As an avid traveler, wanderlust hits me hard each summer. Oh, who am I kidding? Wanderlust hits me every 4-6 months, especially since I’ve been living in BHH. I love it here, but resetting and relaxing in a long-term rehabilitation project while working from home is nearly impossible. I have always marveled (and been slightly annoyed) by Andy’s ability to tune out no matter where he is, but for me, chaos is always just chaos. The more the house is torn up, the more unsettled I am. I find it difficult to focus on work under those conditions. So, having the opportunity to host a ten-day trip to Eastern Canada was just what the doctor ordered.
The trip to Montreal, Quebec City, and the Canadian Maritimes was the second tour I’ve hosted with Holiday Vacations. Last summer, we went to Scotland and Northern Ireland. I talked briefly about my role with HV in a previous post, and I’m excited to share some of the highlights of this year’s adventure. If you’ve got Eastern Canada on your bucket list, perhaps this post will help you plan your trip or encourage you to book a tour with Holiday Vacations.
Don’t miss my list of pros and cons of tour travel at the end of this post, too.
Old Quebec
Technically, our tour began in Montreal, but our flight arrived late, and we missed all of our free time on the first day. Flights are unpredictable right now, and we were just happy we arrived at all. By the way, I mean my daughter and me when I say we. She was my travel companion on this trip. We did manage to see the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, but in my mind, the tour began in Quebec City, specifically Old Quebec’s Historic District.
In the historic district of Quebec City, the streets are narrow and full of adorable stone buildings. If you arrive in the morning, it is less crowded, which is better for taking photos. This scenic part of the city is a popular tourist destination, and the area is packed by lunchtime. The cobblestone streets wind up a steep hill ending at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac overlooking the St. Lawrence River. We chose to exercise our glutes and hammies, but a funicular goes to the top if mobility or motivation is an issue. Looking at the photo below, the funicular is visible about halfway across the image.
Everywhere we looked, there was something charming or scenic to photograph in Old Quebec.
Summary: We loved the architecture of Old Quebec, including the colorful storefronts and flower boxes. The view of the St. Lawrence River and docks was stellar from the top, and there was something for every type of shopper, no matter the budget.
Travel Tip: If you don’t enjoy crowds, definitely visit in the morning when the stores are opening. However, the golden hour light in the evening makes gorgeous photos.
Montmorency Falls
Montmorency Falls is a large waterfall on the Montmorency River in Quebec, Canada. I was thrilled to get my first nature fix here.
The waterfall is taller than Niagara Falls, a fact we heard several times. Since BHH is just a short distance from Niagara Falls, I was excited to compare the two. Let’s just say that it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but we enjoyed the views and the short cable car ride to see Montmorency Falls from the suspension bridge at the top.
Summary: Located about 20 minutes outside Quebec City, Montmorency Falls is an excellent place to stretch your legs.
Travel Tip: If you have time, there is a zip line across the falls. My daughter wanted us to do it, but we were on a schedule with the tour. If I’d planned better, she and I would have skipped waiting for the cable car and walked up the 487 steps to the top to take the zip line. Once the zip line ends, it’s a short walk back downhill to the visitor center.
Via Rail Across New Brunswick
I am so upset with myself for not taking more photos because this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I had been looking forward to sleeping on the train from the day I read the tour itinerary.
Sleeper cars are tiny, and my daughter could not stop giggling when she saw the dimensions and placement of the beds and bathroom.
As I said, I’m mad at myself for not taking more photos. I can’t believe I didn’t document the dining car, the hallway, or even the bathroom in our private vehicle. We boarded the train around 11:30 PM, and the attendant had turned down our beds. The following day, he put the beds away to turn the car back into place to sit and stretch out a bit more.
Our tour guide had advised us to pack a small bag with overnight essentials because our big bags were stowed elsewhere. We were grateful for that tip. We were able to sleep in our PJs, and we had our toiletries with us too.
Summary: The train is the perfect way to travel on a down day. The scenery was beautiful, and we enjoyed chatting, reading, and napping. That said, many people on our tour found the sleeper cars confining, and they didn’t sleep well. The beds are shorter and narrower than twin-size beds, and someone has to be willing to take the top bunk. I suggest an intense game of rock, paper, scissors–maybe the best two out of three. Personally, I would have loved the top bunk, but my daughter called dibs.
