Really????
I know what you mean, and we were under same impression that it’s going to be too much for a family like ours with 2 kids 9 and 5. Talked to few friends to get some feedback, they also told us are you guys nuts? Now you can imagine what’s our mental state at that moment.
Initially we were thinking we can start around 7 AM from Kitchener, and as per Google maps it will take us exactly 3 hours and 45 minutes, breaks included, to reach to Tobermory. We will be there by 11AM, spent the day there cover few key attractions, and then pack bags to start for home journey around 6 or 7 PM. We knew we can’t cover all attractions of Tobermory but wanted to explore the area, to get some firsthand experience of the beautiful town of Tobermory so for next time we can plan for a longer stay there. But then we googled stuff, called few friends to get some feedback, and from everywhere the feedback wasn’t what we were expecting.
Final Outcome……we did the trip to Tobermory that too in a day with two kids 9 and 5.
So how we did it?
We kept things very basic and simple.
Me and my wife did some brainstorming and decided that let’s start at 7 AM but rather than going to Tobermory we will target to go to Suable beach , this is the destination we could cover easily in a day trip. And we all, including kids, were in agreement that Sauble Beach is good destination to cover if we couldn’t make it to Tobermory.
The reason we picked Sauble Beach is because it’s almost on same route as Tobermory but 1 hour shorter. We added another twist, we planned to take first & final break at Tim Hortons located at 456 Bruce St, Hepworth, ON N0H 1P0 , and then make a call about should we continue to Tobermory (1 hour more Drive) or Sauble Beach which was almost 15 minutes away from that Tim Hortons. This trick worked like magic! As you have imagined, we slept peaceful that night 🙂
Next morning we were on the road sharp at 7 AM (No excuse there else traffic will hunt you down). Almost around 9:15 AM we were at Tim Hortons in Hepworth, kids were almost sleeping or partially awake so drive was peaceful. Took the break, and right there we felt we are good to go to Tobermory as it was just 1 hour more drive 🙂
So finally reached Tobermory around 11 AM, best part was since we started early traffic was pretty low, so that’s a million dollar tip.
We reached Tobermory happily but as expected this place was packed due to ongoing Labor Day long weekend which is common for both Canada and US, so rush was bit higher as we saw many cars with US number plate.
Parked the car for a day for $15 parking, couldn’t get any free parking as it was busy super busy. Roam around the town a bit, although there are tons of things to cover in Tobermory but we knew we only have 5 hours to explore, so we decided to get into a Ferry that could cover Flower Pot Island, Ship Wrecks, and some water exploration. Due to busy long weekend mostly all the Ferries were sold out 🙁 , so you could imagine the frustration. But we didn’t give up, explored the town more around the water front area and possibly asked every shop keeper if someone can give us a lead to cover what we wanted to cover.
In short, our sales and marketing pitch worked and we were lucky enough to book a ferry ride via Tobermory Cruise Line for 4:30 PM….Phew!!!. This was huge reliever. In case you plan a day trip my advice is to book the ferry in advance if possible.
In short, our sales and marketing pitch worked and we were lucky enough to book a ferry ride via Tobermory Cruise Line for 4:30 PM….Phew!!!. This was huge reliever. In case you plan a day trip my advice is to book the ferry in advance if possible.
By 1:15 PM mostly everything was settled, car parked, ferry booked, and now we were starving like crazy. So we enjoyed the some good local food followed by Ice Cream from Peninsula Supply Ice Cream Parlour at 4 Bay St, Tobermory, ON N0H 2R0 . Ice cream was good really good, you must try it. You can imagine how much we enjoyed that ice cream knowing all stuff has been taken care already 🙂
At 2:45 PM we were done with food and Ice Cream, then we explored the town more, wife and kids did some shipping. And then we walked around Little Tub Harbour, the beauty of Tobermory is mesmerizing.
Then finally around 4:15 PM we reached near the Tobermory Cruise Line to board the ferry. The ferry left at 4:30 PM, it was a long ferry ride of almost 1+ hour, and that too at a high speed, it covered lot of water on Georgian Bay side. It almost stopped, wasn’t drop off, near all the attractions which gave us the opportunity to take beautiful pictures and enjoy the beauty of each attraction. It covered Flowerpot Island, The Grotto and the Niagara Escarpment, and a big stretch on the Bruce Peninsula National Park.
We will remember this boat ride forever, it was that amazing. My kids enjoyed every bit of it.
Finally around 5:45 PM we were back at the shores. Then we enjoyed some local coffee and snacks, and finally we started the journey back home around 6:30 PM. You might have guessed by now our dinner spot 🙂 , it was at the same Tim Hortons, Hepworth 🙂 . Enjoyed some warm soup and sandwich there, then continued the journey. We reached home around 11 PM. Also, since my wife also drives so we switched whenever one got tired of driving, this was big plus but I think a single driver can also pull it off, might be a bit stretch but it’s worth for Tobermory 🙂
That’s it. It wasn’t that hard to be very frank, actually we really wanted to get out of our comfort zone that was another reason for this day trip. We almost covered 530 Kilometer overall, 265 Kms each side which isn’t that bad.
Trust me you won’t repent at all!
Very Interesting Journey and Beautiful scenic views. 👌👌
Thank you Gurvir!
Thanks for the travel blog, The Creative Team!
Thank you Majo!
Спасибо