Canadian Summer Travel Bucket List

As some of you may know, I worked in the airline business for almost 2 decades. Although I did a lot of travelling, we often went to the same places over and over because we became familiar with them and enjoyed them so much. Although I did quite a bit of travelling, there are many places that I have yet to see and I'm starting to compile my Travel Bucket List.

Because I worked for an American airline, most of my travels were within the USA. I have seen much more of the USA than I have my own country here in Canada. In fact, other than where I live in Ontario, I've only been to 2 other provinces; Quebec and Vancouver. Yet, I have been to at least 20 states in the USA. Now that I no longer work for the airline and my lifestyle has changed, I definitely have Canada on my radar for travel. It's a shame that I haven't visited more places in this beautiful Country but I'm starting to do some research and I'm beginning to build my Canadian Travel Bucket List. With Summer just around the corner, I definitely have travel, and particularly road trippin' on my mind!

Because I love beaches and being near the water so much, the first places that I've added to my bucket list are all waterfront locations. Much of my inspiration is found on Google:  10-incredible-coastal-towns-you-must-visit-in-canada.

Did you know that Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world!? Over 200,000 kilometres! That's incredible and I hope to visit as much of it as I can in my lifetime!

Within Ontario:
When I was young my parents always took us to a place called Sandbanks, Ontario. It had white sandy beaches along the lake's shoreline and I always used to think that we were in Florida. It wasn't until I was older that my parents told me where we actually were. I look back at those photos from our Sandbanks trips and it really does look like we were in Florida.

Sandbanks Info from Ontario Parks:

• World’s largest baymouth barrier dune formation
• Three expansive sandy beaches that some say are among the best in Canada; Outlet Beach is perfect for families, with shallow waters and gentle drop off
• Location jutting out into Lake Ontario means that this park is a bird migration hotspot in spring and fall
• Walking trails that allow visitors to experience the dune and wetland habitats of the park
• Daily interpretive programming for the whole family during summer months
• Great starting point to explore Prince Edward County known for its bicycle touring, wineries, food and antiques

The East Coast
I have never been East of Ontario (besides Quebec). I hear such great things about the East Coast in Canada and see such beautiful photos, it's actually been on my radar for quite some time. Since I'm always drawn to beautiful locations near the water, I have several locations on my bucket list for the East Coast. Since I want to visit so many spots on the East Coast, I have a truck camper rental in mind. I've always had the idea to get a travel camper and go travelling across Canada, this way I can see ALL the beautiful spots, no worry about hotel reservations and I can bring my cat, too!

Below are the places that I've added to my list so far:

• New Brunswick, St. Andrews By-the-Sea
• Nova Scotia, Peggy's Cove + Lunenberg
• PEI, Cavendish

The West Coast
I visited Vancouver once a long long time ago and I was there on a business trip and it was only for a few days. TBH, most of it was a blur. I was at that partying age and didn't have any other interest but finding the nearest club to go to and I sure had a hard time finding any "nightclubs" in Vancouver at that time. Now that my interests have completely changed, I would love to go back and explore all the beauty that I've seen in photos, and I won't be looking for a single night club.

My Father has always loved and wanted to move to Vancouver Island. It's on my bucket list and I am quite certain that after I visit some of these towns that are on my list, I'm never going to want to come back home! I seriously want to visit EVERY waterfront town on the West Coast but these are the ones on my list so far.

• Gibsons
• Vancouver Island
• Bowen Island
• Prince Rupert
• Tofino
• Squamish

I do want to visit central Canada as well but I'll save those for my next Candian Travel Bucket List.

Do you have any places in Canada that you'd recommend I add to my bucket list?