rjuk

Hi, I'm planning to take my family to Canada this summer. We're from England, with a baby & 5 yr old and want a relaxed time seeing what we can without too much of a rush, very long drives, or constant changing hotels. That's what my wife will say, anyway. Given that, is the following too much:
fly in to Toronto - 3 nts
Niagara Falls - 3 nts
1000 Islands - 3 nts
Lake Placid - 3 nts
Ottawa - 3 nts
drive to Montreal Airport & fly home
Alternatively we could fly out of Toronto. It would be great to hear from anyone with any ideas

nbujic

You can stay in Toronto longer( to get over the jet lag) and visit Nigara Falls for a day.

To take a 1000 tour You'll have to drive from Toronto to Kingston ( 3 hours). It is a nice little town. 2 nights may be enough. Lake Placid is in New York state , also a nice spot, Often there are lineups to cross to U.S. and back . ( weekends!)
Ottawa is good for a day or two but if you plan on going to Montreal it would be too bad if you did not stay for a few days.
You might consider
Toronto 4 days ( 5nights) with one day
visit to Niagra.
Drive to Kingston ( 2 nights) one day tour of the islands.
From Kingston to Ottawa (3 nights) and
Montreal (3 nights).
It cuts out lake Placid - but ....

wow

3 nights is too long for Niagara Falls. You can do NF on a "day trip" from Toronto. Or, at most, stay over 1 night.

You mention flying out of Montreal. Do you plan to fly into Toronto?

There was good post here not too long ago where another poster named BAK suggested a good "circular" route: Toronto, Huntsville, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston, back to Toronto...or something similar. Find a post w/ BAK's name, click on his name & you will see the post that I am referring to. ( I am not sure if I got the circle right!).

Anyway, if you are coming to Canada you should incorporate a trip to Algonquin Park (near Huntsville) into your itinerary b/c it is quintessentially Canadian! Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa will give you a good flavor of 3 distinct Canadain cities. As I said, IMHO 3 nts in NF is too long. 3 nts in the 1000 islands may be too long too ( but I am not familiar w/ that area).

You cld fly in & out of Toronto or Montreal if you used BAK's circle. And, "day trip" NF.

toedtoes

I was thinking along similar lines. The Lake Placid part throws it out of being a smooth path. You sort of zig zag up and down. And, if you're headed to Montreal, you should see it.

Take a look at the niagaraparks website (add dot com) and see how many of the attractions/sights you're going to want to do. If you only want to do the Maid of the Mist (the 5 year old will love it), then one day is fine. If you want to do more and visit Niagara-on-the-Lake, then you might do 4 nights in Toronto and 2 nights in Niagara Falls (or Niagara-on-the-Lake).

If you are set on Lake Placid, try this route:

fly into Toronto - 3 nights
Ottawa - 3 nights
Lake Placid - 3 nights
1000 Islands - 3 nights
Niagara Falls/NOTL - 2 nights
Toronto - 1 night and fly home.

That would put you in more of a circle path.

wow

1000 Islands to NF/NOTL is about a 5 hour drive I think(I am figuring 3 hours from Kingston to Toronto & then about 1.5 hours to NF from Toronto). And, what happened to Montreal? Could you fit that into Toedtoes circle?

toedtoes

I didn't include Montreal in that circle because the OP originally was just driving from Ottawa to the Montreal airport without spending any time in Montreal.

To add Montreal, how about:

fly into Toronto - 4 nights (day trip to NF)
Ottawa - 2 nights
Montreal - 3 nights
Lake Placid - 3 nights
1000 Islands - 2 nights
Toronto - 1 night and fly home

You could play with the nights in Ottawa, Lake Placid and 1000 Islands.

For me, I like to get an idea of what sights interest me in each place before deciding how long to spend in each - especially when you've only got a couple days in each. You might find that Kingston only holds a day's visit for you (perhaps a 3 hour boat tour) but you could easily have spent 6 days in Toronto. Another person could feel the opposite. It's especially true for Niagara Falls. I can spend 2 full days in NF without adding any of the outlying areas - others are quite content with a one day visit. You don't have to actually schedule your day's activities, but if there are 5 attractions that interest you and each one takes a minimum of 2 hours to see, then you're probably going to want at least 2 full days in that town more if you want to relax also.

sobolik

I think 3 nights 1000 Islands is way too much unless Kingston has special events going on. Then 3 nights Kingston\1000 Islands might be acceptable. Better yet 2 nights. I would also drop 1 night in Toronto and Niagara and spend them in Montreal and fly out of there. I might even reconsider 3 nights Lake placed and spend 1 in Montreal.
I would rearrange to end up with 3 nights in Montreal buy downsizing 1 night in Niagara, Lake Placid and (Toronto or 1000 Islands) Portions of the travel days can be spent seeing a couple sights in the place you are leaving or arriving in without being rushed. Of course a very unhappy baby or 5 year old can add a bit of stress to an otherwise pleasant pace.

Wallace_and_Gromit

RJUK,

It is going to be very stressful with a baby and a five year old having to pack up and move on every 3 days!

I know you want to get the most out of your time ... but you even said that you want to relax and not be rushed. Trying to take in some 5 places in one vacation will have you back in England desperately needing a vacation from your vacation!

