Family Travel: Saint John, New Brunswick

While I still have some recaps to do from our two weeks spent on Prince Edward Island, I really wanted to share with you our experience in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Unlike other years where we have just passed through on our way to Hopewell Rocks (which we visited again this year, more on that later), we decided to stay a full day for exploring downtown Saint John.

The result? Next year we plan on building in even more time to explore Saint John and the area. We loved it.

Where to Stay and What to do

We stayed at the Delta Brunswick and what it may have lacked in room luxury (it was an older hotel that could use some renovations and we had no view of anything but a roof), it made up for in excellent service and location.  Smack in the heart of downtown, it meant that we could walk to all of our destinations that day.  It’s also attached to a mall which means easy access to quick shopping (check out the amazing children’s science shop that is there!) and snacks at the pharmacy.  The Delta Brunswick room had a mini fridge and microwave which is excellent for families with small children.

After breakfast we walked around near the water and hopped into some quaint shops.  One was a shop that was dedicated to all local, hand crafted items. Our stroll led us to the New Brunswick Museum, a highlight for the kids (and us, really).

My kids are avid museum lovers to begin with, but this one is definitely meant for them. With floors of history and adventures to discover, we took in the information about ship building, marine life and explored the hands on children’s learning area where they did a craft and heard local stories.

They also participated in the face painting activity – there seemed to be different activities set up at various hours of the day.

We spent a lot of time at the Museum and the kids requested to go back sometime so that’s a sign of happy times.

After more walking around and grabbing a bite to eat (the weather was amazing and the ability to walk and shop in historic buildings is lovely) the day was winding down.

It wasn’t until the next day that we discovered a real gem.  If you go to Saint John here’s a must – go to the Saint John City Market.

This is an indoor market with food and items worth discovering, we wish we had stepped in the day before to take in more of the tasty treats that were being offered. But because we were hitting the road that morning, we were seeking breakfast.  We found it at Slocum & Ferris.  Not only were we greeted with enthusiastic service but the food was incredible.  For an extremely reasonable price, the four of us at very well. Andy and I each got a bacon/eggs/potatoes combo while the kids split an order of pancakes with bacon.  But they offered to split the pancakes between them if we wanted, since the order was fairly hefty.  We agreed that was best and they plated each of the kids as though they had their own orders. Amazing.

We chatted with the owner for a bit and felt like we were leaving a family member’s house after breakfast with the kids.

We hit the road with full bellies and happy memories of Saint John, plus plans to return.

And yes, like last year, we ended up at Hopewell Rocks on our way to PEI, because getting muddy is one of the experiences we always like to have. This year, the kids really got muddy but it was worth it for the memories.

New Brunswick, your beauty and welcoming spirit didn’t go unnoticed.  We definitely will plan to go back – and stay longer.