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Map with attractions

1. Rent a cottage in Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is the most famous ski resort in Ontario. Beside Intrawest resort there are many cozy ski chalets and beautiful lake cottages available from private owners and professional cottage rental agencies. Blue Mountain offers amazing weekend getaway just 1.5 hour drive from Toronto where you can combine threal of downhill skiing with the relaxation in Scandinavian spa. To find the best cottage based on your needs use FindCottage.ca unique search engine.

Website: Blue Mountain cottage rentals

Price: Prices start as low as $700 per winter weekend and drop a little during summer months. Be ready to pay the premium price if you want to spend New Years or Christmas at Blue Mountain.

2. Ski from the top of Blue mountain

Blue Mountain stretches across the Niagara Escarpment with 720 vertical feet, 15 lifts, and 36 trails ranging from beginner to double black diamond. You will enjoy plenty of on-snow time, with four high-speed six-person lifts across the resort. If you prefer to hit the hills after the sun sets, Blue Moutnain has you covered with 24 trails and 11 lifts under the lights. Blue Mountain Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in Ontario and it offers ski rentals, beginner lessons, 4-star accommodations and has very cozy ski village.

Website: http://www.bluemountain.ca/

Price: Lift tickets are $56 per adult during the day and $45 during the night skiing. If you come to Blue Mountain often or stay there for a week - season passes provide great value. For example, Sunday-Thursday day plus all week night (5x7) skiing will cost you only $169 per season.

3. Relax in Le Scandinave Spa

Le Scandinave Spa is a Nordic-style spa in woodland setting with all-weather pools and saunas. While enjoying the steaming-hot pool and thermal waterfall, bathers can observe beautiful Blue Mountain. Spa treatments-Swedish, hot stone and Thai yoga massages-typically follow the hot-cold bathing routine: first heating the body in the log cabin sauna, steam room or any of the three hot pools to open up the pores, then plunging into a cold water pool. After performing the ritual three times, your muscles are considered sufficiently softened up for a massage.

Website: http://www.scandinave.com/en/bluemountain/

Price: The cost is $44 for bath and $115 for an hour session of high-class massage.

4. Hit Wasaga Beach

Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world - 14 km long. The beach itself is white and sandy.

The beach is divided into smaller beaches with the public beaches numbered 1 to 6 sequentially from east to west. A boardwalk runs most of the way along Beach 1 and 2. Beach 1 draws the largest crowds, with the popularity quality of the beaches decreasing the further west.

West of the main beaches is another large beach (New Wasaga) that has many houses and cottages with direct access to beach.

Wasaga Beach has a good variety of accommodations and restaurant choices. Throughout the summer there is a different event almost every weekend, lots of choices for evening entertainment and an endless variety of summer sporting activities.

Price: Free

5. Visit Scenic Caves and Walk the Suspension Bridge

Both Scenic Caves and Suspension Bridge are conveniently located in the park just minutes away from the Blue Mountain.

Take part in a self-guided hike along the trails through the caves and caverns.

Once inside the labyrinth of caves you will feel a connection with the Petun people who once used these very caves as protection and shelter from the weather and their enemies.

For the more adventurous, you can descend into the ice cave that is so deep and cold that snow and ice can usually be seen even in the early summer.

The Suspension Bridge is at the highest point on the Niagara Escarpment, suspended high above the ground. Visitors have the most spectacular view of Georgian Bay and the surrounding countryside that is 10,000 square-km of awe-inspiring view. At 126 meters long, 25 meters above the valley and stream, and more than 300 meters above Georgian Bay, it is the longest suspension footbridge in Ontario.

Website: http://www.sceniccaves.com/

Price: Admission to the Scenic Caves adventure park (both Scenic Caves and Suspension Bridge) is $19 per adult. Park operates during May-October. It is also open in winter for cross-country skiing.

6. Take a Plunge!

Plunge! is the ultimate, all ages, four season water adventure at the base of Blue Mountain Ski Resort.