I advise you just choose 2 or 3 places at the most (and utilize day trips where you can)

blitz

My mother went to Canada and she did the same tour as you plan.
You can see her pictures :
http://www.findyourtravel.com/?q=gal...p;g2_itemId=43

Enjoy them !

LJ

I agree with the poster that pointed ut the nerve-wracking agenda you are looking at with all that moving around with little ones. Toronto for a longer time (there is much to see and its a great city with kids) and day trip to NF: Thousand Islands from a Kingston area base for 3-4 nights and then a weeklong base to explore the Adirondacks/Lake Placid/Vermont from a nice housekeeping equipped cabin to make it easy and back to Montreal is all I would bother with. Save Ottawa for another trip.

sobolik

I agree with blitz, and very much not agree with the nerve racking pace opinion. People pack up and leave every day to go to work, shopping, visiting, commuting. etc I think it a great waste of a trip half way around the planet to stay in one spot for fear of over doing it.. I spent 16 days in Canada (and 2200 plus photos) and only stayed 3 nights in one place twice (Tadoussac and Montreal) 3 times only 1 night. Never felt stressed, hurried or frazzled. It is just requires planning. I think a lot of babies and 5 year olds tend to zonk out while in a car. My 17 and 15 year old would sleep every leg of our journey but I can't speak for yours. But if they do then driving would be a blessing.

Wallace_and_Gromit

"People pack up and leave every day to go to work, shopping, visiting, commuting. etc"

Excuse me, but (IMO) getting up and getting dressed to go to work is A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT than having to pack and unpack a suitcase every few days.

It seems easy on paper ... it gets old fast. A family with teenagers might be able to handle it ... I'm not so sure about babies. Also, I don't know many young children who enjoy being in a car for long periods of time. (My 3 year old niece can vouch for that!)

But everyone's situation is different. More power to those who can do it!!

All we on Fodor's can do is give advice based on our experiences.

almcd

What's the attraction for Lake Placid? Personally, I would avoid it.
With the border restrictions now in place for entering the U.S., you might have to have a passport for your children since they are unlikely to have any photo I.D. such as a driver's licence. There are many things you could do in and around Toronto. Also, have you considered taking the train to Montreal?. It is an excellent way to travel and very relaxed. It takes about 5.5 hours. This is assuming that the Thousand Islands is out.
Also, I agree that 3 days in Niagara Falls is too much. Much of N.F. is very tacky and not suitable for touring with youngsters. As has been mentioned, there are bus trips for the day that might be more suitable.

Jgsbro

We took our 3 kids (14, 13, 8) to Toronto and Niagara last summer. Did extensive hotel search. FYI, Toronto's Delta Chelsea was good value, clean and very kid friendly. Much cheaper, we stayed at Comfort Inn on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. Very basic, but had outdoor and indoor pools, easy access (not a high rise..more like garden apts) and easy walk to the action on Clifton Hill, and to the falls. I found Clifton Hill very overstimulating, but the teens loved it. Just wanted to recommend that Comfort Inn and the one across the street from it (they are affiliated ) because they are so reasonable but VERY good. Do not miss Niagara on the Lake- beautiful town! Soothing & peaceful.

Apres_Londee

I have to agree with those who caution it may be too much with a baby and 5 yr old. I would also cut Lake Placid from this trip, as crossing the border may present unexpected hassles.

My suggestion would be something like this:

Toronto-5 nights
-daytrip Niagara Falls
-another good daytrip is St Jacob's
(just do a same-day car rental, don't keep a car the full time in Toronto and pay for parking)

Via Rail train to Ottawa-3 nights
(the train really is great, especially with kids. You can relax, and no traffic. Plus the 401 is dull as ditchwater)

Pick up rental car and drive to Kingston & 1000 Islands-3 nights
(3 nights gives you 2 full days, one for the 1000 islands and 1 for Kingston. Fort Henry is a lot of fun, your 5 yr old will love it)

From Kingston you could drive back west on the Loyalist Parkway (hwy 33) and take the Glenora Ferry to Prince Edward County, and maybe spend a night or two on the island.

Drive back to Toronto- 1 or 2 last nights.

ShadowM

I think your plan to go in from Toronto and leave Montreal is a great idea however I would question the Lake Placid as it tends to be a bit off route and with the border crossing now a days you can never be too sure how long it will take or if they will give you any grief. I would leave that for another trip, maybe if you got just to the USA sometime. However it is your trip. I must agree that 3 nts in NF might be too many. You can see the most of it in a day. Perhaps send 1 nt and go to Niagara on the lake too. I have never been to the 1000 Islands but what I have read up on it doesn't seem to need 3 nts either. Now from what I hear Ottawa needs a few days. That gives you time to spend in Montreal. However if you want there are some places you can do as day trips from Toronto. Such as Hamilton (gardens & castles), Brantford (home of the telephone, Wayne Gretgzky and much more), Port Dover, and even vistit an Indian reserve. If any of the above are of interest to you and you would like more info let me know I will provide you with as much info as I can.
P.S. I love England

CanadaKate

In planning your trip, my suggestion would be to find activities that your 5 year old will like. The baby will just be along for the ride.

CanadaKate