Where to go in Canada or elsewhere with hard to please teens

[stilltheduchess]

Is it a good place for a holiday? It would be me and two teens aged 14 and 16. Neither is very sporty, one loves museums and culture and the other doesn't! The younger one is very keen on going outside of Europe but has no real idea of what he would like to do, though he's keen to see the Niagara Falls. If not Canada, where would people recommend for us? I find it hard as they're not into beaches/waterparks but only one really likes the cultural stuff but both do want to go away... Thinking ahead to summer of 2023 when eldest will have finished GCSEs

I would start in Toronto. Loads to see and do. Then travel an hour up to Niagra on the lake and the falls. You could then. Go up to Montreal and Quebec or even fly up to Nova Scotia. Alternatively, after niagra you could go across Canada on the train through the rockies to Vancouver and explore there; go up a bit to see the northern lights etc

Enjoy

Cross Canada on the train from Nova Scotia to Vancouver?

Niagra Falls is "interesting".....falls are spectacular, but the surrounding area is really horrible - similar to Blackpool. I wouldn't choose to spend more than a day there.

British Columbia is lovely though, we stayed in Vancouver for a few days, then travelled to Tofino on Vancouver Island for some bear watching, whaleing and fishing. Then travelled up to Whistler for down hill biking, an escape room.

Borneo is also a good summer destination.

Washington DC has a lot to suit an enthusiastic museum goer. The Smithsonian places - and there are many - are free entry.

Asia. A developing country.

I’d also recommend Washington DC for culture. Vancouver is lovely too. It has beaches, mountains nearby, some museums and galleries (though not as good a Toronto’s), good shops, nice places to eat etc. It has a bit of everything really - you don’t get any better for balance in North America IMHO.

Would New York be a better destination? What does the child who doesn't like culture like to do?

I went to Canada as a teen and loved it, we went to Calgary for the rodeo and then travelled around the rockies and stayed in a lakeside log cabin, we saw bears and did water sports on the lake.

Great holiday.

@coodawoodashooda

Asia. A developing country.

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Thanks all. I had read that Niagara Falls is a day trip rather than anything longer so definitely prepared for that. Washington sounds great for ds1 who loves history but not for ds2, who would see it as all about ds1 - I suppose we need more of a middle ground place! Love the idea of a train ride across the country - do they do sleeper cars or is it not that long a journey? Does 2 weeks sound like a reasonable amount of time to spend?

Singapore is great. Lots to do, transport super easy. You can also cross over to Malaysia for a few days.

The food is amazing, zoo, river safari, high tea at raffles, china town, little India, lots of museums, universal studios.

Also here to suggest a US city (or big Canadian city with a good shops/museum/food/tourism mix) - I took a VERY disparate family group to NY and the combination of museums for some, shops for others and tourist attractions for all ensured peace.

Cambodia, somewhere like that

@flylow That sounds interesting - could you give some more details about where exactly you stayed and which airport to fly into, and did you hire a car?

@Wartywart
It was sadly many moons ago now but we flew in to Calgary and stayed in a city centre apartment for 3 or 4 nights, the rodeo was fab, lots to see and do and completely different than anything over here. All over the city were square dances and free breakfasts cooked on bbqs.

Lovely clean city with great shops and restaurants and we went to a living museum type place, heritage park or something like that.

We hired a car and drove to Banff, think we visited an Indian reserve there and did the cable cars, also visited a ranch. Then went to stay at various lakes (lake Louise is the big tourist one). We canoed and water skied. I can't remember the details of where we stayed sorry.

Drove back to Calgary for a night and flew home. We went July time and it was really hot. Aww great memories are coming flooding back, it was my favourite childhood holiday.

We’ve done a few Canadian holidays.
Our favourite was a flight to Calgary, five days in the Rockies - Banff, Ice Fields Parkway, lots of wildlife - bears etc , mountains, lakes etc then flew to Victoria on Vancouver Island for five more days and ferry to Vancouver for the last few days.
Victoria is the capital of BC so has a great museum. Also went whale watching there. Lots to see in Vancouver too. You can do a film tour - Lots of films shot there.

We did a week in Toronto too and did a daytrip to Niagara Falls. Great fun. Lots to see in Toronto.

Sri Lanka, the East coast in summer. Beaches, culture, safari.
Or Boston and New England fly drive.

What is your DS2 into? If he's a sciency type, some of the smithsonian might still be of interest.

Thanks @flylow, food for thought!

We had a trip to Canada/USA when DCs finished GCSEs and A levels so 16 & 18. Flew to Toronto, coach to Niagara Falls (1 night), train to New York - lovely coming into NYC along the Hudson during the sunset. Stayed in NYC for a few nights and train to Boston, some time in Boston including a trip to Cape Cod. Train to Chicago (overnight in coach class), one night in Chicago ( was 4 July so firework cruise on Lake Michigan), Train through the Rockies to San Francisco- (2 nights in Roomettes on the train. Week in San Francisco (including day trip to Yosemite and another to 17-mile drive) then train from San Francisco back into Canada to Vancouver (overnight in coach class) for a few days before flying home. The DC absolutely loved this holiday. We spent a very long time researching things to do in each place which definitely paid off.

In the 1990s DH and I took the train (“The Canadian”) from Vancouver to Toronto which is 3 or 4 nights which we would have like to have done again but it was very expensive. Amtrak was much cheaper!

@stilltheduchess I’d say check out the Rockies - you’d probably want to hire a car but could explore Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise all within easy distance of Calgary. There are direct flights to Calgary from the UK if that helps.

Although I’d say do some research on the Stampede - I’d not go personally because of the animal welfare concerns (tagging @flylow in case you’re interested as you mentioned the Stampede too).

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-dear-calgary-its-time-for-the-stampede-to-evolve/

We're going to Western Canada this summer with 16 year old sporty Adrenalin junkie boy and twin 12 year old girls one who enjoys scenery, culture and wildlife and one who likes adventure and a bit thrill seeking but not as much as her brother.

I've done loads of planning!

We are flying into Calgary and a few days there (after Stampede) then 6 nights near lake Louise. Here we are doing all sorts including hikes, riding, gondolas, canoeing etc. Then 3 nights in Jasper NP via Icefields Parkway. We will go to Maligne Lake from here and hopefully spot lots of wildlife but also going white water rafting. Then we are taking a couple of days driving over to Whistler including a Wildlife park for DD. Lots IN whistler for my son but also a cultural centre that I think one DT will enjoy. But also things like zip lines and lake swimming. Then over to Vancouver for 3 nights city stuff, whale watching, cycling in Stanley Park before coming home. Wish we had time to tack on Victoria but we are out of time by that point!

I've really planned the itinerary to include a real mix of stuff that will appeal to all of them and I think it's going to be amazing! Can't wait. I spent some time travelling in Eastern Canada in my early 20s but I've never been to the west!

I went to Canada in October 2021 and really enjoyed it. DH and I went to Vancouver and Toronto and preferred Toronto as we are more city people. So much to do.

Other places I would suggest:
Chicago, Washington DC, Kuala Lumpur or even London!