Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal for three generations

1. Day 1: Arrive and drive to Niagara Falls

   Toronto Pearson to Niagara Falls

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Niagara Falls
   Day 1 details

   We meet you at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at set group pick-up times, the last of them in the early afternoon, and drive about 125 km around the end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, Ontario. The drive takes about an hour and a half on the Queen Elizabeth Way, longer in Friday traffic, and we stop once for a washroom and a snack if anyone needs it. Starting at the falls rather than in Toronto means the first night is in a quieter town, two nights in the same room, and a hotel pool, if the hotel has one, for children who have been sitting on a plane all day. After check-in there is time to swim or rest. The welcome dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm, close to the hotel, so younger children are not up late. Afterwards we walk a few minutes to the railing above the Horseshoe Falls, which are lit in colour every night from dusk, and anyone who is tired can go straight back to bed.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at set group times
   • Drive to Niagara Falls with your guide
   • Welcome dinner at about 5:30 pm
   • Short evening walk to see the falls lit up

   Easier option: Skip the evening walk; the falls are lit again tomorrow night.

   More active option: Walk the riverside path from the Horseshoe Falls to the Rainbow Bridge and back, about 3 km.

   Free time: Afternoon free to rest, or to swim if the hotel has a pool

   Activity: Flights landing after the last group pick-up can be met with a private transfer at extra cost.

2. Day 2: Niagara Falls by boat and the butterflies

   Niagara Falls, the Niagara Parkway and back

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Niagara Falls
   Day 2 details

   We are at the dock for one of the first Niagara City Cruises boats of the morning, before the queues build, and everyone is handed a poncho for the mist. The boat sails from the Canadian shore past the American Falls into the spray at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls; there is no walking beyond the ramp, and grandparents can sit on the lower deck. Next is Journey Behind the Falls, where a lift takes you down about 40 m through the rock to tunnels and an outdoor deck beside the falling water. Lunch is a sit-down meal near Table Rock. After lunch we drive about 10 km north along the Niagara Parkway to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, a warm glasshouse where thousands of tropical butterflies fly free and often land on sleeves. We pass the Floral Clock on the way back and are at the hotel by about 3 pm. The rest of the day is free: a swim if the hotel has a pool, a nap, or an hour on Clifton Hill for the children. Dinner is on your own, as early as you like; your guide suggests family places near the hotel.

   Included

   • Niagara City Cruises boat ride to the Horseshoe Falls, on an early sailing
   • Journey Behind the Falls
   • Sit-down lunch near Table Rock
   • Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory
   • The Floral Clock

   Optional experiences

   • Skylon Tower observation deck
   • The arcades and rides of Clifton Hill (paid on the spot)
   • Niagara fireworks over the falls on scheduled summer nights, usually at 10 pm

   Easier option: Watch the boats from the upper deck of Table Rock and join the group again for Journey Behind the Falls; both have lifts.

   More active option: The White Water Walk boardwalk along the rapids in the gorge, about 1.5 km on a level path with stairs at each end (entry paid on the spot).

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: Expect to get wet on the boat even with a poncho; bring a change of top for small children. Total walking today is about 2 km, on paved paths.

   

3. Day 3: Toronto: the aquarium and the CN Tower

   Niagara Falls to Toronto

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Toronto
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast we drive about 130 km back around the lake to Toronto, about an hour and a half, and are downtown by late morning. Ripley's Aquarium of Canada sits at the foot of the CN Tower; we go in on a timed entry so the group walks straight in. The moving walkway through the shark tunnel, the jellyfish gallery and the touch pools with rays and horseshoe crabs are the parts children remember, and there are benches through every gallery. Lunch is a sit-down meal nearby. In the afternoon we ride the glass-fronted lifts up the CN Tower on a timed slot, the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere, and stand on the glass floor above the city, or watch from a step back. Tonight's hotel is near Union Station, so tomorrow's train is a short walk or a two-minute drive away. The late afternoon is free; the Harbourfront is a few minutes' walk, and dinner is on your own, as early as you like.

   Included

   • Drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto with your guide
   • Ripley's Aquarium of Canada on a timed entry
   • Sit-down lunch near the waterfront
   • CN Tower on a timed slot, with the glass floor

   Optional experiences

   • The ferry to Centre Island and the Centreville amusement park, open daily in summer (rides paid on the spot)
   • EdgeWalk on the CN Tower roof edge, minimum age 13

   Easier option: Sit out the glass floor and look from the windows, or take a break on the aquarium benches; the lifts do all the climbing.

   More active option: Walk the Harbourfront to the Toronto Island ferry docks and take the 15-minute ferry to Centre Island for the evening.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: Timed entries can move by half an hour on busy summer days; your guide sets the order on the day.

