Eastern Canada/Maritimes/vs. Central vs. Western Canada for summer vacation?
Oct 6th, 2024, 06:19 PM
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Eastern Canada/Maritimes/vs. Central vs. Western Canada for summer vacation?
All Canada experts:
Help. I need advice.
My wife and I are looking at planning our next summer trip. We normally take around 2 weeks, plus or minus 2-3 days. Since we live in Florida, it must be cool weather. We normally go to Europe - British Isles, Scandinavia, or Baltic countries. We want to try Canada this summer instead.
Haven't been to Canada a lot, but we know it's a very big country. We need help narrowing down our choices. We've previously been to Vancouver twice (but not Victoria) on trips to Alaska; 1 trip to Massachusetts then drove to Maine, then to Quebec City and Montreal; 1 trip for four days to Niagra-by-the-lake, 1 trip to Sherbrooke after Vermont; and very recently 1 trip out of NY, cruising to Boston, Portland Maine, Sydney NS, Charlottetown PEI, Saguenay, and finished in Quebec City. We enjoyed all of the above, except for Saguenay, where there really wasn't much to do except look at the wonderful views of the fjords on the way into the St. Lawrence.
We'd normally want to go 2-3 places that are drivable to each other without killing ourselves. Perhaps rent a place for a week with day trips to nearby areas, then do the same either at another location for 1 week, or maybe two places for 3-4 days each.
I'm 65, and my wife is 60. Because of sciatica, I can't walk more than 15-20 minutes (depending on slope and how good the surface is) at a time without a rest. My wife is in better shape. We both love smaller towns, walking around, shopping in little towns, local museums, etc. I actively seek out waterfalls, but only ones that are within 15-20 minutes of good parking. Love views, but am not a camper or hiker. My wife also loves big cities (Montreal, NY, Chicago, etc.), and I'm happy to do those to keep wife happy (ensure Domestic Tranquility). If you're familiar with the UK, we love the Market Towns there, big enough to have things to do while still having small town charm. look for good food, afternoon tea, etc.
If we go to the Maritimes, we'd probably start by visiting Bar Harbor Maine first for maybe 3 days, and then take a ferry to one of the Maritimes.
Any suggestions??
Thanks
Help. I need advice.
My wife and I are looking at planning our next summer trip. We normally take around 2 weeks, plus or minus 2-3 days. Since we live in Florida, it must be cool weather. We normally go to Europe - British Isles, Scandinavia, or Baltic countries. We want to try Canada this summer instead.
Haven't been to Canada a lot, but we know it's a very big country. We need help narrowing down our choices. We've previously been to Vancouver twice (but not Victoria) on trips to Alaska; 1 trip to Massachusetts then drove to Maine, then to Quebec City and Montreal; 1 trip for four days to Niagra-by-the-lake, 1 trip to Sherbrooke after Vermont; and very recently 1 trip out of NY, cruising to Boston, Portland Maine, Sydney NS, Charlottetown PEI, Saguenay, and finished in Quebec City. We enjoyed all of the above, except for Saguenay, where there really wasn't much to do except look at the wonderful views of the fjords on the way into the St. Lawrence.
We'd normally want to go 2-3 places that are drivable to each other without killing ourselves. Perhaps rent a place for a week with day trips to nearby areas, then do the same either at another location for 1 week, or maybe two places for 3-4 days each.
I'm 65, and my wife is 60. Because of sciatica, I can't walk more than 15-20 minutes (depending on slope and how good the surface is) at a time without a rest. My wife is in better shape. We both love smaller towns, walking around, shopping in little towns, local museums, etc. I actively seek out waterfalls, but only ones that are within 15-20 minutes of good parking. Love views, but am not a camper or hiker. My wife also loves big cities (Montreal, NY, Chicago, etc.), and I'm happy to do those to keep wife happy (ensure Domestic Tranquility). If you're familiar with the UK, we love the Market Towns there, big enough to have things to do while still having small town charm. look for good food, afternoon tea, etc.
If we go to the Maritimes, we'd probably start by visiting Bar Harbor Maine first for maybe 3 days, and then take a ferry to one of the Maritimes.
Any suggestions??
Thanks
Oct 7th, 2024, 10:04 AM
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Steve,
I posted a lot of information on PEI below. If you just visited Charlottetown and a quick cruise tour of the island you perhaps got a feel for the island. You can easily spend a week on the island to get a better feel.
