Toronto + Canada in 5 Days on a Budget
Five Days: Toronto, Kingston, Niagara, and the Actual Capital
Toronto’s diversity gets sold as a vibe, but it’s really the direct result of a federal law: Canada was the first country on Earth to make multiculturalism official government policy, in 1971, expanded into the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988. That’s the kind of fact that reframes a Toronto trip from “big diverse city” into “here’s a country’s actual governing philosophy, visible on the sidewalk.” Five days is enough to sit with that in Toronto (our Toronto guide covers the full in-city checklist this itinerary deliberately skips), ride out to a former capital of Canada, cross the actual US border for an afternoon, and then go meet the current capital in person, something most Toronto trips never get around to.
Book these before you go:
- VIA Rail tickets to Kingston and Ottawa, book early since fares climb the closer you get to departure
- A Parliament Hill guided tour slot (book at visit.parl.ca), summer slots fill weeks out
- The GO Transit plus WEGO bus bundle for Niagara, buy online rather than at the station
| Day | Focus | Getting there | Approx cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, Nathan Phillips Square | UP Express, Pearson to Union | $12.35 one-way |
| 2 | Fort York, Hockey Hall of Fame, St. Lawrence Market, Casa Loma | On foot / TTC | $10-14 lunch, ~$45 Casa Loma |
| 3 | Kingston, Fort Henry | VIA Rail from Union Station | $45-90 round trip |
| 4 | Niagara Falls, the border | GO Transit + WEGO bus | $22-40 round trip |
| 5 | Ottawa, Parliament Hill | VIA Rail from Union Station | $45-100 one-way |
Before you fly: visa-exempt travellers arriving by air (not US citizens or permanent residents) need an eTA, $7 CAD, applied for online in minutes, valid up to five years. It’s not required if you’re arriving by land, rail, or boat, only air, worth knowing if you’re the type who books a connecting flight through the US first.
Basics: Canadian dollars, distinct from US dollars despite the shared symbol. HST (13%) is added at the till, not shown on the sticker price. Tip 15-20% pre-tax at sit-down restaurants.
Where to stay: stay near Union Station for this one more than most itineraries, since it’s the single building every leg of this trip runs through, UP Express in, VIA Rail out to Kingston and Ottawa, GO Transit out to Niagara. Chelsea Hotel Toronto or The Drake Hotel for mid-range; Fairmont Royal York, literally across the street from Union, if you’d rather not think about the walk. Check current rates on Booking.com, then get a PRESTO card set up on day one for the subway and streetcars.
Day 1: Arrival
UP Express, Pearson to Union, every 15 minutes, 25 minutes, $12.35 one-way ($9.25 with PRESTO, under-12s free). Settle in, then walk to Nathan Phillips Square for the illuminated TORONTO sign (a 2015 Pan Am Games leftover that became permanent). Dinner at Pai Northern Thai Kitchen.
Day 2: Canadian institutions, in Toronto
Fort York (free, Wed-Sun 11am-5pm) first, the War of 1812 site where British troops, Indigenous allies, and Upper Canadian militia held the line against American invasion, arguably the moment a distinct Canadian identity started to matter. Then the Hockey Hall of Fame (inside Brookfield Place, home to the real Stanley Cup). St. Lawrence Market for lunch, Carousel Bakery’s peameal bacon sandwich ($10-14) is the city’s closest thing to a signature dish, though the honest answer is Toronto doesn’t have one dish so much as dozens of immigrant food traditions layered together. Casa Loma (around $45 adult, skip-the-line tickets on GetYourGuide) in the afternoon if you want an actual early-1900s mansion with tunnels.
Day 3: Kingston
VIA Rail from Union Station, about 2 hours 15 minutes each way, economy fares roughly $45-90 CAD (book ahead at viarail.ca for the lower end). Kingston was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1841 to 1844, a fact that surprises people who assume Ottawa always had the job. Fort Henry (daily 10am-5pm in season, roughly $20-25, guided tours every half hour) overlooks where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence, the strategic reason the city mattered at all. Lunch downtown, back on an afternoon train.
Day 4: Niagara Falls, the border
GO Transit plus the WEGO bus from Union Station, roughly 2-2.5 hours each way, combo fares from about $22 weekends up to $34-40 round trip. This is not the wine-country trip, that’s a separate itinerary out of Toronto’s Ontario base; this is the Falls as the literal Canada-US line. You don’t need a passport to view the Falls from the Canadian side (which has the better angle on Horseshoe Falls anyway), only if you walk across the Rainbow Bridge to the American side, at which point you’ll clear CBSA on the way back like any other crossing.
Day 5: Ottawa, the capital you haven’t seen yet
Head back to Union Station for a VIA Rail train to Ottawa, 4 to 4.5 hours, economy fares roughly $45-100 CAD (first trains leave as early as 4:13am if you want to maximize the day, last returns run past 7pm). This is the payoff for the whole “Toronto isn’t the capital” setup, and it’s genuinely underrated as a stop: Ottawa gets treated as a government town skippable on a Toronto trip, but it’s the one day on this itinerary that actually earns the word “Canada” in the title. Parliament Hill offers free guided tours of the House of Commons and Senate, book ahead at visit.parl.ca , bring photo ID if you’re 16 or over, and expect tours to fill up weeks ahead in summer. Most summers the RCMP Musical Ride also performs free Sunset Ceremonies in Ottawa over a handful of days in late June, check rcmp.ca for the current year’s dates rather than assuming it repeats on the same days annually. Grab lunch in ByWard Market before the return train, or stay overnight if you’d rather not rush the last leg.
One practical note for day 5: if your flight home is booked out of Toronto Pearson, build in enough runway on the return train, don’t book a same-evening flight against a 4-plus-hour train ride with no buffer. If you booked an open-jaw ticket, flying out of Ottawa (YOW) instead saves you that entire train ride back.