Beaches, Islands, Lobster & More
A Tailor-Made Fly-Drive Holiday to Nova Scotia, Canada
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Itinerary
This is Canada’s traditional gateway to the world, combining charming old wooden homes and Victorian parks with modern shopping centres. The largest city in the region, it is home to 5 universities and several colleges and has the ambience of a lively university town. Ships, from the tall ship Bluenose II to naval vessels, can still be seen in the harbour, but old warehouses and shipfitters shops have become part of an exciting boardwalk along the waterside.
Hotel: Atlantica Hotel Halifax or similar
Day 2: Halifax – Eastern Shore (ca. 275 km)
As you follow the Marine Drive, you can visit your choice of several parks with sandy beaches and wild seascapes of rocky islands and points. Sherbrooke Village is a ”living museum” partially restored to its frontier days.
Hotel: Seawind Landing Country Inn or similar
Day 3: Eastern Shore – Baddeck (ca. 280 km)
Today you may want to explore some of the most rugged and isolated parts of Nova Scotia’s coast, including the tiny fishing village of Canso, before crossing to Cape Breton Island by causeway and arriving at the lakeside resort village of Baddeck.
Hotel: Auberge Gisele’s or similar
Day 4: Cape Breton Island
Visit the walled fortress of Louisbourg, where costumed animators (in season) live the life of this former French capital of America as in 1744, or drive the Cabot Trail, the most famous scenic drive in Eastern America. Moose are common and can sometimes be seen from the roadside. Walking trails are excellent, and whales can often be seen from the hills overlooking the coast.
Hotel: same as Day 3
Day 5: Baddeck – Charlottetown (ca. 250 km)
Follow the shores of the Bras D’Or Lake, Canada’s great inland salt sea, to return to the mainland of Nova Scotia. Visit the historic town of Pictou, where the Scots first landed in New Scotland (Nova Scotia). A 75 minute ferry trip brings you to Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province.
Hotel: Heritage Harbour House or similar
Day 6: Charlottetown – O‘Leary/Alberton (ca. 175 km)
This morning you will have some time to explore Charlottetown, capital and only city of Prince Edward Island. Visit the Province House National Historic Site, Victoria Row or the Confederation Centre of Arts. Charlottetown is also close to Prince Edward Island National Park, which occupies the coast. By evening you come to your accommodation on the island’s ”North Shore”.
Hotel: Hunter House Inn or similar
Day 7: Explore Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island features endless sand beaches, tiny farms, and picturesque country roads. Follow the North Cape Coastal Drive to the less-visited Western part of PEI. Here, red sandstone capes jut into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and you can dine on fine seafood overlooking the white dunes of Cedar Dunes Provincial Park.
Hotel: same as Day 6
Day 8: O‘Leary/Alberton – Richibucto
(ca. 260 km)
Cross the 13 km long Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick. Walking trails and a viewing platform at the Cape Jourimain Nature centre let you view the bridge and a National Wildlife Area. Follow the ”Acadian Coast” along the warm waters of Northumberland Strait. Attractions include the historic theme park ”Pays de la Sagouine” and beautiful great sand dunes which you can visit at Bouctouche and Kouchibouguac National Park.
Hotel: Chalet du Havre or similar
Highlights
Day 9: Richibucto – Caraquet (ca. 175 km)
Spend some time exploring and enjoying Kouchibouguac National Park before continuing along the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Caraquet, the unofficial ”Capital” of French-speaking Maritimers. Shippagan is home to New Brunswick’s largest fishing fleet and an outstanding aquarium. The nearby islands of Lameque and Miscou (accessible by highway bridges) offer attractions ranging from Ecological parks to baroque music festivals.
Hotel: Auberge de la Baie or similar
Day 9: Richibucto – Caraquet (ca. 175 km)
Spend some time exploring and enjoying Kouchibouguac National Park before continuing along the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Caraquet, the unofficial ”Capital” of French-speaking Maritimers. Shippagan is home to New Brunswick’s largest fishing fleet and an outstanding aquarium. The nearby islands of Lameque and Miscou (accessible by highway bridges) offer attractions ranging from Ecological parks to baroque music festivals.
Hotel: Auberge de la Baie or similar
Day 10: Caraquet – Ludlow/Miramichi River
(ca. 300 km)
You can follow the Miramichi River inland to your rustic resort accommodation. Drive through the forested heart of the region to the world famous Miramichi River. On your way you might stop by one of the wooden covered bridges or at the small suspension bridges crossing the river.
Hotel: Pond’s on the Miramichi or similar
Day 11: Miramichi River Area
Your riverside accommodation offers chances for hiking, canoeing, salmon fishing and moose watching or you may wish to visit Fredericton, the capital city of New Brunswick, with its art galleries and craft shops, or Kings Landing Historical Settlement.
Hotel: same as Day 10
Day 12: Ludlow/Miramichi River – St. Andrews (ca. 220 km)
Continue to Fredericton, and on to St. Andrews, one of Canada’s oldest seaside resort town. The Bay of Fundy is home to the world’s highest tides. Large tidal rivers expose broad expanses of mud banks and salt marshes (an Eldorado for many migrating birds) at low tide. Hours later they are covered with 12 or more metres of water.
Hotel: Rossmount Inn or similar
Day 13: Bay of Fundy
Enjoy today a whale watching and nature cruise
(optional). The Bay of Fundy hosts fifteen different species, including the dramatic humpbacks and rare North Atlantic Right Whale. Or you may want to visit one of the famous islands nearby: Deer Island where you can see ”The Old Sow”, the largest tidal whirlpool in the western hemisphere, or Grand Manan.
Hotel: same as Day 12
Day 14: St. Andrews – Moncton (ca. 320 km)
Drive along the scenic Fundy Coastal Drive to Saint John, famous for its ”Reversing Falls”, large rapids which reverse their direction when the tides of the Bay of Fundy push the water back! Continue to Fundy National Park and Hopewell Rocks, where you can walk on the ocean bottom when the tide is out.
Hotel: Auberge Wild Rose or similar
Day 15: Moncton – Wolfville (ca. 300 km)
Visit Joggins and Parrsboro, where semi–precious gems and dinosaur fossils have been found before continuing along the shores of the Bay of Fundy and past vineyards to Wolfville, an old University Town.
Hotel: Blomidon Inn or similar
Day 16: Wolfville – Kejimkujik NP (ca. 160 km)
Visit Grand Pre Winery for a Tour & Wine Tasting. Kejimkujik NP, with 380 sqkm of forests, lakes, and rivers, contains rock drawings and an Indian graveyard which are illustrations of an Indian life that goes back almost 5000 years. Turtles are abundant as a result of the hot summer climate.
Hotel: Mersey River Chalets or similar
Day 17: Kejimkujik NP – Halifax (ca. 160 km)
Nova Scotia’s south shore boasts UNESCO World Heritage Site Lunenburg, a historic fishing town settled by German immigrants from the Rhineland who became famous wooden ship builders, and Peggy’s Cove, Canada’s most visited and photo-graphed fishing village. Rocky harbours with uncountable bays and islands have made this a pirate’s and smuggler’s paradise for over 300 years. Tiny fishing villages cling to the ocean edge; white sand beaches stretch endlessly. Each day, small lobster boats go to sea and return with Nova Scotia’s most precious export.
Hotel: Atlantica Hotel Halifax or similar
Day 18: Departure
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