4-day Itinerary in Ontario, Canada

I’ve been looking forward to going to Canada for a long time and finally managed to visit earlier this month!

Back story: About 6-7 years ago, Fu went to Canada all by himself (granted, it was for a conference, but still), came back and raved non-stop about how amazing Niagara Falls was, how much he liked Canada – how big and beautiful the place was, how friendly and nice the people were – and I’ve wanted to see it for myself ever since. I’m so glad I finally got to go to Canada after all this time!

I chose to go in October because Autumn is my absolute favorite season, and it was a good time to catch the fall colors in Ontario then! The added bonus is that it is after peak season and prices are lower than during summer!

I spent quite some time researching and planning for the trip – Deciding on the places to visit, the route, the best places to stay at for the maximum value – and this is the itinerary for our 4-day road trip around Ontario. Hopefully it will be useful reference to someone else!

Day 1 – Oct 3, Fri

YYZ Airport (arrival: 12pm) – Downtown Toronto

• Pick up car (booked via Hotwire)
• Navigate with paper map to shop to get data for phone
• Explore downtown
  • Chinatown
  • University of Toronto
  • Royal Ontario Museum
• Check into hotel (also Hotwire)

Day 2 – Oct 4, Sat

Toronto – Bruce Peninsular – Owen Sound

• Drive to Bruce Peninsular National Park (4hr)
• Picnic lunch + explore park
• Drive to motel in Owen Sound (1hr) (first time staying at a motel!)

Day 3 – Oct 5, Sun

Owen Sound – Maple Farm – Niagara Falls

• Drive to White Meadow Farms maple farm (3hr) – Tour ended for the day though, phooey :(
• Drive to Niagara Falls (1/2hr)
• Check into $25 hotel with breathtaking views of Niagara Falls
• Explore Niagara Falls
  • Journey behind the Falls
  • Spam picture-taking of/with the falls
• Dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• Catch 10pm fireworks from hotel room

Day 4 – Oct 6, Mon

Niagara Falls – YYZ Airport (departure: 6pm)

• Physically drag self out of bed to window to catch sunrise view of Niagara Falls
• Go down and look at Niagara Falls some more
• Lunch at restaurant with spectacular view of the falls
• Slowly bid goodbye to falls and make way to airport
• Drive to YYZ airport (1.5hrs)

As before, I will be using the itinerary as a guide to writing up posts in the coming days and linking them accordingly :)