The best things to do in Midland, Ontario, in one day are Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, Wye Marsh, the downtown murals and harbour, then Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene. From Barrie it is about 50 km and 40–50 minutes. Our Midland and Penetanguishene limo service starts at a $250–290 sedan planning range one way, or $135–160 an hour with the car waiting.
What are the best things to do in Midland, Ontario, in one day?
Midland sits at the south end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, and its sights fall into three clusters: two big attractions side by side on Highway 12 East, the painted downtown and harbour, and Penetanguishene's naval harbour a short drive along the shore. A good day from Barrie links three of them and leaves room for lunch. Trying for five is how a pleasant outing turns into a march.
This post is the companion to our fare page. It assumes you have decided to go and want to know what to do when the car pulls up. For distances, planning ranges and vehicle choice, the Midland and Penetanguishene city page has the full table.
How far is Midland from Barrie, and what does the ride cost?
Downtown Midland is about 50 km from downtown Barrie, 40–50 minutes by Highway 400 north and Highway 93. These are one-way planning figures for a business sedan, all-in plus HST, with tolls and gratuity included. The reservation engine quotes your exact address, date and vehicle before you confirm.
| Trip from downtown Barrie | Distance | Drive time | Business sedan, one way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midland | about 50 km | 40–50 min | $250–290 |
| Orillia (on the way if you take Highway 12) | 38 km | 30–35 min | $215–245 |
| Hourly chauffeur, business sedan | 3 h minimum | car waits for you | $135–160 per hour |
| Hourly chauffeur, business SUV | 3 h minimum | up to 5 guests | $175–205 per hour |
| Hourly chauffeur, executive SUV | 3 h minimum | up to 6 guests | $225–265 per hour |
Larger vehicles on a trip of this length are quoted by the engine. A four-hour sedan booking is $540–640 all-in plus HST, which covers the drive and one long stop; a full Midland day usually needs seven or eight booked hours, because the clock runs from your Barrie pickup to your Barrie drop-off.
Which sights suit which kind of visitor?
The same three hours means different things to different people. Use the table to choose a core and add a second stop only if everyone still has energy.
| Who is travelling | Core stop | Second stop | Skip unless asked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family with children under ten | Wye Marsh trails and swans | Midland harbour and murals | Long museum visits |
| Two history-minded adults | Sainte-Marie among the Hurons | Discovery Harbour | A cruise (it eats the afternoon) |
| Grandparents with limited walking | Downtown murals from the car and a short stroll | Huronia Museum | Trail-heavy sites |
| Photographers and birders | Wye Marsh and Awenda | Harbour at golden hour | Anything indoors |
| Friends who want a lazy day | Harbour lunch and a cruise | Murals | Two heritage sites in a row |
What is Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and when does it open?
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is a reconstructed seventeenth-century Jesuit mission at 16164 Highway 12 East. According to its own site, the original settlement was built in 1639 and was abandoned and burned in 1649. Visitors get interpreters, demonstrations, guided or self-guided tours, and there is an on-site restaurant that operates separately from admission. For 2026 the site said daily time travel began on May 2, and that special events, including the First Light holiday celebration, run at other dates.
Opening days change by season, so read the Sainte-Marie site before you pick a date. Our Sainte-Marie attraction page covers drop-off and timing.
Is Wye Marsh worth adding on the same highway?
Yes, and it is the easiest pairing of the day: Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre is at 16160 Highway 12 East, four street numbers from Sainte-Marie. Its site lists more than 25 km of trails open year-round for hiking, paddling and snowshoeing, an interpretive centre, a waterfowl monitoring station for trumpeter swans, birds of prey kept as educational ambassadors, and guided canoe, kayak and snowshoe tours. It is open seven days a week, 9 am to 5 pm.
For families it is the better stop for restless children, because the trails give them somewhere to move. Check the Wye Marsh site for tour times before you go, and wear boots in spring.
What about the Martyrs' Shrine?
The Martyrs' Shrine is the third landmark on that stretch of Highway 12, a national shrine honouring the Jesuit missionaries and lay people associated with the Huron mission. Midland Connect's local guide lists it among the town's top ten attractions. We could not open the shrine's own website when we checked, so we are not printing hours or seasons; call or check the site before you plan around it.
If it is on your list, tell the chauffeur at booking. The three Highway 12 stops are minutes apart, which is why an hourly booking (the car moves you between them without a parking search) beats three separate one-way trips.
What is there to see in downtown Midland and on the harbour?
Downtown Midland is built around its harbour. Midland Connect's guide describes more than 30 murals and sculptures in the downtown core, an outdoor gallery that you can walk in an hour with a coffee. The same guide lists boat cruises into the 30,000 Islands departing from Midland Harbour in the warm months, an 18 km Tay Shore Trail and the Midland Cultural Centre, a downtown venue with concerts, theatre and three galleries.
Cruise operators and schedules change, so we do not name one here; confirm the operator, the season and the length of the sailing before you set the pickup time. See Midland Connect's top ten things to do for the current list.
Is the Huronia Museum open when you are?
The Huronia Museum and Huron-Ouendat Village is at 549 Little Lake Park. Its site gives two seasons: from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving it opens daily from 9 am to 4:30 pm, with last admission at 3:30 pm; from Thanksgiving to Victoria Day it opens Monday to Friday only. That matters for a weekend in late autumn or winter, when the museum is closed and your plan needs a different second stop.
