East Coast Canada

[FusionChefGeoff]

Does anyone have any itineraries or experience of a family holiday (DS12, DD10) on the East Coast?

Looking for a Big Holiday destination and DH has suggested but I don't know much about it / think it sounds pretty dull! Likely to be either Easter or Summer.

We're all sporty / outdoorsy so I'm pushing for West Coast / Rockies etc but want to see if I'm missing something which is much closer and with less jet lag!!

Just bumping for you, as we too have a desire to "go to Canada", but, as yet, I have little idea of where I should be heading, and obviously it is a pretty big place.

We went to the east cost of Canada about 7 years or so back and then the next year we went to the west coast/Rockies. Our son was about 14 at the time.

East coast we started off in Toronto for a few nights, then a couple of nights Niagra by the lake for Niagra Falls (which we really enjoyed!), then Algonquin National Park for a few days followed by Ottawa and then a couple of nights by a lake (whose name I forget!).

For the Rockies trip we flew into Calgaray but drove straight to Banff then Jasper in the Rockies, then on to Lake Shaswup ,then Whistler and then on to Vancouver, We stayed 3 or 4 nights each place.

We really enjoyed both trips, but the West Coast/Rockies definitely had more of the wow factor for us. If you're active/outdoorsy types then the Rockies have got it all - canoeing, white water rafting, mountain biking, hiking etc.

If you do go the Rockies then I think Easter will be too early for the summer activities you'd want to do, so it will have to be the summer. The Rockies are a very popular destination so its worth booking soon.

You could fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia, do a tour there and then drive down to Québec and Montreal.

I have to agree though with cunningplan above, nowhere in Canada has the wow factor like the Rockies.

On the East Coast I'd suggest the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton, Halifax and Annapolis Valley (especially at Apple Blossom festival time), Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, and Bay of Fundy.
On the West I'd suggest starting on Vancouver Island, then head on one of the ferries to the mainland. There's whale watching, grizzly tours, Alert Bay for totem poles, Salt Spring Island , Victoria, Vancouver, then up into the Rockies.
I've been lucky enough live both places, and there is no end to the things to do.

PEI is lovely in the summer

We've done a couple of East coast hols with the kids.
First one was Halifax in NS for a few days city break when heading out to Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, Peggy's Lighthouse. From there, we went north to Pictou where we had a few nights in a log cabin on a lake to go canoeing and swimming. Also went white water rafting. Then on to PEI for our last stay in a lovely quaint guest house with horse riding facilities. It is incredibly safe, friendly and like going back in time 50 years. Very restful. Think 'Anna of green gables" - super seafood too and only a short flight.

Other trip we did was a flight to Toronto - city break, shopping, CN tower, the Lakes, watched the Blue Jays, Museum hopping, then train down to Niagara on the Lake and the wine region for a couple of nights, finished off with a day trip down to the falls.

We did the East Coast, just before Covid struck. We flew into Halifax and did the Cabot trail, PEI and New Brunswick before flying back out of Halifax.
It’s very rural and there’s a lot of driving between places and an awful lot of pine trees!
Halifax was interesting because of the Titanic connection. As others have said it is like going back in time. We loved it. But then we’re big on geology, and wildlife. The summer weather was a bit unpredictable due to the maritime influences.
Previously, we have travelled centre, from Calgary, through the rockies to Vancouver, up to Whistler and across to Vancouver island. Again, that was a fantastic experience. I think with children I’d do that. Although the journey is quite long, there seemed to be more interesting stop offs between places.
I love Canada, I’m planning Eastern cities next.

Bumping for the early evening crowd.

Thanks everyone - this is helpful to me (she says, jumping on the OP's thread )

We went this year. Had a wedding in Toronto. Wanted to do west coast but the extra internal flights for 5 of us were too much. We had a great time anyway but it wasn't mind blowing. Kids preferred Croatia partly because we had unusually bad weather so it was cold and rainy for quite a bit of the time (August!), although no mozzies was great. We hired a pick up truck which was really fun and easy to drive on the sure roads.