Travel Tip: Since the train is often late, I don’t recommend scheduling anything besides hotel reservations on the day you arrive at your destination. Live in the moment as you gently sway across New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Island
This was actually our second trip to Prince Edward Island. My daughter and I traveled to PEI with my sister and mom in 2018, and we crossed to and from the island by ferry. So, it was fun to experience the Confederation Bridge this time. The Confederation Bridge is eight miles long, the longest in the world that crosses ice-covered water. Winter is long and frigid in this part of Canada. Knowing that almost makes me feel bad for my occasional complaints about winters in Western New York.
I wrote a comprehensive post about our visit to Prince Edward Island in 2018, so I won’t rehash all the details this time. However, my daughter and I enjoyed returning to the Green Gables Heritage Place in Cavendish and spending more time on the red sand beaches of Prince Edward Island National Park.
We spent two nights on PEI in Charlottetown, which has a population of 36,000. Charlottetown is large enough for all of the necessities, plus Victoria Row. Victoria Row is the old part of town, featuring plenty of shopping, restaurants, breweries, and theatres.
We left the island by ferry on a very moody weather day. Fortunately, the water was calm, and there were no nauseating bumps or swaying.
Summary: Don’t miss the Green Gables Heritage Place or dipping your toes into the bracingly refreshing Atlantic Ocean.
I don’t often talk about food during my travelogues because I’m not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination. I am more of a food is fuel type of person. However, if you are vegetarian like I am, I highly recommend eating at Hopyard in Charlottetown. The vegetarian selections are varied and delicious. I enjoyed the Hopyard Grinder sandwich so much that I ate it two days in a row. My daughter had Pad Thai, and it was equally yummy.
Travel Tips: I have only been on the PEI to Nova Scotia ferry three times now, but it’s been a calm trip each time. If you are worried you’ll feel seasick, pack some Dramamine, but you might not even need it. As you’re leaving PEI, I recommend sitting starboard to see the island slip away, but as you get closer to the dock in Nova Scotia, the deck on the stern is an interesting place to watch the ferry make its final approach towards land.
Cape Breton Island
This region of Nova Scotia is my new favorite. It feels raw and wild but deeply steeped in tradition. It reminded me so much of rural Scotland, which makes sense. Although the first inhabitants were the Mi’kmaq, the first permanent settler community was Scottish. There is a nuanced history here, and I will in no way do it justice in this fly-by post.
The Silver Dart Lodge in Baddeck (pronounced Buh-deck) was our home base for two nights. The lodge is a bit of a throwback, and I felt so at ease there. We visited during the last few weeks of the tourist season, and everyone was friendly and warm. I fondly remember working seasonally at the lodge in Zion National Park, and the vibe in Baddeck was similar.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park was full of sweeping vistas punctuated with lush green foliage.
One of the activities we enjoyed very much was visiting The Gaelic College, an educational institution that offers programming in the culture, music, language, crafts, customs, and traditions of the immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland [ref]. I am at an age where I enjoy an educational field trip.
We learned about traditional music and step dancing from a college student who had participated in summer camp at the Gaelic College since he was very young.
We also learned about traditional kilt-making, which was new for me. Surprisingly, we did not learn about kilts or kilt-making last year on our trip to Scotland. Now, I wonder why. Hearing about the folk traditions at the Gaelic College made me realize that the primary focus on last year’s Scotland tour was the aristocracy and modern Scotland. The Cape Breton Island settlers’ work hard, play hard spirit is a more accurate reflection of people like me.
One of our tour buddies, John, was such a good sport, and he let the docents dress him up in full Scottish fighting gear during the kilt-wearing demonstration.
Summary: As I said, Cape Breton Island is my new favorite destination in Nova Scotia. I would love to return here for a longer stay to hike in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and leisurely explore the entire region. I know we only scratched the surface.
Travel Tip: Dress in layers. I realize that is not a ground-breaking travel tip, but because of the varied terrain, I swung widely between hot and cold, depending on where we were. I was glad to have a warm sweatshirt but also be able to shed it in favor of a tank top.
Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Center
On the way to Halifax, our final destination, we stopped at the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Center, a Mi’kmaq Museum near Truro. The Mi’kmaq were among the original inhabitants of the Atlantic Provinces in Canada and eastern Maine in the United States.
Stopping here became one of the most significant learning experiences for me in recent years. I was familiar with the residential school atrocities in the US and Canada, but it is relatively new information for many non-indigenous people. It was essential for us to hear about the aftermath and how it affects today’s generations of the Mi’kmaq community.
Our group didn’t shy away from asking hard questions, and our Mi’kmaq guides offered frank answers. One particular topic was the land acknowledgment.
