In August of this year we embarked on a really fun, interesting, and at times wild adventure with our kids. We did a 22 day road trip across Canada’s east coast. Initially our trip was going to be 28 days but then common sense kicked in and we decided to fly in and out of our first and last destination. I say common sense because we know our kids, and while we might have managed the 2-3 days getting into New Brunswick and the 3-4 days getting out of Newfoundland, we would have been exhausted by time we got home. Since we were aiming for a somewhat relaxing trip, this would have defeated the purpose right from the get-go. Flying exceeded our overall budget for the trip, but for us it was worth it. Try booking your flight on a Tuesday to get the lowest price of the week.
We started our trip in New Brunswick. If you have never been to New Brunswick you before you are in for a treat. I loved the variety of family activities from Zip-lining over the the bay of Fundy to rappelling off a cliff at Cape Enrage, to having a relaxing holiday by the sea… New Brunswick has it all.
We started our trip in Saint John and right away stopped at the Saint John City Market to pick up some delicious smoked salmon and check out all the offerings. After our visit to the market we checked into our hotel Saint John Hilton. I loved that we could access the mall with the Museum from the hotel. It didn’t rain while we were there, but this would be a great comfort on a rainy or snowy day especially if you are travelling with kids, like we were.
After checking into the room and dinner which we had picked up at the market, we visited the New Brunswick Museum where we saw the Great Hall of Whales and learned more about Stonehammer Geopark. We ALL had a great time at the museum. Though we arranged the tour to be geared more or the kids, I had a ton of questions and was fascinated by whale facts. I didn’t know how big whales are in real life because before this trip I had never seen one up close or a replica up close before.
This is a picture of my hubby standing underneath the jawbones of a whale. THE JAW BONE! My hubby is 6'3. Needless to say I was like a kid in a candy store at this museum.
The kids ages 4 and 8 also had a great time, the highlight for our 8 year old daughter was dressing up in lab coats and putting together the skeleton of a porpoise. The highlight for our 4 year old son was touching the baleen and listen to the sound of the whales. After the tour we checked out the rest of the museum and then went up to the kids area to make some whale crafts and the kids had some free time to play on their own.
In the evening we walked around downtown Saint John. One of these things is not like the others ;)
Some tips:
Arrive in the morning so you have the whole day to explore the area.
Do go out in the evening and explore the city if the night is clear.
Check with your hotel to see what activities are happening around town.
You must, must visit the Saint John City Market.
Give yourself about three hours to explore the Museum, it's worth it.
To save on food costs purchase groceries at the local markets and have a picnic.
Schedule activities, and have a set itinerary but limit to one main activity per day.
Overall, day 1 of our trip was fantastic and I loved Saint John.
-Claire
#familytravel #Newbrunswick #funwithkids
