Each place is unique and epic – we don’t choose spots based on bucket lists.

What’s your company name?

Out Here Travel

In what year did you run your first tour?

2017

What did you do before starting Out Here Travel?

Product Manager at Google

Why did you start Out Here Travel?

People get the adventure bug in different ways. For me, it all stems from an incredible nine-day canoe trip with my dad in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. I was seven. Paddling rapids, camping out, cooking over a campfire, and doing it all Canadian style. I’ve been lucky to live and travel in plenty of countries since, and I’ve learned that it’s not the number of places you visit that’s important – it’s that you get to explore them your way.

Then three years ago, while working at Google, it suddenly struck me just how difficult it was to explore the most amazing parts of my own country. There just weren’t any simple travel options available. I realized that what I and other like-minded travellers were missing was an easy, flexible and budget-friendly way to experience all the best stuff. Based on my time exploring my own country, and having talked to many people about the challenges of exploring Canada on your own, I started working on a solution.

Canada is hard to travel well. It’s big, for a start. Like 41 United Kingdoms big. Two million rivers big. A million moose big. I’ve met people who have tried to cover everything on a 5,500 km road trip from Vancouver to Toronto, and while I respect their ambition, it’s clear they missed lots of the most amazing stuff. Everything north and east of Toronto, for example. These regions have some of the most exciting and rewarding places to visit in Canada, but it’s also extremely difficult to explore them without local knowledge, a car and an extensive fuel budget.

Even deciding where to go and what to do is daunting – just look at all those vague and conflicting listicles, travel blogs and online recommendations. In fact, don’t. They’re mostly written by people who have never even been to the places in question, and many are full of misinformation. Your time and budget are precious so don’t waste them on advice pumped out by a content farm.

I launched Out Here Travel to solve all these challenges. We are a team of trip leaders dedicated to helping people like you experience the very best of Canada. Each of us has spent years mastering our ability to provide you with the trip of a lifetime. We’ve road-tripped, hiked, paddled and explore countless KMs of our country We’ve spent thousands of nights at national and provincial parks, hostels and rustic cabins, and packed in countless hours of exhilarating activities across Canada. And while we never say we know everything about this huge and amazing country, we will keep on exploring to continually improve and refine the experiences we offer to you.

Going on a road-trip adventure like this is a great way to experience Canadian culture and our natural wonders, not to mention reconnect to nature. We’ll always be on the lookout to share something special with you: an epic view, an amazing local festival, a cool hidden street in one of our amazing cities, the feeling that comes when paddling out onto a lake, or even just a starlit sky completely free of light pollution. But we’ll also share our responsibility to protect the nature we pass through. We practice “leave no trace” and always leave places cleaner than we found them. And we don’t feed or disturb animals, be they moose, whales, beavers, bears or “trash pandas”. We witness them without contributing to their demise, and we don’t mess up their backyard.

We believe that everyone should be able to explore our amazing country and return from a road-trip adventure having had the time of their life. We offer our experience and local knowledge about where to go, and what to get up to, in the hope that you come Out Here and join us.

What makes your trips unique?

• Adventure experiences.
• Ample time in each location.
• Each place is unique and epic – we don’t choose spots based on bucket lists.
• No cuts or commissions to providers – we only recommend amazing experiences and fight for discounts.
• Operated by us. Not re-sold under different brands to us.
• Difficult to travel Canadian destinations.
• Reasonable budget.
• Support Canadian small communities.
• Help people reconnect with our nature in our national parks.

What your favourite part of running Out Here Travel?

We help people have the time of their lives, re-connect with nature and make new lifelong friendships. They get to step out of their comfort zone, have new experiences and smile, laugh and cry (with joy).

The most rewarding personal experience is funny emails, group messages and more months and years after guiding a trip. The sincere thank you messages and more. It is even better than witnessing them experience it in person… because at that point you know it stuck with them for life.

Can you tell us about a time one of your trips changed a guest’s life?

We had a great couple join us from the UK. They shared bunks with the group, did privates on occasion and hadn’t had tons of experience travelling road-trip style with all the quirky accommodations. Fast forward one month after our trip, they are sending me pictures of their new travel van, camping setup and more across the country. They came here with a plan for the 9-5 life after a bit of travel, and six months later they are still exploring, having the time of their life, their way!

What’s one thing you recommend a traveller bring with them on one of your tours?

Dr. Bronners Soap – 100% biodegradable castile soap. Great for everything (except toothpaste), super dense so you only need a few drops. Tough to find, but usually at health stores. Scents such as eucalyptus are awesome. Oh – we also use the peppermint for dishes, it burns a bit for other uses, aye! Available at health food stores across Canada.

Penaten. It can be a lifesaver. If you get rashes easily or anything from chafing, apply this magical baby rash cream. No joke. It is available at outdoor stores all over the place. Do you know marathon runners lather themselves with vaseline? This is nothing compared to that, and so useful.

Duct/Duck tape. Use it to fix just about everything. It is the best. THE BEST! Always have a roll of duct/duck tape. (note: we have it on our trips, but for any road-trip, it is a must)

What’s one thing you recommend a traveller NOT bring with them on one of your tours?

Too much stuff. Pack light.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would canoe trip (i.e., multi-day adventure by canoe on a river – they ultimate original Canadian highway) another river in the Northwest Territories or Yukon in Canada. I had the fortunate opportunity to paddle the Mountain River, 400KM through mountains in the deep wild (float plane in and out) and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

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