Canadians are as renowned for their friendliness as they are for their Maple Leaf flag. And typically for North America, high levels of service and top quality accommodation are consistently the norm during a ski holiday in Canada.

Canadian Ski Resorts

As you would expect from the second largest country in the world, Canada has masses of ski resorts - and masses of good ones. It is also known as the backcountry capital of the world - so if you have a penchant for powder, look no further.

Western canadian ski resorts tend to be the most popular with Brits owing to their wide, empty pistes and guaranteed snow. Having said that, there are a few drawbacks to a ski holiday in Canada's western resorts. If you're travelling from Europe, it's a long way to the west coast, so it's a good idea to go for longer than a week if you can. And although Western Canada's ski resorts have virtually guaranteed snow, it can rain and temperatures can get bitterly cold, -30°C in Banff/Lake Louise is not uncommon.

On the east coast, much more accessible to Europeans, the snow is not such good quality, nor is it as consistent. And although the resorts do not run short, the snow can often be wind-blown and icy when the temperatures are low, or slushy when they rise. These resorts also tend to be smaller in both extent and vertical drop - but perfect for weekending townies from the big cities of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Eating out in Canadian Ski Resorts

The food is good in Canadian ski resorts and there's plenty of it. The cuisine has a French flavour on the east coast and, unusually for ski resorts, seafood (particularly west coast salmon) is both really good and inexpensive in comparison to Europe. We're not saying you can eat and drink like a king, but you can certainly try.