Seasonal

Thanksgiving weekend trips: two Thanksgivings, one great excuse

Canada's Thanksgiving is October 12th, America's is November 26th. Either way, it's a long weekend built for a getaway. Here's how to use it.

By the Dayfari editors · 2026-09-28 · Everywhere

Thanksgiving is the most underrated travel weekend of the year. Everyone's focused on the dinner, so the roads, the hotels, and the small towns are all quieter than they should be. And you get a long weekend handed to you for free.

Canadians get theirs first: Monday, October 12th, right at peak fall color. Americans follow on Thursday, November 26th. Whichever one is yours, here's how to make it a trip instead of just a meal.

Chase the fall color

For the Canadian Thanksgiving, the timing is perfect: mid-October is peak foliage across most of the country. The Laurentians, the Okanagan, the Cabot Trail, the hills around the Great Lakes, all of them are showing off.

Mid-October is peak fall color across most of Canada. Go look at it.

Book a small-town inn, drive the scenic route instead of the highway, and eat at the local place with the line out the door. This is the weekend the countryside was made for.

Or take the city break

The other move: let everyone else do the family dinner and take the city weekend. Hotels in the big cities often drop their prices over Thanksgiving weekend, the museums and theatres are all running, and the restaurants are doing special menus.

The city break: quieter hotels, full cultural calendars.

Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, they're all great Thanksgiving weekends. The holiday markets start creeping in by late November, so the American weekend gets the festive bonus.

The practical stuff

Book early if you're flying: Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods, and the fares only go one direction. Driving is the sweet spot for this weekend, two to three hours is the perfect radius.

Two to three hours by car: the perfect Thanksgiving radius.

And check what's on wherever you're headed. The fall festival season runs right through both Thanksgivings, and the best part of the weekend might be something you didn't plan. That's usually how the good trips go.

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