Halifax and PEI
We spent 3 weeks in Newfoundland August 2018 it is beautiful place with the East and West coast being so different.
We drove from Philadelphia, Pa to Sydney, NS and took the 7 hour ferry to Port aux Basques. If you drive you have the option of either a 7 hour or 21 hour ferry. On the ferry we saw whales, seals and many birds which broke up the trip over. We found a warm place to sit and nap and ventured outside to checkout the wildlife. The ferry was the worst part of the trip, wife got seasick.
Our NF Experience
A lot of one way roads meaning down the same road to get to a place, not many looping roads. So drive 1 hour down a road spend a few hours checking out the place and drive 1 hour back the same road you came back down. That got old after a while, BUT the views were amazing the entire time, folks very friendly so yea worth a visit.
COD!! you can only have so much cod. It is the first 4 items on every menu which is great, but you can not have cod everyday ….well we did not. What cod we had was amazing.... but got old real fast. St. John’s had no problem finding Great food but venture out of St. John’s and it goes down hill fast. The food on the west coast ie Port aux Basques (we ate at Tim Horton for dinner because we could not find a decent place to eat) Deer Lake, Lobster Cove was lacking. Perhaps we just did not find the good places. Even some of the restaurants we did research reviews were not good. We have traveled a lot having visited all 50 states and most of the the Canadian Provinces. So we know good food when we find it…lol.
Beware of moose while driving they are definitely around as well as bears. Once you get out of an area the next place not much around so if you are low on gas fill up! The weather was in the 60’s in August and it rained very often so bring layers and rain gear. Once you get out of St. John’s it get very rural very fast, lots of trees and more trees....lol
They LOVE coffee especially Tim Horton’s no matter what time of day we passed a Tim Horton’s they had a line both inside and the drive through!!!
The locals accent is sometimes hard to figure out particularly the older folks, I just kinda smiled and said yes.....Then again they probably had a hard time understanding my New Jersey accent.
Many locals we spoke to worked in the oil fields in Alberta and came back a few months at a time. The cod industry really never came back so many folks do what they have to get by.
ATV’s are everywhere in the rural area ie most of the island kinda like the third car in the family. Interesting we saw a group of about 25 stopped in a beautiful lookout, I asked a guy what they were doing...25 all in a group. They said they were traveling the island as a group and staying in B&B at night for 10 days ALL on ATV, wow long time riding an ATV....lol Apparently this is a common thing with locals as tour guide the entire time. The guy said when exploring the options you could have camped out instead of B&B.
Have fun it is a beautiful place to explore.
Stuff we Liked
Bonavista Dungeon Provincial ParkThe town and fishing village
The puffins in Elliston and the root cellars
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse ( some puffins here but more in Elliston)
The Matthew Museum
Bonavista has some nice places to dine.
Gross Morne National ParkTablelands Trail where the earth mantle is exposed
West Brook Boat Tour would NOT recommend, they replaced the walkway through the forest with a 30’ wide gravel road 1 mile plus long to the lake. Boring boat tour of cliffs which you will see many along your travel through NB.
Green Point beautiful beach.
Rose BlanchPretty town with a granite lighthouse
Arches Provincial Park
Blow me Down Provincial Park
Trinity Village historic village, beautiful church and craft shops
St John’s
Signal Hill
Cape Spear Lighthouse
Petty Harbor ( great fish and chips at Chafe’s Landing when 2 times that good)
Pippy Park & Memorial University Botanical Garden
Downtown area including
Waterfront
Railway Coastal Museum
Anglican Cathedral
The Rooms (history museum)
Fort Amherst (Lighthouse and Fort)
Johnson Geo Center (great Titanic Exhibit)
Castle Hill National Historic Site ( near ferry to St John’s )
Salmonier Nature Park
I posted a lot of information on PEI below. If you just visited Charlottetown and a quick cruise tour of the island you perhaps got a feel for the island. You can easily spend a week on the island to get a better feel.
Halifax and PEI
We spent 3 weeks in Newfoundland August 2018 it is beautiful place with the East and West coast being so different.
We drove from Philadelphia, Pa to Sydney, NS and took the 7 hour ferry to Port aux Basques. If you drive you have the option of either a 7 hour or 21 hour ferry. On the ferry we saw whales, seals and many birds which broke up the trip over. We found a warm place to sit and nap and ventured outside to checkout the wildlife. The ferry was the worst part of the trip, wife got seasick.