Inspired from the tradition of cottage-style boathouses, Plunge! is an authentic and magical expression of a place and its people. Indoor-outdoor pools, indoor water playground, hot tubs, rope swings, docks and slides are sure to provide year-round fun. Or, if you prefer, simply watch all the action from the comfort of your dock chair.
Plunge! has something for everyone, infant to senior. With swimming lessons, water fitness, and more, kids and children will have fun, as will the adults in the family.

Website: http://plungebluemountain.ca/

Price: Rates are flexible: full and half-day, family pass, etc. Regular full day rate for adult is $17 and for 3-13 year old child - $12.

Map with attractions

1. Rent a cottage in Haliburton Highlands

Haliburton Highlands is one of the top cottage destinations in Ontario that has activities for everyone on hundred of interconnected lakes, forests, golf courses and in beautiful Haliburton village.

Website: Haliburton Cottage Rentals

Price: In summer average price is $1500-$3000 CAN per week and most cottages rented on weekly basis only starting from Saturday. In winter prices drop to $1000-$2000 per week and the duration of the rent become more flexible.

2. Go on the Canopy Tour - "Walk in the clouds"

"Walk in the clouds" is unforgetable 4-hours trip for nature lovers that takes you thorough basic element of nature - earth, water and air. It starts through guided van trip through the private lands of Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve.
Then you will have short half-a-kilometer walk along the scenic Pelaw River following guided canoe ride across a wilderness lake to the final destination.

The canopy boardwalk is the ultimate highlight of this outing. Over half a kilometer long - and as such the longest of its kind in the world - the canopy boardwalk winds through the treetops some 10-20 meters above the forest floor.

A spectacular view across the lakes and forests becomes a fitting closure to your tree top tour.

Website: http://www.haliburtonforest.com/canopy.html

Price: $95 per person including Wolf Reserve visit and it is required to reserve your tour in advance. The tour runs every day during the summer and children 10 or older allowed for this tour.

3. Visit Sculpture Forest

The Haliburton Sculpture Forest is a unique outdoor collection of sculptures by Canadian and international artists. The trails in the Sculpture Forest for walking and bike riding in spring, summer and fall and skiing in the winter, provide changing perspectives of the forest and the sculptures in each of the seasons.

The Sculpture Forest experience, which is unstructured and unscripted, is ideal for families looking for an interesting outing, for those who enjoy outdoor trails, and for people looking for a unique artistic experience.

A full tour takes approximately 1 - 1.5 hours and includes a tour guide who will provide you with background on the artists, the sculptures and the Sculpture Forest.

Website: http://www.haliburtonsculptureforest.ca

Price: The price of the tour is $5 per person, however you can take advantage of free admission on every Tuesday in July and August.

4. Visit Haliburton Forest Wolf Center

The Wolf Centre contains large indoor observatory overlooking the feeding area within the wolf compound. Most likely you will have a chance to observe wolf pack or individual members especially if you stay for longer period, but it is not guaraneed. There are also numerous exhibits, a small cinema/classroom, a retail area featuring a wide selection of wolf related books, tapes and graphics. So, at the end of you stay you will become a wolf expert.

Website: http://www.haliburtonforest.com/wolf.html

Price: Adult: $9.00; Children and Youths under 18: $6.00; Family: $20.00

5. Play golf in the Pine trees

If you're looking for a scenic and challenging golfing experience, Haliburton is the place to be.

The main feature of most Haliburton golf courses is amazingly tall pine trees and beautiful landscapes featuring hills and lakes.

Most golf courses offer varied terrain, lush fairways and excellent greens-keeping, as well as a fully equipped golf shop, cart rental, rental clubs, and driving range where you can warm-up before the game.

Here are some main golf clubs and hotel resorts that have website and are available to public:
Pinestone Resort,
Martinwood Resort,
Haliburton Highlands Golf Course,
Blairhampton Golf Club.

