4 Days In Prince Edward Island with My Family

Getting There

We left on a Friday afternoon after a chaotic morning (isn’t that always hot it goes?) and only made it as far as Haverhill, Massachusetts. We’d hoped for Portsmouth. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

A few things I’d want to know before doing this drive again:

1. Fill up your tank before the border. Gas is meaningful cheaper on the US side.
2. The border crossing was faster than expected. One lane open of four, two cars ahead of us, through in under 20 minutes. Adults need a passport. Kids under 16 can cross with a birth certificate for land crossings—but 16 and up need the same documents you do.
3. You lose an hour crossing into Cananda. PEI is on Atlantic Time. I did not realize this, which nearly cost us a dinner reservation later in the trip. Set your expectations—and your reservations!—accordingly.

Quick note that lunch options near the Houlton, Maine crossing are thin. We ended up at Mother Hen, a fried chicken truck genuinely in the middle of nowhere. Not memorable, but hot and fresh, and everyone eats chicken fingers or a sandwich. It got the job done.

Two stops worth making:

• Congdon’s Donuts (Wells, ME) — There was a long line. It was worth it. I’m not really a donut person, but the apple cinnamon fritters were excellent. The wild blueberry version was forgettable.
• Stephen King’s former house (Bangor, ME) — A quick photo stop. We were not the only family with this idea; four other cars pulled over while we were there.

Where We Stayed

The Great George, Charlottetown — We booked one of their heritage townhouses, which was definitely on the older since. The rooms in the main hotel looked newer and, I suspect, nicer.

Here’s my real note on lodging: I’d stay somewhere else entirely. Charlottetown is where we spent the least amount of time, and it’s only real convenience was being able to walk to dinner. If I did this again, I’d base us on the north coast. That’s where almost everything we loved actually was.

Where to Eat in PEI

Worth planning your trip around

The Table (New London): The highlight of the entire trip. A seven-course tasting menu in a converted rural church, built entirely on Canadian ingredients — which means no lemons, no limes, no black pepper, no vanilla anywhere on the menu. The menu changes top to bottom every single week and is revealed only when you sit down. In nearly a decade, they’ve never repeated one.

Highlights: the best scallops I’ve ever had in my life (raw, no less!), melt-in-your-mouth pork belly, and a blueberry and corn dessert I’m still thinking about. Canadian wine pairings, beer, and cocktails are available alongside. Chef Hunter Guindon is genuinely engaging with the room, which is only about 27 seats.

This is an adults’ night. We left the kids at the hotel with pizza and a movie. Book weeks — possibly months — in advance.

Claddagh Oyster House (Charlottetown): Our fancier dinner with the kids, and it delivered. John’s seafood chowder was perfectly cooked top to bottom, the halibut that Nora and I each ordered was outstanding, and the potato sides were genuinely a highlight.

Quick aside: PEI is famous for its potatoes for a reason. The island’s iron-rich red soil holds moisture without waterlogging, and it’s cool summers and consisten rainfall are close to ideal growing conditions. The province produces roughly a quarter of Canada’s potatoes and grows over a hundred varieties. You taste it.

We closed with sticky toffee pudding — my favorite dessert, and this one was elite. Highly recommend, but you absolutely cannot get a seat without a reservation.

Seagull Bakery & Café: I ordered an iced wild blueberry oat milk latte (PEI is wild blueberry country, same as Maine) and loved it. John and the two big kids had slices of blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting — cake for breakfast, and no regrets. Colin’s bacon, egg, and cheese was solid.

But my breakfast burrito was the single best breakfast burrito I have ever had. The hash-style potatoes inside it were extraordinary. I’m not exaggerating for effect.

Leonhard’s (Charlottetown): We tried on our first morning and were quoted an hour wait, so we bailed. Went back another day and arrived early enough to be first in line — decidedly worth it. We split a German pastry filled with vanilla cream that the whole table loved, and the mains were just as good. Go early. The line starts shortly before opening.

Fine, With Cavats

Merchantman Fresh Seafood & Oyster Bar (Charlottetown): Order the appetizers and stop there. The local oysters, smoke and pickle board, and crispy calamari were all excellent. The entrées were not — my lobster roll was oversalted, which I’ve somehow never experienced before in my life.

Skip

Gahan House (Charlottetown): A brewery with pub food. It was all we could get into on short notice. The oysters were fantastic and two of the kids liked their fish and chips, but the rest of the food and especially the service were lackluster. Skip unless you specifically want a brewery.

Raspberry Point: We came for oysters and they delivered — we tried Raspberry Point, Pickle Point, and Rustico, all delicious. Everything else was a letdown. The kids’ fish and chips were greasy, and the warm lobster roll John and I splu was so overcooked it was genuinely difficult to chew. I had high hopes here.

Receiver Coffee (Charlottetown): Our Leonhard’s backup plan. The coffee was subpar. We appreciated being able to sit down for a full breakfast, but that’s the whole endorsement.

COWS Ice Cream: The famous one. We had high hopes and it was icy rather than creamy. Not one of the five of us wanted to go back.

What We Actually Loved Doing

Look Up Way Up Observatory

The thing I was most looking forward to, and it exceeded expectation. It’s about thirty minutes east of Charlottetown, at the home of Wesley Stewart — an amateur astronomer of 30+ years and a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Because of the late summer sunset, we couldn’t start until about 9:30pm, and then spent two hours learning about stars, galaxies, and looking through his genuinely remarkable 16-inch telescope. He was patient and generous with three kids who ask a lot of questions.

Bring cash for payment. Brin an absurd amount of bug spray. The bugs in PEI are no joke — we were eaten alive on a near-daily basis.

The Dunes Studio Gallery & Café (Brackley Beach)

Truly remarkable, and the biggest surprise of the trip. The grounds include a vast garden and sculptures, and there’s an enormous amount of art inside. I found several pieces I would have brought home if we’d had enough room in the car…

Biking The North Coast

We brought all five bikes (people are consistently impressed by the five-bike rack) and rode several miles along the northern coast. Beautiful, breezy, slightly chilly — perfect conditions. Fun fact: PEI has a lot of lighthouses.

Rustico Beach

We were all surprised by how nice the sand was, and parking was absurdly easy — not a sentence we ever get to say at the Jersey Shore. The water was chilly and so was the air, but the boys went in anyway. Worth the drive, and I’m told the beaches only improve as you head further east.

Green Gables Heritage Place — if you’ve read the book

Heads up: there are two Anne sites and they are not the same place. Green Gables Heritage Place is the Parks Canada site in Cavendish. The Anne of Green Gables Museum is a separate spot in Park Corner. We went to the wrong one first and lost 20 minutes turning around.

We listened to the audiobook as a family on the drive up specifically so this would land, and it did. But I don’t think it lands the same way if you haven’t. Fair warning: a lot of the island is organized around Anne. Depending on who you ask, that’s a feature or a drawback.

Skip: The Greenwich Dunes “Boardwalk”

I thought this was a stroll over a boardwalk across a lake. It is a hike. We were not dressed for a hike — I was in sandals. The fresh air was welcome, but I wouldn’t call it worth it.

Do stop at the local artisan shops about 15 minutes away, though. The chocolate shop alone justifies the detour.