When is the cheapest time to go to Canada?
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Flights to Canada overview
Going searches for the best fares and sends members deals bookable 1-12 months in advance. Going members save approximately 39% compared to normal flight prices to Canada.
Cheapest Going deal
Average price roundtrip
Average Going deal price roundtrip
Best month to fly
Going found the most deals with travel dates in October.
Worst month to fly
Going found the least deals with travel dates in July.
Top tips for finding a cheap flight to Canada
Book your flights in the Goldilocks Window
One thing we’ve learned over our (many) years watching the ever-changing cost of airline tickets is that there is not a specific day of the week when it’s magically cheaper to buy a plane ticket. There is, however, a time before a flight when tickets are usually at their cheapest. We call this the Goldilocks Window. It’s about 1-3 months before a domestic trip and 2-8 months before an international one, and it’s when we recommend most people book flights.
If you’re planning a trip during Canada’s high season, however, or for a major holiday, you should plan to add a few months to the equation. This is also a good idea if your travel dates are fixed. Whatever you do, try to book before the airlines raise prices closer to the departure date, especially 21, 14, and 7 days beforehand.
Try the Greek Islands Trick
Sometimes booking a flight directly to the place you want to go is not only the fastest way to get there but also the cheapest. In some cases, though, you may be able to save money (sometimes a lot of money) by adding another step to your journey. We often use the Greek Islands as an example because it’s a good one, but the Greek Islands Trick works on places all over the world.
The idea is to find the cheapest long-haul flight you can to get you close to your vacation spot and then book a separate flight on, for instance, a low-cost airline (or a train or a boat) to get you the rest of the way. Flying from Orlando to Calgary might cost $400 or more roundtrip for a connecting flight, but you find a deal on a flight from Orlando to Toronto for around $100. Add in the $150 roundtrip cost of a flight from Toronto to Calgary, and you’re still coming out ahead.
Check out fares from multiple airports
Think about doing the opposite of the Greek Islands Trick. Instead of looking at the cost of flights into different destination airports, you’ll compare the cost of flights out of different departure airports. You might still find the best deal close to home, but there’s always a chance that an airline has a fare sale going on from another airport. It never hurts to look.
Someone who lives in Austin and wants to visit Vancouver might just go with the first nonstop flight out of their local airport, even if the fare is upwards of $500 roundtrip. If you zoom out on the map a little bit, though, you may find there’s a $200 roundtrip deal to Vancouver from San Antonio. This means that even if you have to get a ticket from Houston to Atlanta for under $100 roundtrip, it still means you’ve saved $300 to spend on an extra night in a hotel or a splurge-worthy dinner. Yes, this requires a bit more planning on your end in terms of logistics, but with savings like that, it’s often worth it.
Fly when tickets are cheaper
This sounds like obvious advice, right? The general advice here is to stay as flexible as you can when you’re in the planning stages and to travel outside the peak season, but there’s more to it than that.
Many people pick travel dates first and only then look at airfare. If you do this in reverse, scouting out when airfare is cheap and picking vacation dates based on that, you stand to save quite a bit of money. This may mean traveling in a destination’s shoulder seasons, but it may just mean flying a few days before or after the one date you’re looking at.
Of course, sometimes we can’t avoid peak season because of work or school schedules. If that’s the case, you may still be able to save a bit on airfare if you try to fly on the days when tickets tend to be cheaper (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays) and avoid the more expensive days (Fridays and Sundays). Thanksgiving turns out to be a cheap time to fly internationally since most US travelers are flying domestically, so that’s another potential money-saving option for a Canada trip (Canada’s own Thanksgiving Day is in October.). And, if you have to travel in the summer, going in the first half of June or the last half of August can be significantly cheaper than going in peak summer.
Set up email fare alerts
Rather than spending all your free time scouring travel booking sites to find an elusive cheap flight to the place you want to go, we recommend putting technology to work for you. Sign up for fare alerts for the itinerary you want, and you’ll be notified by email when the price is in the range you want to pay. You’ll have to set up multiple alerts if you’re eyeing multiple itineraries, though. Or, you can outsource the whole project by joining Going.
There are several international airports in Canada, but travelers from the US can also often fly directly to the smaller, regional Canadian airports simply because the two countries are right next to one another. Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is the biggest and busiest in the country and a major hub for Air Canada. Canada’s national airline also has hubs in Montréal (YUL), and Vancouver (YVR), as well as a strong presence in Calgary (YYC), Halifax (YHZ), and Ottawa (YOW). There are also several budget carriers in Canada that fly directly from the United States, including Lynx Air and Sunwing.
Frequently asked questions about flying to Canada
When is high season in Canada?
Canada is a huge country, so making generalizations here is a little more challenging, but, generally speaking, the peak season for travel in Canada is essentially the same as it is in the United States—the summer months of June-August and especially July-August. This may be even more pronounced as you get further north in the country, where even early June and late August may not be all that summery weather-wise. In the southern parts of the country along the US border, though, warm weather can sometimes stretch into late September.
Canada Day falls on July 1, and there are huge celebrations all over the country. The famous Calgary Stampede hosts more than one million cowboys every July. In June, the music world flocks to Montréal for the International Jazz Festival.