Our NF Experience
A lot of one way roads meaning down the same road to get to a place, not many looping roads. So drive 1 hour down a road spend a few hours checking out the place and drive 1 hour back the same road you came back down. That got old after a while, BUT the views were amazing the entire time, folks very friendly so yea worth a visit.
COD!! you can only have so much cod. It is the first 4 items on every menu which is great, but you can not have cod everyday ….well we did not. What cod we had was amazing.... but got old real fast. St. John’s had no problem finding Great food but venture out of St. John’s and it goes down hill fast. The food on the west coast ie Port aux Basques (we ate at Tim Horton for dinner because we could not find a decent place to eat) Deer Lake, Lobster Cove was lacking. Perhaps we just did not find the good places. Even some of the restaurants we did research reviews were not good. We have traveled a lot having visited all 50 states and most of the the Canadian Provinces. So we know good food when we find it…lol.
Beware of moose while driving they are definitely around as well as bears. Once you get out of an area the next place not much around so if you are low on gas fill up! The weather was in the 60’s in August and it rained very often so bring layers and rain gear. Once you get out of St. John’s it get very rural very fast, lots of trees and more trees....lol
They LOVE coffee especially Tim Horton’s no matter what time of day we passed a Tim Horton’s they had a line both inside and the drive through!!!
The locals accent is sometimes hard to figure out particularly the older folks, I just kinda smiled and said yes.....Then again they probably had a hard time understanding my New Jersey accent.
Many locals we spoke to worked in the oil fields in Alberta and came back a few months at a time. The cod industry really never came back so many folks do what they have to get by.
ATV’s are everywhere in the rural area ie most of the island kinda like the third car in the family. Interesting we saw a group of about 25 stopped in a beautiful lookout, I asked a guy what they were doing...25 all in a group. They said they were traveling the island as a group and staying in B&B at night for 10 days ALL on ATV, wow long time riding an ATV....lol Apparently this is a common thing with locals as tour guide the entire time. The guy said when exploring the options you could have camped out instead of B&B.
Have fun it is a beautiful place to explore.
Stuff we Liked
Bonavista Dungeon Provincial ParkThe town and fishing village
The puffins in Elliston and the root cellars
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse ( some puffins here but more in Elliston)
The Matthew Museum
Bonavista has some nice places to dine.
- Bell Island near St. John’s
Gross Morne National ParkTablelands Trail where the earth mantle is exposed
West Brook Boat Tour would NOT recommend, they replaced the walkway through the forest with a 30’ wide gravel road 1 mile plus long to the lake. Boring boat tour of cliffs which you will see many along your travel through NB.
Green Point beautiful beach.
Rose BlanchPretty town with a granite lighthouse
Arches Provincial Park
Blow me Down Provincial Park
Trinity Village historic village, beautiful church and craft shops
St John’s
Signal Hill
Cape Spear Lighthouse
Petty Harbor ( great fish and chips at Chafe’s Landing when 2 times that good)
Pippy Park & Memorial University Botanical Garden
Downtown area including
Waterfront
Railway Coastal Museum
Anglican Cathedral
The Rooms (history museum)
Fort Amherst (Lighthouse and Fort)
Johnson Geo Center (great Titanic Exhibit)
Castle Hill National Historic Site ( near ferry to St John’s )
Salmonier Nature Park
Last edited by tlc195; Oct 7th, 2024 at 10:06 AM.
Oct 8th, 2024, 10:42 AM
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As you've probably observed and experienced, Canada shares a lot in common culturally and geographically with the USA in a north-south direction. The different parts of Canada share less in common with one another when you travel east to west. Similar to how California shares a lot in common with Oregon, but it shares less in common with New York or Georgia, the same is here in Canada.
I say this because it might help you pick where to go.
BC shares a lot in common with Washington State, Oregon state, Idaho, and Alaska - it shares a similar climate, varied topography, and everything from old growth temperate rainforests, a diversity of mountain ranges, waterfalls galore, to deserts and wine regions. It's larger than Washington, Oregon, and California combined. It's famous for scenery, getting out in nature, and its outdoor experiences (whale watching, bear tours, kayaking, alpine hiking, mountain resort towns, ocean resort towns, and lakefront resort towns), but also the cities are very Pacific Rim-oriented with contemporary Asian culture, craft beer and foodie destinations, left-leaning politics, an environmentally-conscious population. It's also the most diverse place for experiencing Indigenous cultures in Canada; there are more distinct Indigenous cultures in BC than in the rest of Canada combined. You could spend weeks in BC and only see a fragment of it.
