A quick review of this tour
Did the small group, and I am sold on small group tours going forward. Got to spend some time with some great people, and that's as important as the actual trip/sites for me. My wife and I are in our early 60s and we were the youngest in the group by several years...but as I said, the people were just so terrific and were so much fun. Our TD, Rachel, was fantastic...lovely, funny, knowledgeable, etc.
The hotels...all Fairmonts...were nice and each was unique. The locations of each hotel were ideal. Bathrooms were small, but otherwise the rooms were just fine. Chateau Frontenac in QC is absolutely fantastic, as is all of Quebec City.
Unfortunately covid found our group towards the end of the tour...we started noticing some coughing in our group around day 6ish, and a few people claimed to have allergies. I came home and tested positive the following morning...horrible sore throat for a few days and a little cough, but nothing too major. It was my first time with it...my wife somehow didn't get sick. We learned afterwards through some emails with members of our group that more than half of us tested positive. Fortunately I didn't hear of anyone who was too sick, which is great, but that seems to be an assumed risk when traveling these days.
Happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.
Quebec City pictured below:
Comments
rssherms - Did you find that there was an excessive amount of "free time" on this tour? My interpretation of the itinerary leads me to believe that may be the case, but would be interested in your view after having taken the tour.
Let me preface this by saying it was only my second Tauck tour (first one was America's Canyonlands), so my frame of reference is admittedly small. I personally thought there was a good balance, and we had no problem spending time exploring places like Montreal and Quebec City on our own. If I had to nitpick anything (besides the small bathrooms in the hotels), it would be some of the bus rides were a little long (and we hit traffic, which is to be expected with the big cities). But again, to your question, we were in large cities, so the free time wasn't (or didn't have to be) down time. There was plenty to explore within walking distance in every locale.
OK - so it sounds like there is an ample amount of free time, but it is not difficult to fill it being in a metropolitan area. Thanks!
Thank you for your offer to answer any questions. Last year we did the Canadians Rockies which was a fabulous tour. I was lucky enough to find a detailed reviews online with many helpful hints. I am wondering how best to fill free time. This is hard to plan without knowing how much time we actually get. Would you share your can't miss extra excursions? For example, going to Casa Loma verses Toronto Island Park where I hope to see fall foliage? Quebec City is a totally free day. What was your best outing there? The last year's reviewer also gave me great advice on clothing. He said leave nice clothes at home. In the Rockies there is little dressing up. What did you find in the cities? Do they dress like NYC or is it more casual? Any advice you'd want to share would be appreciated. Thanks. To anyone reading this, do the Rockies tour... Amazing. Thanks!
We took this tour in 2018 and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. The four cities are very unique and have much to offer in terms of outings.
I highly recommend the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Our small group tour had the welcome reception and dinner there (sadly, I don't think Tauck does that anymore.) We've also had lunch at Casa Loma but not on this tour. It is well worth the visit. I am not familiar with Toronto Island Park, so I can't comment on that.
Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City are all very walkable. It's an easy and pretty walk from the hotel to the Parliament in Ottawa. Quebec City, however, was my favorite. Right outside the hotel you can stroll along the beautiful, wide boardwalk and also walk down to the older section below with all the quaint shops. You will think you are in Europe!
Regarding attire, it is our personal choice to dress up for dinner, whether at the Tauck hotel or offsite welcome and farewell dinner events. This is merely our preference, not a requirement for this tour.
Don't forget to try the poutine (fries, cheese curds and gravy). Enjoy!
If you are in Ottawa in the Spring, you may be fortunate to be there for the annual tulip festival. You will see beds of tulips lining the Rideau canal and other places in the city. Ottawa hosted the Dutch royal family during WWII. The family gifted the city was tulip bulbs after the war and this has continued since.
We will be on the Canadian Capital Cities + Niagara Falls tour in July. One of my questions is regarding day 2 which is Niagara Falls. How should we dress since we likely have wet shoes and clothing, and we are spending most to the day there. Also, the itinerary has us dining in the hotel that night. We plan to dress our Texas version of country club casual, which is husband with slacks and a nice shirt, and me with dressy pants and simple top. Any advice?
You will only get wet if you choose to. You can sit inside the boat and still have great views if you are next to the glass. What you plan on wearing for dinner at the hotel is appropriate.
This was one of our favorite tours. Four very distinct cities with nice excursions. I hope you have Felix as your tour director. He is fabulous!
We had Felix too. He was terrific and entertaining.
One of the tour directors (another French Canadian) from last month's Seine cruise mentioned that Felix also does one or more holiday cruises. I do so hope we have the pleasure of traveling with him again this winter. If so, it will be the fourth time with him. He is a truly remarkable young man.
Kfnknfzk…Felix was one of the tour directors on our Yuletide tour last December. He was terrific.
Thanks, mfrancis. That's the tour we will be on. I think I read your review. I will look at it again.
kfnknfzk-The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp wasn’t open; Felix went over and spoke with a security person who opened early for us. Not only is he a great guide but so personable and funny too. Hope you like the Yuletide tour, it’s not a typical Christmas Markets trip (not as much shopping) but very festive, we loved it.
mfrancis,
Thanks for writing again. I do understand that the Yuletide is not the typical holiday tour and that is fine with me. I, too, am looking forward to the festivities and enjoying a "hot toddy" now and then. We've been to Amsterdam many times but never to Belgium. Initially we booked two back-to-back holiday cruises but canceled one after deciding to spend some time in Denmark to see family.
I will be disappointed if we do not see Felix! There simply are not enough superlatives to describe his wonderful personality.
Warm regards.
My question is about walking on this tour. Far distances at a time? Many stairs and inclines? I know there will be cobblestones. In previous visit to Quebec, we did use the funicular to go down to lower town level.
Becky1968,
This is a fairly leisurely tour. You will not be walking long distances on any of the excursions. We did the most walking while on free time, especially in Ottawa and Quebec City. I do not recall any stairs or inclines other than Quebec City and, as you mentioned, the funicular is available.