Because I’m type A, itineraries soothe me. Too much left up to chance causes decision paralysis, but an over-structured stay can leave little room for the things that make a vacation memorable: waking up late, becoming so engrossed in a museum that you forget the time, or going for a swim. The right kind of itinerary leaves room for spontaneity.
When planning my trip to Prince Edward Island, I reached out to Tourism PEI to help me create an itinerary that would take me to different parts of the island rather than keeping me in one location. I planned to stay at local inns, a spa, and a hotel, using each stop as a way to experience a different side of the island.
Being unrushed is the way of island life. For many whose lines between work and life blur, there is a way to test this theory. What if restoration comes not from escaping structure, but from engaging more intentionally with place? Prince Edward Island (PEI), the smallest province in Canada, is an answer to this question.
The island is compact enough to explore by car, with many destinations within an hour of each other. This allows the traveler to take in the vibrant patchwork of rolling hills of potato blossoms, canola, buckwheat, and corn.
Its serenity is best captured in the landscapes of Acadian painter Karen Gallant. It is also the place where Anne, from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908), carved her own path in the world and got lost in her imagination in the forest. By changing my accommodations and building meaningful experiences around the land, an adventure unfolded.
One part of moving from place to place that was perfect for the burned-out traveler, like myself, is that cell service was spotty. It encouraged disconnection. The gaps gave me fewer reasons to reach for my phone and more opportunities to notice where I was: the landscape outside the car window, the sounds of the water, or the conversation happening beside me.
Intentional Time: Being One With Nature
An hour-and-a-half-long hike on The Greenwich Dunes Trail is worth the trip. At the trailhead, signage honors Mi’kmaq history and a wigwam constructed of birch. As you walk through the trail, wildflowers and grass dance in the wind. Then a dense forest opens up, which is home to many flora and fauna, including species of birds, chipmunks, coyotes, foxes, and other critters.
The trail’s draw is the famous floating boardwalk where visitors can take in the serene views of dunes, marshland, and water. By going on the moving boardwalk, recording every step in a sway, you become one with the environment around you.
At the end of the boardwalk is a large dune, barren of grass, for hikers to climb. On the other side is a beach to keep cool during the summer heat. People of all ages walked past, enjoying the trails and the calming effect of being outdoors.
Settling Into the Shoreline
After my hike, I wanted to sit and write for a while in the hotel, and this place felt like a natural continuation of my experience outdoors even though I spent the day inside. In Grand Tracadie, another part of the island, Blackbush Beach Resort’s Hotel Acadia towers over the dunes, with the sprawling property looking out toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Two aspects of the resort that encourage their Experience Our Nature philosophy are their 24-hour Osprey Camera at the bottom of their website and on the screen at their restaurant, Fin, and their thoughtful bug disclosure in their materials.
It reads as follows: “During the summer months, guests may notice an increase in insects around the property. As an environmentally conscious resort, we coexist with the local ecosystem, and these insects are a natural and important part of Grand Tracadie’s natural biodiversity.”
Where the Forest Meets the Sea
Through a dense forest full of evergreens, Mysa Nordic Spa emerges next to sweeping views of the Bay in St. Peter’s Harbour. In the distance, you can see mussel boats going out in the morning, and hear the calls of waterfowl.
In the first Nordic spa of the island (one of Oprah’s 2026 Hotel O-ward Winners), guests can move between outdoor thermal pools and a cold plunge, wander in a greenhouse and garden, and rest in relaxation rooms. There are also dry and wet saunas (the steam room, my personal favorite, has eucalyptus to open up the airways; afterward, guests are invited to exfoliate with salt). There is also the constant woody scent of kept fires outside, which brings back the comfort of being by the campfire.
Other scents that waft around the island connect the visitor to place. From the misty sea air to the calming shrubs at Island Lavender Distillery, the island is full of cozy scents. Other signature scents of the island are wild roses that grow, and the Cavendish Farms factory on the west end of the island smells like French fries because they make and package frozen potato byproducts. All of these are comforting, cozy, and grounding.
From Farm to Table and Water to Table
Even if you are wondering which restaurant to visit, just by driving, it’s common to see stands for potatoes, berries, and even oysters. For nonperishables, there is even an honor system where visitors leave cash and take the food. Even in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, the popular food truck Dreadnaught Eatery offers some surprises like chocolate on a salad. Now, isn’t that the perfect thing to curb a craving and tell your nutritionist that you ate healthy?
Fluke, a gastronomic experience in Grand Tracadie, offers a 6-course tasting menu. Between courses, the chef rings a bell, much like the nautical theme of the surrounding art and views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the background.
If knowing what the food is and how they cooked it isn’t enough transparency, Ada in Charlottetown offers a tasting menu called “Tales of Our Island,” where you get to know Chef Adam Loo and learn about his family. He brings the local stories of families and friends to our plates. The chef shares the story, shaped by kitchen memories and grief, of his family farm in a town outside of Kensington.
Making Room for the Unexpected
Ice cream has a way of making you happy, and the island’s got it covered on that front. There are many opportunities for this summer refresher. In the west, there are well-known dairy bars like Sunny’s, and throughout the province there’s COWS. Their merchandise has cow spots on T-shirts, PJs, LEGO sets, and more. And if you are in the mood to scream and have ice cream, try Frosty Treat and the nearby Haunted House for the scream part.