Price: Around $25-$40 for 9-holes and $50-$80 for 18-holes courses.

6. Drive ATV on Haliburton terrain

ATVs are all-terrain vehicles where the driver sits on and drives like a motorcycle. The only difference with motorcycle is that ATV gives you more stability.

With one of the largest trail systems in Ontario, Haliburton has over thousand kilometers of breathtaking ATV trails to offer outdoor enthusiasts. You and your family or friends can choose from easy scenic forest trails or more intermediate trails filled with mud bogs, river crossing steep hills, and one of a kind fault line terrain.

If you have your own ATV, you can just register with Haliburton ATV association and for $12 they will give you a map with the trail pass. If you don't own ATV and you still want to try it, you can rent ATV from Back Country tours.

Website: http://www.backcountrytours.ca

Price: Starting from $70 per hour

7. Climb Dorset Lookout Tower

Dorset Lookout Tower is a former fire tower that is over 100 feet tall and stands 365 feet above the Lake of Bays and the village of Dorset. It has beautiful breath-taking views and many radiant trails that start from the Tower.

You can enjoy picnic areas along with hiking trails. It is open to the public from end of May till middle of October.

Website: http://www.algonquinhighlands.ca/tower/index.html

Price: $4 per car

8. Kayak in Minden Wild Water Preserve

Minden Wild Water Preserve is the site of past Provincial and World Cup whitewater events.

Come and see professional paddlers challenge the tumbling waters of our World Class white water course. You can watch pros and amateurs battle it out in annual competitions, or even try it yourself through the beginner courses offered throughout the summer.

Powered by "Whitewater Ontario", the introductory kayak clinic is intended for first time paddlers or for those who wish to improve their basic kayaking skills. The course is designed as an introduction to recreational kayaking. The skills you will learn can be used for whitewater, touring, or sea kayaking.

Website: http://www.whitewaterontario.ca/index.php

Price: Kayak Clinic costs $220 per adult and $180 per junior

9. Ride the horse on Algonquin Trails

South Algonquin Trails offers you a horseback riding experience with certified trail guides.

Conveniently located between Haliburton and Bancroft, the area provides a natural environment for seeing rock outcroppings, ponds, beaver dams, streams, rivers, rugged hills, huge pine trees, and bear claw marks on the beech trees.

Operated during the summer months.

Website: http://www.southalgonquintrails.com/

Price: The prices start from $50 per hour per rider.

10. Discover Haliburton arts

Haliburton is famous for its artists.

You will find hundreds of artists that specialize in oil, acrylic and watercolour paintings, pottery, creative woodworking, needle art, sculpture and wood carving, metal works and blacksmithing, photography, sepia drawings, fabric art, home decor, handcrafted gifts, cottage accessories, folk art just to name a few.

Around every corner in Haliburton you'll see a gallery, a studio, a museum, or a theatre.

You can visit numerous shops and art galleries in Haliburton village, observe artists or even take short course.

Haliburton School of arts offers an amazing range of week long and weekend courses throughout the year.
Straw bale construction, digital photography, stained glass workshops, and watercolour painting classes are just a few of the courses available.

Website: http://www.haliburtonschoolofthearts.ca/

Price: Starts as low as $1.

11. Ski Haliburton Nordic Trails

The Haliburton Nordic Trails Association maintains a series of distinct trail systems comprising nearly 100km of groomed trails for the cross-country ski enthusiast.

Trails feature skate and classic grooming patterns, a 1.5 km lit-loop for night skiing, some trails suitable for novice skiers, and some of the most challenging terrain for cross-country skiing in Ontario.

Website: http://www.skihaliburton.com/

Map with attractions

1. Rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula

Bruce Peninsula offers very unique nature envrionment based on crystal blue water, ancient rocks and clear sky that is very healthy for humans. The best way to enjoy Bruce Peninsula is to spend whole week exploring its wonders in the wide variety of cottages offered by private owners and professional rental agencies. And the best way to find the perfect place from this wide variety is to use FindCottage.ca website.

