CindyW

I'm planning a three week vacation for my family (2 boys, 10 and 15) beginning the last week of July. We will probably fly into Portland, Maine, and drive up to Nova Scotia. I want to see PEI, and of course, Cape Breton. My boys have traveled extensively, and are willing to sit in the car for a long time. I love beaches more than anything. I'm wondering how we should split it up-- I would like to settle down in two different houses near a beach, one in Nova Scotia, and one in Cape Breton, and spend a couple of days in PEI at the beginning or end of the trip. But I'm wondering if we need to spend a few nights at a time in order to be able to see everything (I envision circling all three islands--is that too much?). It sounds like Spencer's Island, or somewhere around there, would be a fun place to stay, but that's pretty far from everything else, isn't it? And where could we find beaches warm enough to swim in? Lots of questions, I know. I've read some of the other posts, and am eager to hear your advice.

Tanya

If you want to rent a place with lovely beaches and warm water in Nova Scotia, try Pictou County.

kayd

Cindy, I think you need a brief geography lesson:

Cape Breton Island is part of the Province of Nova Scotia.
Prince Edward Island is not part of Nova Scotia; it is another Province.
The water between PEI and Nova Scotia will be warmer than any on the Atlantic shores of NS.
As wonderful a NS is, especially Cape Breton, with fabulous people, scenery, and history, it is not much of a beach destination.

With the time you have available, you could easily spend one week at a beach location in PEI, then see most of Nova Scotia by staying in 3 or 4 different places (eg, Cape Breton, Fundy Shore, Halifax area, Lighthouse shore).
Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll love NS. (I did not make it to PEI on my trip to NS last year, so I need to go back).

Check these sites for overviews of what Nova Scotia has to offer vacationers:

http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx

http://www.gov.ns.ca/tourism.htm

ltt

i would plan on 4-5 nights in pei around the cavandish area - north rustico is a wonderful little village - do a day of fishing out of there. also, venture out to greenwich park. it is a bit of a hike in so bring lots of water but fabulous beaches at the end and a really nice walk in. also basin head is a good area/beach to visit.
i'd spend 3 nights in pictou. nice beach at the caribou/munroes provincial park. if you take the bridge over to pei, take the ferry back and it will land at this area.
on cape breton, i'd try to stay in the igonish area. good location for beaches and exploring the cabot trail. i'd plan on 4 nights.
halifax is good city to visit and easy to walk around. the waverley inn is very nice and in a good location.
then, a few nights by digby/digby neck would be good. you can take the ferry from digby to saint john, new brunswick to enjoy a boat ride and cut off some driving hours.

wliwl

Take the ferry from Portland to NS. It's fun!!!

Many of the beaches in NS are NOT sandy - so be forewarned. You'll be lying on boulders.

china_cat

just FYI, there is no ferry from Portland to Nova Scotia anymore. But you can take the ferry from Bar Harbor, if you drive up that way.

If you want to settled down in a house near the beach, I think you should stay on PEI for a while.

We spent a full week on PEI and barely saw the island. We stayed on the north shore, on the eastern side not far from Greenwich and Basin head. Both beaches were wonderful, and very nice for swimming (this was late August). I understand there can be some jellyfish issues, I was led to believe the later in the summer the better for swimming.

It does take a long time to drive around PEI. Roads are just windy and kind of slow. Its nice, just something to keep in mind.

CindyW

Thanks for the help! This has helped me to get a better grasp of how to plan. I should probably clarify, when I say that I love beaches more than anything, I really mean that I love shoreline, ocean meeting land, be it beach, cliff, rocks, etc. So I'm not really looking for a beach to lie on necessarily, though it will be nice if the kids can swim some. (I love the Big Sur coastline more than just about anything, for example.) So if that changes any of your advice, do tell!

Mazey

The "warm" waters of NS are in the Pictou region, but be warned, if you are expecting "warm" you will be surprised. To us northerners it is warm, to others it is downright chilly. I have no problem swimming anywhere (in summer months) in NS, but I am accustomed to the cool waters. There are some beautiful sandy beaches around. If you make it to the Eastern Shore area along Rt. 7, Clam Harbour is a lovely large sandy beach with full facilities (food, changing rooms, washrooms).

Nova Scotia is not an island, rather a penninsula. Cape Breton will not have the swimming beaches you are looking for, but PEI and NS will.

robbiep

The Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia is one of my favourite places to visit. The French settled in Port Royal in 1605. The town of Annapolis Royal is charming. Beaches abound (you may like checking out the French Acadian Shore. The Bay of Fundy is an interesting phenomenon.

gail

As one poster below suggested, take ferry from Bar Harbor Maine. Spend a day or 2 at Acadia National Park - nice coastline, beaches (but water of course too cold for reasonable people to enter - though your boys might like it). The rocky Maine coast will certainly meet your shoreline criteria, and there are some nice walks or hikes, depending on your tolerance of either in the Park. Or drive the loop through the Park - many interesting and beautiful spots to stop.

I am not sure about your "one house" for Nova Scotia idea, though. Even before you add Cape Breton, it is bigger than you might think. You might pick one place near Digby for a few nights and then head up to Halifax. We found Halifax an interesting little city with history, things to see.

Cape Breton is beautiful - but in my opinion the beauty might get a little tedious, even for travel-tested kids. There is less to see and do beyond scenery there.

PEI, on the other hand, might have more of interest to the whole family. 4-6 days in a house there would be reasonable.

CindyW

Thanks, everyone. As I'm trying to pin it down, I am wondering about spending 2 or 3 nights (too much?) somewhere around Cape Chignecto--has anyone been there? It sounds really pretty from what I've seen, and I think that we'd all enjoy poking around on the shore there, looking for rocks and fossils.

Then I'm thinking we'll drive around and down through Digby to the South Shore, and on up past Halifax to Cape Breton. How should I split that drive up? A couple of nights on the South Shore, and then two more around Halifax, and then on to Cape Breton? Or should I stop for another night or two along the way? Where? If we stay near Cape Chignecto, do we also need to spend time near Digby, or is the Bay of Fundy basically the same from both angles? Also, I'm eager to see the little towns along the way, Peggy's Cove, Lunenberg, etc., so would appreciate advice about where to stop for the night.

Then I'm thinking that 3 nights in Cape Breton should do it--should we spend all three in Ingonish, or should we spend one on the other side (where? Cheticamp?), and then another two in Ingonish? Or should we stay in Baddeck, or even Margaree Valley? I'm having a hard time figuring how far away everything is there.

Then, I'm thinking that we'll spend almost a week on Prince Edward Island. I think we'd enjoy just chillin' for a week.

Then back to Maine, with maybe a couple of days in Arcadia. Now, I know that this probably doesn't add up to three weeks, exactly, but just give me a little more info, and I'll have it down! Thanks!

By the way, I checked into the ferry to Bar Harbor--it would cost us about $350, so we'll drive instead. We did lots of ferries in Scotland a few years ago, so we don't need the experience. I'm thinking that we'll spend a night near St. Johns on the way back to Maine.

ltt

i found the ferry from bar harbour too expensive too. as mentioned, there is the ferry from digby to saint john. i took the first one of the day around 5:00 a.m. from digby. it was good. managed to sleep during the ferry ride and still arrive early enough in the morning to have a full day of driving.

capebreton

If your goimg to spend a few days on Cape Breton Island I would suggest to you to stay in Baddeck it centrally located to just about everywhere on the island.