South East Travel

We landed in Toronto and picked up our rental vehicle and headed out to Quality Inn and Suite Airport in Mississauga which was a short 10 minute drive from the airport. The hotel was clean, affordable and in an excellent location and include a continental breakfast.

Niagara Wine Route
St. Jacobs, Ontario

October - 2006

Report & Photos by Marianne Sawatzy


The next day we embarked on the Niagara Wine Route from Toronto to Niagara Falls. We stayed off the QEW so we could enjoy the sceneries on route. We saw beautiful fall displays of Mums, many orchards of apples as well as grape vineyards.

	When arriving at Niagara Falls we took in the magnificent view of the Niagara Falls as well as the American Falls. We stayed a block from the Falls at the Clifton Hills Comfort Inn, a very nice typical hotel and it was within walking distance of all the major attractions in the downtown area. The next couple of nights we stayed at the Rodeway Inn and Suites on Lundy Lane which was a 5- 10 minute drive from downtown. We choose to do day trips of a few wineries that we wanted to tour and by setting up our own itinerary according to the tour hours of the different wineries. We enjoyed the tours, tasting different wines and the fantastic fall roadside scenery and the beautiful heritage homes along the wine route. We also met many friendly staff and a wide variety of tourists and locals on the tours. Another day we enjoyed a scenic drive to Niagara on the Lake and visited some of the quaint little shops.

We then headed west to St. Jacobs a small community surrounded by Old Order Amish Mennonites. In St. Jacobs we stayed at Benjamin’s Inn for 4 nights which is an old carriage house that has been converted to an Inn and Restaurant. The structure was built in the 1850’s, with renovation made to accommodate modern guests. Each room is attractively furnished with of course a beautiful quilt on the queen size bed. We enjoyed the continental breakfast in the quaint upstairs veranda that overlooked the Main Street of St. Jacobs. They served delicious local bakery pastries as part of the many item on the breakfast buffet. As we were enjoying our breakfast we could watch the Old Order Mennonites drive by in horse drawn carriages which is a typical site to St. Jacobs. We spent a few days driving through the country side and stopping and visiting at Vegetable and Fruit stands that were run by the Old Order Mennonites. They were very friendly and open to visit with customers. St. Jacobs offers self guided driving tours through the country side which describes the historic background of the Old Order and Mennonite people. Interesting, in our busy world, the village of St. Jacobs rolled up the sidewalks at 5:30 p.m. It was enjoyable to take long walks in the evening with just a few carriages and cars outs on the streets. Thursday and Saturday is the market day in St. Jacobs, where many locals’ vendors sell produces and crafts to the public.

	The next few days we spent relaxing in Burlington and shopping. Our trip was relaxing with awesome fall colors and a beautiful countryside and I would invite customers to call South East Travel for further information on planning your relaxing St. Jacobs Vacation.