Safe travel in Nova Scotia?

Very safe. DH and I were there last summer for two weeks and I would not hesitate to return on my own. I'm not sure I would spend time in Halifax if I only had 5 days. I loved Halifax, but it wouldn't be my top destination. I would spend all 5 days based in two different locations on Cape Breton. We stayed in Baddeck, which was a great base, and Neil's Harbour, which is pretty tiny -- I'm not sure I would stay in Neil's Harbour again, but it worked really well as a second base on Cape Breton.

Nova Scotia is a very safe place to travel. Like anywhere else you do have to apply a little common sense. There are areas in Halifax where you shouldn't go walking alone at night, but I doubt if you would be anyway.

Five days is not a very long time to see Nova Scotia, even if you limit yourself to Halifax and Cape Breton. The minimum time to do Cape Breton, and then you are only scratching the surface, is 3 days. That would give you a drive around the Cabot Trail and a visit to a couple of the major tourism sites like the Fortress of Louisbourg, the Cape Breton Miner's Mueseum in Glace Bay and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck and exposure to a bit of the Cape Breton culture by attending a "ceilidh" or two in the evenings. If you tell me where your priorities lie and what you want to see/do while in Cape Breton, I will try to make some reasonable recommendations as how to drive the Island, where to stay, etc.

Thanks for the info. We are only flying into Halifax because it is cheaper than Sydney. Our main focus is the nature and local culture. We would probably base in Braddeck for those two nights and spend one day on the Cabot Trail and one day around the lake (the other two days include driving to and from). Is the drive to Braddeck from Halifax about 4 hours? I am going by Google maps. I would appreciate any tips about where to stay and where to go. We are not big on fancy dinners but in the evening would like to try something local with some music.

I don't understand your timing. You are flying into Halifax and you are leaving 5 days later? What are the two days of driving? When you are in Baddeck, be sure to see the Alexander Graham Bell museum. Also, try to do a boat tour to the bird islands. We used Donelda's and were very pleased. They have ceilidhs most nights right in Baddeck.

We would fly in on Saturday and spend Saturday and Sunday night in Halifax. Drive to Baddeck on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday for Cabot Trail and the Museum and the lake. Drive back to Halifax on Thursday. Leave on Friday around noon. We were spending a day in Halifax on Sunday since we have to land there anyway. Any good places to stay in Braddeck?

We stayed here in Baddeck, but we weren't wild about it: http://broadwater.baddeck.com. It was a little "tired" and seemed not 100% clean. Look at Lynwood, http://lynwoodinn.com, and Telegraph House, http://baddeck.com/telegraph.

Another option is to drive to Lunenburg when you land and stay two nights there. Then, you still have Thursday afternoon and night in Halifax on the way home.

That sounds like a good option I had not thought of. I had not checked out Lunenberg because it is the other direction but really not that far. I hope driving the Cabot Trail in one day won't be too much. We are still tweaking the itinerary but some good ideas already. Thanks!

In Lunenburg, there are lots of nice B&Bs. We stayed at Pelham House and really loved it. They have three social cats and a dog, which was a bonus for us, but might not be everyone's cup of tea. Another tidbit of advice re the rental car, we rented not the smallest car but the next size up, and we wished we had rented something a little bit larger (more powerful) for the Cabot Trail. I know other people have rented tiny cars without any trouble.

We met a number of people who did the Cabot Trail in one day. One of the things we particularly liked was doing some hiking along the trail (Skyline Trail, in particular) and you wouldn't have time to stop and do that with only one day.

Just more ideas...

When you talk about "the lake" do you mean the Bras D'or Lakes?

You shd allow 2 days for the Cabot Trail in case you get a "fog day".

In Baddeck we like the Inverary Inn now called the Inverary Resort, I think.

Have you ordered your Doers'and Dreamers'Travel Guide & maps from NS tourism? www.novascotia.com

What are your husbands concerned about? Are they worried about your driving, crime, something else?

Yes, I do mean the Bras D'or Lakes. I also have the Doers and Dreamers Guide but wanted some help to narrow it down. That is alot of information to sift through. This is the first trip that we have made without the guys and they are just being a bit cautious. We would like to do the Skyline Trail so we may have to adjust our plans. Thanks for all the help!

I suspect that because Nova Scotia isn't on the way to ANYWHERE... it is more 'safe' than are most North American destinations. Opportunity creates crime, and 'opportunists' just don't have as many reasons to get near when they have no reason to be passing by.

(Besides, they can't see you in the dense fog anyway)

Much of Nova Scotia's appeal is daylight-only (and some "low-tide only") so you won't be too inspired to be pushing the envelope late at night.

Most of your getting around would be in a country setting (minus the wild police chases you sometimes see on "C.O.P.S" in the U.S.) and the nature is spectacular.

The center of Halifax is quite safe, and with five universities there, they have to keep things safe for the 'coeds'.

I don't know of the standards used by your husbands, but I think they can rest pretty easy relative to almost anyplace.

(although if you hear any wolf whistles, it'll probably be a REAL wolf http://usparks.about.com/b/2009/10/28/young-hiker-killed-by-coyotes-in-nova-scotia-park.htm )

And if you hear a rush of water, it'll be the TIDE (and it won't be playing...).

Wow, I hope that was an isolated attack, how terrible!

As far as the city goes, Halifax sounds great.

I can't wait to see the scenery around Cape Breton, it sounds so beautiful!!