I can recommend Manitoulin island. We stayed right on a lake. Lake Huron is freezing but other lakes on the island are warmer. The water is super clear. We also went to Misery Bay on the island which is incredibly beautiful. Niagara was loads of fun, so cheesy but a great contrast to the peace and quiet of Manitoulin.

Hol pics

We're going to Eastern Canada this summer (well Quebec mostly).

Not covering as much ground as other posters, but seeing the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City, as well as going to La Mauricie NP and up the St Lawrence River to Sagueney to see whales.

I'll be brushing up on my French 😉.

@DaftyLass I've looked into the east coast places mentioned and I can already feel the eye rolls coming from both pre-teens... they are generally billed as quite quaint / historical / towns and the beaches / rocks / scenery aren't that jaw dropping from what I can see - not sure that's the sort of thing that would work for us. Can you correct me / suggest any specifics for that sort of age??

@AnotherCunningPlan I like the sound of both of your itineraries- lakes / niagra / country parks sounds more like what I'm after.

I wish I could understand where DH's reluctance to do west coast comes from it's infuriating!!!

@Lordofmyflies I'm not sure quaint and restful are buzz words for my kids although it sounds like heaven to me!! I think the lakes / rafting / log cabin sounds wonderful - did you book yourself or use a Trailfinders type company?

PP are killing me calling Toronto and Niagara the east coast. We consider that more central Canada. I've been to Alberta and to PEI and Cape Breton.

Cape Breton and PEI are beautiful, but it doesn't get very warm in summer usually. The people are awesome there.

It is true that nothing is as jaw dropping as the Rockies though. Plus, if your kids like dinosaurs, Alberta has Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Royal Tyrell Museum. I took my kids as pre-teens and they had an amazing trip. They also loved the east coast but we had family there and we enjoy hiking.

Don't go at Easter- it's usually quite chilly until summer.

If whale watching sounds interesting, the St Lawrence Seaway might be nice.

Fusionchef, mine were 14,14,17. The outdoors stuff was fun for them (hiking, kayaking). They also liked going to a few malls in Toronto, mostly to try American fast food and shops they've heard about. Niagara had loads of older kid friendly entertainment and cool cars for DS1.

But yeah, go to the rockies! If you fly to Calgary, i don't think it's as far as Vancouver (???). I planned a whole circular route back to Calgary, a few days in each place.

Mmm yes at 12 and 10 the cities / malls won't hold much attraction I don't think so will have to focus more on the activity side.

Good to know it's definitely a summer destination. Hoping to travel in 2025 and use Avios and understand it's a nightmare trying to use them and booking a year ahead is normal so at least that gives me time to look into that!

Newfoundland is a fascinating and totally different experience (and is actually East Coast rather than some of the places people are suggesting 🙄) but I'm not sure your children would be occupied enough unless they're very outdoorsy and appreciate quirky?

Honestly op in your shoes I'd do Vancouver for 3/4 nights ( bike in Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge day trip, Davy street, museums etc) then go to Vancouver Island on the ferry. See Torino and all those little beach towns. It's really beautiful.

Then back to mainland Canada and up to Whistler for some mountain biking/ hiking/ lakes, or even over to Banff if you have the time/money /energy.

We’ve done Toronto, Niagara a couple of times and spent time on Bruce Peninsula (on the way to Manitoulin island). The scenery is stunning and we did loads of hiking, teen kids loved it. In 2022 me, DH and 16 yr old flew to Calgary and did Dinosaur provincial park (loads of guided fossil hikes), Royal Tyrrell museums, Edmonton, Jasper for 3 days, Athabasca glacier, Canmore for 3/4 days and Calgary for 5/6 days. It was by far the most amazing holiday ever.
we are looking at flying to Halifax as SIL now lives in Newfoundland but has a yacht in NS and is always asking us to go over again.

Am biased as we live in Quebec but would recommend NS and PEI

You’ll have an amazing time - we live in Quebec City

Have a look at Air Transat for getting there. They are cheap and cheerful, both to a very high degree. In fact they are cheap enough that you can consider going for their Club Class, which is rubbish compared to a full-service airline's proper business class but still worth it for being able to sleep, especially on the return journey which will be overnight, and priority security and check-in.