susan4

DH and I are visiting NS for the first time. We are arriving Friday, May 23, late at night. I am trying to decide whether or not to take a taxi into Halifax, stay 2-3 nights downtown, and avoid car rental and parking fees for a few days. On the other hand, cab fare seems to be pricey and it might make more sense to have a car and be flexible according to the weather -- spend good weather on the road and bad weather sightseeing in the city. As I mentioned in a previous post, we want to see the eastern shore, Bay of Fundy, and Cape Breton on this trip. I believe the first 2 can be done as day trips from Halifax, but it probably would be nicer and less expensive to stay in smaller cities. I assume that outside Halifax, lodging will be available w/o advance reservations.
Thanks for any help.

Flyboy

Here's what I might consider in similar circumstances. The airport is quite some distance from Halifax so if you are arriving late at night, you're not going to get much value for being in town.

There is a Holiday Inn Express at the airport with free shuttle service, so get a decent night's sleep and save the rental car thing for the next morning. (It's easier to figure out where you're going in the daylight anyway, right?)

Downtown Halifax is densely developed, so it's also very walkable. What we've done is to stay across the harbor at the Holiday Inn-Dartmouth:

http://tinyurl.com/6b6lq2

You can take the ferry across if you don't feel like driving over and parking, which what we've often done. The terminal is within reasonable walking distance from the hotel. On the other side, you'll end up in the heart of the Halifax waterfront. (I tend to be a marcher, so I've also just hoofed it across the bridge at times, but it's more of a hike than some people might like.)

peggionthego

I love Halifax and stay right in the heart of things at the Four Points by Sheraton, but I think you've been given good advice about renting the car first and doing things outside Halifax. The first time we went, we basically parked the car in Halifax while we where there and only took it out when we left to hit the Lighthouse route. another time, we were only going to be in Halifax so we did not rent a car at all and didn't need to...we took a hotel shuttle back and forth to the airport (and, yes, the airport is quite a distance from town) and then walked or took city buses while in town.

nkh

How late are you arriving?

When we arrived last summer we took the airport shuttle, and it was fine and fairly economical. However, you do end up doing the "loop" and visiting all hotels where there are people to be dropped off, so it can take awhile if you are late in the loop. I think it took about 40 min to get to Halifax but about another 30min to get to our hotel because our bus was full, and our hotel was late in the circuit - the bus is a comfortable (think greyhound, not city) bus.

http://www.airporter.biz/
(this shows the flyer front, and click to see the back so you know which hotels it goes to - although there will be a stop close to your hotel if not actually at it).

susan4

Thanks for the info. We get in after 11:30pm and with flight delays being typical now, could be past midnight.
Our plan now is to stay at hotel near airport first night, travel around and plan Halifax stay for last day or two. Maybe return car and use shuttle back and forth to airport.
BTW, I see the extended forecast calls for rain almost everyday. We love the ocean and wouldn't mind rain if we could see some crashing waves. Any suggestions for good places to view a storm? Or will these rainy days be mostly foggy, dreary days?