Hi skkz1984,

My name is Donald and I am with Nova Scotia tourism.

As the others have said Nova Scotia is a very safe place to visit. Of course as paradisefound has said you just need to follow common sense and you'll be fine.

The average driving time from Halifax to Baddeck is about 4-4.5 hours (driving the main highway). Of course depending on the route you take, how fast you drive, and how often you stop this can be much longer.

As for the Cabot Trail you can certainly do it in one day. It takes about 6-8 hours to make the loop depending on how often you stop. A lot of people drive half way around one day and continue on the next.

The Skyline trail takes about 2-3 hours. Of course if you are on a tight time schedule you can always just hike some of it and then turn around.

As far as the coyotes goes I wouldn't worry too much about it. The situation is being looked into and will most likely be resolved by the time you arrive in the summer. Also, it seems like you will primarily be sticking to the more popular trails and won't be alone.

I hope you enjoy your trip to Nova Scotia.


Cheers,
Donald

I would typically not recommend staying in only one place to see Cape Breton Island but, given the very limited time you will be here you are probably just as well to do so and if you are going to stay in one place only, Baddeck is likely the best choice. Most of what Donald from Tourism Nova Scotia said is correct. Driving time from Halifax to Baddeck is slightly over 4 hours. That would give you lots of time to visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum (which is absolutely fascinating) in the afternoon. That night you can likely find local entertainment in Baddeck.

The next day would be your 1 day on the Cabot Trail. To drive around the Cabot Trail from Baddeck back to Baddeck is about 4 hours of driving time. That does give you ample time for the typical sightseeing, hiking the Skyline Trail (my wife and I who are in our 60s and not particularly fit did it in slightly over two hours), a short stop in the Acadian Village of Cheticamp (where I would recommend a visit to the Museum/Visitor's Centre "Les Trois Pignons")and getting back to Baddeck in time for a late dinner. You can usually find some local entertainment in Baddeck each night.

The way I read your plan, the next day you are heading back to Halifax. You would have some time in the morning for a bit of a drive along a portion of the Bras d'Or Lakes, but not much. With another day you could certainly accomplish a lot more. Although I own a cottage on the Bras d'Or and it is a fantastic place to swim, boat and live, I don't find it a particularly compelling tourist drive and it certainly does not compare with either the Cabot Trail or any of the other coastal drives on the Island. There are better places to spend your day. My preference would be to drive over to Fortress Louisbourg for the day. Louisbourg is, in my opinion, the best historic reconstruction on the continent, rivalled only by Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg. If you have no interest in that you may want to drive a portion of the Bras d'Or scenic drive, perhaps visiting the Highland Village in Iona and doing the Bird Island Boat Tour to visit the offshore puffin colony in the afternoon/early evening.

I would not be particularly concerned over the tragic coyote incident on the Skyline Trail, nor would I dismiss it entirely. It was the first and only time that has happened and the Department of Natural Resources staff on the Island are still trying to determine the exact cause, ramifications and cure. The incident happened late in the season and the young lady was hiking the trail alone. While I would , in the past, have never hesitated to hike Skyline (or any other trail in Cape Breton, alone, I would never recommend hiking alone again. During the time you will be here there will be a steady stream of hikers on the trail.

Hope you have a good vacation in Nova scotia, particularly in Cape Breton.

Thanks so much for the tips, we are really looking forward to seeing Nova Scotia! We might head up the Ceilidh Trail to Pleasant Bay for one night (after leaving Halifax) and then continue to Baddeck for the next two nights. That would give us time to see Louisbourg and then maybe drive back to Halifax by way of Marine Drive. So much to see and do!!
Thanks again!

We thought about driving the Marine Drive last August, but we were told that it takes quite a long time. You might factor that into your decision making.

Baddeck to Halifax via the Trans canada then Hwy 102 is roughly 4 hours driving time. If you take the Marine Drive instead it will likely take you 6 hours driving time but it is a MUCH more scenic drive. With pleasant stops along the way and perhaps lunch in Sherbrooke Village you will end up with a good 8 hour day.

Cheers

Oh, one point of some potential importance to add:


For the Cabot Trail... it isn't a bad idea to have TWO potential days for driving/viewing it... because FOG can render the whole loop pointless.

That is to say... wake up the first morning (in Baddeck?) and IF it is sunny, make THAT your Cabot Trail day... and then the next day for Sydney, etc. ... (obviously, if it is foggy the first day, spend that day praying for clear weather 'tomorrow'... )

Great suggestions, we appreciate all the help! We are searching places to stay in Halifax and Baddeck and will write a trip report this summer. If we do Marine Drive we will plan on a full day and I think it will work out great. Thanks again!

Not to pile on what others have said, but my mother, sister and I spent a week in Nova Scotia last August and we felt absolutely safe. I'm not sure we've ever met friendlier people on a trip, which certainly gave the impression that if you ran into trouble, people would help.

Cape Breton in July-we saw moose, a pod of whales (adults brought young whales into Meat Cove-Cape North where they all swam about, breaching etc-spectacular), a scarlet tanager-wow!). Eagles were frequently seen and a fledging eaglet landed on our camper when we were at Bras d'Or lake.
Very very safe everywhere we went.

A lot of places in Nova Scotia are the sorts of places where people don't lock their doors. Not that I'd recommend that anyone be careless and not follow basic safety rules - (obviously crime happens everywhere, and sometimes people on vacation make tempting targets), but I really wouldn't worry about it.