"A Hurried Mini-Tour of Canada" Canada by OnMyOwnPath

Canada Travel Guide: 39,581 reviews and 90,820 photos

I had a short time for my vacation, and since I had never been to Canada, decided I would go, but in retrospect, I tried to be too ambitious with what I wanted to do, and ended up scaling back some as my trip wore on. I had planned to go north to Quebec City after going to Montreal, but I was exhausted by that point, and took a scenic drive south toward Hamilton, where I would base myself for the night before taking a bus to Toronto the next day.

My trip started in Ottawa for a couple of days before heading to Montreal, where I also spent a couple of days before I drove down through Kingston and toward Toronto, and then Hamilton. After spending a day in Toronto, I drove that night to Niagara Falls, where I saw the town quite crowded and alive, and saw the falls illuminated, though I wasn't able to get any pictures of that, though I did get to see how spectacular they were. After a not-so-restful sleep in my car in a parking lot near the falls area, I drove there very early the next morning and headed straight to the falls, and I'll let my respective travelogues tell you the rest, but needless to say, the falls itself was spectacular.

If I had it to do over again, I would base the majority of my trip in Ottawa. People have said (and my guidebook too) said it is a boring city, but it's fairly compact and easy to get around, and for a capital city quite easy to negotiate. I also liked being near the river, and there was enough for me to see and do in Ottawa and not feel rushed. And sometimes boring (not to me though) isn't so bad. I mean, I don't think it was an awe-inspiring place, but I had a better time there than in Montreal, Toronto and Niagara Falls (the three primary places I went to.)

I would probably try to spend more time in one place and not try to cram so many cities. Generally, that's not a good idea except to get a taste of what you want to see in the future. And it's not to say I didn't like Montreal, Toronto, or Niagara Falls, or any of the spots in between. They all had their particular charms, but I felt most at ease in Ottawa.

I got to see the botanical gardens and Randy Johnson pitch in Montreal, as well as a horticultural sculpture area where recognizable characters were carved out. I got a wonderful, if foggy view, of Toronto, and in some ways, I liked that view better because of the feeling like I was in the clouds. It was interesting to actually watch a storm heading right for the place I was.

And Niagara Falls, well, it was breathtaking, and I got soaked from the ride underneath the falls, along with my camera. So if you do take pictures under the falls, be aware of your equipment, and of the water soaking it. Fortunately for me, nothing went wrong with any of it, and I was able to get some great pictures of it, which will be posted soon.

Last visit to Canada: Aug 2000
Intro Written Dec 1, 2000
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Comments (8)

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nighthawk May 17, 2002 at 11:01 AM

good info u give here! happy birthday!
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yeah_baby Dec 28, 2001 at 3:28 PM

interesting info!
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Carmanah Jun 8, 2001 at 9:11 PM

Sounds busy, but at least you had fun! :)
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keeweechic Mar 4, 2001 at 2:52 PM

An exhausting trip for you but worth it I`m sure
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cmwfm Feb 22, 2001 at 7:07 PM

very nice
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gemma99 Feb 17, 2001 at 12:47 PM

wow
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luiggi Dec 4, 2000 at 1:36 PM

Interesting page!
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S_R_NAIDU Dec 4, 2000 at 12:25 PM

Great...seems a good trip!!