Website: Bruce Peninsula cottage rentals

Price: In summer most cottages are rented on the weekly bases starting from Saturday. Average price during the summer months is $1000-$2500 per week. During late spring and early fall you can get the best deal and in winter most cottages are closed.

2. Explore Flowerpot Island

Flowerpots are rock formations that have a shape of flowerpots and are formed by erosion and separation of portion of the mainland rock. The process takes millions of years and it is still happening today. Flowerpot Island is an island (that was part of the land bridge connecting Bruce Peninsula with Manitoulin Island) that has two Flowerpot Formations is just short boat ride away from Tobermory.

The island contains 6 km trail system that takes you around the island interior. It leads you through variety of forest settings and naturally formed caves (you get to them climbing beautiful wooden staircases). This place is also a beautiful nesting place for many birds and other animals. To get to the island you need to take the tour boat.

Website: http://www.pc.gc.ca/amnc-nmca/on/fathomfive/index_E.asp

Price: The tour boats prices range from $25 to $40 per adult.

3. Hike Bruce Trail in Bruce Peninsula National Park

The Bruce Peninsula Nation Park was established in 1987, and it is a part of the Niagara Escarpment. The park is 156 square kilometers, and is considered to be one of the largest protected park areas in southern Ontario. Visitors of the park get an opportunity to see how the southern Ontario wilderness once looked.

The park is great for outdoor adventures such as hiking and camping. The parks main attraction is its preserved wildlife such as deer, chipmunk, red squirrel, black bear and foxes. The park also features a wide variety of flowering orchids, of which there is 44 species in the park.

Hikers should check out the breath taking views from the Overhanging Point, Halfway Rock point, Cave Point and Halfway Log Dump.
All of those are very famous sightseeing places, and if you are there, make sure to check out the Grotto, a huge cave formation with Georgian Bay water in its bottom.

Website: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/bruce/index.aspx

Price: Daily parking is $11.70 per car. Camping is $23.50 per night.

4. Dive clear waters to see ship-wrecks

Tobermory, small village that is located on top of Bruce Peninsula, attracts many diving enthusiasts, mainly because there are tons of stuff to see underwater. There are over twenty ship wrecks in the clear waters of Tobermory, many of them dating back to mid-19th and early 20th centuries. The underwater beauty doesn't stop with the ships; beneath the water you will find beautiful corals, underwater caves and stunning geological formations.

There are few locations in Tobermory that organize scuba adventures and rent diving gear:
Diver's Den, G+S Watersports.

Website: http://www.diversden.ca/

Price: The prices start from $40 per dive and packages that include gear and dive start from $120. You are required to have a diver license.

5. Ride Chi-Cheemaun Ferry with your car

The MS Chi-Cheemaun is a passenger and a car ferry service that has been in operation since 1930s. The ferry goes between Tobermory and South Baymouth on Manatoulin Island and connects the two geographically-separate portions of Highway 6, the service runs seasonally from mid-May to mid-October.

It completely worth to spend one full or even multiple days on Manitoulin Island that is the world's largest freshwater island famous for its spectacular sunsets, scenic landscapes and tranquility.

The ferry has a capacity for carrying 648 passengers and 143 vehicles, including room for large transport vehicles such as buses and transport trucks.

Website: http://www.ontarioferries.com/chi/english/index.html

Price: The prices for Adults start at $15.95, rates per vehicle range from $34.70-$74.50.

6. Hit Sauble Beach

Sauble Beach is a resort area on the eastern shores of Lake Huron, and it is a very popular tourist attraction in Bruce Peninsula. The shoreline is over 11km long, and is said to be the second longest freshwater beach in the world after Wasaga Beach. The shoreline has an interesting phenomenon that has developed sand dunes, which keep the beach very shallow and warm, and that makes it a perfect family getaway with children.

