Tobermory Cruise with a Baby or Toddler (2024)
Heading to Tobermory this summer, and want to take a Tobermory boat cruise with a baby or toddler? You’re in the right place! Boat tours in Tobermory, when well planned, are a fun thing to do with kids of any age – including babies and toddlers.
Boat cruises are a main attraction in Tobermory, because they bring visitors to the famous Flowerpot Island, the Sweepstakes 1800s shipwreck, the Grotto, Niagara escarpment coastline, and other natural local wonders.
Going on cruises and travelling with a toddler can present some unique challenges to babies and older kids, so its best to be prepared.
There are three companies that offer boat cruises in Tobermory; Blue Heron, Bruce Anchor and Tobermory Wave.
Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor allow stay-on, and drop-off cruises options- (meaning, to stay on the ship for a round-trip cruise, or to get off the ship at Flowerpot island, and be picked up later.) You select your preference for stay-on or drop-off when you book your ticket.
We’re going to go through what the stay-on and drop-off cruises entail, and the similarities and differences between each cruise line so you can make the best decision for your family while you’re visiting Tobermory.
So, let’s dive in – Tobermory boat cruises with babies and toddlers.
Since the stay-on option is generally what I’d recommend for families with young kids, I’m going to start with what the two cruise offer for their stay-on cruises.
STAY-ON cruises (Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor)
Here’s an outline of Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor stay-on options: the similarities and differences between them so you can make the best choice for sailing with your baby or toddler.
Both stay-on cruises with Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor:
- Have glass bottom boats, which means there’s a small area inside the vessel that has a glass bottom.
- Have both indoor and outdoor seating options (I liked this option so I could sit in a shaded area with my toddler)
- Children under 4 are free, but still require a ticket
- Cruises leave several times daily between morning and early afternoon
- Allow online booking
- Destinations include Big Tub Harbour to see the shipwreck and lighthouse, and Flowerpot Island
- Are pet friendly (with some restrictions)
- Offer designated parking options
The differences between Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor STAY-ON options:
Blue Heron
- 1.5 hours long cruise (if you select the stay-on option)
- Stroller-accessible boarding – which, may not be relevant if you’re getting off at Flowerpot Island, since the island isn’t stroller friendly and you should use a baby carrier anyway
- Leaves from Little Tub Harbour
- You can cancel/get a refund before 48 hours
Bruce Anchor
- 70 minutes long cruise (if you select the stay-on option)
- They have their own dock, and its not in Little Tub harbour like Blue Heron’s is. It’s at 61 Front St, which is a 5-10 min walk from Little Tub Harbour. May be further for some, but its a beautiful boarding area
- You can cancel/get a refund before 24 hours
Both DROP-OFF cruises
- If you choose to get off at Flowerpot Island, you will be there for 1-3 hours (depending on which time frame you choose) before the next boat comes
You must buy a Fathom Five National Marine Park pass if you’re stopping on Flowerpot Island. Adults cost $6.90 each, and youth 0-17 years old are free of charge. You can buy these passes from the cruise provider directly, or online through Parks Canada.
Should you stay on the boat, or get off at Flowerpot Island?
Overall – I would say YES, you should definitely choose to get off at Flowerpot Island. There are a few things to keep in mind though about going there with a baby or toddler.
Flowerpot Island is covered in very uneven, rocky terrain, and also has flights of stairs.
It’s not stroller-friendly, and none of the cruise companies recommend that you bring a stroller with you onto the island.
You know your child, and your hiking abilities best. I personally wouldn’t recommend getting off at Flowerpot Island unless:
- your kids are 5+ years old; independent enough to do most of the walking themselves and can follow instruction
- you feel confident carrying your baby or toddler for a 1 to 3-hour time frame (if you can’t then it will be very challenging)
We brought our 3-year-old, and we are so glad we did. It was a beautiful experience, and she loved it. But, we did carry her for most of the trip and we noticed that it wouldn’t stroller stroller-friendly.
There is swimming at Flowerpot Island, but the lake is pretty cold, even in the summer. The average temperature would be around 15 C (59 F) on average; it might be closer to 20 C (68 F) by the end of July – but either way, it’s not comfortably warm.
There is a beach, but it’s not the sandy kind – it’s all rock. When the boat pulls up to Flowerpot Island, you’ll probably see tons of kids on it, but most of them are school-age kids.
A few things to keep in mind about Flowerpot Island
- There are washrooms on the island, but they’re the compost type. There are no change tables.
- There is also no food for sale (someone told us there was a snack shack there, but we couldn’t find it)
- There’s no wifi or any other amenities available on the island
- If you choose to hike at Flowerpot, you will be there for 1-3 hours (depending on which option you choose) until the next boat comes to pick you up. We found that 1 hour was barely enough time to make it back to the boarding area in time for our departure, but it can be done if you move at a brisk pace.
Overall, I recommend at least 2 hours on the island, but if that seems too daunting to you, 1 hour is totally doable.
Flowerpot Island is a sensitive piece of nature that they are trying their best to preserve. If you bring any garbage, be sure to bring it back with you and leave the island better than how you found it.
Bruce Anchor vs Blue Heron: Which is Better?
Bruce Anchor tours and Blue Heron Cruises are both highly reputable, so you can’t go wrong with either of them. Your choice will likely depend on the time of year, and their schedules and availability.
Tobermory is very busy with tourists in the summer, so the availability of cruises does fill up, so if you have a time you’re very keen on, book it as soon as you can. I booked my cruise a couple of days in advance, and there was plenty of space, but it was a full ship on the day of departure.
