Transportation
I ended up taking Air Canada to Moncton. It is a lot cheaper to fly into Moncton and take a bus to PEI than it is to fly to PEI. The bus company that runs out in that end of the country is called Acadian Bus Lines. It ended up being $30 to get from Moncton, New Brunswick to Summerside, PEI. Here's a tip: get the student rate on the bus. They did not check whether or not I was a student when I boarded the bus, and I bought my ticket online. The worst that can happen is they ask you to pay the difference. In regards to the Air Canada thing, I ended up taking a Jazz flight, which I was apprehensive about. It's one of those small propeller planes that you need to walk out onto the tarmac to get to. I thought it would be bumpy flight, but it was actually really smooth. Another option for flights to get to the east coast is to take Porter airlines. They are more conveniently located in downtown Toronto, and I heard they are a really cool airline company (free booze + high comfort). And when Porter has sales (which they usually do), it ends up being quite cheap as well.
Now, a quick word on transporting yourself around the island: you need a car. There is virtually no public transit, and whatever little there is will be ending soon. I was talking to my friend who lives there, who needs a car to get everywhere. Another option to getting around the island is by bike. One of the most interesting features of this island is that the province has converted all the old railway tracks around the island to multi-purpose trails that you can bike on. Finally, what you need to know about the island is that is costs $44 to cross the toll bridge to get there. Should you decide to spend a day on the mainland in a neighbouring province, you need to factor this in to your transportation costs.
What to do... (aka what I did!)
Summerside: Summerside is a small town in PEI. As such, there is not too much to do here. The main drag in Summerside isn't that long, but does have a charming coffee shop called Samuel's. There are also some touristy shops along the waterfront, and a pub that is right on the water. Just like elsewhere in PEI, there are ample bike and walking trails along the water and through the town.
Thunder Beach: Since I was spending time with islanders, I was taken to some pretty cool and lesser known parts of the island. One thing my friend was adamant on was not paying to go to a provincial or national park beach, as she said the free beaches were just as beautiful. She took me to thunder beach, which I really liked. There were large red sand cliffs which quickly dropped to a beautiful sandy beach, very picturesque! The water itself was great (once you got used to it!) and was the perfect depth. There were sandbars in the middle to lounge on, as well as deeper water to enjoy the ocean waves! One thing I like about beaches is not too much wildlife... I fear animals in water. Although there were a few crab scares in the water, and some little bugs that were biting me on the beach, there were no other disturbances. I should have a wildlife rating for these kinds of things. It could come in handy for anyone else who is terrified of touching a fish or something in the water. My friend and I also walked the length of the beach to a rock called teacup rock. That was another thing about this beach- there were so many neat rock formations! After thunder beach, we grabbed iced cream at one of the many iced cream shops on the island.
North Rustico and Cavendish: This was a filled up day! We began at the Green Gables house, because I wanted to see what it was all about. It didn't cost that much to get in, and we toured Anne's house and walked two trails through the woods. It really wasn't all that exciting, but I see the appeal if you were a kid and you read her books. Lots of Asian tourists there, which I am told by my friend is the norm- apparently a lot of Japanese people like Anne of Green Gables.
After that, we went to touristy Cavendish! This is an area of the island with an abundance of resorts, mini put, amusement parks, tourist shops and restaurants. It was here that I tried my first Cows iced cream (a PEI staple). I got a flavour aptly named Mooey Gooey, and it was delicious... definitely one of the best iced creams I have ever had! I also got to try Pizza Delight- an east coast pizza chain that tasted strangely similar to Pizza Hut.
After our stint at Cavendish, we headed to North Rustico, a charming fishing town to take some great pictures. My friend showed me the rotating house- a house being built on the cliffs that rotates 360 degrees to give the entire house views of the ocean. Pretty cool, huh?! After walking around the fishing town and taking as many pictures as we could, we headed back for the day.
(The road to) Charlottetown: Charlottetown is the hub for most adventure on this island, so we planned a whole day around it. On the way there, my friend took me to a charming place called The Dunes. This place was an art gallery, store, and restaurant all rolled into one. The goods here were from both east coast artists and artists from India and east Asia. We had some really delish cocktails and browsed the place while we waited for our table. Then we ordered some great sharing plates from the menu and sampled some great food. The place was really cool... I haven't really seen anything else like it. I recommend going on the way in or out of Charlottetown.
When we got to Charlottetown, we parked the car, got some Starbucks, and walked along the waterfront. There are some beautiful houses in that city- so old and unique! But one thing that struck me was that very few were made of brick (my friend says this is common in PEI because it costs too much to import bricks). We walked down Victoria Row to see all the cute stores and restaurants, all in old buildings (my favourite!). It was PEI jazz week so there was live jazz bands around the city which was cool. We went olive oil and vinegar tasting at a place called Liquid Gold, which was an interesting experience. I had no idea how flavourful olive oil could get! Then we went to the waterfront to look through tourist shops, and I picked up a PEI dirt shirt (I had to). There was a handful of good dinner places in Charlottetown to choose from, and my friend chose to go to Merchantman Pub. I got the fish and chips which was pretty good, and my friends got the fish cakes (because they were sold out of the crab cakes, the reason the girls wanted to go there!). After this, we went to PEI's only brewery, The Gahan House, where we had a sample tray of all the varieties of beers they made there. There were quite a diverse set of beers to sample, and after getting a little buzz on, we went in search of some live music. We went to a bar called Fishbones, which I loved. They had a large (fake) tree strung with lights in the middle, an awesome live jazz band, and a washroom with a basket of amenities for guests to use (I definitely used the hairspray, lotion and body spray!). Lastly, we went over to a really cool bar called Marc's Studio (tribute to Marc Gallant) where we chilled on couches listening to some good indie music and catching up.
Overall, I would have to say that PEI is a nice ocean getaway for Canadians looking for some rest and relaxation. I very much enjoyed the beaches, and even though I am not a seafood fan, I have to say I enjoyed the seafood as well. There isn't too much going on to do on the small island, so I would suggest bringing the entertainment yourselves, or be content relaxing and just enjoying the natural environment.
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