MOST EXPENSIVE FALL COLOUR SPOTS IN CANADA
Chasing the fall colours is one of Canada’s biggest domestic travel moments, and new research found Banff is actually the most expensive place to do it — $1,258 for a couple over two nights.
Searches for “fall colours” are up 222% this past month. To see where the real splurge happens, Casinos Analyzer Canada priced a full weekend away for two using 2026 listings across ten of the country’s best-known fall colour destinations, including accommodation, fuel, mandatory park permits and groceries.
Fall colours in Muskoka. Muskoka Tourism Photo
Here’s how the ten compare (couple, 2 nights):
- Banff, AB — $1,258
The display here is alpine larch, a conifer that turns gold and drops its needles, growing above the treeline at 1,800 to 2,400 metres — so this is a hike, not a drive. Accommodation runs $1,035, and Moraine Lake now costs extra: private vehicles have been banned from the road since 2023, so the shuttle is the only way in.
- Canmore, AB — $1,216
Twenty minutes outside the national park, and the base for the Kananaskis larch hikes. Accommodation ($1,048) is actually higher than Banff’s — this is a Bow Valley premium, not a Banff one.
- Agawa Canyon, ON — $1,008
A 183-km rail journey through Algoma’s maple and birch, into a canyon with no road access — the same country the Group of Seven painted. The cheapest bed in the study at $470, but the train adds $170 per adult in peak season, a third of the entire bill.
- Cabot Trail, NS — $821
A 300-km loop through Acadian forest — maple, birch and balsam fir — around the Cape Breton Highlands. The longest approach in the study at 350 km each way from Halifax, giving it the highest fuel bill before the loop itself is even driven.
- Gatineau Park, QC — $813
Deciduous hills fifteen minutes from Parliament Hill, and the park regularly hits capacity in autumn. Entry and trails cost nothing, and fuel is the cheapest in the country — yet it still lands fifth, because Chelsea accommodation is the third most expensive of the ten.
- Mauricie, QC — $808
Hardwood forest and lakes two hours from Montreal, and the most genuine cottage market in the study — cabins and chalets rather than condos — at $620.
- Charlevoix, QC — $808
Appalachian foothills turning above the St Lawrence, with the boreal plateau of Grands-Jardins behind. A short run from Quebec City, with Sépaq access adding a little across two days.
- Algonquin Park Area, ON — $761
Sugar maple, red maple and yellow birch along the Highway 60 corridor — the country’s best-known fall colour drive, and one of the cheapest of the ten, even while the corridor runs at capacity.
- Laurentians, QC — $743
The same maple-and-birch mix, two hours from Montreal, with a gondola to the summit for the view from above. Quebec’s quiet value pick, again.
- Fundy, NB — $688
Acadian forest running down to the highest tides in the world. The cheapest weekend of the ten, and the shortest drive after Gatineau.
BARBADOS REMEMBERS YOUR NAME: GREAT NEW TOURISM CAMPAIGN
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) has launched Barbados Remembers Your Name, a new global destination campaign that highlights what makes the island memorable, the personal connections and warm welcomes that keep visitors coming back.
For repeat visitors especially, Barbados can become a home away from home, and the Caribbean island boasts a long history of welcoming visitors back. BTMI’s Loyal Visitors Club, which recognises travellers once they have visited the island 25 times, has more than 500 registered members, with some visitors recording more than 100 trips to Barbados. When asked what keeps them returning, one answer comes up consistently, the people.
Anthony Hunte serves up cool drinks at his home in Barbados. JIM BYERS PHOTO
“We hear from repeat visitors all the time that the people are a big part of why they come back to Barbados,” said Chief Executive Officer, BTMI, Andrea Franklin. She added: “Over time, they build relationships here. They have people who remember them and places they always return to, and those connections become part of their Barbados experience.”
Those relationships will be an important part of how the new campaign comes to life, with BTMI sharing the stories of visitors and the Barbadians they have come to know over years of travelling to the island.
Jim’s Barbados Experiences
I’ve had several great encounters with Barbados residents in the past few years, so this sounds like a great campaign to me.
Roughly 15 years ago, I visited the island as the travel editor at the Toronto Star. One of the places I visited was Hunte’s Gardens, a luscious, riotously colourful spot that takes up an old rock quarry in the hills east of Bridgetown. I struck up a conversation with the quirky, enjoyable owner, Anthony Hunte. There was a wedding taking place in a deep vale at the site, and I helped Hunte set up some white, folding chairs. We then repaired to his home (more like a tree house) and sipped rum and lemonade.
A few years later I was heading out of Bridgetown on a cruise. My wife and I rented a car and drove into the hills so I could show off the garden to her.
Hunte was busy pruning or cleaning up, and I wandered over to say hello. “You probably don’t remember me,” I said. “But I was here a few years ago. My name is Jim Byers.”
Hunte didn’t miss a beat.
“You’re the Toronto Star travel fellow, and you helped me set up chairs for a wedding,” he replied with a smile.
We had another fine chat in his treehouse home, and I came away knowing I’d made a friend.
On that same trip, we had a fine food tour of Bridgetown with an engaging young woman from a company called Lick Rish Tours. She had a wonderful smile, and took us to some small, out-of-the-way places so we could enjoy true Bajan food and drinks.
Chef Michael Harrison greets Priscilla, one of his favourite vendors at the Marhill Street Market in Bridgetown, Barbados. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Five or six years ago I was in Barbados for a conference of the Society of American Travel Writers, and we had a fine food tour with Chef Michael Harrison. He regaled us with great stories about local food, and also about the time he served a meal to the great English football player, David Beckham.
Two years ago I was staying at the O2 Ocean Club and Spa in Barbados and struck up a great conversation with a bartender. I don’t recall all the words, but he had a smile as big as the Caribbean Sea and a wonderful, casual air about him that I quite enjoyed.
I’ve had great meetings with locals all around the world, but my encounters with the people of Barbados are among the finest I’ve had over the years.
