Canada Travel Guide

The only economical way to get to Canada from Britain is to fly. The main gateways into the country are Montréal and Toronto, but there are also scheduled nonstop flights from Britain to Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, St John's, Winnipeg and Vancouver, and connecting services to a number of other destinations. You can fly nonstop to Canada from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Though competition between Canada's two big carriers once kept scheduled rates reasonable, Air Canada bought Canadian Air in 1999 to form one major airline ; it remains to be seen how fares will be affected as the companies were still operating under separate licensing agreements at publication. Otherwise, there are a number of charter flights to the more popular destinations, especially Toronto and Montréal. Canada 3000, for example, is an international carrier with return flights from London and Manchester to Toronto from £199 and can be booked only via Canadian Affair, Bluebird, First Choice and Pioneer . It may also be worth considering a cheap flight to the US , as the greater competition between airlines on the US routes can produce fares to New York for as little as £180 return in low season; from the US it's easy to get into Canada cheaply by bus or train .

For a precise picture of all the available options at any given time, contact an agent specializing in low-cost flights , which may - especially if you are under 26 or a student - be able to undercut the regular Apex fares. These agents also offer cut-price seats on charter flights, though these tend to be of limited availability during the summer. Package operators can also be a source of cheap one-off flights, as they sell off any unsold seats at the last moment. Finally, be sure to check the travel ads in the Sunday papers, and, in London, in Time Out and the Evening Standard .