SEE SHIPWRECKS IN NOVA SCOTIA
Sure, the warm waters of the Caribbean are enticing, but for fans of scuba-diving, Nova Scotia is now an It spot. With more than 7,500 kilometres of coastline, the province is the final resting place for about 4,500 shipwrecks, many well preserved because of the icy seas. St. Paul’s Island, just northeast of Cape Breton Island, is known as the Graveyard of the Gulf. It has 350-plus wrecks and visibility can reach almost 30 metres. Chances are you’ll have to wear a wetsuit to keep from freezing, even in the summer, but you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular underwater adventure. A number of dive-tour companies also offer diving courses so that you can get what’s known as PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certification. Then you’re ready to take, ahem, the plunge.

For more info: Nova Scotia Underwater Council, 902-425-5450 or nsuc.net


HAVE A HELI-PICNIC IN THE ALBERTA ROCKIES
Nibbling on peanut butter sandwiches and enjoying a view of the Alberta Rockies ranks up there with great dining experiences, but why not kick it up a few notches? Icefield Helicopter Tours gets you to high with heli-picnics ($299 per person). By chopper, you’re whooshed up and over some of the most stunning scenery on the planet and then you’re set down on a mountaintop to enjoy your deluxe picnic lunch.

For more info: 1-888-844-3514 or icefieldheli.com

BE A 007 IN PORT PERRY, ONTARIO
Camp-X, not far from Oshawa, Ont., served as a training centre for would-be James Bonds during the Second World War. It offered a solid basic curriculum that included sabotage, weaponry, demolition, Morse code and that old-time favourite: silent killing. In fact, Bond creator Ian Fleming was among the students. The spies have long hung up their cloaks and daggers, but Camp-X now operates as an offbeat museum that houses agents’ toys, spy cams, uniforms and photos.

For more info: 905-436-6325 or camp-x.com

VISIT THE DISCOVERY CENTRE IN SASKATCHEWAN
In 1994, “Scotty” turned up again in his hometown of Eastend, Sask. He’d been missing for almost 65 million years so no one was really worried about him. You see, “Scotty” is a T. rex and the unofficial mascot for the T. rex Discovery Centre, a facility devoted to all things dinosaur. Gazing at old bones and incisors that are nine-inches long is pretty fascinating, but why not get down and dirty about it? A day-long dig program ($75 per person) gives you a chance to discover an important fossil that might change the modern history of mankind at a place regarded as the world’s best trove for dinosaur finds. Or you might just have fun and get some dirt under your fingernails.

For more info: 306-295-4009 or dinocountry.com

GO TO ICEBERG ALLEY IN NEWFOUNDLAND
Bergy bits? Growlers? If you’d been to Newfoundland, you would know that “growlers” are chunks of icebergs the size of a grand piano and “bergy bits” are larger—about the size of a small house. But if you didn’t know that, no worries: You’ll be a walking encyclopedia on bergs after you’ve visited the area known as Iceberg Alley, which is particularly busy in June when warm weather causes giant chunks to split away from the mother hunk and begin their float south. Tour companies such as Linkum Tours will enlighten you on the unique wildlife of the island—and we’re not talking about kissing the cod or Screech here. Adorably cute puffins, whales, and furry and feathered creatures aplenty cross paths with human folk and those ice cubes on ’roids. Very cool.

For more info: 1-800-563-6353 or www.gov.nf.ca/tourism; Linkum Tours, 1-877-254-6586 or www.linkumtours.com