Two people and a black and tan dog pose for a selfie in front of a turquoise alpine lake, with a dramatic jagged mountain peak and forested slopes in the background under cloudy skies

Bohdan Dryhval

Co-founder · Routes & Logistics

Bull elk with large antlers standing beside a cow elk grazing near a lake surrounded by coniferous forest

Anna Dryhval

Co-founder · Stories & Photography

About Bohdan

I’m Bohdan, a Ukrainian-Canadian travel writer and the co-founder of Explorer Canada. Together with my wife Anna and our dachshund Nika, I’ve driven over 23,000 km across Canada and through 12 countries in Eastern Europe — and I write about every kilometer of it.

My obsession with road trips started long before Canada. Back in Ukraine, my favorite weekends were spent driving between small towns with Anna — no hotels booked, no plans beyond the next coffee stop, just music, road, and the slow unfolding of places we’d never seen. When we moved to Winnipeg in 2023, I expected to lose that feeling. Instead, I found a country built for it.

Canada turned out to be a road trip in itself. Endless prairie highways, mountain passes that change weather every twenty minutes, lakes you find by accident on a side road. Most travel guides tell you about Banff and Niagara Falls. I write about the parts in between — the parking lot in Saskatchewan where we watched a thunderstorm roll in, the picnic spot in Birds Hill Park 30 minutes from Winnipeg that locals take for granted, the gas station coffee on the way to Riding Mountain that I still remember.

On Explorer Canada, I cover routes I’ve actually driven, costs I’ve actually paid, and stops worth the detour. No AI-generated itineraries. No “10 best places” lists written from a desk. Just real roads, real distances, and honest notes on what was worth it and what wasn’t.

If you’re planning a road trip across Canada — or a 4-day drive from Riga to the Transfăgărășan — start with the routes section. If you have a question about a specific province, border, or pet-friendly stop, get in touch. I read every email.

Why trust my routes

My favorite journey

The Story Behind Explorer Canada

We are Bohdan, Anna, and Nika — a young family from Ukraine now calling Canada home. In this first post, we share how our love for the road began, what inspired us to travel more intentionally, and how that journey led to Explorer Canada.

Bohdan's stories

Turquoise alpine lake with clear shallow water and rocky shoreline, surrounded by steep forested mountains under a dramatic cloudy sky
The turquoise headwaters of the Bow River, framed by Crowfoot Mountain and the historic Num-Ti-Jah Lodge — an easy, unforgettable stop on the Parkway.
Turquoise alpine lake nestled in a mountain valley with rocky peaks, coniferous forest, and dramatic cloudy sky overhead
Named for a legendary guide and shaped like a wolf's head, Peyto Lake glows glacier-blue from the highest point on the Icefields Parkway.
Dramatic cloudy sky over a mountain range with snow-capped peaks and forested slopes under overcast conditions
Step onto a glass floor cantilevered 280 metres above a mountain valley — here's how the Columbia Icefield Skywalk works, and what to know before you go.
Highway stretching through a mountain valley with steep rocky peaks on either side, coniferous trees, and dramatic cloudy sky
Glaciers, waterfalls and one impossibly blue lake after another along 230 km of mountain highway — a guide to the Icefields Parkway, one of the world's great drives.
Mountain landscape with coniferous forest and layered peaks viewed from a roadside overlook with guardrail, under blue sky with white clouds
A 57-person summer village on a mountain creek, the doorway to 1,500 km² of wild Alberta — Waiparous was our quiet, off-the-radar base for the Rockies.
Turquoise alpine lake surrounded by coniferous forest, rocky peaks, and a waterfall cascading down the mountainside under a cloudy sky
A 2 a.m. start, a long prairie haul, and then the impossibly blue lakes of the Rockies. Here's our honest 4-day Winnipeg-to-Banff road trip — and everything you need to do it yourself.

Share your Canada story

Tell us briefly about your trip. If your story inspires us, we'll reach out by email to hear the full version — and feature it on Explorer Canada.

Thanks! 🍁 We read every submission. If your story fits Explorer Canada, we'll email you within a few days to hear more.