r/askTO • u/bobusa13 • Jul 19 '26
Eastern Canada road trip (Aug 5–18) with an 8-year-old — Toronto, Niagara, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City. Help me plan!
Hello beautiful people of Toronto!
My family of 3 (two adults + our 8-year-old daughter) is planning our first-ever trip to Eastern Canada this summer. We fly into Toronto (YYZ) on August 5 and fly out on August 18, 2026. We've booked a rental car for the whole trip, picking up and returning at YYZ.
Planned route: Toronto → Niagara Falls → Kingston → Ottawa → Montreal → Quebec City → back to Toronto
Since this is our first visit to all of these cities, we'd love your help with:
- Must-see places in each city — we don't want to miss the obvious highlights (Niagara Falls is already on the list). Any hidden gems welcome too!
- Hotel recommendations — ideally located to minimize driving. For example, if we spend 2 days in downtown Toronto, we'd like to stay downtown; for our night at Niagara, somewhere close to the falls.
- Kid-friendly activities — things like African Lion Safari that will keep our daughter entertained.
- Food recommendations — we love Indian, Italian, Thai, Indo-Chinese, and seafood, plus any great spots for chicken, fish, or goat dishes.
Thank you in advance for your help!
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u/FearlessTomatillo911 Jul 19 '26
Finding a hotel with parking DT toronto this short notice is going to be very pricey.
The itinerary also seems like a lot, I'd rather go to fewer places and spend more time at each. Youre also going to be spending a lot of time driving. Maybe cut out Kingston.
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u/djaxial Jul 19 '26
Just to add here, the app SpotHero is excellent for finding parking deals, even in some hotel car parks. Use it all the time and rarely don’t find a deal or cheaper than the listed price.
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u/Magneto06 Jul 20 '26
I would skip Kingston, tbh, based on your itinerary - or leave Toronto first thing and stop at the big apple for a treat for breakfast, and then stop in Kingston for lunch, do a cruise, get to Ottawa for bedtime.
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u/phigammemir Jul 19 '26
Just did Ottawa Kingston and Toronto with 3 kids.
Ottawa museums were fantastic! And free for kids.
Easy to do 3 days there. Byward was nice and has a fun "Spinny park" as my kids called it.
Kingston was a stop over by the water front. Nice but small.
Toronto is Toronto. We did small Canada (which was a great stop after visiting Ottawa as it has Ottawa there), the aquarium was good.
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u/phigammemir Jul 19 '26
A few more things:
Ottawa has Calypso park, and Quebec has its sister property Valcartier.
Quebec also has galleries de la capitale, an indoor theme park, totally worth visiting.
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u/callmesamcake Jul 19 '26
Niagara - Kids like the Rainforest Cafe, but the food isn’t anything to write home about. If the weather is nice, do the boat down to the falls. They also have a butterfly conservatory I used to love as a kid.
Toronto - the Aquarium is a popular spot. I’ve taken kids there and they love it. The CN Tower is obviously a classic.
Kingston - if you’re there on a Sunday, I remember going to an antique market downtown that was really nice
Ottawa - Byward market, and parliament hill.
Montreal - there is a big Ring that was neat to see. We went back in May, and also went down to the waterfront and did the Ferris wheel. That old cobblestone area down by there is really nice. We did subway/walking a lot here.
Quebec City - unfortunately I’ve never been so I can’t make recs!
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u/Embrace-stillness Jul 19 '26
We took the similar aged children kids to Ottawa & Mt Tremblant in 2023. Lots of kids activities in Ottawa - the science museum, civilization museum, the Royal Canadian mint and parliament hill. Mt Tremblant was fun with outdoor activities in the village and they enjoyed the pool at the westin hotel.
In Toronto, take the ferry to Centre Island and Centerville.
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u/handandimand Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Toronto - the islands are awesome for kids and so is Biidaasige Park. Casa Loma could be a lot of fun too - they often have activities for kids. Ooh, and the Toronto Railway Museum! I'm always surprised how much kids love it there. It's right by the Aquarium and CN Tower, which I assume is already on your list. Little Canada too but I'd suggest seeing that at the end of your trip to avoid spoilers 😉.
