CarolJean

We are putting together a last minute trip to the area. Have 2+ weeks and would like not to have to book all stops. Will book Halifax and Charlottetown. Is it necessary to book hotels around the Cabot Trail and Luneburg and Alma areas in advance.? We are thinking of starting around 17 Sept. Have 2 guide books and are reading everything on the forum but can't seem to figure this one out. Just don't know how busy the area is the last half of Sept. Thanks for all of your advice. CJ

UTour

I did the Cabot Trail and Halifax late in September last year and didn't have any problems changing dates on bookings. That said, it mightn't be a bad idea to suss-out your preferred stop-off locales and get their feedback.

HTH
u

CarolJean

So (if I may ask) how did you allot your time on the Cabot Trail? It has been suggested that 2 nts. in Mabou, 2 in Cheticamp and 2 in Baddock is a good plan. I have no clue (and won't til we get there. Hence my reluctance to prebook.) Your ideas? Thanks!! CJ

UTour

It depends on your preferences; I was there solo and didn't take in many of the potential attractions along the way. I easily did the Trail in two days (Baddeck-Pleasant Bay/Pleasant Bay-Halifax) where my wife had allotted three days.

Depending what it is you have in mind in terms of side attractions (ie whale watching), you might want to ensure that they haven't closed for the season. There were tours and such going to be sure but likewise a number closed. For me, the scenery alone is ample reason to do the trail so I didn't feel cheated. I had beautiful weather and the trees were in full colour.

One suggestion; make sure your car's brakes have been serviced because some of the inclines along the way (especially in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park) are as impressive as the scenery.

HTH
u

yestravel

We were in NS & NB just a few weeks ago. I would say that you don't need to book in advance. We booked Halifax a few nights before arriving with no trouble. We did have reservations in Lunenberg and there were vacancies in many of the B&B's. In Alma, NB there is not a lot to choose from but we did see vacancies and we were there over Canada Day weekend. We did have reservations there. In Alma, don't miss Kelly Bakeries for fabulous baked goods and sticky buns.

mat54

My thoughts generally echo what yestravel has said above. Although I haven't visited in the last half of September, my feeling is that there would be lots of vacancies in those cities/towns that have a large choice of accommodations (e.g. Halifax, Charlottetown, Lunenburg - assuming no special events or conventions are taking place). But some (and I'm also thinking Alma) don't have all that many choices and you might just want to research them in advance and decide whether you want to book. There are accommodations of varying types scattered around the Cabot Trail so if you're not fussy on exactly which town you stay in, I would guess you'll be able to find something. I, however, always like to book ahead for weekends, just to be safe.

CarolJean

Thank you all! That is just what I needed. CJ

ltt

i spent 5 nights on cape bretton 2 nights in the cheticamp area (didn't really care for that town but i wanted to do the trail more then once) 2 nights in baddeck and last night in port hawksbury just as a place to crash on my way back to halifax as it was late in the day as i had spend the day visiting fort louisebueg. when i was there, nova scotia tourism had a great system where you could call a number in the morning, tell them where you think you want to stay that night, how much you want to spend and they would tell you what hotels had vacancy. however, i was there in august so it would have been busier. but, i thought that was a great system to use.