This summer we finally travelled to Canada (our last time was 6 years ago!), this time as a family of three. We went for 4 weeks (mid-July to mid-August). Our route was the following: our home to London by train (Easyjet cancellation on our flight Amsterdam-London), London to Halifax by plane, then the province of Nova Scotia for a week, then a plane from Halifax to Edmonton and three weeks in Alberta and British Columbia (five days at my husband's home town and the rest spent in camping with a car and an RV or at friends). At the moment of the trip, our daughter was 2 years and 3 months old.
We would like to share some tips with you on how to do Canada with kids (previously, traveling with kids has been discussed 3 times, see here).
Transport
- The only (feasible) way to get to Canada from Europe is flying. Some main companies that fly over the ocean are Westjet, Air Canada or KLM (via Amsterdam) or Air France (from France). We have flown KLM before and that was great: lot of space, nice food, great service. This time we flew Westjet to Canada and this was less nice: very little food (pack snacks!) and little space. We flew back with KLM and that was great. A lot of leg space and space in general, a good entertainment system, and a nice dinner. Tip: book your child's meal earlier!
- As the flights are long (I say, as long as 8 hours or more), do the regular thing for toddler traveling: entertainment, a lot of snacks, sleep ritual, and actually try to get them to sleep. Although we are anti-screen time, we did resort to some videos after a lot of meltdowns on that first plane trip. The second one went quite a bit better with screentime, I guess you just need to keep them occupied (with or without screens). The third time we allowed screentime, but offered also other activities and this flight was the best of them all. We can also recommend the Water Wow books, where the kid can paint with water, those were a hit on this trip!
- Inside Canada, your best way to get around (apart from long distances taken by plane or visiting big cities, like Halifax where you can walk, or Edmonton/Calgary which has decent public transit) is driving. If renting a car, do it well (!!) in advance and request a car seat, checking which version it is. Canada has strict rules for car seats and how they can be placed (although different per province, in a lot of places, children cannot sit forward facing until 2 years). A child can't sit in the front passenger seat until they turn 13 years.
- We used a rental car on the first leg of the trip, and that came with a good car seat. We lent a car from a friend for the following 3 weeks and bought a car seat for that part. One drives a lot when in Canada, so it made sense for us to invest in a good one (but one can get an acceptable car seat for 80 euros or so from Costco). She loved her second car seat and actually asked to go for a drive one day!
- We sadly have a child who can get carsick so for long drives we use Gravol Kids (antihistaminica) which works excellent. And yes, we have tried most of the non-medication related tips.
Accommodation
- Often, a regular hotel room for two people will come with two double beds, the rooms are also much bigger than in Europe. Request a baby bed in advance, when it is needed.
- We brought along our Deryan sleeping tent as we knew we were staying at people's houses who don't have kids. This is also a comfortable place for her for napping or taking a little rest.
- A lot of Canadian hotels have swimming pools that allow kids, so that is a requirement we used when booking a hotel in order to tire her out. I think it is worth it, but when you are getting in late and have spent a busy day in a big city, it can delay the bedtime even more, so make sure to plan for the swim as well. We bought Puddle Jumpers for that (sort of water wings)
- Accommodation has gotten quite a bit more expensive, but a simple hotel room for 2 plus a child, and access to the swimming pool, you can find for 100-150 euros. It might or might not include breakfast.
Eating
- In Canada, you will find all the big chains of fast food that you can imagine. They are in every (even smaller) place. When you are not a fan of fast food, opt for a local place that will have something more special (but still often carries some fast food items, like fries). We like to eat at independent places, so we tried out many of them. The province of Nova Scotia is known for its seafood, so you will get plenty of that. In Alberta, you will find famous steaks. In British Columbia, you need to try their cherries and peaches (absolutely amazing!).
- The portion sizes are huge, huge, huge. At one Asian place we ate, we could have easily ordered one main dish for the three of us.
- Kid menus are common in most restaurants, and will often have a combo of a drink (pop=something like Coke, or a juice), main meal (grilled cheese, Mac and Cheese, chicken nuggets, fish and fries), and a scoop of ice cream. You can ask for things to be substituted, like having mashed potatoes or vegetables instead of fries. Those combos cost around 5 to 10 dollars (3 to 8 euros). Kids are often brought a special kiddy cup and plates, and even a coloring book or a picture with crayons. People like kids in Canada and even at restaurants.
- Breakfast and brunch are big in Canada. You will find many brunch places where you can have pancakes, bagels, eggs Benedict, waffles, and omelets. Breakfast for 2+child will cost you about 30 euros.
- A lot of Canadians eat sandwiches and/or soup or salad for lunch. For dinner, it is usually a heavier meal with anything you can imagine. Canada has a great variety of cuisines represented in all the bigger cities, so we tried out everything from Thai to Mexican to Moroccon during our trip. The main meal for dinner at a restaurant will cost around 15 to 20 euros. One tips about 12% in Canada, and in some places they do it by default. One also tips in many other places in Canada, including a taxi and a hair dresser
- Canadians drink a lot of coffee, but it is relatively weak. At some restaurants or chains (like Tim Hortons, where a lot of Canadians get their coffee), it is frequent to get a machine brew and not a single coffee from fresh beans or something fancy like a cappuccino. There are though a lot of places where one can get a specialty coffee and then they are usually very good. A simple machine brew comes with a price tag of around 2 euros (or 1 euro at a gas station, but don't expect a lot!) and a specialty coffee for about 3-4 euros. Mind, by default, coffee places might add sugar and milk, so if you are the type to have your coffee black, make sure to mention it.
