The Ultimate Road Trip to Maritimes Canada from Ontario – What To See and Do On The Way

[Read in 5 mins.]

The weather is getting warmer and summer is just around the corner. Summer in Canada is perfect for road trips. I don’t even wannna go outside the country when it’s summer. Road trips are great. Driving on that smooth pavement in scenic routes and as you get out of Toronto, the drive becomes super peaceful plus less aggressive drivers on the road. Good music (yup, sing at the top of your lungs), chit chatting and laughing with your friends in the car while munching on delicious chips and snacks are the best things to do while cruising on the highway. At the top of my awesome road trips was my 8 days trip to Canada’s east with 2 of my best friends from university. After graduation we had some time off before we enter the work force so we decided to go to an ultimate road trip adventure to the Maritimes!

New Brunswick (NB), Nova Scotia (NS), and Prince Edward Island (PEI) make up Maritimes Canada. Adding the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador, all four together is named the Atlantic provinces, also known as East Coast Canada. I do wish I can call it an East Coast road trip. Sadly we couldn’t step foot in Newfoundland. 8 days was not enough to go to Newfoundland because we would need to ride a ferry and take our rented vehicle with us plus there’s the ferry schedule to follow. Technically 7 days to explore because one day was equivalent for the drive to get to NB. It would be a longer trip if we added that as a destination but we had other commitments so we decided to skip and go next time.

The Actual Road Trip Drive

My friends and I started this trip from Toronto and to get to the next province of Quebec which took approximately 5 hours to the Quebec border. The whole drive you’re basically going to be on the Ontario highway 401. When you reach Quebec, it changes name to Autoroute 40. Both part of the Trans-Canada Highway. You just keep going until you hit the New Brunswick, the first province of the Maritimes and you’ve pretty much entered the region. What we ended up doing was we breezed through Quebec so we can reach New Brunswick in day 2. We stopped by Montreal and Quebec City on the way back for leg stretch and food.

There’s actually a lot of interesting places to visit in between Ontario and the Maritimes. We could have flown to Moncton, NB or Saint John, NB then rented a car there to use. That would mean we can’t explore any places in between so we decided against the idea. The three of us are all comfortable experienced drivers so we took turns driving. What’s also awesome about road trips is the unexpected destinations that you’ll see on the road. We also looked forward to the ones we planned to go! I’d most likely make a highlights posts for the three provinces in the upcoming week. In the mean time, I want to share with you the destinations along the way.

Visit Canada’s First Capital City of Kingston

Kingston, Ontario is one of the oldest cities in Canada so there’s many historic buildings and old churches here. It’ll take about 2 hours and 34 minutes from Toronto so if you start the road trip early at the crack of dawn, it’s a good place to have breakfast and admire the old city. The drive around here is pretty because there’s a part where you go through some red rocks. Grab fresh from the oven baked goods and coffee at Pan Chancho Bakery then walk towards the water and eat on a bench overlooking the river.

Island Hop at the Thousand Islands National Park

If you did go to Kingston and looked out the river, you’d probably noticed the many islands on the water. They’re islands which are part of the Thousand Islands group. The islands are spread out in the US-Canada border on St. Lawrence River. The Thousand Islands National Park located in Mallorytown which is only 40 minutes away from Kingston. If you’re looking to exploring more of the islands, you can cruise on the river to see amazing islands to enjoy nature and see amazing architecture! If you have more time in your hands you can take a tour that let’s you get off and explore the mansions and castles on the islands. The famous one is the Boldt Castle on Heart Island. It is in the U.S. side so if you want to enter the island and you’re on a Canadian cruise, you must have your passport with you.

Explore the Metropolitan City of Montreal

One of my favourite Canadian cities to visit. The perfect getaway from the sky scraper urban city Toronto. The vibe is different and whenever I go here, I always feel like I’m in another country because of the architecture, the culture, and the language. But I’m still in Canada you know. I have been here many times so I’ve done pretty much all the touristy things to do. Now I come here for food adventure so I try new places and also go to my favourite ones. I still walk around Old Montreal which I somehow just end up when I’m wander. The best places to eat poutine are here so I highly recommend a food pitstop before heading back to Ontario. You can eat it at the very famous La Banquise and be prepared to line-up or you can avoid the crowd and go to Poutine Centrale. Or at Dunn’s for a diner setting.

Walk around Old Town of Quebec City

The second most visited Quebec city besides Montreal is Quebec City. It’s a good stop to stretch your legs after the long drive to leave the Maritimes so you can stop here on the way back to Ontario. Walk around Old Town Quebec, the cobblestone roads, and the old city walls. They’re all well preserved so it’s the same well-maintained fortification back in the old days. It’s also one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Site located in North America! Your city girl appreciate these kind of places because it’s not what I’m used to seeing in my everyday life.

Spend A Night at Rivière-du-Loup

You definitely need to spend a night somewhere in Quebec from driving all day either on the way or leaving NB. Rivière-du-Loup is the perfect pit stop to spend a night. Edmundston, the first city of NB and the gateway to the Maritimes is only 1 hour and 25 minutes away from Rivière-du-Loup. If you don’t do a stop anywhere so you can spend more time in the East Coast, it will be a 4 hour and 51 minutes drive from Toronto to Quebec border non-stop. From the border, Rivière-du-Loup is another 5 hours so 10 hours on the road for a day’s drive. That will give you time to explore in between. It’s a cute small city by the St. Lawrence river to walk around and explore. It has pretty colourful historic buildings and a waterfall close to the river.

Learn About Potatoes in Potato World

Who doesn’t love potatoes!?!?! This is definitely worth the stop and one of the unique experiences on the road to the Maritimes. Potato World is located in the city of Florenceville-Bristol, NB known as the ‘French Fry Capital of the World’! At this point you’ve crossed Edmunston and you’re in the Maritimes region! You can visit the museum at Potato World during the summer and there’s a french fry cafe there too. They even hold a French Fry Festival where you can get free french fries. Yum!!