Family Travel Canada

What does Canada offer families who can’t ski?

Many years ago I lived in New Jersey and spent the time traveling around USA, with the occasional visit to the beautiful, relaxed country of Canada. I must confess, I was a singleton with no children and I would venture across the border to strap on my skis and glide down some of the fabulous slopes that Canada offers.

I was spellbound by the parts of the country that I saw; the pace of life and the gentle people I encountered felt like a stark contrast to the speed and hurry of their American neighbours, and I vowed to return one day.

Now as I plan my trip I find myself in a different life. Instead of being a young, free, single skier, I am mother to three, wife and writer and in a family where no one except me likes to strap wood to their feet and fly down mountains.

But beautiful Canada has more to offer than snow and ice!

So rather than hiring skis we will be spending our money on a robust 4WD – so we can explore all of the delights the country has to offer.

Clearly we will be visiting the obvious, and taking the children to Niagara Falls; we’ve already been showing the kids YouTube videos and they are desperately hoping to see someone throw themselves in a barrel over the vast explosion of water. I for one am hoping we manage to leave with all the children in tact – my seven year old son has a taste for adventure and it would not surprise me to see him trying to dive into the terrifying waters. Luckily for me I know there is a bar at Niagara where I can relax with a holiday G&T whilst the children stare at the waterfall through the safety of the glass.

We have been reading guide books and scouring the internet to look at things that we must do in our trip.

The children are desperate to go to La Ronde, the Canadian version of Alton Towers, so we have agreed to visit Montreal and whilst there I plan on visiting the Holocaust museum. I am also itching to try free fall with Sky Venture. I need to do more research into this, as the children also fancy defying gravity in this vertical wind tunnel but I am not sure my daughter, who has diabetes, will be allowed to partake. I don’t want to have to tell her that her ‘disability’ can stop her doing anything, so would rather bypass this if she can’t join in the fun.

My husband is hoping that we can book the trip in June to coincide with Grand Prix weekend – I am fighting this battle by claiming the children can’t be taken out of school, although I confess the trip has less zeros attached to the price tag if we go outside of the school holidays.

But what would you recommend?  Please let me know any sights we must see off the beaten track so we can add them to our ever growing to do list.

Author: Jane Blackmore is a freelance writer, blogger and editor. When not hitting the keyboard, she entertains her three young children and relaxes in the evening with a simple G&T.