Chris Dyson's Travel Blog

Today the breakfast was not included at the hotel but it was located 75 minutes away at Wheelers Maple Syrup Farm. We met in the lobby at 6:45am and at 7am we were on the road making our way there. We arrived at Wheelers Maple Farm at around 8:15am and enjoyed a typical Canadian Breakfast. We were then shown a demonstration on the process of how Maple Syrup is made. Finally a walk around the rest of the farm with some free time, before getting back on the coach at 10:30am. The delicious breakfast we were served. We then started making our way further east across the province of Ontario for today's lunch stop. The Big Apple was the name of the services where we had lunch, which was clearly very popular. The hour flew by and you can even watch them making the pies. We were back on the road towards Toronto just after 2pm. 'The Big Apple' services can't be missed as you drive past. We arrived and checked into the hotel in Toronto just before 4:30pm,...

Breakfast opened very early again at 6am, but we didn't need to meet in the lobby until 8am so there was no rush to get up. Everybody had their luggage loaded and were ready on the coach by 8:15am, and we made our way to Montreal. We made a 30 minute rest stop along the way before arriving at the old part of Montreal at 11:45pm.   The Palais des Congrès (Convention Center) of Montreal.   We were given a 2 hour timeslot to get some lunch and explore the old city. I used a map to pretty much cover a full circle around everything there was to see. We met at the meeting point at 1:45pm before getting back on the coach heading towards the Province of Ontario. La Grande Roue de Montréal Ferris Wheel. We were making our way first to the hotel in Ottawa to check-in, before getting ready for an orientation tour in the evening. We met in the lobby after a brief rest at 17:30pm ready to explore. The Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. The driving t...

We met in the lobby at 8:45am after breakfast and we left on the coach to explore Quebec City. After a brief drive we met a local guide who would take us on a walking tour of the old town. We would see various spots along the way and it took a couple hours in total. Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. Straight after the tour we would get some free time for lunch before been given a meeting time for those wanting to join for an optional tour of Montmorency Falls. I personally was doing this excursion so I met the main group again at 1:15pm. The drive to Montmorency Falls took around 20 minutes, and once there I would say it took me around an hour to complete the hiking route taking many photos along the way. The falls are actually higher than Niagara Falls but not as powerful. Montmorency Falls. After completing the walk we met at 3:30pm in the visitors centre before transferring back to the centre of Quebec City. We then had a few more hours free time to walk th...

Today was an early start with breakfast from 06:30am and preparing to load and go after meeting at 07:15am in the lobby. We would make our way to the state of New Hampshire where we would be visiting Flume Gorge, as an activity to do before crossing into Canada later in the day. Flume Gorge, New Hampshire. We would spend approximately 2 hours at Flume Gorge, walking and hiking around the trail. It is a self-guided trail which is around 2km total. We would then drive on to Littleton, New Hampshire for today's lunch stop. I grabbed a quick sandwich and then walked along the main street to see what else I could find. Littleton, New Hampshire. Just before 2pm we met back on the coach to drive through the state of Vermont, heading towards the border with Canada. The border crossing was a very quick process and we then continued the drive on to Quebec City, where we are staying for 2 nights. We drove directly from the border with a quick restroom stop, which took just...

Today's breakfast opened at 06:30am but we weren't due to meet on the coach until 9am. This gave the group a chance to catch up on some rest after yesterdays long day. Everybody was on time meeting in the lobby and we departed into the centre of Boston hoping to miss the rush hour traffic. A memorial those who have lost their lives in war. We would see several sights by walking and using the coach to our advantage before taking a break for lunch at 12:30pm. We then had the option of free time or to meet up again with our guide for further exploration in the afternoon. I met at 13:30pm outside the Quincy Market, where most of the group would continue exploring together to see some of the other sights Boston has in the afternoon. Quincy Market. We would finish the day by using the metro to Harvard and walking the grounds of the university. We made our way back to the centre and was given some free time before meeting again for dinner at 18:15pm. This woul...

The day started at 06:30am with a short walk around the corner to the meeting point in New York. It was a group of 27 plus a guide and driver so there was plenty of space on the coach. We departed New York and started to make our way to the next state of Connecticut. Leaving New York on the coach at 06:30am. We arrived around mid morning to enjoy a comfort stop with services from Mcdonalds, Subway & Dunkin' Donuts. After 30 minutes we made our way to Newport, Rhode Island. We would spend around 2 hours total here exploring by the water and grabbing some lunch, before we met back on the coach for 13:30pm. By the water in Newport, Rhode Island. Unfortunately this is where we encountered our first problem of the tour. Shortly after leaving Newport on the way to Boston we took a wrong turn. After trying to reverse back up we hit a pole which damaged the driver's window, and the coach was declared too dangerous to drive. It happened nearby to Eisenhowe...

The first leg of my pre-tour journey was to leave the station just before 11:00am and make my way down to London by train. It was just 2 minutes late departing so no problems there. Once arriving into London I made my way onto the Underground, taking the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow Airport. There was a train already there as soon as I got to the bottom of the escalator so I didn't need to wait. Arriving at Heathrow Airport. Upon arrival at Heathrow, I made my way to bag drop area to offload my suitcase. That was everything completed with no delays as I made my through the final security area, and waited for my boarding gate to be displayed. Everything went to plan with with the boarding process and I was on my way to North America for the first time. We actually landed in Newark, New Jersey over 30 minutes ahead of schedule so I was able to make my way through the security areas a little earlier than expected. I then waited for my shared shuttle car to transfe...