budget accommodations for halifax, nova scotia
 

in the preliminary stages of planning a trip for summer of 2005. i will be in halifax towards the end of august and am looking for budget (under $100) accommodations in the city. because i am coming the end of august, non of the universities/colleges are available. i've looked at the hostels but not too keen on them. i am looking for a basic hotel room that is clean and has tv and private washroom. can anyone recommend something that is either on a public transportation route to downtown or within 20-30 minutes walk. something like a super 8, day's inn, or a privately owned place, etc. does it even exist for under $100? thanks very much.

Consider Priceline or Hotwire. Check http://www.betterbidding.com . Just look carefully at the zone map issue.

There are several B&B's in and around the Metro area. Call 1-800-565-0000 and ask Check-Ins to help you out. You won't find much in regards to a hotel/motel for under $100.

Another possibility is to try the Entertainment Book for Halifax. The 2005 book will be out in the next few months. A Halifax book from their website will cost around $35., plus $5.00 shipping. I've never used it for Halifax but have found it a great deal for Victoria and Vancouver. I believe you can "page" through the book online before buying to see what's being offered. You might be able to find a good deal.

There are a few...an econo lodge, the Blunose Inn and Suites, Esquire Motel, and many B&Bs. Try http://www.checkinnovascotia.com and www.destination-ns.com. If you want to be within walking distance of things, you'll want to avoid being much farther north than North St. Gottingen is interesting, but I wouldn't walk there alone at night. The main attractions are around Spring Garden, Barrington, Robie, Quinpool and Oxford. Bus and ferry service between the downtown core of Dartmouth (near the bridge) and Halifax is fairly good, and takes 10-15 minutes. The Dartmouth Bridge terminal can feel a little sketchy after dark. Transportation from Bedford isn't too bad as long as you stay on/near the Bedford Highway. The main bus routes there are the 80 and the 35.

Being within walking distance will save you some money, as they don't have short-term bus passes and each trip is $1.75. http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/tickets.html

I recommend visiting Dio Mio Gelato on Brenton St., near Spring Garden. Downtown is full of smaller shops. If you need a mall, avoid downtown and go to Halifax Shopping Centre in the West End, or Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth.

We travelled to Halifax in August of this year. We used our air miles and stayed at the Best Western Holiday Express. We got the big suites(4 here altogether) abd good continental breakfast selection. Close to the airport and easy to travel into Halifax. This is located in Bedford. There are also two others, one in Darlington and one in the heart of Halifax. We purchased the entertainment book from the entertainment site at $20.00 American and found this book quite good for the Halifax are and some other Maritimes locations. We used the coupon for renting a midsize vehicle from National and this is the most reasonable rental of any. They gave us a map to locate our hotel in Bedford from the airport. We were very satisfied and stayed here four days in total.

Check www.biddingfortravel.com. People are getting hotels for $45 on Priceline