Dear You, You found us. How, it does not matter, but you did. So here we are. We’re two girls from Montréal who drool over travel blogs and Instagram accounts, who like to eat a little bit too much, who take every opportunity to step out of who comfort zone, and who dream of open roads way away from our Monday to Friday routines. However, contrary to most people we follow on social media, we do not have the cash flow nor the courage to just quit our jobs and travel the world all year round. BUT what we can do are weekend getaways… and lots of them. So what you can expect to find here are entries about our experiences visiting different places, our pigging out in restaurants in and beyond Montréal, and our travelling tips for our escapades, which will hopefully inspire you to pack a suitcase on Friday nights after a long week of acting like a responsible student/adult. You can be sure we’ll give honest reviews and provide you with all the information you need in order to give a place a try, including prices, accessibility, , what to expect, what to wear, what to bring, if it’s worth your time, etc. You can also follow us on Instagram (theweekendrunaways). Welcome to our affordable adventures. With any luck, we can help you prepare for yours. Much love, C & C
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Bruce Peninsula National Park and Flower Pot Island
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Friday night to early Saturday Morning: Drive from Montréal to Tobermory Saturday: Lion’s Head and Bruce Peninsula Park Sunday: Flower Pot Island Monday: Drive back with a pit stop in Toronto
PRICE BREAKDOWN Stay: Wireless Bay Cottages, 440$ for 2 nights and 4 people. It came down to 110$ each . Entrance to the parks: Around 20$/day/car Ferry: 27.85$/person for a tour package Gas: 120$ (driving a Mazda 3 2014). Food: Varied from one person to the other. Total approximate cost per person for this vacation: 240$
Like a lot of basic young Montrealers, we turn to Mtlblog for inspiration. Last year, we came across a suggestion for Bruce Peninsula Park, promising clear blue waters and landscapes straight out of a postcard from Greece. This marks one of the longest roadtrips we will do for this blog as it takes over 8 hours to arrive.So four of us decided to try this adventure out. Since most of us were working on Friday, and had to be back by Monday night latest, we left on Friday around 8pm as we did not want to waste the day driving on Saturday. We figured worse came to worse, we would sleep by the water in the sun.We alternated drivers during the night with a late 90’s/early 00’s playlist blasting to keep us awake and arrived at Sauble beach, still over an hour away from our main destination, around 4 a.m.Since we could not get the key to the cabin we had rented before 11 a.m., we did what any cheap students would do: we parked the car on the beach and slept there after watching the sunrise. We woke up around 7 a.m. when people were beginning to take their morning walks and were curiously peering into the car.
With 3 hours left to kill, we made another pit stop at Lion’s Head where we began seeing the untypically blue water for a Canadian lake.
After walking around for a bit, we finally headed towards Tobermory where we rented a little cabin.Tobermory is a cute harbour village where we did some grocery shopping later that evening and grabbed a nice supper at a pub with a live band.So the day we arrived, we dropped off our luggage at the cabin and went straight to Bruce Peninsula park.Yes, it is as nice as you see in pictures. BUT- What everyone fails to tell you is that the water is ICE COLD. There are signs warning swimmers not to stay too long in the water because of the low temperature. So if you go there with the intention to swim around all day long, you’re in the wrong place. Apparently it does get a few degrees warmer depending on the season, but it does not make it suitable for long periods of swimming.
If you’re there to hike, walk through caves, sun tan, and/or relax surrounded by breath taking scenery, then yes, the trip is worth it.Side note here – We encountered quite a few snakes on the main paths. While most are harmless, there are rattlesnakes, and we actually stumbled upon one.Later that day, we visited Singing Sand Beach, which was supposed to be very nice from what we had read. The beach was actually packed, but it was muddy and the water murky. We did not like it and left within 15 minutes. The only perk of that beach which is only 15 minutes away from the peninsula shown above, is that you could actually swim in that water as it was much much warmer.On Sunday we took a ferry to Flower Pot Island. It looks like a place you could see in Thailand with tall rocks standing proud and surrounded by clear blue water.
We were excited to have the possibility to book a glass bottom boat to see a sunken ship wreck and then come back to Tobermory with a fast boat. It was great to see this sunken ship still in mint condition due to the cold water that preserves it. We were told that people book excursions to go dive and see the ship closer. A wetsuit is a must if you plan on following through with this activity.
On Flower Pot Island, there isn’t much to do except for walking, but it does make for a nice day.
After relaxing by the water, we did walk around the island aiming to find the ‘lake’. The ‘lake’ was disappointing as it turned out to be a swamp. We decided to keep going and ended up being alone on the other side of the island, which was pretty wonderful.That night, we decided to all cook in the cottage and eat outside in front of the marina. We finished the night with some drinks and marshmallows by the fire.
Finally, Monday, we packed our bags and headed home. Since Toronto is on the way, we made a pit stop to eat on a rooftop terrace in Dundas Square.
So would we recommend? Absolutely! It’s a fairly cheap vacation with views straight out of Greece or the Caribbean and 100% worth the roadtrip.
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