The village replica, which has a longhouse you can walk into, is the kind of stop children remember. Read the Huronia Museum site for current admission before you go.
What do you do in Penetanguishene?
Penetanguishene's headline stop is Discovery Harbour at 93 Jury Drive, a 30-acre living-history site on Penetanguishene Bay whose roots, the site says, go back to Sir John Graves Simcoe scouting the bay as a naval base in 1793. Restored nineteenth-century naval buildings, guided tours and seasonal events make up the visit.
October is a good month to know about: the site listed Pumpkinferno for October 1 to 31, 2026, Thursdays to Sundays from 6 to 10 pm, which is an evening outing that a chauffeur makes easy. Our Discovery Harbour page has more on the drop-off, and the Discovery Harbour site has the calendar.
Where do you walk, paddle or ski near Midland?
Awenda Provincial Park, at 670 Awenda Park Road in Tiny, is the nearest big park for a walk. Ontario Parks lists 31 km of trails, an interior lake for paddling, and year-round day use, with cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. Its camping season in 2026 runs through October 13, so a mid-October day trip is the last easy window to combine a walk with a campground visit.
Day-use permits and fees are the park's to set; check the Awenda page and buy what you need. A chauffeur can wait while you walk, and the car keeps jackets and wet boots dry.
What does a sample day look like, hour by hour?
Here is a seven-and-a-half-hour sedan or SUV day for two couples who like history and a good lunch.
- 9:00 Pickup in Barrie. Highway 400 north, then Highway 93, about 45 minutes.
- 9:45 Drop at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons for a morning with the interpreters.
- 12:15 The few minutes to Wye Marsh for a short boardwalk and trumpeter swan viewing, or straight to town.
- 13:00 Lunch in downtown Midland, with the murals as a walking tour after it.
- 14:45 Huronia Museum before its 3:30 pm last admission, in season.
- 16:15 Shore drive to Penetanguishene for Discovery Harbour, or a harbour coffee if legs are tired.
- 17:15 Home to Barrie, drop-off about 18:00 depending on traffic.
Should you book hourly or two one-way trips?
If you plan to be on site for most of the day, two one-way fares (a drop in the morning and a pickup in the afternoon) can cost less on paper, because you do not pay for waiting hours. The trade-off is that you are tied to a pickup time and to one location. Hourly lets you move between the Highway 12 sites, the harbour and Penetanguishene as you like, and nobody hunts for a parking space with a stroller.
The rule from dispatch: one destination all day, book one-way; three stops or any change of mind likely, book hourly. Our hourly versus point-to-point guide shows how to compare the totals, and the hourly chauffeur service page explains the clock.
Which vehicle should a family choose?
A business sedan takes three passengers and three bags, a business SUV five and five, an executive SUV or luxury minivan six and six, and a Sprinter up to fourteen. A family of four with a stroller and a cooler fits a business SUV better than a sedan; two families sharing a day fit an executive SUV or a Sprinter.
Child seats (infant or child, toddler and booster) are available on request from $25 each, added at booking, and the chauffeur fits them before pickup. Ask for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle in advance if anyone uses a wheelchair or scooter, and tell us at booking about the equipment. We do not state a ramp specification.
What changes in winter?
A great deal. The Huronia Museum drops to weekdays, some seasonal sites close or shorten, and Highway 93 and Highway 400 north of Barrie sit in the snowbelt, where lake-effect squalls can arrive from November to March with little warning. A bare road at your door can be white ten kilometres on.
What stays open and rewarding is the outdoors: Wye Marsh's year-round trails, snowshoeing, and Awenda's winter skiing. Dispatch watches Ontario 511, may suggest an earlier pickup when a squall warning is up, and the fare does not rise with the weather. Our winter driving safety article explains how a chauffeur decides.
Can you add Honey Harbour, Orillia or Wasaga Beach?
You can, if the day is long enough. The marina town of Honey Harbour, a launch point for Georgian Bay Islands National Park, is covered in our Honey Harbour and the Georgian Bay Islands guide, and Orillia is on the way out or back via Highway 12. Wasaga Beach is a different direction entirely; see Barrie to Wasaga Beach by limo.
A cleaner approach is to keep Midland as the whole day and save the islands for summer, when sailings run. Heritage plus a cruise is a full day; heritage plus a cruise plus a beach is a hurry.
Who pays for tickets, and what is not included?
You do. We drive; the sites sell admission. Our fare covers the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, tolls on the planned route and gratuity, with HST shown separately. Admission, cruise tickets, parking charged inside a private site, meals and any park day-use permit are separate.
Included waiting on a one-way pickup is 15 minutes, then 15-minute blocks, which is why a long visit is better booked hourly. There is no alcohol on board our vehicles, so a lunch toast stays at the table. If your trip begins with a flight into Pearson, our travel desk can arrange flights and hotel nights alongside the ride.
How do you book a Midland day direct?
Open the reservation engine, choose hourly, enter the Barrie pickup and Midland as the first stop, set the date and time, add child seats if you need them and read the fixed all-in fare. Book direct with BarrieLimo.net: no app, no aggregator commission, one dispatch desk.
Cancellation is measured from the scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours before is free; 72 hours or less is 10 per cent; 48 hours or less is 50 per cent; 24 hours or less or a no-show is 100 per cent. Pets need prior approval, requested at booking and confirmed in writing; service animals are welcome.
