Prince Edward Island, known as PEI to both residents and visitors, packs a lot of attractions into its 2,000 square miles. Located in the Canadian Maritimes, off the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the island is a favorite beach destination for families thanks to wide sand beaches and plenty of family attractions.
Cavendish Beach on PEI’s north shore is fun central during the summer months, and Marco Polo Land, a 100-acre campground and resort, is located in the heart of the action. “We are just five minutes from the main beach,” Dianne Wyand, office manager at Marco Polo Land, tells MobileRVing.com. “And we are very family oriented.”
Along with its 600 campsites, Marco Polo Land offers a variety of amenities and activities that make it a great destination. The Galley Restaurant with a menu of burgers and seafood, a Dairy Bar serving soft-serve and scoop ice cream, a laundromat, ATM and the Ship Store fill the needs of campers, while three solar heated swimming pools, jumping pillows, five playground areas, hay rides, daily recreation programs and game rooms keep kids busy. Live music featuring local musicians entertains guests most Friday nights.
In addition, Dianne says, “We have numerous theme weeks during the summer season, including Christmas, Halloween and Easter weeks; a Family Fair; Pirate Week; Disney Week; and Farm Week.” The Marco Polo Land campground is open in 2018 from May 28 to Oct. 1, with summer season activities from June 22 to Sept. 3.
“Marco Polo Land owners upgraded everything, including the play areas for children as shown above .”
In addition to the campground, Marco Polo Land includes a bed and breakfast inn located in a historic 1925 house and a variety of rental cabins. Campground owners Hennie and Harm Hoekstra, originally from the Netherlands, have expanded the rental cabins significantly with nine new deluxe cabins opening for the 2018 season, and more to come in 2019. Campsites have been upgraded as well with 22 new full hookup sites, 10 with 30 amp and 12 with 50 amp.
“Hennie and Harm have really made this a lovely place,” Dianne says. “They’ve had Marco Polo Land since 2006 and have upgraded everything, including the play areas, new jumping pillows, and renovated washrooms. The cabins are beautiful, with sitting porches, picnic tables, barbecue and patio sets and fire rings, air conditioning and heat, TV with cable, a fully equipped kitchen, and free WiFi.”
Dianne says the resort’s family friendly atmosphere is a priority for Hennie and Harm, who have three children (Roy, Melanie and Chantal) of their own. “We offer plenty of activities to entertain all ages,” she says. “A lot of families come here every year, to spend time with family and have fun.”
The Cavendish Beach resort area, just beyond the Marco Polo Land borders, includes a wide variety of activities popular with families. Prince Edward Island National Park includes freshwater wetlands and salt marshes, as well as sand dunes and expansive beaches, encouraging many watersports like kayaking, kiteboarding and paddleboarding, besides being a noted birding area. For those looking for more thrills, Cavendish Beach is the location of the Shining Waters Family Fun Park with both roller coasters and waterslides; the Sandspit Amusement Park with roller-coaster, ferris wheel, and other carnival favorites; Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium; Wax World of the Stars; Jurassic Bart’s Dinosaur Museum and Petting Zoo; and the Cavendish Beach Adventure Zone, featuring the Route 6 Motel Haunted House and Hangar Laser Tag. Other fun things to do include a paintball course, an escape room, an aquarium, a mining company and the Cavendish Car & Pet Wash, plus plenty of shopping options.
Cavendish is PEI’s mini-golf capital with three indoor and outdoor courses: Mariners Cove Mini Golf, Black Magic Indoor Black-light Mini-Golf, and River of Adventure Mini-Golf. It’s a noted destination for regular golf as well, with six golf courses in the region, known for their beautiful views and well-kept grounds, considered the finest in Canada.
If you’d like to mix some cultural education into the summer fun mix, Cavendish is home to several theaters and museums. The Watermark Theatre offers a full summer season of professional productions. The Ross Family Ceilidh presents PEI’s unique take on music and dance. But the undisputed star of Cavendish’s cultural scene is Anne of Green Gables, the red-headed heroine of L.M. Montgomery’s international classic set in rural PEI that brings visitors here from around the world.
Attractions around Cavendish invite you to enter Anne’s world. The L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish National Historic Site includes the Green Gables Heritage Place, the site of Montgomery’s birthplace, 19th century gardens, a farmyard, and walking trails that take you through the Haunted Wood and down Lovers Lane. The Anne of Green Gables Museum, located on the homestead of Lucy Montgomery’s uncle, is dedicated to the writer’s life and work. A don’t-miss for kids and adults alike is “Anne of Green Gables - The Musical,” the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the longest running annual musical theatre production, presented at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in nearby Charlottetown for more than 50 years and counting.
The friendly staff at Marco Polo Land is on hand to point guests toward all these activities and more in the region. In fact, they encourage kids to “take over the vacation” offering a variety of discounted Family Fun packages that include camping as well as admission to many of the area’s attractions. To echo Dianne Wyand, “this is the place to come have fun.”