Sauble Beach is endless for the activities such as swimming, windsurfing, water-skiing, tennis, beach volleyball and etc. Sauble Beach is also very popular among the cottage owners and renters, to accommodate a lot of people, Sauble beach is filled with local business that provide great food, restaurants, hotels, daycare and a medical clinic. Many restaurants on Sauble Beach provide free high-speed internet connection, so even if you are on vacation, you can always stay connected.

Website: http://www.saublebeach.com/

Price: Free

7. Enjoy the spirit of Tobermory village

Website: http://www.tobermory.org/public/jpage/1/p/Home/content.do

8. Camp at Sauble Falls Provincial Park

Sauble Falls Provincial Park is located in south part of Bruce Peninsula, in the lower base of Sauble River. The park is divided in campgrounds, the side on the west is a quiet site, while the east side is not, and perfect for group camping. The park is also great because you don't necessarily need to camp there, as you can just enjoy Sauble Falls.

During spring and fall the area is perfect for fishing enthusiasts as Rainbow Trout and Chinook salmon are popular fish in the Sauble Fall. In the summer people tend to do a lot of water activities around the park, such as water rafting and cliff jumping.

Website: http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/saub.html

Price: Camp site rentals are usually from $25.75 to $40.00 depending if the site has electricity or not.

9. Ride a Mountain Bike at Adventure park

For adventures mountain bikers Bruce Peninsula can offer Mountain Bike Adventure Park - the Eastern Canada's first legal free-ride mountain bike park. The park is located just north of Wiarton. The park has over 20 km of trails and it features rock drops, skinnys, suspension bridges, teeter totters and dirt jumps. The trails also vary by difficulty levels, so this makes the park appealing to all kind of riders. Admission to the park is FREE!

If you are more into recreational biking, you can still enjoy on many paths around Tobermory and if you don't have a bicycle, it is not a problem since there are rentals available right in Tobermory.

Website: http://www.mtbthebruce.com/

Price: Bicycle Rent is around $15.50 to $23.50 per day of biking.

10. Visit Neyaashiinigaamiing First Nations reserve

Neyaashiinigaamiing or in other words Cape Croker is the name of the reserve located just north of Wiarton. A First Nations community that still lives there is big part of Bruce Peninsula and its history, as they have lived there for centuries.

Neyaashiinigaamiing is surrounded by Georgian Bay and the Niagara Escarpment, so the scenery is incredible. The area is saturated with exotic plants and wildlife, and of course the native community. While visiting you can check out the trails that take you through the reserve, you can also purchase souvenirs and learn a lot about Bruce Peninsula and its First Nations history.

Website: http://www.capecrokerpark.com

11. Explore Bruce's Caves

Bruce's Caves Conservation Area is located 4.8km northeast of Wiarton. The conservation area is almost 7 hectares in size; it consists of Niagara Escarpment, rock talus, upland hardwoods, wooded swamp and caves.

The main cave has a 20 m high portal with a stone pillar in the entrance. The caves are significant in that they dramatically illustrate ancient weathering processes and the magnitude of post-glacial lake levels created 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. The caves are for you to enjoy for free, parking is also available near by.

Website: http://www.brucegreytrails.com/trail.php?Trail=15

Price: Free

For each listing you create on FindCottage.ca website, we create a special availability calendar page with all your rental rates. This page can be easily integrated into your existing website, enhancing the appearance of your page.

Another benefint of such integration is the ability to manage your availability calendar in one place using easy-to-use FindCottage.ca's interface. Any changes you make to your listing's calendar are automatically propogated to your website.

To enable the calendar follow this simple steps:

Step 1. You have your own webpage with your own availability calendar.
Here is the example of such page:

Step 2. You create your cottage listing on FindCottage.ca website. Upon successful registration, you will get an email that contains a link to your calendar.
For example: http://www.findcottage.ca/all_season_cottages_calendar.html

Step 3. Now you can embed this html page into your website by adding the following HTML code to your webpage (you can ask your web developer to help you with this task):

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.findcottage.ca/all_season_cottages_calendar.html" width="888" height="500"></iframe>

You might adjust the width and hight to fit your page.