Here are the key differences between the two:
- Bruce Achor has a much more scenic boarding area (pictured above) but there are stairs, so you’ll need to carry your baby or toddler down, and a baby carrier is best. Given that Flowerpot Island isn’t stroller-friendly, you can do it just fine with a carrier as long as you’re ok with the stairs
- Blue Heron is a less scenic, but more accessible boarding area – so if you have any mobility issues, then this might be the best one for you
- One thing to keep in mind when booking your cruise is cancellation policies – Bruce Anchor is 24 hours, and Blue Heron is 48 hours. The tickets aren’t cheap, so make sure you can commit to the time you choose
Other Tobermory boat cruise options with Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor
In addition to stay-on and drop-off at Flowerpot boat cruises, Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor both offer:
- Flowerpot express cruises (that take you straight to Flowerpot without stopping to see anything else)
Blue Heron offers:
- A sunset cruise leaving at 7:30pm in the evenings, which takes you to the Niagara Escarpment coastline, Indian Head and the Grotto. These cruises are non-stop. Children under 4 are free, and youth 4-17 are about $10 cheaper than an adult
Line-ups for Tobermory Boat Cruises with a Baby or Toddler
The tickets you buy guarantee you a spot on the vessel, but not in a specific seat. There’s no priority seating option – its just first come, first served. Some people prefer to sit on top of the vessel, even though its direct sun, so that they can get the best view and shots.
Some people (like me) prefer the lower, indoor part of the vessel, in order to avoid the direct sunlight. However, I also wanted to sit directly by the edge of the ship, so that I could get good photos.
Its a personal preference, and I don’t find that one option fills up faster than the other. It just depends on the group. If you have a strong preference, try to show up 15-30 minutes before your cruise (regardless of whether its with Bruce Anchor or Blue Heron) so you’re more likely to get a spot you’re happy with.
There was an extremely long line up in front of me and I almost worried I wouldn’t get a good seat – but the ships are quite big with lots of space, so I got my preferred type of spot.
Tobermory Wave Adventures
Tobermory Wave is another boat tour in Tobermory, which leaves from Little Tub Harbour. There’s an option to book private boat tours with them. I wouldn’t generally recommend this company for parties with young children, only because it’s a longer cruise in a boat that is much smaller and doesn’t have any indoor seating options. However, unlike with Blue Heron and Bruce Anchor, you get to see the grotto as well with Tobermory Wave.
So, if you want to see the grotto in addition to Flowerpot Island, and the Sweepstakes shipwreck from a boat in one tour, and you think your little one could handle sitting in the boat for 2 ½ hours – no reason not to go for it. With Tobermory Wave, an adult ticket is $70 and children’s are $62. They do have a 3-day cancellation policy, so keep this in mind when you book!
What to bring on a Tobermory boat cruise with a baby or toddler
None of the cruise options I’ve seen offer any drinks or snacks, so you’ll need to be sure to bring anything your little one might need.
Things to Bring on a Tobermory Boat Cruise:
- A good sunscreen (even the shaded areas on the boat can get pretty sunny)
- Sun hats
- Bottle of water
- LOTS of snacks for young kids; especially babies and toddlers
In addition to the above, if you’re getting off at Flowerpot Island, you must bring:
- Plastic bags to pack any of your garbage back in (diapers, wipes, food wrappers, doggie bags.) Flowerpot Island does not have any sort of waste disposal system, so you must bring all garbage back with you; gross as it may be. To continue the health of this delicate ecosystem, we need to leave no trace of ourselves as visitors
- Extra water, since you’ll be there for 1-3 hours
- Any needed sippy cups or bottles for young children and babies
- Swimsuits, towels and life jackets in case you want to swim there
My Bruce Anchor Cruises with a 1 and 3 year old
I chose to sail on a Bruce Anchor cruise with my one-year-old, because we were staying at the Bruce Anchor motel, which is near Little Tub Harbour.
Technically, it would have been fairly close to either boarding area, but it was much closer to the Bruce Anchor docking area. I simply strapped my 1-year-old in a carrier and crossed the street to the boarding area.
The first stop on the cruise is Big Tub Harbour. You see a pretty lighthouse on the ship’s right as it’s pulling into the harbour (if you’re sitting on the left side, don’t worry – you’ll be able to see it on your side on the way back.)
The boat will spin around (slowly) so that you can see the shipwreck, Sweepstakes which sank in 1885, well preserved in the cool lake waters. The top of the ship is less than 5 feet from the water’s surface, so you can see the outline of the ship pretty clearly from the boat, and have good photo opportunities!
The captain of the ship will share some interesting details about the ship. It originally sank in Lake Huron and was towed to Big Tub Harbour. It’s now a popular snorkelling and scuba diving destination.
By the end of our 70-minute cruise with Bruce Anchor, my 1-year-old had just about had enough, so I was glad that the cruise didn’t last any longer than that!
I went back 2 years later when she was 3 years old – and she LOVED the cruise. She couldn’t stop talking about it for days afterwards. Overall, the Tobermory boat cruises are a great family experience.
Conclusion: Should you take a Tobermory boat cruise with a baby?
By now, you should be prepared for your Tobermory boat cruise with a baby or toddler. With the right planning, Tobermory boat cruises are a fun activity for all ages and allow you to see some gorgeous Ontario natural beauty.
I believe that a Tobermory boat cruise with a baby is a great way to spend time outdoors entertaining your little ones, and see some of the most picturesque views in the Bruce Peninsula. You’ll be glad you did it!