Looking for deals and discounts on hotels, attractions and more for your next trip from Ottawa? From two-for-one entry fees to seat sales and Canadian-at-par deals, here are a few promotions that might help you save money on your next road trip or long-distance getaway.
Tourism board discount packages
- Tourism Laurentians regularly posts savings news, such as hotel discounts, on this section of its website.
- Tourism Montreal’s deals page sometimes features a discount pass for visitors.
- Tourism Outaouais also has a page of packages, promotions and contests.
- Heading to Kingston? Tourism Kingston promotes a range of packages.
- I ❤️ New York, the state’s tourism website, has deals on hotel packages.
- Vermont’s tourism office rounds up its discounts here.
- Here’s the Maine Office of Tourism’s Deals in Maine page.
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s page of discounts sometimes includes special offers for Canadians.
Travel discount passes and cards
- The New York Sightseeing Pass is actually a variety of passes for various lengths of time that give you discounts on attractions in New York City. It’s offered by the city tourism bureau.
- CityPASS offers packages of discounts in 15 North American cities, including Toronto. (Disclosure: In the past, I’ve received several free CityPASSes for review purposes.)
Specialized deals (theatre, dining and more)
- Here’s a cool perk of having an Ottawa Public Library card: You can borrow passes for free admission to parks, museums and other sites from the library.
- An industry association called Attractions Ontario has a page of printable and downloadable coupons for sites and activities such as scenic cruises, museums, whitewater rafting and historic sites.
- Every year, MTLàTABLE features discounted prix-fixe menus and other events at Montreal restaurants.
- Summerlicious and Winterlicious are similar dining discount promotions in Toronto.
- Not to be left out, Prince Edward County promotes its food with restaurant discounts during Countylicious and Kingston counters with Kingstonlicious.
- The National Arts Centre offers $15 tickets for people under 30 and Indigenous people.
- For a short time each year, NYC Broadway Week offers two-for-one prices to a variety of Broadway shows.
Transportation discounts
- VIA Rail usually offers deals on Discount Tuesday.
- Here’s where you’ll find Porter Airlines’ current seat sales.
- You can also check out WestJet’s offers and deals.
- And here’s Air Canada’s page of seat sales and package deals.
Free admission to Ottawa museums
The National Gallery of Canada and national museums in Ottawa–Gatineau offer free admission at certain times and/or for certain visitors. Please check the links below for the latest information. Note that free times can be very busy, so it’s strongly recommended that you reserve your spot online in advance, if possible.
- Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
- Canada Aviation and Space Museum
- Canada Science and Technology Museum
- Canadian Museum of History
- Canadian Museum of Nature
- Canadian War Museum
- National Gallery of Canada
Canadian-at-par savings
Note that many of the offers below are time limited or time sensitive.
- Smuggler’s Notch ski resort in Vermont is offering Canadian at par (in reality a 20% discount) on the lodging portion of its vacation packages, for an unspecified time.
- Alexandria Bay, New York, usually runs an Eh-Bay Canadian Appreciation Weekend over the Canadian May long weekend. Traditionally, that’s involved a range of discounts at local hotels, restaurants and other sites for those who can prove they’re Canadian residents.
- Much further afield, Jackson Hole ski resort in Wyoming also has a Canadian-at-par package, and visitors might also qualify for an airfare discount.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.