Step 4.
At the end your web page will look like this:

We decided to spend Labour weekend at Bruce Peninsula, famous for its crystal clear water, ancient stone plates and rocks, pebble beaches and challenging hiking trails. Our initial thought was to stay at Cyprus Lake or private campground, or in worse case scenario at the motel. But all sites and rooms were booked. It was possible to get a regular motel room for $173 per night, but we thought it is too pricey.
And then we were lucky enough to book so called “backcountry campsite”. There are only 18 sites like these offered by Bruce Peninsula National Park. These sites can be only accessed by feet through moderate difficulty hike trails and don’t have electricity, therefore are not popular among regular tourists. They offer true wilderness experience. And unbelievably 3 sites out of 18 were still available two days prior one of the most popular long weekends in Canada!

Of course, such camping requires some fitness and special equipment, but I already collected all camping items over last 8 years of camping. Some important items for two-day backcountry camping are: hiking boots, large backpacks (75-85 liters), light-weight tent (I love my $400 MSR Mutha Hubba tent), small gas stove, light-weight sleeping bags and sleeping pads. Also you need to take proper amount of food to last at least 5 servings, as the calories burn fast.

So, after one day of preparation, we left Toronto on early Saturday morning to get to Cyprus Lake Park around 10 am. It took us 4 hours to get there. At Cyprus Lake you pay the fees and register your vehicle for overnight parking.

Bruce Peninsula has 2 backcountry campgrounds called “High Dump” and “Stormhaven”. There are four main access points: from the south it is north end of Crane Lake road (Highway 6 -> Dyers Bay -> Crane lake), in the middle we have Halfway Log Dump that is the end of Emmett Lake Rd and Cyprus Lake; and you can access the trail from the north at the end of Little Cove Rd.

Ideally, you can spend 3 days of hiking starting from Crane Lake to High Dump on the first day (8km), then hiking 12km to Stormhaven on the second day finishing in Tobermory on the third day with 20 km hike. But since we had only 2 days, we decided to hike from Cyprus Lake to Stormhaven and then hike back on the second day. The backcountry campsite costs around $30 per night plus you pay $12 for each night of parking.

Initially we hiked from Cyprus Lake to Grotto. Grotto is the most popular attraction for all Cyprus Lake campers (hundreds of them), so don’t expect any privacy or piece there on the long weekend . In a summer weekend it reminds a zoo. But once you get away from the Cyprus Lake trail, it is getting very quite and wild. We met only few people during our 1.5 hour hike.

The water is very clear therefore it does not get warm even by the end of the summer. I would assume it was around 15 degrees Celsius, but it was completely worth getting through the chill due to the amazing snorkeling in the blue wonderland.

The hike trails gives very good variety of shore line, steep rocks and deep woods. It is marked with very visible white marks that are hard to miss. By the way, the trail is part of the larger Bruce Peninsula trail that is 863 km long and connects Niagara Falls with Tobermory.

Once we arrived to the site, we were impressed with the quality of campsites. Campsites had wood platform for the tent, special ropes for storing the food away from bears and very fancy composting bathroom that uses sawdust.

Because of few campsites, the community of campers is very small and cozy. It consists of hikers and kayakers and most of them are very experienced travelers with many interesting stories to share. The sunset was breathtaking. In the morning we had our breakfast prepared on gas stove (open fires are prohibited), packed backpacks and hiked back from this small paradise.

There are a lot of great rental cottages at Bruce Peninsula and hiking the Bruce Trail can be great one day adventure.

Beside amazing panaramic views, fine dining and gambling opportunities, Niagara Falls offers great hiking.

Our favorite trail starts just 10 minutes drive from the famous Niagara Falls down the Niagara River. This trail is part of Niagara Glen Nature Reserve maintained by the government, and this reserve has free parking, washrooms, picnic tables and look-out points.

