oscarandpenelope

I am planning a trip (traveling solo) for early summer 2014 and here are my must-see sites:
Hopewell Rocks
Anne of Green Gables house
Cabot Trail
Gros Morne National Park

Originally I was thinking flying in and out of Halifax and rent a car for 15 days. However I did some research and I can't figure out how to make a circle tour without too much back tracking. So then I thought about maybe flying open jaw and rent and return the car at different provinces, although not sure how much extra that will cost, or maybe it would be cheaper to join a tour group. Any thoughts?

eliztravels2

That's a lot to fit into 15 days. I suggest leaving Gros Morne to another trip. Newfoundland is worthy of a trip on its own and you need at least 10 days to do it justice, IMHO.

I haven't priced flights between maritime cities, but in general short hops in Canada can be quite pricey.

If you are interested in a tour, check out Maxxim Vacations. We did a fly/drive trip to Newfoundland with them some years ago and were very pleased. They specialize in the maritimes and were mentioned positively on this forum recently.

oscarandpenelope

You just gave me another idea: to rent and return the car at Halifax for NS/NB/PEI sites, then fly to NL for Gros Morne...I'll miss the ferry ride, but that might be a good thing. Thanks!

ltt

i don't think you can see all that you want to see in your time frame. you can get to them all but you will spend ALL of your time in the vehicle, in an airport or a plane. agree...cut out newfoundland. if gros morne is MUST, cut out new brunswick (hopewell rocks). you could rent a car in halifax and travel around nova scotia, drop over to pei and go to cape breton. check if there are any rental car companies that will let you pick up the car in halifax and drop it off in sydney (without a huge charge). then you could fly from there to deer lake, newfoundland. but be aware, you would have a couple of days to see the western end of the province (gros morne) but that's all. cut down your itinerary so you can enjoy the places you are seeing, not just driving by.

oscarandpenelope

Just came back from my trip today. I cut out New Foundland as suggested and make it into a 10-day trip. Thanks everybody.

eliztravels2

I hope you had a stellar time. Do plan to come back and see Newfoundland.

dreamer320

Could you be persuaded to do a trip report? We're looking at a similar trip in the fall, and am trying to arrange an itinerary to fit most of it in (less NF) in two weeks. I'd love to read your experiences.

oscarandpenelope

Not an official trip report, but I will post my 10-day itinerary, maybe that will give you some ideas. Feel free to ask if what I wrote below is confusing.

Day 1: 3 pm arrival at Halifax airport. Drive to Moncton (3 hours) for the night.
Day 2: Arrive at Hopewell Rocks by 9:30 am for the low tide and walk on the sea floor (got very muddy and had to wash off and change clothes). Around 11 am started driving towards PEI, stopped at Cape Journimain to look at the bridge. Arrived at Green Gables and looked around. A bit disappointed that the Montgomery house wasn't open for the season yet. 4-6 pm drove around PEI National Park, stopping several times to walk on the beach. 7 pm went to downtown Charlottetown to look at Province Hous and stayed in Charlottetown for the night.
Day 3: Took 9:30 am ferry to Pictou. Walked around Hector Heritage Quay and Fisheries Museum, both were closed. Went to eat lunch and learned that today is Victoria Day, and that Prince Charles would be visiting at 3 pm. Waited to see all the fanfare and overnighted in Pictou.
Day 4: Drove toward the Cabot Trail and did the Middle Head hiking trail, before retiring for the night at Ingonish.
Day 5: Woke up at 5 am to see the sunrise and did the rest of the Cabot Trail, including stopping at the Cabot landing site and hiked the Skyline trail. Stayed in Baddeck overnight.
Day 6: Went to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in the morning, then drove towards Fortress of Louisbourg. Visited there 12-5 pm, and stayed overnight in Sydney.
Day 7: Drove back towards Halifax in the morning, then 1-4pm visited the Canadian Museum of Immigration. Afterwards went to Peggy's Cove to have dinner and to see the sunset. Next three nights stayed in Halifax.
Day 8: Morning went to see the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg and afternoon went for a sea kayaking tour from the Blue Rocks.
Day 9: Morning went to the Citadel National Historic Site, and did the 1812 self-guided tour of downtown Halifax in the afternoon.
Day 10: Morning stopped by Fairview Lawn Cemetery to see the Titanic gravesite, then back to the airport for 1 pm flight.

I wish I had an extra half day in Charlottetown to tour the Province House, because prior to the trip, I had no idea the significance of this city played in the founding of Canada (there is a 150-year celebration of the Charlottetown Conference this year). Otherwise I thought the pace of the trip was good. However I have never been a foodie, so I generally spend minimal time for meals.

NorthwestMale

All in all a very good effort (both on the road, and as a trip report).

Now that you mention it... I wouldn't mind being at Peggy's Cove at Sun<b>rise</b> (rather than Sunset)... but I never thought of it until now.

dreamer320

Thank you, that's helpful to see how the distances and time played out!