What Are the Best places to Visit in Toronto For Free?

Top 3 Free Things to Do in Toronto

My top three best things to do in Toronto list is different than what you may come across on most other top tourist spots in Toronto recommendations. Notably, I eliminated crowded tourist landmarks such as CN Tower, museums, and many other tourist hot spots.

Rather, my top picks are where no one usually goes, compared to other top visited attractions, and you will find hidden gems in these top three picks. All these top picks are kid friendly and virtually free. Let’s begin.

Toronto Islands

The Toronto Islands, also known as the Island, or Toronto Island Park, are a chain of 15 small islands located in Lake Ontario, a short 13-minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto. The 3 most popular islands are Centre Island, Ward Island, and Hanlan’s Point.

On the Islands, you’ll find sandy swimming beaches (including a Clothing Optional Beach on Hanlan's Point), bike, canoe and kayak rentals, a marina, sports & park facilities, big grass fields for picnics, a theatre, nature trails, a fire station, and some residents. 

Visit my detailed How to Go to The Toronto Islands for more on this.

The Tall Ship Kajama

One of the best Toronto boat cruises is on a 165-foot-tall ship Schooner leaving from Toronto’s downtown Harbourfront.

I find the price of $35 to be a great value for sailing on Toronto Harbour and Lake Ontario. They even go close to the Islands, fire a canon, and sing. There is a mini bar offering drinks, snacks, and food. Washrooms are clean.

Overall, I recommend this tour. Employees are very friendly as well. Visit Kajama Tall Ship - Toronto Boat Cruise for more on this.

Trillium Park

Trillium Park is located next to Ontario Place in Toronto. It is a stunning urban waterfront park.

It has the best views for both sunrises and sunsets and offers an unobstructed view of the CN Tower and Toronto skyline. Regrettably, many Torontonians have never heard of Trillium Park.

Visit Trillium Park Toronto for more on this.

How To Get To Toronto Islands | How Long Is Ferry Ride to Toronto Island?

How to go to the Toronto Islands

 What You Need To Know About the Toronto Islands

The Toronto Islands, also known as The Island, is a group of 15 interconnected islands located in the heart of downtown Toronto. The Toronto Islands offer a little piece of paradise, away from the big city’s hustle and bustle, just minutes away from the downtown waterfront.

The island is 5 kilometres long and you can easily walk from one end to the other. The 3 most popular islands are Centre Island, Ward Island, and Hanlan’s Point.

On the Islands, you’ll find sandy swimming beaches (including a Clothing Optional Beach on Hanlan's Point), bike, canoe and kayak rentals, a boating marina, sports facilities, big grass fields for picnics, a theatre, nature trails, an EMS and fire station, an amusement park and a 150-year-old community of 600 people living in cottage-like homes.

How Long Is the Ferry Ride to the Toronto Islands?

The average ferry or taxi ride takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

How much does it cost to go to the Toronto Islands?

An adult round-trip ticket costs $8.70. A one-way taxi ride costs $12, but you don’t have to pay when coming back to the city taking the ferry (even if you took a taxi to the island) because it’s provided for free and no tickets are needed to ride back from the island to the city.

Pro Tip: Buy Ferry tickets online. It’s much faster and easier.

Visit the City of Toronto Ferry Tickets Online Link for more info.

How to Take the Ferry to the Toronto Islands

The ferries to the Toronto Islands depart from Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. This is the ferry terminal located on Queen’s Quay between Yonge and Bay streets, right next to the Westin Harbour Castle hotel.

All three ferry routes to Centre Island, Ward Island, and Hanlan's Point depart from the same terminal next to each other. All three ferry schedules run on an hourly basis. Centre Island and Ward’s Island boats depart Toronto on the hour and Hanlan’s Point ferries depart on the half hour.

Visit the link City of Toronto All Ferry Schedules Link for more info.

How to Take TTC to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal  

You can take a short walk from Union Station or take the 510 Spadina streetcar or 509 Harbourfront streetcar to the Queens Quay stop and walk in 1 to 2 minutes.

How to Take a Water Taxi to the Toronto Islands

Several water taxi services depart from downtown Toronto to go to the Toronto Islands, such as Centre Island, Ward Island, and Hanlan's Point. The taxis have no fixed schedule and they leave once there are enough people to make the trip profitable. I had trips when there were only 4 passengers on board.

There are many Water Taxi services to choose from. Some popular ones and I tried are Tiki Taxi, Pirate Taxi, Toronto Harbour Tours, and Toronto Harbour Water Taxi.

For Water Taxi locations, visit their websites. Harbourfront Centre also has a map of water taxi locations.

Is It Better to Take a Taxi or a Ferry to the Toronto Islands?

Taking a ferry or a taxi to the Toronto Islands costs about the same (only $1.30 difference). I have tried both many times and here is my pro tip.

Toronto Island ferries give you a different experience than taking taxis. I feel like I am taking a ship and enjoy the experience of being in a bigger space with more people. But during the weekends or holidays, ferries can get crowded and you may want to avoid that.

Water Taxis offer faster service with no waiting or maintaining a schedule. A Water Taxi is like taking an Uber and taking a ferry is like taking the subway; both are excellent and offer different levels of experience.

Which Toronto Island is The Best to Visit (Centre Island, Ward Island, and Hanlan's Point)?

