St. Andrews

This is a beautiful hotel, and we've stayed there every summer since I was tiny. The hotel was bought out by the Fairmont five or six years ago. Everyone was afraid the hotel would go downhill, since it was no longer locally-owned, but just the opposite happened. I think they kept almost all of the staff (which is a huge part of what made the hotel great) and improved the grounds. The hotel has a heated outdoor pool, tennis courts, and a great playground for the kids. They also have four restaurants. There are beautiful gardens, and an 18 hole golf course. They also have a spa on site, a full gym, indoor sauna, and jacuzzi, as well as the outdoor pool. The spa is very reasonably priced, and costs about the same as a salon in town. Manicures are C$3, and massages are C$55. The hotel is munchkin-friendly, but I have yet to run into one who didn't know how to behave themselves; so even though there are kids around, you don't get the noise and the screeching. This is probably somewhere I will continue to go back to every summmer, because every summer, I look forward to it more and more.

The marine center is a great spot. The nice thing is that it's not a zoo. The animals aren't in small cages or overcrowded pools. They are very obviously well looked after, and you can tell the staff really cares about them.

One of the best parts of the aquarium is the seals. They have had the same seals for ages, and every year, they have a pup. They also have huge tanks of fish, snakes and lizards, etc.

Depending on how many are travelling with, you may be better to buy a family pass. It's $35, but when you figure that adults are $7, and kids are $4.50... Whatever you wind up paying, it's worth it to see these animals in what is probably the closest thing to their natural environment possible.

Water Street runs right through downtown St Andrews, as the name suggests, right along the water. They have several shops featuring everything you could possibly want from blown glass, pottery and other local crafts to name brand clothes.

Water Street is considered a historic district, so none of the merchants have been allowed to demolish the old buildings to make way for new ones, so you still have the homes that are 150 years old doubling as things like a stained glass shop.

Water St isn't very long, so you can cover both sides in about 3 hours. It's definitly a nice way to spend an afternoon.