Canada Itinerary Travel with the KIDS
Canada Itinerary Travel for a FUN vacation
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are in a fantastic corner of Canada to explore. We spent 5 days there with the kids and had a ball!! Here is our itinerary for 5 wonderful days traveling in Canada with the KIDS.
We chose to stay in Moncton for a hub. This is the longest we’ve stayed in one city in a very long time. How nice to actually unpack! The longer we stay in one place, the less I worry about losing stuff, too.
Canada itinerary (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) the short version.
Scroll down for more detailed information about each day.
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 1 – Fort Beausejour and Nova Scotia, UNESCO site Joggins Cliffs
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 2 – The Fundy drive, Hopewell Rocks at high tide
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 3 – Hopewell Rocks at low tide, Cape Enrage and Alma
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 4 – Magnetic Hill, Zoo, Maple Syrup tapping peek
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 4 – Prince Edward Island
Canada Itinerary Visit Day 5 – Shediak, Beauctouch and soap making in St. Anne
The Educational Tourist custom travel services include detailed information on history, background, geology, etc. for each sight – written at an elementary school kid’s reading level.
CLICK HERE to download the Kids’ Travel Activity Guide to Canada
A more detailed look at the Canada Itinerary family vacation
Canada Visit Day 1: Fort Beausejour and Nova Scotia
Fort Beausejour
What a cool spot! The kids really enjoyed this outdoor experience. The small museum has a scavenger hunt for the kids and helpful and friendly staff on hand to answer questions. Get the map so the outdoor ruins make more sense.
Learning makes the visit more fun
* Why the fort is in a star shape
* Who controlled it
* Where the soldiers slept
* See where things were stored
*Look through the holes in the wall where soldiers fired their guns
Nova Scotia
What a glorious drive. We were blessed with perfect weather, but even if drizzly, there will be no hiding the beauty. Woods so thick, I chuckled at the advice of landscapers who talk about planting items in your yard with lots of room all around. Mother Nature did not heed that advice here! It is hard to imagine even walking through the forest as it is so thick – and diverse. Many types of trees are represented and I imagine a giant like Paul Bunyon reaching down to grasp a handful like a bouquet.
Then, wildflowers unlike any I have ever seen before. Whole fields of color..yellow and purple. Each wooden house had a gorgeous stand of flowers like daylillies and daisies. Right off postcards.
Learning makes it all more interesting
*What grows here
*What animals live here
* What is this?
The Fundy Geologic Museum
The kids enjoyed it and we learned a lot. It had all the usual photos and hands on stuff you would expect at such a museum, but we were thrilled to be able to take a peek into the back room where fossils are brought in and handled before being ready for viewing. Also, there was a dig for fossils spot that thrilled the kids.
Joggins Fossil
This is a UNESCO sight. The building is surrounded by low blueberry bushes.
Be sure to notice the tall lighttower. You can see the lines WAY above your head showing how high the tides get!! WOW! Great visual for the kids.
Canada Visit Day 2 – Fundy Coastal Drive, Hopewell Rocks (High tide)
Fundy Coastal Drive
*Gardens for local coops
*Tides – Why does the tide go in and out? Why is it so high here?
Hopewell Rocks – high tide
Look for the flower pot rocks. Why are they called that?
*See high tide at the spot where the tide rises higher than anywhere else in the world.
* What animals live in the water here?
CLICK HERE List of Kids’ Books about Canada to read before you go!
Canada Visit Day 3 – Hopewell Rocks (Low tide), Cape Enrage, Alma
Hopewell Rocks – low tide
*Walk ON the ocean floor
* See effects of erosion – What is erosion? How does it work?
*See animals (snails) and plantlife (seaweed) that normally is covered by ocean water
* Imagine what swims where you are standing!
Cape Enrage
*Oldest working lighthouse in New Brunswick
*Zip line!
*Watch rapelling
*At low tide- walk on fossil beach. Very rock and fossils are everywhere!
*Eat lunch at the very tasty restaurant – this is not a tourist burger joint. It is a nice restaurant with delicious food and local wine.
Alma
*Take a photo with a life sized moose statue
*Have world famous sticky buns!
*Look at the fishing boats up close and ride on one if you like
Canada Visit Day 4 – Magnetic Hill, Magnetic Hill Zoo, Maple Tree forest
Magnetic Hill
*This optical illusion will blow your socks off. Try it in your car first and then walk down to get a better look – SPOILER ALERT – walking down spoils the illusion.
*What is an optical illusion? What are some other favorites?
Magnetic Hill Zoo
*See a reindeer up close!
*Arctic Wolf
* Pony ride/face painting
*Let kiddo practice map reading skills
Maple Syrup forest
*See the trees tapped and ready for syrup harvest
*Observe the collection tubes
* Visit the sugar shack where the sap is boiled and thus the syrup is created!
*Learn about maple syrup products like fudge
Canada Visit Day 4 – Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
*Home to Anne of Green Gables
*Eat Cow’s Icecream and visit the factory where it is made
*Learn what grows here – potatoes!
*Eat a burger or hot dog at the Boom Burger. Notice how ‘green’ the facility is with separate recycling bins and composting trash cans.
* Cross the Confederate Bridge to get to the island
Canada Visit Day 5 – Shediak, Bouctouche, St. Anne de Kent
Shediak
Home to the World’s Largest Lobster – It is a tradition to visit here and climb on the statue.
*What is a lobster? How large to they get? Do they lay eggs or have live babies? What do they eat?
*Eat lobster!
Bouctouche
*Eat poutine
*Learn about Acadie and why the area is French 1st and English 2nd
*See a salt marsh. What is a marsh? What lives here?
St. Anne de Kent
Learn how to make soap at the Olivier Sopery. Watch the live demo and try out all the different soap types.
The Educational Tourist planned trips are educational and fun for the whole family. Get The Educational Tourist’s travel guide to Canada for kids before you go!
CLICK HERE – 21 Cool and Interesting Fun Facts about Canada
Happy Travels!
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
I have visited Canada twice but never been to this area. From your photos it looks stunning and I need to add to my list for when I visit next. I want to go to the Fort and Hopewell Rocks too 🙂
I don’t have kids but I still love your itinerary especially the Hopewell Rocks – high tide and visiting the Magnetic Hill Zoo. I love animals and zoos. I have not visited Canada yet but on my list so going to pinned it for future reference.
I’m so gutted that, having lived in Vancouver, BC for over 4 years, I never got to see this part of the country! Your itinerary is action-packed which I really like, you visited some cool places! Nova Scotia sounds particularly interesting to me, and that Fundy Coastal Drive must have been beautiful. Hope to get a chance to visit Canada again in the future and explore it a bit more.
Thanks for the post. We are a family that travels and Canada is quite high up on our travel list so this will certainly be a lot of help. I’ve wanted to go to Nova Scotia for quite some time and the Magnetic Hill sounds like something that will really interest the kids.
Oh wow Canada! Didn’t know there were UNESCO sites as well! Good to know about that. I really love the Canadian culture and remember how a former Canadian flatmate made the best pancakes ever! 🙂
It looks like a very fun and informative 5 days!! I’m from Québec, the French-speaking province, but the Maritimes are so far that I’ve never even been. If only we had a good train system like in Europe!
What a fantastic itinerary! My kids are all grown up but I would love this! I spend a few days in Canada about 5 years ago and I am dying to go back. I love all the foodie treats you have featured. I’m really just a big kid at heart lol
Hello,
I found this blog very useful and interesting and it provides a lot of useful information.