We’ve been wanting to do “the Tobermory trip” for several years now. Being tempted by all the stories of how picturesque the village is and turquoise waters. But actually experiencing it was breath taking. Sharing our experience for those who are making a trip to Tobermory.
*Pro Tips*
1- If you are planning your trip, start by checking out the booking websites for both Flowerpot Island (Cruise carriers) and the Grotto (Parking Reservations). Tobermory is a touristy spot and it’s encouraged to make your bookings several weeks in advance!
2 – Bring your re-usable water bottle and take advantage of the grocery story near by or pack food so that you can have breakfast at the hotel and lunch picnics during the day! Our motel had a fridge in room and a microwave & water cooler in the common area.
3 – You’ll need a few appropriate shoes: runners/hiking boots & water shoes/sandals with grips
Day 1 – Sauble Beach, Fish & Chips + wander around Tobermory Town
We drove out to Sauble Beach on a Friday. The beach is fantastic, lots of sandy space to set up an umbrella and a picnic. The water was a little chilly (most likely because of the wind and being the end of the summer) but still amazing to get a fresh dip! Highly recommend going on a weekday to avoid the crowds. There is plenty of paid parking right along the dune but it fills up fast!
Once we had enough of the sand and the waves, we drove for just over an hour to make it to the Tobermory Town in time for check in. We were staying Blue Bay Motel (one of the accommodations on the main street, well actually “Bay St”) and settled in. The motel is great, rooms are a good size and well kept! It’s on the opposite side of Little Tub Harbour and perfect location for walking EVERYWHERE. Right beside our accommodations was the The Fish & Chip Place. Food was pretty good and the portions were perfect.
We decided to take an exploratory stroll along Bay Street to work off that extra serving of tartar sauce. We checked out the Nature’s Gifts and The Sweet Shoppe. We also made a mental note of the other places we wanted to check out for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday – Flowerpot Island, Exploring the Town and Dinner
We were up bright and early for our trip to Flowerpot island. There are 2 tour companies that operate tours to Flowerpot island. We went with Blue Anchor mainly because of the larger glass bottom boat. The morning of we had to be at the ticket counter 1hour prior to our departure time and then at the departure dock, 30 minutes prior to departure. Parking was a available about 1km walk from the dock and there was a bathroom at the departure dock (which was helpful with the kiddos). Once we got on the boat, we secured seats right in front of the glass bottom and enjoyed the 40 min ride. There was both a guided and automated tour on the boat and the views were amazing. You could also make your way to the front or back of the boat for some great picture ops.
Once at Flower Pot island there is about a 5 km hike to the main “flowerpot” structures. It really is a site to see. We enjoyed the hike and took the time to walk along the trail (which follows the shoreline) as well as walk off the trail onto the rocks/large boulders. It was VERY busy, but everyone was taking turns getting their pictures. If you are really fussed by the people traffic, you can always switch to motion blur and get some really artistic shots. The kids loved traversing the rocky shore, having a picnic and just wandering.
We took the 2pm cruise back to Tobermory, which gave us a LOT of time to explore the Tub Town. We had coffee, explored the stores (and supported the local businesses), visited an art gallery as well as had dinner at Crownest Pub & Restaurant.
Sunday – Singing Sands, The Grotto & Home
Today was another big day of exploring. We checked out and made our wait to the Grotto parking. We were a little early (ok 45 minutes) so we weren’t actually allowed to enter the Grotto Parking, but the parking staff gave us a free pass to Singing Sands Park.
It’s a short drive from The Bruce Peninsula Park entrance. If you haven’t heard of it it’s a very very shallow body of water with EXTREMELY warm water and tiny tadpole fishes! Perfect for young kids. The sand is so soft and the entire site is accessibility friendly. But it wasn’t the star of our day ;)
It’s an easy 5km/30 min hike from the parking to the Grotto Beach. The trail is mostly flat but there are some nature made stairs so not completely accessible friendly. If you follow the trail right to the end and go left – you’ll go to the actual Grotto. The Grotto is beautiful, but tricky to walk down. WEAR STURDY SHOES. If you can get down there, I’m sure the photos would be amazing (fantastic rock formations, turqoise waters, caves and waves), but we stayed up top to be on the safe side.
Now if you go to the RIGHT, you get to the Grotto Beach. It’s a very rocky shoreline but you can enter the water and experience the very popular “Caribbean of Canada”. BRING WATER SHOES to truly enjoy the beach.
Overall the trip was worth it and glad we waited until the girls were a little older so they were able to easily do the hikes and enjoy the adventure. if you want to see more, check out my vlog on youtube!