Halifax skyline
Cities
We visited 2 big cities, Halifax and Edmonton, and quite a few smaller cities.
- Halifax: it is a beautiful port city with a vibrant outdoorsy lifestyle in the summer. It is walkable! I can strongly recommend going to the public library - it has a great kids section where we spent a couple of hours and a rooftop cafe with a free view of the city. Also, the cafe is pretty good and affordable. On the second day we took a free ferry (in the summer, from Fri to Sun it is free, otherwise 2.75 dollars) to Dartmouth where we visited the Touch Tank Hut (see below) which is a nice little place where one can touch wild sea animals who are rescued. M enjoyed it a lot! I also visited a kids book store and we walked around the citadel.
- Edmonton - now, Edmonton is a completely different deal than Halifax! It is one of the big cities in the province of Alberta, it is also a riverside city and hosts a university. It is a BIG spread-out city where you best get around by car (although it has a metro). We visited the
Edmonton Valley zoo which had a cheap entry and quite a few nice animals to look at. I have visited the Calgary Zoo before and enjoyed it more (especially their Canadian animals section), but it was nice to spend time there. I liked the red panda the most. Some animals had too small cages in my opinion, but I guess it is often the case with that in zoos. What was nice is that there were people who told you and the kids things about animals at many places. There is also a nice picnic area and a big playground just next to the zoo!
- Lunenburg - my husband wanted me to mention that! It is a UNESCO city located in the province of Nova Scotia. It is beautiful to walk around and also a nice place to go for a tour of the sea. It hosts the famous Blue Nose 2, the beautiful tall ship you find on the Canadian 10-cent coin.
Things to do with kids
- Many cities have splash parks for the summer where they can run around and play with water.
- There are great playgrounds everywhere, just literally everywhere. They also usually have a public bathroom close by (Canada excels in public bathrooms in general!).
- The library! We attended a story time at a local library and it was nice, packed with songs, reading and dance. Just the language-boosting activity I like!
- Go to the mountains and go camping! We did it with an RV and car and tent, but one can do it also in cabins or full-on wild camping. Everything is possible. Just remember to book the campsites if you want them and bring your bear spray!
- Water sports - one can go sailing, paddling, canoeing, kayaking and white water rafting. I fell in love with the latter! Kids must be a little older but I can imagine our daughter just loving it later!
Packing
- Limit what you bring as much as possible, but do bring essential items. We also packed a bag for the first night at the hotel to not need to open our gigantic luggage. This daypack had a spare outfit (and two for the child), toiletries, medication (in case), a converter, cords for charging, and necessities for sleeping for the child, such as her blanket, pjs, and her favorite sleepytime book.
- Essential medication: bring some essential medication with you, like paracetamol, loperamide (Imodium), antiseptic, bandages, ORS, anti-allergy pills. I also brought an inhalator and some anti-nausea medication (both of these prescription medication, so also bring an official piece of verification for that).
- There are no vaccines that are obligated to visit Canada (apart from of course corona vaccine for adults, without that, one will need to quarantine/test). The rabies vaccine is recommended, but this is pretty dependent on what you are doing and where you are going. We didn't get that.
- There are tons of mosquitoes in Canada, and depending on the location also ticks (that don't carry tick-born encephalitis). There are kid-friendly repellents for those creatures. We also wore long sleeves, long pants, and hats for that.
General tips
- The sales tax in Canada is dependent on the item and on the province and is usually added by the counter (so the price you see when you look at something is before tax!). It can be something like 15% added to the purchase (or 5% in Alberta).
- Canada is very safe, even in the bigger cities. In smaller towns and in the countryside, people leave their vehicles and houses unlocked, everyone knows everyone and cares for each other. People are very helpful and love kids.
- Canadians use different plugs for their equipment, so make sure to bring a converter (or two) for all chargeable devices.
Jetlag
- Yes that thing sucks. We went back 5 hours at first, then 3 more, and then 1 more. I read some blogs on jetlag in toddlers before and got the basic advice to switch them fully immediately when you arrive. So we did. Try to be strict with bedtime those days (at least) and keep them awake for the daytime and try to keep them sleeping at night. Many blogs said to be ready for a lot of nighttime crying.
- We used melatonin (over the counter) for ourselves and our child. This is a parents' own choice and I am comfortable with it (also due to my job), knowing the pros and cons and how to use it. Consult your doctor about that (I actually did consult a colleague about this).
- When we arrived, the jetlag was actually less harsh than when coming back to the NL (although West to East travel is often said to be easier...). When coming back home, it was a combination of several things, but I would safely say that it lasted about 4 days instead of 2 when going to Canada. Very heavy! We tried to be there for her, comfort her when she didn't understand where she was... The first night she got up at 23 to cry for half an hour (because she was so upset she didn't allow herself to be comforted) until I understood she is saying she wants to eat. Indeed, it was her breakfast time in Canada...