Alberta shares a lot in common with Montana and even Texas to some extent, with the Rockies on its western border and the rest of the province flat as a pancake and more agricultural and industrial, with ranching, farming, and oil/gas production and more right-leaning politics.
The Maritimes share a lot in common with Maine and states along the north Atlantic coast - rural, historic, gentle, friendly. People live there for the slower pace of life. The Maritime have a long tradition of fishing and boat-building and traditionally more of a poorer part of the country. Canada's Maritime provinces culturally have strong ties with Ireland, Scotland, and England more so than elsewhere in Canada, with ceileighs (kitchen parties), fiddle music, and so on. I'm not sure if afternoon tea is one of those traditions.
Ontario shares a lot in common with the states along the Great Lakes - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan; very urbanized, lots of cities, towns, farmland, industrial areas - lots of wilderness in the northern parts of the province and thousands of lakes. No mountains. It's the second-largest province in Canada and so vast, it can take days and days to drive across non-stop. Southern Ontario is jam packed with small cities and towns and some vast cities, like Toronto.
Quebec is unique being the only French-speaking province and a former French colony, and Quebec City will make you feel like you're in a different country, but Montreal is kindred spirits with New York and Boston and is free spirited and quirky, artsy, and cosmopolitan. It's the largest province in Canada and also one of the most populated, but the only province that recognizes itself as a distinct French-speaking nation (and doesn't typically identify as Canadian but Quebecois).
Which to choose honestly depends on what flavour of Canada you want this time, similar to somebody picking a place to visit in the USA. Should they visit Washington state, Illinois, New York, Maine, Montana? It sort of depends on what they want out of the trip. To help, I'd just focus on your top three priorities for this trip. What are your non-negotiable experiences you want to have happen?
I say this because it might help you pick where to go.
BC shares a lot in common with Washington State, Oregon state, Idaho, and Alaska - it shares a similar climate, varied topography, and everything from old growth temperate rainforests, a diversity of mountain ranges, waterfalls galore, to deserts and wine regions. It's larger than Washington, Oregon, and California combined. It's famous for scenery, getting out in nature, and its outdoor experiences (whale watching, bear tours, kayaking, alpine hiking, mountain resort towns, ocean resort towns, and lakefront resort towns), but also the cities are very Pacific Rim-oriented with contemporary Asian culture, craft beer and foodie destinations, left-leaning politics, an environmentally-conscious population. It's also the most diverse place for experiencing Indigenous cultures in Canada; there are more distinct Indigenous cultures in BC than in the rest of Canada combined. You could spend weeks in BC and only see a fragment of it.
Alberta shares a lot in common with Montana and even Texas to some extent, with the Rockies on its western border and the rest of the province flat as a pancake and more agricultural and industrial, with ranching, farming, and oil/gas production and more right-leaning politics.
The Maritimes share a lot in common with Maine and states along the north Atlantic coast - rural, historic, gentle, friendly. People live there for the slower pace of life. The Maritime have a long tradition of fishing and boat-building and traditionally more of a poorer part of the country. Canada's Maritime provinces culturally have strong ties with Ireland, Scotland, and England more so than elsewhere in Canada, with ceileighs (kitchen parties), fiddle music, and so on. I'm not sure if afternoon tea is one of those traditions.
Ontario shares a lot in common with the states along the Great Lakes - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan; very urbanized, lots of cities, towns, farmland, industrial areas - lots of wilderness in the northern parts of the province and thousands of lakes. No mountains. It's the second-largest province in Canada and so vast, it can take days and days to drive across non-stop. Southern Ontario is jam packed with small cities and towns and some vast cities, like Toronto.
Quebec is unique being the only French-speaking province and a former French colony, and Quebec City will make you feel like you're in a different country, but Montreal is kindred spirits with New York and Boston and is free spirited and quirky, artsy, and cosmopolitan. It's the largest province in Canada and also one of the most populated, but the only province that recognizes itself as a distinct French-speaking nation (and doesn't typically identify as Canadian but Quebecois).