   

4. Day 4: VIA Rail to Ottawa

   Toronto Union Station to Ottawa by train

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Ottawa
   Day 4 details

   This is the long travel day, and we take the train rather than the road: Toronto to Ottawa is about 450 km, a drive of more than four and a half hours, but on VIA Rail children can walk to the washroom, grandparents can stretch their legs and nobody needs a seat belt. We board a morning train at Union Station; the trip takes about four and a half hours along the shore of Lake Ontario past Cobourg and Kingston, then north to the capital. A packed lunch is included, and cards, books and window seats fill the time. We meet the train in Ottawa in the early afternoon and drive you to your hotel. Later, a short guided walk takes us past the Parliament buildings and down to the flight of eight locks where the Rideau Canal steps down to the Ottawa River, and on to the ByWard Market for a BeaverTail pastry. Dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm.

   Included

   • VIA Rail train from Toronto to Ottawa
   • Packed lunch for the train
   • Transfers to Union Station and from Ottawa station to your hotel
   • Guided walk past Parliament Hill to the Rideau Canal locks and the ByWard Market
   • A BeaverTail pastry in the ByWard Market
   • Dinner at about 5:30 pm

   Optional experiences

   • Free guided tours of the House of Commons or the Senate at their temporary locations (Centre Block is closed for rehabilitation), booked online in advance where places are available

   Easier option: Rest at the hotel after the train and join the group at dinner; the van can drop you at the restaurant.

   More active option: Walk on from the ByWard Market across the Alexandra Bridge for the view of Parliament Hill from the Gatineau side, about 3 km.

   Free time: Time to rest between the train and the walk

   Activity: The walk is about 2 km in short stretches, with steps down to the locks that can be skipped.

   

5. Day 5: Ottawa, then the road to Montréal

   Ottawa to Gatineau, then Montréal

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Montréal
   Day 5 details

   The Changing of the Guard starts at 10 am on the lawn of Parliament Hill, with red-coated guards and a band the children can watch from the front of the crowd. The full parade runs only on set days of the week in summer, with a band-only ceremony on the others; we confirm the days with each departure and set the dates so this morning falls on a parade day, or start at the museum if it does not. We then cross the Ottawa River to Gatineau, in Quebec, for the Canadian Museum of History, where the Grand Hall's row of totem poles faces Parliament Hill across the water and the Canadian Children's Museum inside lets children dress up, board a bus and run a market stall while grandparents sit nearby. Lunch is in the museum. At about 2 pm we drive about 200 km east to Montréal, a little over two hours with a stop on the way, and arrive by mid-afternoon, with time to rest or swim if the hotel has a pool. The farewell dinner sits down at about 5:30 pm, close to the hotel, on the last evening together.

   Included

   • Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill (summer, on parade days confirmed with your departure)
   • Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian Children's Museum, Gatineau
   • Lunch at the museum
   • Drive from Ottawa to Montréal with your guide
   • Farewell dinner at about 5:30 pm

   Easier option: Watch the ceremony from a bench at the edge of the lawn, and stay in the Grand Hall or the museum café while the children explore.

   More active option: Walk the riverside path behind the museum for the view back to Parliament Hill, about 2 km.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Montréal

   Activity: Expect crowds at the Changing of the Guard in July and August; arrive with your guide 20 minutes early for a place at the front.

6. Day 6: Montréal, then the airport

   Old Montréal and Mount Royal to Montréal-Trudeau airport

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 6 details

   We start in Old Montréal at Notre-Dame Basilica, arriving with the first visitors of the morning to see the deep blue vaulted ceiling scattered with gold stars. A short, level walk follows through the cobbled streets of the old town to the Old Port on the St. Lawrence River, where children can watch the boats and there is room to run. Then the van climbs Mount Royal, the hill that gave the city its name, and parks a short, flat walk from the Kondiaronk lookout, the wide terrace in front of the chalet, with the whole of downtown below. We take the three-generation photo here. Lunch is a sit-down meal before we drive about 20 km to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), arriving at about 2:30 pm. Please book flights leaving after 5:30 pm; for an evening flight to Europe, the timing works well. Guests who stay on in Montréal can be dropped at a downtown hotel instead.

   Included

   • Notre-Dame Basilica, Old Montréal, on an early entry
   • Walk through Old Montréal to the Old Port
   • Mount Royal and the Kondiaronk lookout
   • Sit-down lunch
   • Drop-off at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) at about 2:30 pm

   Easier option: Wait in the van at the Old Port and ride straight to the lookout car park; the lookout walk is about 10 minutes on the flat.

   More active option: Climb the stairs from the lookout down through the park to the Peel Street gate and meet the van there, about 2 km with a long flight of steps.

   Activity: Pack the night before; bags travel in the van all morning.

   

Wildlife and weather: July and August are warm, often 25 to 30 C in the afternoon, with short thunderstorms; the boat and the falls are busiest then, which is why we book the early slots. The Changing of the Guard runs from late June to late August, with the full parade on set days of the week only, confirmed with your departure. In June and early September the days are milder and the crowds thinner, but on those dates the ceremony is replaced by an earlier museum start.

• Niagara Falls2 nights
• Toronto1 night
• Ottawa1 night
• Montréal1 night