A Weekend Visit to Toronto

At the end of May, my friends and I went on a quick trip to Toronto with  NewLeaf Travel. It was a super quick trip as we could only fit three days off with our busy schedules. With the travel from the west coast, we really only had one full day to explore Toronto. We attempted to make the most of every moment.

NewLeaf Travel is a new airline in Canada. They offer discounted flights, to and from smaller airports that are less expensive. This way they can reduce the costs of airfares. For us, we travelled from the Abbotsford airport which is just outside of Vancouver to the Hamilton airport located on the outskirts of Toronto.

I actually live a lot closer to the Abbotsford airport than the Vancouver airport, so this is very convenient. Another bonus is that parking is also a lot cheaper at the Abbotsford airport.

NewLeaf Travel offers options when booking your flight to help you keep costs down. The “How to Save” section on their website give you all those details. Definitely worth checking out.

You also won’t find them on a travel booking website (Expedia, etc.), you need to book directly through them. This also helps them to keep costs down. My cute pink luggage is from Away. 

For this trip I traveled with my friends Joel, Daniel and Valerian. Make sure you check out my vlog with this link or below. I made a major blogger fail and didn’t get a group photo of us all together. How does that even happen?

We had so much planned for this trip with a full itinerary. However, the weather had a different plan for us. Don’t fret because there are plenty of things to do in Toronto in March and spring is a great time to visit.

We left the sunny west coast and arrived after dark in Hamilton to torrential rain. Once we arrived, we rented a car and drove the short trip into Toronto, hoping for better weather the next day. During our time in Toronto, we stayed at the Westin Harbour Castle, which is right on the water.

Unfortunately, in the morning it was still raining hard. Knowing we only had the day, we made the best of it!

At the Westin Harbour Castle we had a very spacious suite, which was perfect for a group of 4. The suite life is the good life!  I will have a full post about my stay here on the blog soon.

As with any vacation, I try to find some great spots to eat and have coffee. For breakfast (see vlog) we at at the Portland Variety. It was so good and I definitely suggest it for breakfast or brunch if you are even in Toronto.

We stopped (and waited patiently for the rain to stop) at Sorry Coffee. They have signature cups which are adorable and perfect for photos.

The rain didn’t stop so we went to check out the Toronto City Hall. It is a great location for photos…even in the pouring rain.

Next stop was at the CN Tower, which is an iconic Toronto landmark. We enjoyed going up and experiencing it but with the rain and cloud, we didn’t get to see the amazing views. Next trip I hope for better weather when I go. They have glass floors which are very eerie to walk on especially when you are someone like me that isn’t particularly fond of heights.

FINALLY IT STOPPED RAINING!  Late in the afternoon the weather finally changed and the rain stopped.

For dinner we had reservations at the Drake One Fifty, which was soooo good. Make sure you check out the vlog for this trip to see what we ate.

The decor is fantastic, and they have a photo booth, which is always fun for a photo lover.   There is also the Drake General Store, which has some really great gifts, clothing and things for the home. I love unique shops like that.

After dinner we walked around downtown snapping photos as we went. It was really a fun night. Traveling with friends is always fun, even if the weather isn’t ideal.

You can watch my trip to Toronto vlog below or on YouTube for higher quality.

Our flight home left early the next morning, but we left in time, so we could check out Albion Falls in Hamilton. It was beautiful!  Niagara Falls is also close to Hamilton. Next trip I want to head there. I think a heli ride over Niagara Falls would be epic!

We didn’t get much sleep on this trip, so the flight home was mostly sleep and before we knew it we were back in sunny Abbotsford.

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This blog post is brought you in collaboration with NewLeaf Travel and the Westin Harbour Castle.  Also, thank you to the Drake One Fifty for hosting us for dinner and to the CN Tower for hosting us. I appreciate it that you support the brands that support me.