Summer Mini Getaway: Port Dover

Being super pregnant means that I am not entirely ok with travelling too far from the hospital where I plan to be delivering, however that does not mean that staying home all summer is an option either. So we’ve planned and not really planned, a couple of mini getaways that make us feel like we are still enjoying the season without the usual “big trip.”

As someone who loves to travel, my family vacationed a lot growing up and my husband and I got bit by the Europe bug after we got engaged, the idea of a summer without a big holiday has kind of been a hard thing to get our heads around. So instead of a big Europe trip, we’ve decided to stay local this summer and see what Ontario’s got in store for us.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom asked if we wanted to join them on a mini-trip to Port Dover. At first I was a little taken aback by this considering she asked me on the Thursday and we were planning to leave on the Saturday. But we decided to go for it, and I am so glad we did!

Port Dover is an adorable little spot about an hour-and-a-half outside of Toronto. There is a little beach, that our son absolutely loved and a cute main street with some awesome local restaurants and shops.

These are a few of the highlights from our little trip.

The Beach

Port Dover beach is a great little spot to take your family on a daytrip or on a mini getaway. The beach is small, but there’s sand for the little ones to play in and we really enjoyed our time there. This is the first summer where our little one really likes playing in the water and in the sand so it was so exciting to see him enjoying the day!

Food

I love food and pregnant me really loves food! So a big part of travelling for us is always about the food.

The Crepe House

The Crepe House is European inspired and really does feel that way. We ate on the patio and the atmosphere, service, and of course, the food far exceeded our expectations! It’s just off of the main street and we actually ate there for dinner, which was a random, but awesome choice! My husband had a steak, yes he ate a steak a crepe restaurant, and it was cooked to perfection. It came with a delicious savoury crepe stuffed with mashed potatoes. I can honestly say that I totally eat off of his plate all the time, and that crepe was half mine by the end of the meal. I ate a super fresh Kale salad made with local produce and we shared one of the feature sweet crepes filled with local berries and jam. The food was so fresh and the crepes really melted in your mouth. I would recommend this place even if you weren’t planning a trip to the beach; it’s worth the drive!

Lago Trattoria

Lago is located on Main Street in Port Dover and is absolutely stunning. This restaurant caught my eye from a mile away. The blue lettering on the fresh white walls, framed with planter boxes of bright green basil echoes the Mediterranean coast. And while we didn’t have enough time to eat there, I am so sad about this, the restaurant boasts freshly made Italian fare from scratch, house made pasta and gelato. I can’t wait to go back and try it out and if you have a chance to try it, please let me know, because I’ve been craving homemade pasta since we were there. I wanted to eat there so badly that I took a picture out front to remember the spot for when we go back!

Shopping

I love laying on the beach, there’s just something kind of amazing about almost sleeping, half-naked, on the ground beside complete strangers that gets me every time. But when the sun is too hot to handle, which is a lot of the time when your pregnant, I can only think of one productive way to cool off; shopping! There are some great little shops on the main street in Port Dover, but one that I absolutely loved was 13 Reasons. I seriously could have bought-up the whole store, and I’m not exaggerating at all. They carried brands like Preloved, a Toronto favourite of mine and Slippa the makers of those round beach towels/blankets that seem to be taking the world by storm. I’ve had an Instagram obsession with these towels for a while, so when I saw one in the window I had to go into the shop. I left with some great finds including a gorgeous beach dress that works well as maternity wear too!