Nova Scotia Travel Input

Old Jan 15th, 2017, 11:19 AM
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Nova Scotia Travel Input

First trip to Nova Scotia. Flying into Halifax, spending 3 weeks. Thinking of starting in Lunenberg for a few days. Is 3 days enough to see the sites in that area? Recommendations on where to stay? Will then head back to Halifax for a few days, cut across province to see low/high tide, then spend rest of our time in Cape Breton. Does staying in Lunenberg and then Halifax make sense? Thought it would break up the driving. Or should we stay in Halifax first then Lunenberg? Should we plan to spend a night on the Bay of Fundy? If so, any recommendations?
Could we stay in one place in Cape Brenton or do you recommend we move around a bit while there? We will have a rental car and don't mind driving. Would love to hear your input. Thank you!
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 04:45 PM
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Depending on your arrival time in Halifax, and how long you have been travelling, you could drive directly to Lunenburg from airport. Three days are plenty to see Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Bridgewater areas. From there you can cut across the province to Kentville. Lunch can be had at Hall's Harbour where you can see the Bay of Fundy Tides. I would then spend the night in Wolfville. In Wolfville area you can visit wineries, Grand Pre, and Evangeline Beach. Proceed to Halifax where you can spend several days seeing the sites or even driving to Peggy's Cove.

It is at least a five hour drive to Cape Breton from Halifax. On the way you might like to stop in Pictou, a historic town. You could make base in Baddeck and drive around Cape Breton from there. I did not make recommendations for accommodation as I do not know your budget. It is a good idea to request a copy of Doers and Dreamers guide from Nova Scotia Tourist Board. They will also give you a map.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 02:43 PM
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Thank you so much for your input. We did book a place in Lunenbeurg, Wolfville, and Baddeck and then will spend a few days in Halifax before we fly back to California. Appreciate the restaurant tips too. So looking forward to the trip!
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Old Jan 28th, 2017, 08:26 AM
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Three weeks in NS and surrounds should serve you very well.

I think you should make an effort to visit both New Brunswick and PEI while in the area.

New Brunswick offers Hopewell Cape, which is perhaps the very best spot for gaining the full sense of The Fundy Tides, and from there, PEI is near enough so that it rates a visit.

I can imagine that the driving in NS will be in stark contrast to the rat race that is California driving, so be sure to anticipate lots of extra time on the roads (and NOT, generally, because of traffic).

I've answered zillions of NS queries here on this website and you could click my name to scroll back and find plenty of them.

One thing I think most anyone should do, is print-out the TIDE TIMES for the entire window of their trip. (it is useful to have them in the glove box, especially for the chance that a return passage nearby to somewhere might afford the chance to see the completely contrasting tide to what you might have seen earlier on the same trip)

http://bayoffundytourism.com/worlds-...t-tides/times/

Definitely print the tide schedule for Truro and for Hopewell Cape - ideally for the ENTIRE window of time you'll be on the journey.

Baddeck is a strategic spot from which to explore Cape Breton in most directions.

I hope this helps a tiny bit.
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Old Jan 29th, 2017, 08:14 AM
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Thank you for your additional input. We cut our trip down to 15 days. Now my question is should we plan a day trip to PEI? From reading other blogs, some say skip it and spend the time on Cape Breton while others saw yes.

Here is our current itinerary for our Sept trip:
14 fly into Halifax/drive to Lunenburg
14-17 Lunenburg
18-19 Wolfville
20 Cheticamp (will drive the Cabot trail)
21-25 Baddeck (will drive to Lousbourg, etc from here)
26-28 Halifax

Would appreciate any input on PEI and also other sites to visit from Baddeck.

If PEI is worth seeing I understand there is a ferry from Pictou. I assume it is a car ferry. How long does that take?
Thank you much!
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Old Jan 29th, 2017, 08:54 AM
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I think PEI deserves more than a day trip via ferry from Pictou. It is a car ferry and takes about 75 minutes. You can view this website http://www.ferries.ca/ns-pei-ferry for more information. If you leave Wolfville on the 20th, I don't think you have time to visit PEI if you want to stay in Cheticamp the night of the 20th.

Having just come back from PEI, there is a lot of driving if you want to see all the sites including Cavendish Beach area. If you do go, lunch in Rustico at the Blue Mussel Café features excellent seafood.
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Old Jan 31st, 2017, 06:35 AM
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September is a great time of year to visit Nova Scotia. There is less tourist traffic, everything is still in full swing, and the weather is usually gorgeous.

I have a few specific recommendations for you. In Lunenburg, consider the King Mariner Inn. We have stayed there several times (despite it being only a 50 minute drive from where we live on St Margaret's Bay); they have a variety of rooms in three separate buildings, and a nice morning breakfast.

Dining in Lunenburg: at the high end, look at Fleur de Sel, which is supposed to re-open this year following a one-year sabbatical by the owners. This has been one of the best restaurants in Nova Scotia and I suspect it will continue to offer wonderful meals when it re-opens.

If you are interested in seafood, stop by the Fish Shack in Lunenburg. It's a great (and very popular) spot for lunch; order at the counter and eat outside at a picnic table. Alternatively, Oh My Cod in Mahone Bay is also very popular.

There is a lot of lovely accommodation in the Wolfville area. Of the various places we have stayed in recent years, we rather like the Olde Lantern Inn in Grand Pré (it's just a couple of kilometres outside Wolfville). The owners — Desmond and Adrianna — offer warm and helpful hospitality, and you will start each day with a hearty breakfast.

The nice thing about the Olde Lantern Inn is that it is right next door to the Grand Pré Winery, where you can dine at Le Caveau. We have found the meals there to be consistently good. For a special treat, contact them in advance and ask for a chef's menu with wine pairings; we have done this twice now and have truly enjoyed it each time. (It is also an opportunity for you to sample their wide variety of wines; they put a lot of thought into matching the food and wine.) After you finish your dinner, you can stroll back to the Olde Lantern Inn along a short candle-lit path through the vineyard. It's quite magical.

I agree with Scotia — a trip to Hall's Harbour is lovely excursion. Stop in for a lobster roll on the terrace.

You didn't mention what kind of sights or activities interest you in particular; if you like to hike, I can recommend a few great trails in the Wolfville, Lunenburg, and Halifax areas.

And finally, given what you have outlined so far, I think you may find PEI a bridge (or ferry) too far. And as Scotia points out, as small as PEI is, there is quite a bit of driving once you get off the ferry.
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Old Jan 31st, 2017, 07:49 AM
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A few thoughts on Grand Pre. I have stayed across the street from the Grand Pre Winery at Evangeline Motel and Inn. It is a '50's style motel, but updated, with a swimming pool and the Inn is quite historic where Sir Robert Borden, one of Canada's Prime Ministers, lived. The Café is small but reasonable if you are on a budget. Across the street from Motel is the original Irving Gas Station.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2017, 11:47 AM
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Thank you Scotia and AnselmAdorne for the info. I'll have to look more into PEI and see if we can bump out our night in Cheticamp to allow time for that. I heard that Fleur de Sel o Lunenburg is great and so glad to hear that they are open again. We'll definitely try that as well as the other restaurants you recommended. Thanks again. Now back to my research on these places. Can't wait!
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