biking and hikes) and abilities. I knew nothing about anything and he had lots of helpful information as he had traveled all of these areas himself. For instance, I had no idea how to get from the airport to Union Station where the Via Rail leaves from and he told me about the UP Express which was $6 as opposed to an expensive taxi ride. After the whole package was put together and I had made my payment, I needed a couple of adjustments (one to an excursion and one to the hotel choice in Vancouver). These were made quickly with no issues and I received a revised itinerary. I can’t say enough about the whole staff at Canada by Design. They were superb. My phone calls were answered promptly or returned within a few hours if I had to leave a message. All the staff I spoke with was knowledgeable about my excursion whenever I called with questions. Absolutely the best company of all the choices for this kind of trip. Thank you Alekh and the entire staff !! Joan Clark, Amesbury, MA, USA

The many beautiful lakes, falls and resorts we were shown! Canada is beautiful! The bus tours were exceptionally well done and took us to SO MANY places, we were exhausted! The train was wonderfully relaxing. Service was outstanding.

Emma helped up plan a Canadian Rockies trip in August 2024. The plans and process were very smooth and we were able to customize our trip for for me and my husband and adult daughter. The wildfires in Jasper disrupted some of our plans but Emma was able to re-route us and she obtained alternate lodging for us. She also reworked some of our planned activities due to the changes. Everything was wonderful and we are very pleased with this company. Thanks

My husband and I recently returned from my bucket list tour of the Canadian Rockies and the Calgary Stampede.  They made all the arrangements for hotels, tours, transfers and tickets and I must say we had a wonderful time.  Everything went as planned.  The Stampede attractions were the best entertainment I've had in years, and our seats at the rodeo and the evening show were amongst the best.  Our Fairmont hotels did not disappoint.  And the transfers and tour guides in between Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary were top notch.  We enjoyed every single minute.  I cannot praise their expertise enough

Just returned from our 12 day western road tour in Canada. This was an effortless vacation on our part and we would recommend this company and this experience again and again. Nadine was our travel agent and she was very helpful in making this vacation such a wonderful experience. My husband’s favorite city was Victoria and his favorite expedition was the bear safari. My favorite location was Jasper. I’m a photographer and the wildlife and scenery were in abundance in Jasper. My favorite expedition was the Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience. There are no words for the beauty that was seen. Canada has always been at the top of my bucket list. This was the perfect way for us to see so much of their gorgeous country.

This is the second time we have used Canada by Design for our Rocky Mountain Train trip & Sue was amazing. I was able to request a few things we liked from the previous trip to do again & needed help with accommodation as travelling with 2 kids who couldn't share a bed. (son 15 & over 6 ft tall & daughter 12 sleeps sideways across bed!) No issues at all & all Hotels confirmed & gave us exactly what we needed. When the weather turned super cold & some of our activities were cancelled, Sue got in contact immediately to advise, so we could plan accordingly. Trip was one for the bucket list as first trip with my parents & kids, & this time parents, kids & hubby.

Had a family adventure to Southern Lakes Resort near Whitehorse in November. Sue from Canada by Design patiently helped us piece together the perfect schedule and itinerary for our limited time availability. Spent a day exploring Vancouver, then took Air North Airlines (great service by the way) to Whitehorse. Oliver welcomed us, drove us 1.5 hours thru beautiful terrain to the resort. Chef Dane stayed up late to prepare us a delicious home cooked 3 course meal while Oliver took our things to the cabin. The resort provides guests with warm, high quality cozy outerwear and boots so we didn’t have to lug gear around which kept us warm the entire stay so we could enjoy being outdoors. That was huge. Our whole 3 day stay we felt like we had the whole resort to ourselves. Cabins were very clean and cozy with a fireplace with kitchen we didn’t use much (except to eat snacks and drinks left for us) because the meals at the main cabin were so delicious. The entire resort had a family feel with a lovely staff of Oliver, Stephanie, Dane, Rachel, Tara, and others who made the guests feel welcome and cared for! Also, if you are lucky you might see Isla the golden retriever who leaps for joy for snow. So glad we didn’t have to drive or cook for ourselves, which made the whole trip very relaxing and stress free. Best combination of old fashioned service with modern comforts and amenities. The resort scenery was so stunning not to mention the stars, moon, mountain, lake, wildlife. And yes the Northern Lights- Not optimal viewing conditions during our short stay but nature did not disappoint, patience paid off and we went home having seen the gorgeous lights , eating yummy food, seeing incredible scenery , meeting the famed Michelle Phillips and seeing her sled dogs and meeting absolutely wonderful Southern Lakes Resort Team! Thank you!!

