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.

Do You Need a License to Drive a Boat in Canada? | How to Get A Boating License (PCOC)

What is Required to Operate a Boat in Canada | Who Can Drive A Boat?

What Is A Boating License (PCOC)?

In Canada, the term boating license, boat operator card, or card refer to PCOC, which stands for Pleasure Craft Operator Card.

PCOC looks like a driver's license or a credit card and has the same thickness and made of the same material as a credit card, except it doesn't have an expiration date.

Who Is Required to Carry a PCOC?

Any person operating a powered watercraft on any Canadian waters is required to carry a PCOC. The term “powered watercraft” means any watercraft that has any kind of motor, so as long as your watercraft has an electric motor or any type of motor you have to carry a PCOC. This is the law in all Canadian provinces.

How to Get My PCOC

There are two aspects of it. You have to finish an online course provided by Transport Canada-accredited course providers and once you finish this course, you have to take the PCOC exam provided by Transport Canada.

You will get a link to the PCOC exam from your course provider and usually it's under one package, both the course and the actual exam.

How Much Does It Cost to Get a PCOC?

If you search online by PCOC, you will come up with many results. There are many course providers who can give you the PCOC and they're all accredited by Transport Canada. The prices range from $20 to $50 and some of them give you just one attempt on the exam and some of them give you as many attempts as you need.

So when you're purchasing the course, just make sure that it meets your needs and you are getting the best value because at the end it's the same PCOC.

PCOC Pro Tips

You can get a PCOC just by studying online and taking the exam, even without putting a foot on a boat. But what I recommend is that to finish the intro to boating or intro to power boarding course, because this course teaches you how to operate a boat and the basics of the boat, which you definitely require.

Taking the PCOC doesn't really mean anything because it doesn't teach you how to drive a boat; it only teaches you the rules and regulations you need to follow on the water and the basic elements of a boat.

My recommendation before renting any boat is that you take the intro to powerboating or intro to boating course where they offer this type of course and it's not too expensive. This course will teach you how to operate a boat, how to turn, how to stop, how to park your boat, how to reverse a boat and all the basics you need to know before you actually rent or buy a boat and start exploring.

How to Colour Grade GoPro Videos in Simple and Easy Ways

How to Colour Grade or Colour Correct GoPro Footage

I started colour grading or colour correcting my GoPro videos and noticed immediate improvements. GoPro has a Flat Profile for those who want to colour grade, but I also colour graded Vibrant profile clips and the results were immediately visible.

I am not a professional colour grader and just started to learn colour grading. Yet I am impressed with my work and continue to keep colour grade my GoPro footage from now on, whenever I get time.

I use very simple and easy colour grading techniques and it doesn’t take a lot of time. My take on colour grading is that there are two aspects to it.

First Way: You only tweak some elements such as contrast, saturation, highlights, vibrance, brightness, colours, etc. You can go deeper by tweaking further elements, but that would take more time and knowledge.

Second Way: You can use LUTS (Lookup Table), which makes the process much faster and easier. LUTS are like applying filters or readymade colour information to your videos directly, thus saving a lot of time.  Even with LUTs, you need to adjust some of the elements I mentioned above in the first way. However, it’s a much better process in general.

There are many free LUTs available online. You can also buy them if you want. After searching for a couple of hours, I was able to download so many high-quality LUTs that I don’t see any need to spend money on more.

Most good editing software has the capability to install and apply LUTs. Consult your editing software help or FAQs or email support to find out how to use LUTs, if you are not sure.

How to Create a New Gmail Account | How to Create a Free Gmail ID

How to Setup a Free Gmail Account

Creating your first Gmail email should not be a difficult task and in this article, I will talk about what you need to know.

Here are some basics you need to know –

- Type in create Gmail account in your search bar or go directly to https://www.gmail.com

- Click on Create an Account. You will have to enter your name and Username. Username is what will make up your email address. Most of the usernames are taken, so you will have to be creative with your username. Gmail also suggests a username, which can be of good help.

- Pick a strong password as suggested. Do not share your password with anyone else.

- You will have to verify your phone number.

After following the above steps, your email will be ready. Once you have access to your email, your next step should be to familiarize yourself with how to use your inbox and other basics such as how to send, receive, and organise emails.

I have created a detailed video showing the step-by-step process so you can follow along and easily create your first Gmail email. It doesn’t take a lot of time to complete the process. Also, I will walk you through the details you need to know to start sending and receiving emails like a pro.

Here is the link: How to Create New Gmail Account from Scratch

How to Replace Your GoPro for free | GoPro Subscription Offers Replacement

My Experience with GoPro Subscriber Replacement Service

My main reason to pay for a GoPro subscription is its unlimited cloud backup service. For $59.99 CAD, I get unlimited video storage at original quality, which I find to be of a great value. Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, or anyone else won’t provide unlimited backup like this – I have a separate video on this here:

There are many other perks that come with a GoPro subscription like discounted GoPros, accessories, and no-questions-asked camera replacement in case your GoPro gets lost, disabled, or broken.

The GoPro replacement feature came in handy when my GoPro 8 started giving me problems. I own 3 GoPro such as Hero 7, 8, and 10. My Hero 8 started deleting files after recording 30-40 minutes and I was unable to fix it.

When I spoke with GoPro customer service, the friendly rep walked me through installing some new firmware and asked me to try it for a week. If the problem persisted, he asked me to call back and they would replace the camera.

I tried using GoPro 8 the following week, but the issues persisted, and it kept deleting files. So, I called back again and explained what happened to another associate. I was put on a brief hold, and she had to speak with her manager to get my replacement case approved.

GoPro charges a standard replacement fee, which was $109 CAD for Hero 8, but to my surprise the associated mentioned that she was able to waive that fee and my replacement would be upgraded to a new Hero 9.

I was kind of shocked hearing so much good news one after another. Throughout my whole experience, they never tried to talk me out of getting a new replacement.

I was totally pleased with the level of service GoPro provided. I took this subscription for cloud storage but got a lot more value out of my paid subscription. My feedback is positive and I won’t hesitate to recommend a GoPro subscription.