5 Days: Toronto and Ontario Trips

Five days takes the four-day run and pushes it one destination farther north, wine country, waterfalls, a river gorge, a Shakespeare festival, and now a genuine Georgian Bay escape. Same Toronto base every night; the only thing that changes is which direction you drive.

Book these before you go

Day Focus Rough cost
1 Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tasting CAD 34 GO+WEGO round trip + Niagara Parks pass
2 Hamilton’s Webster’s Falls and Tews Falls CAD 8-11 GO one-way + local transport to the gorge
3 Elora Gorge tubing, the village of Elora CAD 21.50 registration or 55.50 with gear rental
4 Stratford Festival matinee, Avon River walk Festival ticket price varies by production
5 Georgian Bay and Blue Mountain Village Lift ticket or trail access varies by season

Day 1: Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake

  • Morning: Depart Toronto, 1.5-2 hours by car via the QEW, or about 2-2.5 hours by GO train plus the local WEGO bus, from roughly 34 CAD round trip, kids 12 and under free on GO. Niagara Falls, Canadian side, for the full Horseshoe Falls view.
  • Afternoon: Niagara-on-the-Lake, 25 km up the parkway, best with a car or a booked wine tour that includes transport, over 35 wineries inside the town. Pick one or two tastings rather than rushing four.
  • Evening: Back to Toronto, dinner downtown.

Where to Stay

  • A hotel near Union Station or with quick Gardiner Expressway access; you’ll keep this base for all five nights.

Day 2: Hamilton’s Waterfalls

  • Morning: GO train from Union Station to West Harbour, hourly, about 70-80 minutes, 8-11 CAD one-way; you’ll still need a car, cab, or rideshare for the last stretch to the gorge. Webster’s Falls first, a 30-meter crest inside the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area in Dundas.
  • Afternoon: Tews Falls, three minutes from Webster’s and actually taller at 41 meters, taller than Niagara Falls’ own drop. Lunch in Dundas.
  • Evening: Back in Toronto by early evening; a lighter dinner tonight.

Day 3: Elora Gorge

  • Morning: Car-only, roughly two hours west via Guelph. The gorge itself is free to walk, dramatic limestone cut by the Grand River.
  • Afternoon: Tubing the Grand River runs late June through early September, about 21.50 CAD for registration alone or around 55.50 CAD with full gear rental, online-only booking, no walk-ups. The village of Elora, a restored 19th-century mill town, is worth wandering regardless.
  • Evening: Drive back to Toronto, roughly two hours.

Day 4: Stratford

  • Morning: About two hours by car or a direct bus. Stratford Festival runs April through October, Shakespeare alongside contemporary productions, in a town that massively outperforms its population.
  • Afternoon: A riverside walk along the Avon River, then a matinee if the schedule allows.
  • Evening: A proper sit-down dinner in town before heading back to Toronto.

Day 5: Georgian Bay and Blue Mountain

  • Morning: Roughly 160 km and 1.5-2 hours via Highway 400 to 89 to 26. Blue Mountain Village sits right on Georgian Bay, 11 km from Collingwood. Summer means hiking, mountain biking, and the Scenic Caves; winter flips to skiing and snowboarding, with dedicated ski buses running from Toronto in season if you’d rather not drive on winter roads.
  • Afternoon: A walk through the Village itself, shops and patios with genuine mountain-town energy, plus lake views that feel nothing like the rest of this trip.
  • Evening: Drive back to Toronto to close out the week, or treat this as your one overnight stop if the drive feels long after four days of day trips.

Getting Around

  • Days one and two run fine on GO Transit alone; days three through five all benefit from having a car, though Stratford is reachable by direct bus if you’d rather not drive the whole week.
  • Rent starting day three if you didn’t need a car for the Niagara or Hamilton legs.

Tips and Essentials

  • Weather: Pack for genuinely different conditions across five days, wine country warmth, waterfall spray, river water, theatre-night dress, and mountain-town cool.
  • Booking: Niagara Parks passes, wine tour transport, Elora tubing tickets, and Stratford Festival seats all sell out ahead of summer weekends; book everything before you leave Toronto, not once you’re already on the road.
  • Pacing: Day five is your longest single drive of the week if you push straight there and back; build in a Blue Mountain overnight if your schedule has any give at all.

Other Things of Interest

  • Swap option: If skiing isn’t your thing and you’re visiting outside summer hiking season, swap day five for Muskoka instead, similar drive time, completely different scenery.
  • The city itself: See the Toronto city guide for the downtown core; this itinerary is built entirely around what’s beyond it.
  • Going longer: The 6-day itinerary adds Muskoka’s steamship cruise on top of this same run.