The trail goes along the Niagara Falls river that separates Canada from United States and it is kind of cool to see the foreign country on the other side of the river. Actually, I would say that Niagara river forms a mini-canyon with relatively sharp descend from the main road. You can make various loops as part of this trail, but I prefer to go opposite to clock-wise direction descending right to the whirlpool and returning on the top of the rim.

So, the trail starts with a sharp descend to famous Whirlpool, place where Niagara river makes a sharp 90 degrees turn towards lake Ontario.

This place is famous among fishing enthusiasts especially in the fall season.

You can also observe large masses of water that pass through narrow parts of the river. The trail has many huge rocks that over time fall from the top of the rim. As time passes, these rocks get integrated into the landscape by plants that cover them from bottom to top. I even like them more than famous Flowerpot rocks at Bruce Peninsula.

At some point you get a feeling that the whole place is a battlefield bombed with the huge rocks. The river is also utilized by the Whirlpool Jet Boats that offer a thrill of flying through the rapids. I personally enjoy watching them rather then being part of the ride. The trail featuring beautiful breach and maple trees and it gets even prettier in the fall.

Be prepared for medium difficulties ascend to get on the top of the rim. Once there, you will be rewarded with beautiful panoramic views and asphalt pedestrian road. Overall, this is amazing trail that can be used as half day adventure at your stay in Niagara Falls area.

Here are the things that can go wrong:

1. Cancelation.
Situation: You booked a cottage in advance, but you cannot go due to some emergency (death in the family, illness, jury duty, your house burned down, etc).

Solution: First, you need to become familiar with the cancellation policy of your rental. All respectable cottage owners or rental agencies should have Terms and Conditions document that you sign/agree during the booking process. This document should clearly outline the cancellation policy. In most cases if you can notify the cottage owner in advance, there is chances that the cottage can be re-booked and you will get refunded. Even if your rental dates are getting re-booked, rental agencies still charging cancellation fee that is in $100-$200 range.

Second, you can purchase cancellation insurance. There are multiple brokers that provide such kind of insurance for cottage rentals, e.g. TravelGuard.ca or InsureMyTrip.ca. These companies will insure your trip, but you would need two documents if you want to claim your insurance - prove of payment and prove of accident (death certificate, doctor's note, pink slip, etc). Please note that they will note reimburse your money if you "just changed your mind".

The cost of cancellation insurance is very reasonable - usually less than 5% of your trip cost. For example, I was charged only $75 for my $2,000 1-week vacation at the private cottage.

2. Damage.
Situation: something was broken/damaged during your stay at the cottage. It can be furniture, doors, windows, toilet, roof, etc.

Solution: Terms and Conditions document should outline your responsibilities in case of damage. Most cottage owners should have their own cottage insurance that covers damages caused by renters. Be aware that some cottage owners are not disclosing the fact that the cottage gets rented by the outsiders to their insurance company in order to save money on insurance premiums. In these cases the damage caused by renters is not covered.

Cottage insurance has a deductible that usually equals to your damage deposit. So, if something will go wrong, cottage owner can use your deposit to fix the damage and if it is not enough - claim his/her own insurance.

It is almost impossible to get the insurance from 3rd party for your damage deposit, however some rental agencies provide Damage Protection plan, e.g. RentCottage. The price of such plan is around $50 and it gives you complete coverage (but it does not mean that you can go completely wild :)).

Here are some tips how to make sure that you are not losing your damage deposit:
- inspect the cottage at the arrival and inform cottage owner about all existing damages;
- if you or somebody from your party caused a damage, please inform the cottage owner. First, you always need to be responsible for your deeds and second, you will have a chance to negotiate the price of your damage rather than losing complete deposit;
- upon departure, arrange second inspection with cottage owner or his/her trusted person to make sure that there are no new damages. Ask to put the results of the inspection in writing and keep this document until your damage deposit if fully refunded;

Unfortunately, if the cottage owner does not want to return your damage deposit and you feel that it is not fair, there is nothing much you can do except going to the Small Claims Court and/or sharing your experience on the internet by writing review on the sites like FindCottage.ca.

