27th February, 2025

New Tours, Spas, Sea Shanty Festivals, Bioluminescent kayaking, Night Skies, Anniversaries and Wildfire Peak Nics.

 

New Driving itinerary

Explore the whole of Atlantic Canada with Discover the World's NEW tour, Atlantic Coastal Quest

Discover the World has launched a new 18-day self-drive holiday, the Atlantic Coastal Quest, taking advantage of the region's increased airlift. Exploring Canada's four Atlantic provinces New Brunswick,Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, travellers will visit historic sites,hike in national parks, go whale watching, and explore highlights like Gros Morne National Park, the Cabot Trail, and Twillingate's Iceberg Alley. The best travel period is May to September, with peak iceberg viewing from May to mid-July and humpback whale sightings from July to September. Prices start at £2,668 per person (excluding flights).

 https://www.discover-the-world.com/holidays/atlantic-coastal-quest/

 

 

New Spa Opening

State-of-the-art thermal wellness facility to open at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in 2025

Construction of a new state-of-the-art, eco-friendly thermal wellness facility is currently underway at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Located on the site of the resort's former outdoor pool that closed in 1980, this sanctuary for wellness is poised to set a worldwide standard for guest experience as well as low-impact design and construction. Sustainability is at the forefront of its design led by Matteo Thun, a global architecture and design studio inspired by simplicity centred on human scale. Anticipated opening date: late spring 2025.

 

Houseboat Fishing Experience

Lakeway Houseboat Vacations put its newest houseboat, "The Nashwaak," in the water in 2024 to increase its fleet to eight. Lakeway, the only houseboat rental company in Atlantic Canada, is teaming up with local fishing guide Marlon Prince in 2025 to provide fishing charters. Your guide will meet you at your houseboat wherever you are on the waterway, pick you and take you fishing. New in 2025, houseboaters will be able to tie up and visit The Waterfront Pub in Nackawic and Dumfries Maples in Dumfries where they can enjoy breakfast and tour the maple operations. New Brunswick is the third largest exporter of maple syrup in the world.

https://www.lakewayhouseboats.com/

Spring Tide Shantyfest : A Farewell to Winter

Saint John's first-ever sea shanty festival, Spring Tide Shantyfest, will be held in the city's uptown area from March 20-22. The three-day event will feature performers such as the Bytown Sea Shanty Collective from Ottawa, New Brunswick's Dram and A Draw, Before the Mast from Saint John, and Fredericton Celtic group Corsa. With a rich history of seafaring and shipbuilding, it's fitting to hold a sea shanty in Saint John. In addition to concerts that feature rollicking sea shanties and songs of the sea, the event will include seafood chowders, workshops and historical lectures. The venues will be Steamers Lobster Company, Trinity Anglican Church, O'Leary's Pub and the Hilton Hotel.

fundyseashantyfest.com/springtide

Fundy National Park celebrates 75 years

In 2025, New Brunswick's renowned nature park, Fundy National Park will celebrate its 75th Anniversary. The park, situated in the south of the province, showcases a beautiful, rugged coastline and offers many picturesque views of the Bay of Fundy, home of the world's highest tides. Along with 25 hiking trails, the park features multiple campgrounds, a heated saltwater pool, golf course, 25 waterfalls, a Dark Sky Preserve for observing the night sky, opportunities to kayak, fish, places for swimming and beach combing, plus many other activities.

https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/nb/fundy

 

Astrotourism

Cliff Valley Astronomy of New Brunswick is the only mobile astronomy company in Atlantic Canada which means they go where the clients are, to host dark sky destination experiences. The only astrotourism consultant in Canada, this company is hosting a major event in Saint Andrews from March 28-30, 2025. There will be a viewing experience for the partial rising sun eclipse on March 29 along with an astrotourism/dark sky conference to make it a three-day event. New Brunswick has four dark sky preserves that are recognized by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. For perspective, there are six dark sky preserves in Atlantic Canada and four of them are in New Brunswick. Astrotourism is growing in New Brunswick thanks to Cliff Valley Astronomy. Initially, Cliff Valley Astronomy held private star parties for small groups and they had early success with a higher than expected number of bookings. This led to branding out additional services with special events and astrotourism destination packages. See the moon, planets, nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. Learn about the night sky and the universe in an interactive experience that's engaging.
www.cliffvalleyastronomy.com

