Insight Vacations · 2018
Best of Eastern Canada and USA: Our 2018 Insight Vacations Tour
We travelled on Insight Vacations’ Best of Eastern Canada and USA tour in 2018. The Canadian leg took us from Toronto and Niagara Falls through Kingston, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City. After crossing the border, our first US stop was Maine, where we explored Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We then continued to Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., finishing the tour in New York City. This is our look back through two short films, original photographs and the places we recorded along the way.
- Travel year
- 2018
- Operator
- Insight Vacations
- Countries
- Canada and the United States
- Our films
- Eastern Canada · 5:01
Maine · 3:00
This article reflects our 2018 trip. Insight Vacations’ current Best of Eastern Canada and USA itinerary is advertised as 14 days from Toronto to Washington, D.C., and follows a different route that skips Maine. Check the itinerary for your departure rather than assuming the same stops, hotels or experiences apply.
From Toronto to New York
Our recorded Canadian route: Toronto → Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake → Kingston → Ottawa → Montréal → Québec City. From Canada, we crossed into the USA and continued to Bar Harbor and Acadia in Maine → Boston → Philadelphia → Washington, D.C. → New York City, where our tour finished.
The line connects our stops in travel order, from Toronto through Canada and the eastern USA to our tour finish in New York City. It shows the sequence rather than the exact roads travelled.
Watch our travel film
Our Eastern Canada film.
Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City · 5 minutes
Canada: our stops and highlights
Toronto: starting with the skyline
Our Toronto footage includes the CN Tower and Eaton Centre. We went up the tower for a view over the city—a useful way to get a sense of its scale before looking at everything from street level again.
Niagara Falls: the boat, then the helicopter
At Niagara Falls, we made a day of it. First came the boat ride towards Horseshoe Falls, raincoats on. Then we took a helicopter flight to see the falls, islands and river from above. The two views feel quite different: the boat gets you close to the water, while the flight reveals how the whole landscape fits together.
In our original write-up, we called the helicopter ride a must-do. We also stopped for lunch and a walk around Niagara-on-the-Lake, giving the day a quieter town stop alongside the falls. We did not stay overnight at Niagara Falls.
Our Niagara Falls boat and helicopter experience
Kingston and Ottawa
We passed through Kingston on the way to Ottawa. Our film records Parliament Hill, the Gatineau side of the river and the markets—a change of pace from Toronto’s high-rise skyline and Niagara’s waterfalls.
Montréal: the Old Port and Notre-Dame
In Montréal, we explored the Old Port and visited Notre-Dame Basilica. Our film also includes the Clock Tower, Bonsecours Market, the colourful convention centre and the Underground City. It is a compact record of how much variety we found between the waterfront, church interiors and city streets.
Québec City and Montmorency Falls
Before our Québec City footage, the film includes a sugar shack visit where we learnt about maple sap extraction, followed by Montmorency Falls. In the city itself, we recorded Old Québec’s streets and Château Frontenac. The streets, buildings and river views give this part of the journey a different look from the larger cities earlier in the trip.
Watch our travel film
Our Maine film.
Our first US stop: Bar Harbor, a harbour cruise and Acadia National Park · 3 minutes
Maine: what we did
Bar Harbor and the water
Our film starts around Bar Harbor, including Agamont Park and a lobster meal, before heading out on a cruise towards Winter Harbor. We recorded Egg Rock Lighthouse, seals and birds, Ironbound Island and a bald eagle. It was a coastal chapter of the trip, with the scenery extending well beyond the town itself.
Acadia National Park
In Acadia, our footage includes Otter Cove, Thunder Hole, Sand Beach and Cadillac Mountain. The park brought rocky shorelines, forest and elevated views into the same visit. Those are the stops in our film, rather than a suggested hiking route or a promise of what a future tour will include.
More from our US trip records
Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and New York
After Maine, our tour continued to Boston, then Philadelphia, then Washington, D.C., before finishing in New York City. Our original posts also record a stop in Baltimore. These city visits add another side to the journey beyond the Canada and Maine films.
Explore the other recorded city stops
Boston
We photographed Boston’s streets and buildings, and stepped inside TD Garden to see the championship banners and retired jerseys. A little sport found its way into the sightseeing, as it often does with us.
Philadelphia
Our Philadelphia records include the Liberty Bell, City Hall, the LOVE sculpture and a recreation of the Rocky steps scene. It was a mix of historic sights and a film moment we could not quite leave alone.
Baltimore
We photographed the Power Plant at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. It is one of the stops preserved in our original posts, even though it does not have a separate travel film here.
Washington, D.C.
Our Washington posts include the US Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument and CityCenterDC. We also recorded the US Marine Corps War Memorial and US Air Force Memorial in nearby Arlington. These visits brought government buildings and places of remembrance into our US sightseeing.
New York City: our tour finish
New York was the final city on our tour, after Washington, D.C. For more of what we did in the city, read our four-day New York story.
A few things to keep in mind
- Check the route for your actual departure. The tour name has continued, but Maine is one clear difference between our trip and the current advertised itinerary.
- Compare experiences as well as city names. Our Niagara visit included a boat and a helicopter flight. This account does not establish which activities were included in our tour price; confirm inclusions and optional costs before booking.
- Keep room for the smaller stops. Niagara-on-the-Lake, the sugar shack and the Maine coast are part of this story alongside the larger cities.
We have kept this account focused on the places and activities preserved in our films, photographs and original posts. Prices and hotel packages from today’s brochure would not describe what we bought in 2018.
Keep exploring North America
Trip account: our original Eastern Canada and Maine video descriptions and chapters, Niagara Falls article, photographs and social posts. Current tour comparison checked November 2026 on Insight Vacations’ official website.