3. Medical Emergency.
If you live in Canada and renting cottage in Canada, you don't need to worry about your Medical Insurance, since all Canadians are covered by the government. All you need to do is not to forget your Health Card.

If you are travelling from abroad, I strongly recommend you to purchase the medical insurance from travel insurance company (the companies outlined above also provide medical insurance).

Before arriving to the cottage, you need to find out where is the location of the closest hospital. In case of real emergency, call 911 (preferably from the local phone).

Most likely your vacation will go without any accidents, but don't leave everything to chance.

Here are some tips on how to book cottage rental:

1. Make up your mind.

Before even starting a search for rental cottage, you need to decide for yourself what you want from it. First - define your goal. For example, big family get together, friends gathering, celebration of some event, exploration, get away into wilderness, etc. Once the goal is set, identify people who will join you, your maximum budget and "must have" features of the cottage rental. For one type of renters "must have" features would include popular location with many attractions and direct access to water, for others - sandy beach, high-speed internet, sauna and billiard in private location.

2. Start searching

There are literarily hundreds of listing websites that provide you some kind of cottage rental inventory in Canada. Rental management agencies also host websites with the properties they manage but usually it is limited to 20-200 cottages. We personally think that FindCottage.ca is the best listing site, but it is up for you to decide. First, we deal both with private owners and rental agencies. Second, we have unique feature that allows you to see accurate and instant price quote for any cottage for any given period of time. Compare it to the manual way of determining your final price depending on the time of the year and duration of your stay. Third, our search engine allows to narrow your results based on cottage features, location, number of people, price range, etc.

Please note that during summer season and around New Year most cottages can be booked only on weekend basis. Another important point is that for private cottages the weekly rental usually starts on Saturday. If you have some flexibility in your rental dates, you can use our "Flexible Date Search" feature to get better selection of cottages for the best price.

3. Contact cottage owner

Best way to contact cottage owners is to phone them. Many cottage owners are located in remote areas where internet is still a luxury and many of them don't check their email on regular basis.
Once you contacted the cottage owner, be prepared to answer and to ask many questions.

Good cottage owners always have many screening procedures that are designed to make sure that the cottage keys are given to responsible people who would treat their cottage with respect. For example you will be asked to provide total number of people who plan to visit the cottage, their age, if there is special purpose for this trip (e.g. bachelor party), what kind of pets will be brought if any, if you rented private cottage before, etc.

You also should confirm any details that you found in the listing and ask additional questions. For example, how close is the water, if the cottage has shared facilities, how to get there (you might find that the cottage is only accessible by water), what is the final price with all fees and taxes. Any potential referals might be helpful as well. For some cottages you might find cottage reviews on our website.
Another important discussion you should have with a cottage owner is booking deposit, cancelation and damage policies.

4. Reserve cottage

If you have made enough research, you probably should know if you are getting a good deal or not. Please note that there are no free breakfasts in cottage rental business. Good cottages in prime places are rented for $2,000-$3,000 per week during summer months and if your cottage is cheaper - most likely there is some sacrifice involved (distance, location, cottage features, etc).

Once you ready to reserve, you would need to give your credit card or send a check to the cottage owner to reserve your spot. There are a lot of scam going on with personal checks, therefore cottage owners prefer credit cards (if they can process them) or certified checks or checks that are received long time in advance.
At this stage you also need to sign and fax/email "Terms and Conditions" of your rental. Read it carefully before signing to avoid any surprises.

5. Arrival

There are three possible scenarios for getting access to the cottage: you will be provided with access code from the lock box that contain a key, owner will give you the key on your way to the cottage or owner will meet you at the cottage.

Once you arrived, immediately check cottage for broken equipment or furniture. If you will find any damage, notify cottage owner immediately to avoid damage penalties for things you did not break.