As many of you know, I’m Canadian, and I’ve recently received some comments and emails (many of them quite rude and mean) questioning my travels to the United States.
Travel Is About Connection
With everything happening right now, I completely understand.
However, my channel has always been and will always be about travel, not politics.
The reality is, my audience is diverse, and a big portion of them are American.
I’ve had incredible experiences traveling in the U.S., meeting amazing people, and discovering places that I love sharing with all of you.
Travel has always been about bridging connections, learning about different cultures, and appreciating the world beyond headlines and politics.
I totally respect everyone’s personal decisions when it comes to where they choose to travel and spend their money.
My Approach to Travel Content
What you might not know about me is that I don’t create content about every single place that I travel.
For example, in the winter, Chris and I visit the mountains—like Jasper National Park or Lake Louise—for snowboarding trips.
But that’s personal time we cherish together, and it’s important for us to have experiences that we enjoy just for ourselves.
So while you may not see me posting about it, we’re still spending money on Canadian tourism—on hotels, lift tickets, fuel, and restaurants—just in a way that stays off-camera.
My goal is to keep this channel a space for travel lovers to get inspired, learn, and escape the negativity of the world.
Because I know that’s what I personally look for when I watch travel content, too.
We love spending time and making videos about our travels to Mexico.
I recently had the trip of a lifetime with my mom and sister in Portugal.
And later this year Chris and I are headed to Japan.
Yes, I Travel Within Canada Too
And there are many more exciting travel plans ahead – including travel within Canada.
We’re visiting Montreal and Quebec City in June.
It’s been almost 20 years since I was last there, so needless to say I am very excited for that.
And later this summer we’re planning our annual visit to Canada’s wine country – the Okanagan Valley.
Specifically the Naramata Bench, one of my favorite places to relax and unwind.
Along with Radium Hot Springs—my absolute favorite little hidden gem mountain town as a great alternative to the crowds and prices of Banff.
Our visit to Radium was part one of my favorite video series from the early days of the channel.
So if you want to see a slightly younger, slightly awkward, Aly Smalls, you should definitely go watch.
At the end of the day, that’s why I make these videos—
My hope is that they continue to bring you joy, inspire your future travels, and help you plan unforgettable trips and, of course, find the perfect carry-on to take with you.
Exploring Canada: Travel Inspiration & Hidden Gems
For those of you planning more travel within Canada this year – you’re in luck!
This country is full of incredible experiences – many of which I’ve documented on my channel.
I have an entire playlist dedicated to our travels in Canada.
You can watch over 20 videos covering everything from the Rocky Mountains to Atlantic Canada to the rural prairies to Niagara Falls.
So if you’re looking for inspiration for your next Canadian adventure, go give those a watch.
And please, use them as inspiration to plan your itineraries.
Because we always make a point to visit local (and most of them small, family-run) businesses (restaurants, hotels, local shops).
And we feature those businesses in our videos.
Watch & Read What Inspires You—The Choice Is Yours
As always, you are free to watch what interests you and skip what doesn’t.
My goal is to create content that helps and inspires, whether that’s for travel in Canada or anywhere else in the world.
If you’ve decided to avoid the U.S. for a whole, I fully support that.
And if you choose to not watch my videos, I support that too.
The Reality of Being a Canadian Travel Creator
One thing that’s been really frustrating for me is that I’m working incredibly hard to grow my channel (I average between 60 – 80 hours per week – by choice, because I love it).
Yet I’m being attacked because as a Canadian I’m producing a few videos about our visit to the U.S – that happened in the past.
For context, we visited San Francisco in early-February, 2025.
This trip was planned in October 2024 – before the election.
This trip was also a ‘sponsored media trip’ – something I’ve worked toward making happen since 2019.
This month, we’re in Arizona for a conference – TravelCon, where we spent 3 days learning how to make better travel content, connect with other creators and grow our network.
This was booked in early December 2024, and this is an educational trip. Sure, technically we could have cancelled.
But you know what? I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon.
So yeah, we’re going to take a road trip since we’re already spending an ungodly amount of money on flights (Canadians, you feel my pain – we truly need a transportation overhaul).
And I’ll probably publish a video about it.
The reality is, there are plenty of other creators making similar travel content, but because they’re American, they’re not facing this kind of backlash.
Canadian creators also get nowhere near the opportunities nor monetization options compared to those from the United States.
You’d be shocked at the amount of things we don’t get access to and opportunities and brand deals I’ve been turned down for because I’m Canadian.
So to continue creating great content, we do have to choose wisely.
My Content Goes Beyond the U.S.—And So Do My Travels
I don’t just make videos and blog posts about the U.S.—I share general travel tips, travel guides for destinations all over the world.
And I travel within Canada every single year, just like I will again this summer.
35 out of 205 of my videos are about the United States. That’s 17%.
But all of this has really made me understand why so many YouTubers choose to stay as anonymous as possible or at the very least, keep personal details private.
I’m a proud Canadian, but I can’t help but wonder—if I had never shared that part of my identity, would I still be receiving these kinds of attacks from my fellow Canadians?
A Final Thought: Why Travel Matters
Still, I truly and deeply appreciate each and every one of you.
I started this journey because I wanted to make content that is truly helpful and informative (because no one cares that I start my day with 3 cups of coffee and how I decided on what outfit to wear).
Thank you for watching, commenting, and being part of this travel-loving community.
Travel has an incredible way of bringing people together, broadening perspectives, and reminding us of the beauty in the world.
No matter where your next adventure takes you, I hope my videos and all the videos of your favorite travel YouTubers help make it even better.
Support Canadian Travel Brands
If you want to support Canadian brands, here are a few that I like (and some of them are affiliate links):
Monos Luggage
I love my Monos carry-on – it fits in so many sizers (including Europe) and somehow has a lot of interior space for its size. I made a full review video of my Monos Carry-On.
Poppies & Peonies
Lots of good tote bags and ‘weekender’ style bags
Herschel Supply Co.
They’ve been around forever, lots of different types of bags, and now roller luggage too.
Graeme, The Canadian Jetsetter
I often get asked about better flight deal alert services for Canadians, and that’s exactly what Graeme does.
He’s my go-to for staying up to date on points & miles deals specifically for Canadians, and also offers 2 types of memberships for finding great flight deals from Canadian airports.
I have no affiliation with Graeme, but I’ve been following his content for a long-time and love it.
Travel Resources
If you’re just getting to know me, consider subscribing to my (sometimes) twice per month newsletter.
I have a free travel toolkit with all my best travel resources if you’re planning a trip soon.