Many of Canada’s popular ski resorts have summer activities for visitors, but they also have a second high season during the winter (usually late November or December through February or early March) when skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes. There are also some fantastic winter festivals, including Ottawa’s Winterlude (February) and Quebec City’s Winter Carnival (February).
When is the best time to visit Canada?
Anyone who wants to spend time outside as much as possible during a trip to Canada should aim for the summer high season of July-August, or the early fall months of September into early October. The weather is more likely to be conducive to exploring the great outdoors, though prices will likely be higher and crowds bigger. If you’re hoping to save a bit of money by booking an outdoorsy trip outside the peak season, just be sure the places you want to visit will still be open—some park roads may close at the end of summer, for instance, because of the potential for snow.
The fall shoulder season (roughly September-October) is a great option for almost any Canadian adventure, with a combination of warm weather, smaller crowds, and slightly lower prices than the summer high season.
How many airports are there in Canada?
There are more than 200 airports throughout Canada of varying size, with major hubs dotted across the country. The biggest and busiest airport is Toronto Pearson (YYZ), but—depending on where your Canada itinerary will take you—you should also check the airports in Montréal (YUL), Vancouver (YVR), and Calgary (YYC). We regularly find deals on flights from the US into these four international airports, especially Toronto
Which city in Canada is the easiest to get to?
From the United States, it’s usually easy to get not just to Canada’s major airports but also to its smaller regional airports (thanks, proximity!).
Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is the country’s biggest and busiest airport. It’s a hub for Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter Airlines, and a focus city for Air Transat, Canada Jetlines, Flair Airlines, Lynx Air, and Sunwing Airlines. In total, there are 47 airlines serving Toronto, and there are direct flights into YYZ from 49 airports in the US.
Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is a hub for Air Canada and Air Transat, and a focus city for Air Inuit, Porter Airlines, and Sunwing Airlines. There are 30 other airlines that serve Montréal, and there are nonstop flights into the biggest city in Quebec from 32 US airports.
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a hub for Air Canada, WestJet, and Pacific Coastal Airlines, as well as a focus city for Air North, Flair Airlines, Iskwew Air, and Lynx Air. There are 40 airlines in total with operations at Vancouver’s airport and direct flights from 31 US airports.
Calgary International Airport (YYC) is a hub for Lynx Air and WestJet and a focus city for Air Canada and Flair Airlines. There are 13 other airlines that also serve Calgary and direct flights from 29 US airports.
What are the rules for traveling with pets to Canada?
In order to bring your pet with you on a trip to Canada, you’ll need to follow the regulations set by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The requirements vary by the type of pet and how old the animal is, among other things. Dogs, for instance, must have proof of current rabies vaccination if they’re eight months or older. You can find out exactly what you’ll need for your pet on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency site by answering a few questions. There is also some information about bringing pets to Canada on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. And be sure to check with your airline, too, as they each have their own rules about travelers flying with animals.
How long is the flight to Canada?
Canada is a big country—like, really big. Asking how long the flight is to Canada is akin to asking how long it takes to fly to the United States. It’s essentially impossible to answer accurately without information about what city in Canada you want to fly into, but here are some estimates to at least give you some idea of what to expect.
Flying to Toronto
- From the northeastern US: 1.5-2 hours
- From the southeast: 2-3 hours
- From the midwest: 1-2 hours
- From the southwest: 3-4.5 hours
- From the west coast: 4-5 hours
Flying to Vancouver
- From the northeast: 6-8 hours
- From the southeast: 5-6.5 hours
- From the midwest: 4-5 hours
- From the southwest: 3-3.5 hours
- From the west coast: 1-3 hours
Flying to Montréal
- From the northeast: 1.5-2 hours
- From the southeast: 2.5-3.5 hours
- From the midwest: 2-2.5 hours
- From the southwest: 4.5-6 hours
- From the west coast: 5-6 hours
Flying to Calgary
- From the northeast: 5.5-7 hours
- From the southeast: 5-6 hours
- From the midwest: 3-4 hours
- From the southwest: 3-3.5 hours
- From the west coast: 1.5-3 hours
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Number of deals
Total to Canada in the last month
Total Mistake Fares
Airline slip-ups we've caught to Canada
Fly to cities in Canada
- Calgary (YYC)
- Charlottetown (YYG)
- Cranbrook (YXC)
- Deer Lake (YDF)
- Edmonton (YEG)
- Fredericton (YFC)
- Halifax (YHZ)
- Hamilton (YHM)
- Kelowna (YLW)
- Medicine Hat (YXH)
- Moncton (YQM)
- Montréal (YUL)
- Nanaimo (YCD)
- Ottawa (YOW)
- Quebec City (YQB)
- Regina (YQR)
- Saskatoon (YXE)
- St. John's (YYT)
- Sydney (YQY)
- Thunder Bay (YQT)
- Toronto (YTZ)
- Toronto (YYZ)
- Vancouver (YVR)
- Victoria (YYJ)
- Whitehorse (YXY)
- Windsor (YQG)
- Winnipeg (YWG)
- Yellowknife (YZF)
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* Prices are per person and include all taxes & fees in USD. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing, however, prices are not guaranteed, as airline pricing can change by the minute. Average Going fares are based on average prices of deals found by Going.