“Land acknowledgements, also known as territorial acknowledgements, are short statements that recognize both the land and the Indigenous people who lived — and in many situations continue to live — on the land prior to Canada’s colonial history.”
Gehl, Lynn. “Land Acknowledgment.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 22 Mar. 2022, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/land-acknowledgment.
During our ten days in Canada, we heard and read land acknowledgments at most museums and during tours. We were told it was a requirement in Canada, thanks to Prime Minister Trudeau. The land acknowledgments were offered with varying degrees of reverence and deference.
When a tour member asked the guides how they felt about it as members of the Mi’kmaq community, we received two different answers. One of them felt like it was a good start, but not enough. The other guide found it mostly performative, and she did not hide her distaste for delivering the recognition without sincerity. She had encountered too many people who did not understand what they were actually saying during that part of their speech.
We also discussed their language. In 2022, Nova Scotia recognized Mi’kmawi’simk as the first language of the province. Signs are now supposed to be written in English and Mi’kmawi’simk, but the province is slow in adopting the changes.
Summary: I greatly appreciated the education without the sugar-coating. Discomfort encourages growth.
Travel Tip: Visit the gift shop stocked exclusively with items from the area’s indigenous people.
The Pros and Cons of Tour Travel
We spent the final two days of the tour in Halifax. The group visited many of the same places My daughter and I saw in 2018, including Peggy’s Cove, so I won’t write about them again. In 2018, Halifax was a highlight for me. This trip, my heart was still on Cape Breton Island.
The vacation was over too soon, and we all went our separate ways. I was left with my thoughts, which led me to the pros and cons of traveling on a tour.
Pros
- Tours cover a lot of ground. The itineraries tend to be general, and tours are an excellent way to get a good overview of a large region.
- No driving or finding parking – The transportation is comfortable, and someone else does the driving. I will never forget our coach driver inching around the corners on the narrow streets of Edinburgh in a full-size bus. I would not want that responsibility.
- Making new friends – No one hits it off with everyone, but in my experience, the people on Holiday Vacation tours are friendly and kind. It is nice to see a familiar face every day, even if you don’t spend time together one-on-one. My mother, an experienced tour traveler, still takes vacations with a friend she met on one of her first tours.
- Someone else handles the planning. I enjoy planning travel, but some people do not. On a tour, it’s all taken care of, and the tour guide spends most of their time confirming activities and accommodations to make sure everything goes smoothly.
- Flexibility – I am putting this in both the pros and cons section because flexibility is possible on a tour. No one is obligated to participate in group activities. They only need to move with the group from hotel to hotel. That said, most people choose to participate because the excursions are fun.
Cons
- Flexibility – With everything planned down to the minute, it can be hard to be spontaneous. Sometimes, you spend more time than you enjoy in one place and not enough somewhere else.
- Bags out – This is my least favorite part of tour travel, but I would probably appreciate it more if I had trouble carrying my suitcase. Bags out is the time the luggage needs to be out in the hall so the bellhops can take it to the bus. That time is often about one hour before departure, which means an early wake-up alarm. My teenage daughter found that very difficult. Luggage handling is included in the price, so skipping it is discouraged. However, sometimes, we did sleep in a bit longer and took our bags down on our own.
- Food – In my experience, tour food is unremarkable, especially if you are vegetarian. Meat eaters are often given 2-3 choices, and vegetarians only get one. It’s fine, but foodies may be disappointed. That said, there are some meals on your own, and you’re free to follow your heart’s desire. Again, I’m in the food is fuel camp, so I don’t get too wrapped up in what’s on the menu. I know my next meal is just a few hours away.
- Tours offer merely an introduction to most places, and you don’t always have an opportunity to understand the local culture and feel. Cape Breton Island, and Baddeck in particular, felt like an anomaly, and that might be why I fell in love with it. I could have stayed there for a couple of weeks and been very happy.
- In many areas, it’s clear that people who are on a tour are seen as short-timers. We get the overview, and that sometimes leaves me wanting more.
I am not sure if Holiday Vacations will invite me to host a tour next year, but if they do, I’m all in again. I am not ready for tour travel to be the primary way I visit new destinations, but I truly enjoyed the experience, and it allowed me to put some new areas on my travel list for the future. Some day, I hope to get back to Cape Breton Island with Andy for a camping, hiking, and historic site adventure.
If I do get to host a tour next year, where should we go? And if you have any questions or comments about our trip to Canada or tour travel, please let me know in the comments.