 

Raw, Rugged and Real : Enjoy a Nordic-style getaway at the new The Cape Retreat in Newfoundland and Labrador

Opening in 2025, The Cape Retreat is a Nordic-style getaway offering the “return to wildness.” A sustainable luxury retreat, The Cape Retreat is already generating a buzz with its on-site culinary programme led by Chef Alex Shaw, focusing on home-grown and foraged ingredients. Prices TBC per person

 https://www.thecaperetreat.com/

 

Bioluminescent night kayaking experience

Cape LaHave Adventures offers a range of kayaking experiences on Nova Scotia's Dublin Shore. Explorers enjoy the province's stunning sunsets and can marvel at the light show that appears when the calm waters are disturbed by the paddles. Tours take place in late summer and start from £47 per person

https://capelahaveadventures.ca/products/bioluminescent-night-tour

 

Hozier to headline Sommo Festival, 13-14th September

In 2025, the annual Sommo Festival in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island  welcomes Irish musician Hozier, as its headline act. Located on Cavendish Beach over the weekend of 13th-14th September, Sommo Festival is a celebration of music, food and drink, offering a blend of culinary and music. Tickets from £156 per person. https://sommofest.com/

 

Lake Louise Ski Resort enhances resort experience with new chairlifts

Richardson's Ridge Chairlift (2025/26 opening): Skiers and riders can look forward to a vast expanse of new intermediate and advanced terrain once this lift is open. Richardson's Ridge will be located next to the Paradise chair and will allow access to intermediate and advanced slopes and glades.

Sunny Side Chairlift (2025/26 opening): To support novice skiers and snowboarders, a new lift will be installed in the Learning Area in the summer of 2025. The new chair will provide comfortable and quick access to superb beginner terrain. Learn more about the resort

Super Angel Express Heated Bubble Chair opens at Banff Sunshine Banff Sunshine welcomed a new state-of-the-art six-passenger high-speed luxury express lift in Nov. 2024. The new “Super Angel” is complete with a heated bucket seat, footrests and a yellow weather protection cover known as the bubble. It replaced Sunshine's oldest highspeed quad chairlift, Angel Express. This is only one of three heated bubble chair lifts in Canada and Sunshine's second.

 

Wildfire Peak Nic with Jasper Food Tours 

Immerse into the aftermath of the powerful forces of nature on Wildfire Peak-Nic. 

In July 2024, a massive wildfire ripped through Jasper National Park, ravaging over 33,000 hectares of land. This was the largest wildfire in Jasper National Park in over 100 years. A year later, the 55-million-year-old land, without its canopy of leaves, reveals recovering flora, returning wildlife and a healthy future. On Wildfire Peak-Nic, you will be hiking 4 KM through severely impacted site of the Complex Wildfire to one of Jasper's prominent peaks. As your guide leads you through new growth forest emerging from the ash, you will learn to identify various species of plants, wildflowers and mushrooms, learn about history, geology, forestry, wildfires and observe wildlife from a safe distance. Once at the peak, you will take in 360-degree views of the different yet stunning vistas for miles and learn about the roles and benefits of a wildfire over a hot lunch with your guide.  

Beautiful in its own way, this is one-of-a-kind experience and a unique immersion into the aftermath of the powerful forces of nature.  Daily tours begin from the Old Fort point parking lot (5-minute drive from Jasper townsite). Pick up from any hotels within 10 KM of Jasper is available on request.   

 

Readers wanting more information on Canada should go to www.explore-canada.co.uk

For more media information, images and B roll go to www.destinationcanada.com/media 

For more media information please contact Media and PR Manager, Nim Singh, singh.nim@destinationcanada.com (not for publication) 

Photo credits: Tourism New Brunswick, Fundy Trail National Park and the Bay of Fundy