Budget Trips to Canada

We throughly enjoyed our trip to the Christmas Markets of Montreal and Quebec. It was cold and windy a few of the days, but that is to be expected in Canada in December. We chose to drive from southern Mass, and it was an easy drive, even though it snowed most of the way. Our tour took us around the cities of each place, and pointed out the highlights of each. We then visited the Christmas Markets in each city. Quebec City was our favorite. The markets there were the best, as were the stores. Chateau Frontenac was beautiful and a must in Quebec City. Bernadette was a great tour manager finding great bus stops and keeping us entertained on the bus. We enjoy the restaurants chosen for dinner, as well as the two excursion; the 'Yule log' making and the breakfast in the sugar shack. Very enjoyable!

All the activities were very enjoyable - the visit to the Albert Giles Copper Studio making a Christmas ornament, decorating a Yule log at Madame Germain’s, and a visit to the Sugar Shack where we got a taste of winter weather with quite a bit of snow. Hotel accommodations were top notch. Shopping in Old Quebec City was a fun experience with many unique local shops. The Christmas markets were very crowded but still interesting.

The whole tour was magical! The snow set the scene for strolling through the markets with gluhwein and delicious food. Walking through the towns all lit up with beautiful Christmas lights and displays was equally festive. I thoroughly enjoyed creating our own tasty Yule log and the icing on the cake for me was the maple syrup farm. There we had a traditional breakfast and made maple candy on a board of snow. Thankful for the variety of maple products in their gift shop. The chunky maple sugar cubes are the best. A new found favorite for coffee, tea or just eating by themselves. What a treat!! Oh, and maple cream cookies….THE BEST!

There were many memorable experiences. I liked the cultural aspects the best. The trip through the Tribal Center, the Acadian experience at Grand Pres and the reenactment along the way from two people at the national park. Overall, we had tour time and time for ourselves. We visited the Citadel on our own time.

Everyone we interacted with was great! We would have enjoyed a little more free time and possibly a bit longer in PEI. We absolutely loved the island. It was a great trip full of history and scenery. The days on the bus were a little long but that was the trade for being able to see so much!

The itinerary was well planned and paced, our group was 44 travelers (I prefer less for next time) but the activity levels were as advertised, the local hosts knowledgable and interesting and the weather was spectacularly perfect!