The island is a very creative place! On the North Shore, The Dunes Art Gallery & Cafe is a tourist staple. Within the location, a restaurant, outdoor sculpture garden, and multiple galleries are fused into one. Across the entire island, there are pottery and woodworking studios.
In Victoria-By-The-Sea, a charming and quaint seaside town, you can wander into Island Chocolates, which displays the artistry of antique chocolate molds, alongside several galleries and artists’ studios that are part of their houses.
Stepping Back Into History With A Modern Twist
Adding historical venues to the itinerary, it can transport you elsewhere. On the western end of the island, I went to the Canadian Potato Museum. There’s even a giant potato sculpture that’s great for a photo-op. It was incredible to learn how one crop (despite its wide varieties) made a global impact. Through the potato, the museum shared the history of the Ancient Incan empire and the Spanish empire, 15th- and 16th-century England, when the potato went from a botanical curiosity to a food staple.
The cheekiest part of the museum was the part that educated about the various blights and diseases potatoes can have that farmers have to prepare for, which showed models of the deformed potatoes in little caskets. A diorama shows how the PEI-specific soil is tilled to bring the potatoes that we enjoy today, and you can hear from local farmers, see antique farming equipment on the island, and see plowing trophies from the community. I need to come back for their spud-tastic potato festival in O’Leary, where the museum is located.
Even in the city of Charlottetown, Slaymaker & Nichols is a snazzy Victorian-inspired inn on the corner of Fitzroy and Queen Street. Guests can stay in named rooms and listen to the sounds of Lionel Richie, Ahmad Jamal, and more on vinyl (presumably from the nearby Back Alley Music). The property was named after a circus troupe that operated before Canada’s founding that famously drew crowds even during the September 1864 Charlottetown Conference to unify Canada.
If you’d like to step back into that time even more, you can even do the famous walk from the wharf leading up to that historic decision, on The Great George Street to the Province House.
The Island’s Dunes and Don’ts
In any new place, it’s important to know the rules (written or unwritten). And yes, one of them has to do with sand dunes. Here are some that I came across or that were shared with me:
- Do admire the dunes but don’t climb them. Many of them are large, parabolic, and grassy. The Marram Grass has deep roots which hold the sand together and fight erosion, but is extremely fragile when stepped on, so it is a $150 CAD fine if you are caught walking on them, according to park signage.
- Don’t wear white shoes if you are walking outdoors in the rain. The red iron-rich soil can dye them a rust color, much like one of the famous souvenirs of the island: a shirt dyed from the soil.
- Do sit next to your neighbor and strike up a conversation. Media FAM Coordinator for Tourism PEI Hiroko Suzuki, who was inspired by Montgomery’s words of Anne’s journey to move there, notes that it’s a trend for long tables at restaurants and interactive kitchens among islanders. Since the community is small, it is important to be social.
- Don’t feed wild animals. Let the environment do its thing.
- Do rent a car. It is a great way to see all sections of the island. Each traveler can make the most of their trip by spending time in the many sections of the National Park (free from June 19–September 7, 2026 because of Parks Canada’s Canada Strong Pass) and trying new experiences.
Take the Island Way of Life With You
Overall, you are sure to leave the island better than you came. Exposure to fresh air, seafood, and kind conversations reminds even the most hardworking that there’s more to life than work. Rest is just as important, if not more so, and the people and experiences make life richer.
At the end of my stay, I left with a sense of personal accomplishment. I covered much of the island in four days, and it did not feel like a hurried checklist. I went on my first solo hike of The Greenwich Dunes Trail and climbed up the uneven steps all the way to the top of the West Point Lighthouse Inn & Museum. I also came back full of stories with a plan to build my travel around movement and new experiences.
If you’re continuing your Atlantic Canada travels, read Two Weeks in Central Newfoundland: Sharks, Small-Town Culture and Come From Away in Gander.
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Author Bio: Chenoa Baker is a curator and adventurous writer who works across travel and culture. Currently, she is co-developing an inaugural public art festival in Calgary and curating Ifé Franklin: Orun/Portal at the Fuller Craft Museum in 2027. Previously, she has worked with The Studio Museum, Boston Public Art Triennial, Denver Botanic Gardens, and Fallingwater. Her internationally recognized writing has appeared in Hyperallergic, The Observer, The Brooklyn Rail, and GLP Films (forthcoming). To learn more, please visit her website at chenoabaker.org.
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- Two Weeks in Central Newfoundland: Sharks, Small-Town Culture and Come From Away in Gander - September 11, 2026
- Slow Down on Prince Edward Island: A Relaxed Four-Day Itinerary of Dunes, Seafood and Seaside Inns - September 11, 2026
- Cape Town’s Unique Experiences for the Curious Traveller - September 11, 2026
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Interesting article as we spent 6 days in PEI last month. We rented a car in Moncton New Brunswick where we also visited great seafood places along the Eastern Coast around Shediac. In PEI we stayed in Summerside and had great seafood meals at the Jolly Roger (Pirate Theme). We drove to North Point and saw the Wind Farm and the seals and walked the gravel bar (submerged at high tide). We visited the seashore town of Victoria where we saw baskets of lobster being unloaded from the boat! We drove the bridge from New Brunswick to PEI which is a modern day miracle-15-20 minute drive at 80 kms/hr.