A Québec City Mother and Son Adventure

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Take a walk in Lower Québec City.
Lower Québec, Québec City, Canada: Photo credit: Kim Orlando

As our sons become adults, the dynamic of our relationship shifts. Phone calls become a lifeline, keeping us connected amidst busy schedules.  Free from daily interruptions, a mother-son adventure is more than just a getaway, it’s an investment in our relationship.  Being away from our usual surroundings, my son and I were both learners and explorers in the beautiful setting of Québec City.

We agreed on Québec City because it is a destination that perfectly blends European charm, vibrant city life, outdoor activities, incredible food and friendly people.  And it doesn’t require a transatlantic flight.

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A mother and son selfie during an adventure in Quebec
Adulting abroad in Quebec City, Canada. Photo credit: Kim Orlando

It wasn’t just about seeing the sights, though that was certainly part of the fun. The real magic happened in the unexpected conversations that flowed naturally. Instead of the usual “How was work today?” Our talks ranged from the culture and history around us to family dynamics and even politics.

Enjoy the views of Québec City, St. Lawrence River, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, when you take a mother and son trip to Québec Canada.
Québec City, St. Lawrence River, Le Chateau Frontenac.. Photo credit: Kim Orlando

Friends often ask me how I “got” my son to travel with me now that he is grown. Simple… I asked!  I honestly didn’t realize that it is a bit unconventional to travel with an adult son;; but now that I think about it, it does seem so much more common for mothers to travel with their daughters. The dynamics between a mother and son are unique, and I want to know him more as an individual, not only as my son.

Dario and his dad did a trip together to Italy and he loved that trip too, for different reasons.  They both like golf and sports. They did guy stuff.  I don’t golf or love sports so Dario and I focused on cultural activities and food in Québec City, which worked great. We ate a meal at ARVI that we are still talking about – it’s an open kitchen concept where chefs are also servers and each course is presented by the chef who created it, along with a wine pairing.  We ate beaver tail, coffee and croissants, deliciously prepared local fare at Le Vivoir and sampled bison tartare at the Wendake owned La Traite.  

Read More: Tips from me and from my son for planning a mother-son getaway.

Charming Québec City

We stayed at Le Monastère des Augustines, a wellness retreat and mindfulness center in the heart of Québec City that Dario added to his list of favorite hotels.  (You can read our full review of this incredible place.)

We walked all over the city, stopping at the Citadel, Parliament and the famous Fairmont Le Chateâu Frontenac.  And the good news is that Dario said he would definitely travel with me again – 1X/year. I’ll take it.  

SheBuysTravel Tip: Québec City is even a great spot to visit in the winter. Just be sure to dress the part!

Capture the memories in pictures along the streets of Quebec city.
Kim Orlando and her son in Québec City, Canada; Photo credit: Kim Orlando

Dario said the driving factors for him agreeing to take a trip with me were (in his order, I promise!)

  • Quality time
  • Low/no cost
  • Could be without parents one day.  

Four days is the sweet spot for our trips. And it was plenty of time to get acquainted with Québec City.  Scheduling time together takes effort and flexibility on both parts. My “kids” are grown and lead busy lives. So do I for that matter. We found that 4 days is long enough to break free from the daily grind, yet short enough to avoid complicated logistics (hello, work schedules!).  

His list of benefits of a trip with mom only:

  • Creates newness – new conversations with Mom from the experience of exploring a new area.
  • Forced to be together the whole time. No running off to watch TV or go out with a friend.
  • Creates a great memory. It’s time you will never get back.
  • Got to see Mom at work because she is a travel writer who will write about the trip. He said it felt like a “Bring Your Son to Work” trip.

His list of challenges of taking a trip with mom only:

  • Can’t do all the stuff he would normally do when he travels, i.e., party, talk to girls.
  • Sharing a room.
  • Patience.  He had to control his tolerance level for things he found annoying.  He would not name them so I choose to believe there his list is short.

