sulurph

Hello!
My husband and I taking a trip to Cape Breton to catch a couple days of Celtic Colours in mid-October. We'll be driving from Manchester airport in New Hampshire and have 7 days (Sat-Sat) to see these 2 provinces.

Based on a 1 week itinerary this is what we've planned:
Day 1- Manchester to Hopewell Hill NB (8 hr drive)
Day 2- Explore Bay of Fundy and Fundy National Park
Day 3- Hopewell Hill to Baddeck NS
Day 4 Explore Cabot trail weather permitting; Celtic Colours concert in pm
Day 5- Baddeck to Halifax
Day 6- Explore Halifax-Lunenberg
Day 7- Halifax to Arcadia
Day 8 Arcadia to Manchester airport

I know this represents a lot of driving but we wanted to hit as much of the highlights of NS as possible in a week. We love the outdoors, scenery, hiking and seafood. I've read that Cape Breton is tops for scenery and hiking but subject to fog and my question is- given the choice, would you cut the Bay of Fundy stay by one day (catching low tide at Hopewell Rocks morning of Day 2 and exploring a bit of Bay of Fundy) and arrive to Cape Breton a day earlier? We'll be driving back through NB on the way back to NH so might be able to catch more of Bay of Fundy on the way home.
Also, if there are any seafood restaurant recommendations for Alma, Cape Breton, or Halifax.
Lastly, if there are recommended sights in NB during the drive from NH to Bay of Fundy?

We greatly appreciate any feedback on the itinerary and restaurant/sights advice.
Thank you!

NorthwestMale

To begin, I think it isn't usually a great idea to save something until the end <I>in case you have time</i>. Usually, in those situations, you find yourself <b>running behind</b>, if anything, and those things are forever lost.

BUT... IF you are strategic... <b>and IF</b> you include <I>Hopewell Cape</i>, on the way IN, as your most prominent <b>Fundy Experience</b>, then <I>even I</i> would sign-off on darting away toward Cape Breton once you've done that.

There would be some <b>pressure</b> with regard to knowing and hitting the low tide scheduled for Hopewell Cape http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/eng/station?sid=170 ...

But if doing it <I>on the morning of day 2</i>, you should have plenty of margin for error (the implication being that you'll be staying in the area the night before).

IF, during such a path, you want to add a bit more of the <I>Bay of Fundy</i> to your experience, while still progressing mostly steadily toward Cape Breton, I suggest taking a detour at/near <b>Amherst, NS</b> and driving toward <b>Parrsboro</b>, on the Fundy shore, and only then toward <b>Truro</b>.

This adds 25-ish miles to the drive, and adds about <b>one hour of DRIVING time</b>. And you were headed through Truro anyway... so it isn't <I>that far</i> out of the way.

... and it never hurts to have a margin for error in the event of <b>FOG</b> impacting a scheduled day circuit of the Cabot Trail!

sulurph

Thank you NorthwestMale. This is exactly the advice I was looking for and will be altering our schedule to spend night 1 in Alma, catching low tide at Hopewell Cape and heading to Cape Breton a day earlier via the path you suggested.

Anyone have ideas for 2 days in Halifax? We plan to see downtown Halifax, drive along to coast as far as Lunenberg but would love additional suggestions. And on the hunt for good seafood!

NorthwestMale

I randomly took the passenger-only ferry (round trip) that goes from Halifax Harbour over to Dartmouth. It too was more foggy than would have been ideal, but maybe you'll catch clear weather.

Also, of course, Citadel Hill... at least walk up to the grounds, if you don't go through all of the motions there.


The Maritime Museum... eh... well... I sorta thought that while they had <I>Titanic</i> stuff, that they kinda had to push to fill-in <b>the rest</b> of the museum.

LOL - you could also go and find <I>Jack Dawson's</i> grave, IF you know any Titanic buffs.

And you can stroll <I>Spring Garden Road</i>.

I wonder if the Nova Scotia McDonald's still serve the <b>McLobster</b> when it is in season???

Central Halifax is a compact-ish and neat place, but it might be a tad easier were it not on the side of a hill.

ltt

can't really make suggestions because that itinerary is far too much time in a car then i'd want. such beautiful provinces, i'd rather see less area and enjoy where i'm at then be driving by. cape breton is fabulous but you need 3-5 days to see it. would be nice if you could save that for another trip. then you could focus on hopewell rocks area, nb (i think it's cool to see it at high tide, stay in alma and go back later in the day or next day for low tide so you can appreciate the difference), western nova scotia and halifax.

NorthwestMale

I'm lost:


If someone said they were going <I><b> to Cape Breton to catch a couple days of Celtic colours in mid-October</b></i>, whyyyyyyyyy would someone say <I>"western Nova Scotia and Halifax"</i>??


And it <b>is</b> cool to see Hopewell Cape at high tide, to best appreciate the differences, and that's why one does well to have the printed tide schedule in their vehicle so as to optimize any future chance to swing by and see it, vs. sitting around for <b>six hours</b>.

Geez, it only takes five hours to get to Baddeck from Hopewell Cape.