Description: Centre Island is a must visit place on any trip to Toronto because it offers a remarkably peaceful escape from the city, a fun day out and great views of the city all in one. The island is located just across from the harbour and is easy to get to and reasonably cheap.
Getting to Centre Island, like I said, is easy. Just get the subway from wherever you are to the harbourfront station. Once you leave the station there are clear signs pointing the way to the ferry terminal which is just around the corner. It is only a five minute walk at most, but there are refreshment stalls lining the road, just in case you need a drink or snack to tide you over.
Once you have got to the terminal, you'll see three different docks where the ferries depart from and a ticket office. Tickets cost $6.50 per person and are for an open return fair, meaning that you can get on any of the ferries going in either direction as long as there is enough room. The ferries depart every 20 minutes during summer (from April until September) and you need to make sure you get the one going to Centre Island - they are all clearly marked, but there are plenty of staff wandering around if you need assistance.
The fun starts as soon as you are on the ferry because you get to soak up the fresh air and admire the views, but don't take too many photos just yet because the best views are from the island itself.
Once you get onto the island there is a huge map that shows you where the main points of interest are. There is also a souvenir shop just in case you want to pick up some gifts or buy any essentials that you may have forgotten.
There is one main route through the centre of the island that takes you all the way to the beach at the end. It makes for a very pleasant walk and the fields and gardens on the right hand side are lined with benches and make a lovely place for a picnic.
On the left hand side of you as you walk down this road is CentreVille, the island's amusement park. It is mainly aimed at younger visitors with fairly tame rides, although there is plenty to entertain older visitors too. The prices vary depending on how much you want to do in the park. If you just want to go on a couple of the rides, it is 88 cents per ticket, or at the other end of the price spectrum you can buy a $55 pass that gives you unlimited entry to all the rides for as many visits as you like during a season. This latter option actually works out to be exceptional value if you visit the park any more than one time during the season.
Moving on the end of the main road you are greeted by the sandy beach. Even though it is Lake Ontario that provides the blue stuff, you can be forgiven for thinking you are at the seaside because the lake is just so huge that the water stretches as far as the eye can see. It really is beautiful here and I spent many an afternoon enjoying the sun with a good book.
The other thing that you will find at this end is the cycle hire shack. For a very reasonable price you can hire a normal bike, a tandem or even a four seater number that almost looks like a car, either by the hour, by the half day or for the full day. I would strongly recommend that you hire one as it is the best way to get all the way around the island in a short time. You can cycle along the boardwalk and gaze out to the open water or you can head round to the front of the island for stunning views of the Toronto skyline - not to be missed!
So, do as much or as little as you want on Centre Island, but just make sure that you go!
Close