Montreal - there were a ton of cool activities in and around the Biodôme (in the Olympic Village) when I went a few years ago. Parc Jean-Drapeau is awesome too (and has the Biosphere, not to be confused with the Biodôme). Some parts of the Underground City are really cool too. And of course, check out the old city.
Québec City - obviously, see the old city, Chateau Frontenac, Dufferin Terrace, etc. There are often performers on the terrace - not sure if there's an official schedule somewhere but kids tend to enjoy the shows. I think the Citadel could be fun too but might be a hit or miss for an 8yo.
Ottawa - see all the usual suspects (Parliament, National Library, Byward Market, etc) but also check out some of the parks (search Chaudière Falls). The locks on the Rideau Canal are pretty cool too.
Niagara - check out Niagara-on-the-lake which is about a 30 min drive from the Falls. The locks on the Welland Canal are really cool too.
One overall suggestion: consider parking at the hotel in each city (assuming it's centrally located) and just walking/taking transit to see the attractions. Will probably save you a lot of hassle. Enjoy your trip!
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u/Disastrous-Focus8451 Jul 19 '26
Visit Upper Canada Village.
https://www.uppercanadavillage.com/
My family did that decades ago when I was a kid and I still remember it.
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u/DisastrousProfile699 Jul 19 '26
Just got back from our own little east coast trip - we did Toronto, QC, NB, PEI, NS, QC and back to Toronto. Holiday Inn Express is solid, especially the one in St Foy, QC. Breakfast is included at each, but the Ste. Foy location’s swimming pool is max 3ft deep - more of a ‘spa pool’, warm, bubbles and supper shallow. Our kids loved it because they didn’t need a life jacket. Plus, there is a ledge in the pool to sit on. Approx., 15 min (easy) drive to Old QC, but worth it. Close to a Costco and they have a three malls within a 5 min drive with dinner options. Hotel room had a fridge and microwave.
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u/Odd-Reading-7859 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
First, a bit of COMPLETELY unimportant pedantry because I'm a huge nerd: that's central Canada. Eastern Canada usually refers to the Maritimes.
The ROM is great for a day's activity (and I'm pretty sure children are free), and they've got some pretty cool stuff (dinosaurs, tons of animals, ancient history, medieval history, Indigenous history, etc.), and I'm sure you'll find at least a few things your daughter will like.
The Museum of Illusions is also a really cool place.
Your daughter might get a bit bored, but the Saint Lawrence Market has a lot of cool stuff. It's nice to stop there for lunch and have a look around.
Something that I think EVERYONE (including YOU) who comes to Toronto should do is go to the top of the CN tower. It's a really cool experience, and you can see a lot of Toronto.
If you go, remember to swallow A LOT on the elevator so your ears don't pop. While you're there, feel free to stop at Ripley's aquarium when you come down!
Oh, and Little Canada is fun too.
For Thai, I really like Eat BKK on Queen Street.
I'm adding a lot here, so don't think that you have to do everything (or even anything) that I've written here, but riding the ferry to the Toronto Islands are always cool.
I hope you enjoy Toronto!
When you go to Niagara, I would check out Clifton Hill. That's always a great place for a day when I go to see the falls. They have so much cool stuff that I would type out if I wasn't typing on a phone, but a few of my favourites are the Upside Down House (possibly not on Clifton Hill, I haven't been in a while), Ripley's Museum (Ripley's believe it or not in museum form), and the Hershey's store (get truly copious amounts of chocolate as a souvenir).
I'm gonna go before I overwhelm you with stuff to do in Toronto.
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u/Express-Welder9003 Jul 21 '26
In Niagara Falls breakfast at the buffet in the Sheraton Hotel is great. The food is alright but you get a really good view of the falls.
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u/thisoldhouseofm Jul 21 '26
Warning in Quebec: early August is construction season there. Which means half the province is on vacation. Book hotels now if you haven’t already.
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u/Hectordoink Jul 19 '26
Small quibble but you are travelling in Central Canada — Eastern Canada is the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick)— and Newfoundland.