blej

HI! We'll have 7 or possibly 8 days at the beginning of September to visit in Nova Scotia. First return since I bicycled around the island 30 years ago.

We will be arriving and returning with our car by ferry in Yarmouth. We usually jam too many things into our vacations and end up driving more than relaxing. So, we are hoping to stay in no more than three places. Perhaps spend some time in a quaint little fishing village (with a good restaurant)from which we can take a few day trips; a couple of days in Halifax; some time in Cape Breton. These are the places I saw the last time and yearn to revisit. (This will be the first time to NS for my wife) Can we fit in the tides or something on the north side of the island, which I haven't seen?

Any help with itinerary, places to stay, restaurants would be wonderful. thanks

blej

tt

Molly2

Wow, that's quite a wish list for a week! If it were me, (and I wish it were), I'd make Cape Breton my focus; maybe 2 nights Wolfville (one day drive to tides and quaint fishing village with lobster shack, a lot nicer than Truro,3 nights Baddeck or other CB destinations, 2 nights Halifax, and home.

peggionthego

I haven't been yet - we're heading there late August - but I decided (with about the same amount of time) that I needed to choose between southern NS and northern NS. I happened to choose southern which would certainly be convenient for ferrying into Yarmouth. We're spending 3 nights in Lunenburg and have high hopes for good restaurants, plus an excursion on the Bluenose plus some time in Ovens Natural Park with a Zodiac tour of the sea caves. We fly into Halifax so our first two nights are there. After Lunenburg, we're heading to Digby, drive down Digby neck, ferry over to Brier Island and do a whale watching trip in the Bay of Fundy...our last night is in Wolfville. But, yes, I'm sad we don't get to see Cape Breton! That's another trip, I hope.

blej

OK. Thanks It looks like we almost did it again - try to do too much. I'm stuck on wanting to see the southern coast again so I guess the question is see the tides or go to Cape Breton?

My wife hurt her ankle so I don't believe we will be able to do any hiking, just short walks.

LJ

Cape Breton is going to use up a day's travel each way...I think your Southern Shore (Lunenbug etc) idea is much more sensible. You will find the old fishing villages, the good restaurants and the jaunts to Halifax doable from there without switching home bases. You may have left yourself a bit short of time to get the Doers and Dreamers Guide, but maybe you can pick up ideas at the excelllent NS Office of Tourism Webiste.

blej

Thanks.
Any recommendations for a place to stay in the Lunenburg area?

I know this sounds funny but - what does seeing the tides consist of? Do they come in so quickly that many people are all there (where exactly?) at once? How long does it last?

How long a drive from Halifax to where visiting the

blej

...tides.

smcgown

to peggionthego....We are going to Halifax too & the Bluenose ll cruise was at the top of our list. You might want to check their website for the locations where they will be and cruise times & you can book your tickets online. I have no idea how popular the cruise is but we did not want to be left waving goodbye on the dock as she sailed away!

peggionthego

Actually, the Bluenose availability was what lead us to spend a 3rd night in Lunenburg and yes, we have a reservation. For blej, we are staying at the Addington Arms in Lunenberg. We have reservations for the chef's tasting menu at Fleur de Sel.

mat106

Seeing the Fundy tides usually involves staying in one place long enough to see the huge contrast between low tide and high tide. This is especially dramatic if there is a dock with fishing boats tied up - the boats will be afloat at high tide, and sitting on dry land at low tide with the shoreline way off in the distance. There are tide tables available online if you do a search. Refer to the Doers and Dreamers Guide for various locations, or phone the NS Tourism people, they would be pleased to help.

While this is an unusual and highly interesting sight, I'm a very big fan of Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail and would lean towards spending time there if I was limited to just a couple of locations in NS. You can actually do a number of day trips from Halifax, including, very easily, Lunenburg. And perhaps to some tide locations on the Fundy shore - again check the Tourism site and phone for specifics.