Which to choose honestly depends on what flavour of Canada you want this time, similar to somebody picking a place to visit in the USA. Should they visit Washington state, Illinois, New York, Maine, Montana? It sort of depends on what they want out of the trip. To help, I'd just focus on your top three priorities for this trip. What are your non-negotiable experiences you want to have happen?
Last edited by BC_Robyn; Oct 8th, 2024 at 10:54 AM.
Oct 9th, 2024, 11:43 AM
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Robyn and TLC -
Thank you both for your suggestions. Hoping for more responses.
Ideally, what we'd be looking for are towns or smaller cities with restaurants, shopping, places where we could spend several hours walking around, eating, looking at things, etc. Preferably a place where there are some of these close enough to each other that we can spend a day in each area. Example: Stay in City A for 3 days to a week, spend 1 or 2 days looking around the city, and then use that as a base to drive South one day to several towns, North the next day, maybe east the third day, etc. Waterfalls a definite plus; great scenery + Mountains a plus, but we will not be hiking or going on long mountain walks. Again, sciatica, need to sit for 3-5 minutes every 15-30 minutes standing or walking.
Must be cool temperature. Museums are nice but not required. Other things to see and do. Wineries yes, distilleries yes, cideries especially yes, breweries no.
Must have nice places to stay - either hotels, Inns, B&B's, or Air B&B/VRBO. I do not camp. I consider it camping if I'm staying at a Holiday Inn Express. Although surprisingly, both of my sons were Eagle Scouts, that's because my wife took them camping.
Prefer some place near a large City that we can fly to - maybe 3-4 hour maximum drive? If Maritimes, we'd go to Maine first for a few days (been there many times), if Montreal or Ottawa we'd go to Vermont first (been there many times), if Toronto someplace in Finger Lakes NY (Never been there), If Vancouver Seattle (been there several times). The US portion of the visit is optional - not required . I really don't want to have to spend a day driving to where I want to start - that's why we've never visited Mackinac Island. Perfectly happy to fly directly to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and then drive 3-4 hours.
We've never been to any part of Canada between Vancouver and Montreal.
We've been to Ireland, Scotland and England many times. My favorite place to vacation is probably Scotland, although we love Ireland and Northern England also, so that's 1 point in favor of the Maritimes.
Does this help narrow locations or give ideas of places that we'd like?
Thank you so much for your help.
Senator Steve
Thank you both for your suggestions. Hoping for more responses.
Ideally, what we'd be looking for are towns or smaller cities with restaurants, shopping, places where we could spend several hours walking around, eating, looking at things, etc. Preferably a place where there are some of these close enough to each other that we can spend a day in each area. Example: Stay in City A for 3 days to a week, spend 1 or 2 days looking around the city, and then use that as a base to drive South one day to several towns, North the next day, maybe east the third day, etc. Waterfalls a definite plus; great scenery + Mountains a plus, but we will not be hiking or going on long mountain walks. Again, sciatica, need to sit for 3-5 minutes every 15-30 minutes standing or walking.
Must be cool temperature. Museums are nice but not required. Other things to see and do. Wineries yes, distilleries yes, cideries especially yes, breweries no.
Must have nice places to stay - either hotels, Inns, B&B's, or Air B&B/VRBO. I do not camp. I consider it camping if I'm staying at a Holiday Inn Express. Although surprisingly, both of my sons were Eagle Scouts, that's because my wife took them camping.
Prefer some place near a large City that we can fly to - maybe 3-4 hour maximum drive? If Maritimes, we'd go to Maine first for a few days (been there many times), if Montreal or Ottawa we'd go to Vermont first (been there many times), if Toronto someplace in Finger Lakes NY (Never been there), If Vancouver Seattle (been there several times). The US portion of the visit is optional - not required . I really don't want to have to spend a day driving to where I want to start - that's why we've never visited Mackinac Island. Perfectly happy to fly directly to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and then drive 3-4 hours.
We've never been to any part of Canada between Vancouver and Montreal.
We've been to Ireland, Scotland and England many times. My favorite place to vacation is probably Scotland, although we love Ireland and Northern England also, so that's 1 point in favor of the Maritimes.
Does this help narrow locations or give ideas of places that we'd like?
Thank you so much for your help.
Senator Steve
