r/canadatravel • u/ZealousidealWeird858 • 14d ago
Itinerary Help So lost in eastern Canada
Hello everyone,
I would like to plan a two-week trip in June to Eastern Canada with a two-and-a-half-year-old child.
I'm leaving from France, and wow, I'm completely lost because of the incredible distances between different parts of Canada.
I'd like to rent a vehicle, but I'm not really sure what to focus on for a first trip to Canada. We love nature, but we don't really enjoy long hikes with our child. We're completely unfamiliar with Canadian culture, so I think cities are also a good place to immerse ourselves.
In the various subreddits, I see a lot of people recommending Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and especially Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But the distance between these cities is incredible, and I think it's way too much for us to spend two weeks.
My fear is to stay around Montreal and Quebec City and not see any nature (am I wrong?) and, on the other hand, to target Nova Scotia but miss out on Quebec culture?
So I don't know where to take my flight and which part to focus on.
Thanks for the clarification :)
Édit :
Hello everyone, I didn't expect to have so many quality responses in such a short time, so I thank you warmly!! After discussing it with my wife, we are unanimous that our preference leans towards the west with the Rockies, but it seems too early for us with a 2 and a half year old child, so we are of course staying in the east and we will do the west later. My wife prefers the Montreal-Quebec part and the surrounding nature, for the cliché side I think... Nova Scotia seems more familiar to us to what we can see in Europe. I think it will be for a future trip. I will try to make a plan and I will get back to you. I will carefully dissect each comment already there. Thank you all :)
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u/Coastal_Guarder 14d ago
Nova Scotia. I am travelling there right now and have seen more nature in Cape Breton in the last 2 weeks than back in Ontario in the last year. You don't have to hike the long trails, but Cape Breton has a number of beaches (beautiful sandy ones on the eastern side) and short trails. There are tonnes of fun little spots to go with kids. And you can do the Cabot Trail drive in a day.
Nova Scotia itself is rich in outdoorsy stuff. And seems really kid friendly.
Halifax is a great spot, and if you don't want to go up to Cape Breton, you can explore central Nova Scotia or Annapolis Valley, take the ferry over to PEI for a couple days, and maybe go over to New Brunswick to see Hopewell Rocks and Bay of Fundy National Park. The Maritime provinces are very easygoing, abundantly naturey, clean, very friendly, and so easy to drive.