Just back from a 10 day Vancouver to Banff trip planned by Discover Holidays. Apparently, they use a 10-year-old copy of Fodors Best of Canada book to plan their itineraries. There was absolutely no useful insights or advice in their itinerary descriptions. Visit Lake Louise they wrote. What they didn’t write was that you had to reserve a shuttle weeks in advance since parking is always unavailable you less you arrive at 7 am.
The actual itinerary provided was filled with mistakes and omissions. They forget to inform us that our Rocky Mountaineer package included a shuttle from the Vancouver hotel to the train station.
Having traveled all over the world on trips planned by other travel agents I can attest there are far better options than these folks!

Lisa and the team at Canada by Design arranged a magical winter trip for us - Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff. Highly recommend their services. All reservations were as requested - including transfers, rooms, dog sledding, sleigh ride, snowshoeing - no glitches at all. The accommodations and tours, especially the Cold Fire Creek Dog Sledding, exceeded our expectations. The trip was spectacular in every way.

We did a 9 day, 8 night winter trip from Calgary to Vancouver, stopping in Banff and Jasper for our honeymoon! From the initial trip planning stages, Sue was absolutely amazing and very helpful and communicative along the way. She helped us plan the honeymoon of a lifetime and we are still smiling and sharing about it with friends and family on a regular basis. Canada by Design booked and planned everything for us based on our budget, interests, and timeline and every reservation went smoothly and all hotels and activities knew it was our honeymoon. They offered sweet sentiments and complimentary upgrades/treats. Banff was breathtaking and probably the highlight of our trip was staying in the beautiful castle that is the Fairmont Banff Springs. We also loved Jasper, with it's quiet and peaceful natural surroundings and beauty. Of course, going on a trip in the heart of winter in the snow comes with it's risks for weather concerns, but overall things went smoothly for us and when there was a road closure, we were immediately notified and our transportation modified with no problems. We would absolutely recommend booking with Canada by Design, especially if this trip is international for you. They took care of everything and we felt super comfortable and taken care of before, during, and after our trip. Can't wait to do this again, maybe in the summer time to see Canada's beauty in another season :)

What a wonderful experience we had in Newfoundland!! St. John's is a great city and such a great place to walk around. Our two tours were a blast and the guides were fun and knowledgeable. We loved the boat ride through the Narrows and along the coast. Learning about the history of the area was fascinating! Thank you for making our trip an incredible delight.

Everything ran smoothly without any hiccoughs or blood pressure raises. Definitely thought the organising was flawless

My clients and I could not have been happier with Canada by Design! They created an amazing itinerary to Montreal and Quebec City. I will definitely use them again!

Had the most awesome holiday in Canada excellently organised by Canada by Design. When our train trip was unavoidably disrupted we were immediately refunded C400. Could not fault the planning was perfect, so was the weather, not sure they planned that too.

We loved our holiday in Canada. all of the tours and hotels arranged by the company were excellent. They made the holiday a breeze. We would love to come back again and visit in the Summer for a totally different holiday and would be happy to use this company again.

Canada by Design was very helpful in constructing our trip of a life time visiting Canada from West to East. When we needed a change to our ticketing on the Canadian they arranged this at short notice allowing us to enjoy the unforgettable luxury of 'Prestige Class'. We highly recommend visiting Canada in the depth of Winter... it is truly a wonderland.