Centre Island

Centre Island offers the most activities and this is where most people go. It’s got Centreville, an amusement park, a beautiful lookout point and more places to eat than the others. On the other hand, Centre Island is also the most crowded.

Centre Island covers 600 acres of parkland and is in between two other primary Toronto Island destinations - Ward's Island on the east and Hanlan's Point on the west.

Ward's Island

Ward’s Island is on the east side where you will find some residences and also has a nice cafe, playground, soccer field, beaches and more. The beach here is less crowded. There are also nice paths and a boardwalk to stroll on.

In my opinion, Ward’s Island offers the best view of Toronto City and the skyline. I also enjoy the solitude of being less crowded.

Hanlan's Point

Hanlan's Point is right next to the Billy Bishop Airport and you can literally view the parked planes and runway. There is also the Gibraltar lighthouse and the only clothing-optional beach in Toronto.

The clothing-optional beach is separated from the regular beach and they are next to each other. In my opinion, Hanlan's Point beach is the longest and offers the best views overlooking Downtown Toronto and the Mimico skyline.

Pro Tip: Hanlan's Point is the best place to watch the Toronto Canadian International Air Show.

In brief, if you are looking for more activities and places to eat, go to Centre Island. If you are looking for solitude and relaxation, including better beach experiences, go to the Ward Island and Hanlan's Point.

Toronto Islands Videos

For my all Toronto Islands videos, visit the below Playlist:

Toronto Islands - Things To Do & What You Need To Know

Calgary Travel | First Trip After Covid Within Canada

My First Trip After Covid – Calgary Travel 2021

9-Day Calgary Trip Begins in About A Week

It feels like yesterday, but my last trip was almost 2 years ago when I went to Egypt in 2019. Covid has taken away so much from everyone, including exploring new places and faraway lands.

Things started to get back to normal, but not fully normal enough yet to travel beyond the boundaries of our own countries. I had a big trip to Asia in mind, but had to cut that short to Western Canada as Covid stills lingers around.

At this point, travelling to Asia is possible in certain countries. One thing in common, regardless of where you go, is the hassle. Each time you are entering a new country, a Rapid PCR test has to be done within certain hours, and that test is way too expensive.

Travelling within Canada is not cheap. It is actually more expensive than travelling to Europe or Asia, but this is the most viable option I have right now. I don’t need to go through numerous PCR tests or quarantine.

I only need to produce my proof of vaccination if I am staying within Canada. On this trip, I will be concentrating on Calgary and Banff, which is a famous resort town only 2 hours from Calgary.

My travel purpose has changed since I started documentation my journey and posting them on YouTube. My main purpose for this trip in not a vacation, but rather a business trip for my YouTube channel and Instagram.

I will be writing more about this trip as I continue my journey. You will be able to follow the full trip on my channel.

The links are here:

 Ahmed Dawn YouTube

Ahmed Dawn Instagram

Plaza Premium Lounge Review | YYZ Terminal 1 International

Plaza Premium Lounge | Toronto Pearson International Airport

My trip to Egypt was in economy class, so to use lounge access I utilized Priority Pass from my Canadian credit card.

Plaza Premium Lounge is located at Gate E77, Level 3, Terminal 1 Airside, International Departures. The Plaza Premium Lounge is accessible to International departure flights only.

This is my second time visiting this lounge and I found nothing noticeably changed from one year ago.

This is a not big, not small, kind of a medium-sized lounge. The inside is very bright due to glass walls, open ceiling, and frosted glass doors.

I found it not too crowded and lots of sofas in the seating area were empty. Travelers seemed to gather in the seating area in the dining section.

The food section was adequate, but nothing extraordinary. There were not too many items available. As a snack or just to have a little bite, it was OK. The drink section was OK, but again, not too many choices. There were alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. I had a little snack and coffee and didn’t find anything else to eat.

The washroom was good enough, but nothing fancy. There was a shower facility inside the washroom. It didn’t look like there was any sort of advance booking required for the shower.

Overall, I found the Plaza Premium Lounge was a lounge to visit and relax if you have free access and extra time to kill. But I wouldn’t regret not visiting if time didn’t permit me.

I was excited to try EgyptAir, although my flight was economy class. I will write about that in the next post.

EVA Air Business Class Lounge Review

The Infinity Lounge | Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Last time, I tried the EVA Air Star Lounge at TPE, so this time I decided to try the Infinity Lounge. The Infinity and Star Lounges share the same entrance. The Infinity is on the right and the Star is on the left.

I saw a robot butler at the entrance, but I was not sure if it was functional or just for decoration purposes. After entering, I was little bit shocked by the lounge’s general decor. I was not able to get what kind of theme they were trying to show.

I immediately regretted not choosing the Star Lounge, which I had already visited. Although the Infinity Lounge was spacious, it was crowded and I didn’t feel I could relax there.

It has shower rooms with nice names like Metro Forest, Star Drops, etc., but most of them were occupied.

The food section was adequate, but I felt the Star Lounge food section was bigger and better.

I saw some decor on the ceiling that were created by projecting lights. These different shapes, like mostly round or curved, changed colors and blue ones were the ones I liked most. These different-shaped light projections were something unique and made visiting the Infinity Lounge worthwhile.

Overall, I found the Infinity Lounge is a lounge you should visit just to get the experience of visiting. If it’s not too crowded, it would be a nice lounge to visit and enjoy the themed decor and light projections on the ceiling.