Great trip to Ottawa, Quebec City, Mont Tremblant and Montreal

[Frwinkley]

Many thanks to all of you that answered many of my questions related specifically to Mont Tremblant. We really enjoyed ourselves! My DH and I (early 60s) drove from the US and spent a fabulous 10 days visiting. We walked 8-10 miles every day! It was wonderful to just park the car and go!

A few years ago we spent 10 days visiting Banff and Jasper National Parks (breathtaking is an understatement).

We are now considering our next adventure. We love beautiful scenery, are avid photographers and enjoy walkable cities. We are not adverse at all to driving to see things!

Anyone have any fabulous ideas we should consider? Vancouver and Whistler have always been of interest to us. We tend to like mountainous areas (as opposed to beach areas). For that reason, I would probably rule out the Nova Scotia area. Please feel free to correct me if I'm missing something!

 

[mort1331]

Vancouver and the west are very nice..but dont rule out the east coast...the cabot trail is not mountains..but not flat..great for pics..especially the fall with the colour change...the landscape of the east coast changes a lot...take the bay of fundy...many places to go where in the am walk on the ocean floor and by lunch you can be kayaking around the same area.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Cape Breton, take the ferry and then explore Newfoundland would be my suggestion!

 

[wdwmom3]

I’m glad you enjoyed your trip! We went to Mont Tremblant a few years ago and we loved it.

 

[Frwinkley]

Cape Breton, take the ferry and then explore Newfoundland would be my suggestion!

Cape Breton looks amazing!

 

[Aladora]

Anyone have any fabulous ideas we should consider? Vancouver and Whistler have always been of interest to us. We tend to like mountainous areas (as opposed to beach areas). For that reason, I would probably rule out the Nova Scotia area. Please feel free to correct me if I'm missing something!

Vancouver, Whistler, and of course Vancouver Island, although I may be biased about the last one! Last summer we did a 10 day BC road trip where we went to Harrison Hot Springs, Osoyoos, Revelstoke, Kelowna, and Whistler. For us, there were some amazing highlights that I would say are a must if you are going to be here.

Wine tours in Osoyoos.
Mountain tube coaster in Revelstoke.
Kangaroo farm in Kelowna.
Hiking up the glacier in Whistler.

We were there last summer during the heat wave and the day we went up the glacier, it was over 40C in Whistler.

 

[Frwinkley]

That sounds amazing! We would be flying from the east coast of the US into Vancouver, so we would need to make a circle trip. I would love to see Victoria as well.

 

[Aladora]

That sounds amazing! We would be flying from the east coast of the US into Vancouver, so we would need to make a circle trip. I would love to see Victoria as well.

If you come to the Island and have a car, definitely look into driving up to the Long Beach area! Depending on what time of year you come, there is amazing whale watching and later on, fantastic storm watching.

 

[damo]

The north coast of Lake Superior is also breathtaking!

 

[pigletto]

Agree that the North Coast of Lake Superior is just amazing !

Also would agree that the Cabot Trail would fit your criteria nicely.

 

[Frwinkley]

I’m not sure how to ask this question without sounding ignorant: is Whistler the same (scenery wise) as Mont Tremblant? We’ve also visited a few US ski towns in the summer and after a while, they all look the same.

 

[Aladora]

I’m not sure how to ask this question without sounding ignorant: is Whistler the same (scenery wise) as Mont Tremblant? We’ve also visited a few US ski towns in the summer and after a while, they all look the same.

That is an interesting question. I've lived in BC for 30 years now and lived in Ontario for 20 before that. I don't really remember the scenery at Mt. Tremblant but I can say that BC has some of the most stunning views of anywhere I have ever seen. The drive to Whistler-Blackcomb on the Sea to Sky Highway is just amazing. I can also tell you that hiking the glacier at Whistler was an experience I will never forget and I don't think you can do that at Mt. Tremblant. To me, it is an experience that is not to be missed.

Also, to compare the mountain heights, Mt. Tremblant is 875m, where Whistler is 2182m and Blackcomb (sister mountain to Whistler) is a bit higher at 2284m.

 

[Frwinkley]

Thank you so much for your response. Let's exactly it--the scenery surrounding Mt. Tremblant was less than overwhelming.

We will be flying into Seattle and will likely spend a few days there. I'm struggling with what to include during a 10 day trip.

 

[Aladora]

Thank you so much for your response. Let's exactly it--the scenery surrounding Mt. Tremblant was less than overwhelming.

We will be flying into Seattle and will likely spend a few days there. I'm struggling with what to include during a 10 day trip.

Will you have a car and what time of year are you planning for?

 

[Frwinkley]

We will be traveling next July 2023, flying roundtrip in and out of Seattle from the eastern US. My plan was not to use a car for the majority of the trip.

My tentative thoughts are this:

Late arrival to Seattle and overnight there.
Train to Vancouver and spend 3 nights there.
Vancouver to Victoria for 4 nights. I'd like to rent a car in Victoria for traveling around the island.
Victoria to Seattle and an additional 2 nights in Seattle.
Return home following day.

I think we've decided to eliminate Whistler. Although we love mountainous ski towns in the summer time, we have seen many of them and feel like our time would be better served seeing something different.

 

[gisele2]

You should do the Cabot trail and before that La Gaspésie et le Bas-St-Laurent. You have the mountains and the St-Laurence River and gulf.

 

[Aladora]

We will be traveling next July 2023, flying roundtrip in and out of Seattle from the eastern US. My plan was not to use a car for the majority of the trip.

My tentative thoughts are this:

Late arrival to Seattle and overnight there.
Train to Vancouver and spend 3 nights there.
Vancouver to Victoria for 4 nights. I'd like to rent a car in Victoria for traveling around the island.
Victoria to Seattle and an additional 2 nights in Seattle.
Return home following day.

I think we've decided to eliminate Whistler. Although we love mountainous ski towns in the summer time, we have seen many of them and feel like our time would be better served seeing something different.

Sounds like a great trip!

If you wanted to skinny your time in Vancouver by 1 night and in Victoria by 1 night, then you could take those extra two nights and explore some other parts of BC. If you drink wine, then I highly recommend heading to the Osoyoos area, not only are the wineries amazing but it is such a different ecosystem to anywhere else in BC, it is a desert in the middle of BC!

Also, Kelowna has the Kangaroo Farm which was such a blast!

Definitely look at driving to Long Beach when you are on Vancouver Island, it is really lovely there. The rainforest at Cathedral Grove is a not-to-be-missed stop.

Osoyoos wineries

Osoyoos Desert

Kangaroo Creek Farm

Long Beach

Cathedral Grove

 

[Frwinkley]

Thanks for all of these great tips! Maybe we'll have to consider adding a few days!