Before we booked our flights, we made some ground rules for our trip. We agreed that we would share a room, choose up to two activities to do together that we felt were important to us, allow independent time, ask and not assume.  

So, if you’re considering asking your adult son to join you on a trip, I say go for it – even if it takes a while to coordinate schedules. The experiences you’ll share and the conversations you’ll have will be more than worth it. It’s a chance to see each other in a new light, to learn and grow together, and to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Click here for our Québec City Itinerary and our rankings (mine are in green, Dario’s are in blue).  

Kim Orlando, founder of SheBuysTravel, is a lifelong traveler, an entrepreneur and a sought-after social media and marketing consultant. She has made hundreds of appearances on TV and in digital and print media, sharing advice and tips built on decades of travel experiences. Hailing from the hills of Kentucky and taking her story to New York, Los Angeles, and beyond, Kim built an online platform, the original TravelingMom, that has reached millions of moms and empowered them to explore the world with their families. Today, TravelingMom has evolved into SheBuysTravel. Kim has been featured on “News Nation,” “Today,” “Good Morning America” and on numerous satellite media tours. She has contributed travel guidance to outlets including The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and more. (Read more about Kim’s media appearances here) Her travel mantra is simple: All travel counts. “You don’t have to go far. Leaving your home is travel,” Kim says. “Wherever you go, even just to the next town over, you can learn something new, see someone and something you haven’t seen before. “It’s good for the brain and good for the soul.” An epiphany in early parenthood started Kim on the journey that led to SheBuysTravel. She’d been a fan of a newsletter for women travelers, and she saw an opportunity. “I thought something like that for moms could be extraordinarily helpful,” she said. “I was traveling for work, traveling for fun, and I was looking for support.” That seed grew into the award-winning website TravelingMom, created as a resource for traveling families of all stripes. Today, TravelingMom has evolved into SheBuysTravel, with an expanded mission to serve women travelers at any stage of life. Millions of readers have visited the site for trip planning help, travel secrets, destination information and gear recommendations. What sets SheBuysTravel’s content apart, Kim says, is its foundation in real-world experience. “Our writers and editors have actually gone out there and done this stuff,” she says. “They’ve booked the flights, tried the tour, tested travel clothing, visited that new hot spot to see if it’s worth the hype. It’s all real.” Memorable Adventures A 2022 tour Kim guided to Bhutan was a particularly standout experience. “Bhutan sounds so exotic, of course,” she said. “But the part where my heart just glows and warms is thinking of the people we met – amazing women doing amazing things in Bhutan.” Their ranks included a former police officer whose ventures into food science helped mitigate food insecurity for residents of Bhutan’s highlands. Top Tips Planning for travel can be daunting, Kim acknowledges. “I always say: Go anyway. No trip is going to be perfect. There’s always going to be something you didn’t expect, something that doesn’t go the way you pictured or planned it. And that something is what’s going to make it a great trip.” And on a practical note: “Go early! Getting to the airport or hitting the road just an hour earlier relieves so much stress.” Kim’s Background Kim, a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, holds degrees in finance and entrepreneurship and has deep experience in developing and running businesses. Her previous work includes developing and running communications workshops and overseeing document management for corporations. SheBuysTravel hits a sweet spot where Kim’s two loves of travel and entrepreneurship meet. “The longer I work in this field, I only want to do more,” she says. “I find the travel world so exciting – not just the trips, but the whole online world of travel. There are still so many opportunities.” The World Awaits “The ‘best trip ever’ probably won’t be the same for an empty-nester or mom of three versus a single woman celebrating a bachelorette party with her friends,” Kim says. “We want to keep it real for traveling women, no matter what their age, life stage, where they came from or where they’re going. “We want to inspire women to travel in any shape or form.” In her free time, Kim enjoys visiting her adult kids, creating trips and traveling with her BFFs to explore the world. Her most recent adventures can be found on InstagramFacebook and LinkedIn.
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One response


  1. Love the things shared and things unsaid! “Choose to believe…” is a fine way to fill in the gap.
    Absolutely OK to share a room after a lifetime of being mother and son.

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