4 of us are planning a mid-September 3-week+ driving vacation to eastern Canada. Non of us have been further east than Ontario. Our wives want to visit Montreal and Quebec City. Other than that it will be mostly driving around the various provinces, enjoying the outdoor scenery(especially the coasts with their lighthouses). One big open issue is if we will go to Newfoundland/Labrador. Taking the ferry with a vehicle is expensive and time-consuming. I would love to hear comments about going to Newfoundland/Labrador as well as thoughts on where to go there as well as the other provinces.

i have never been to newfoundland and am looking forward to visiting. however, it is very large and i personally think that you could spend 7-10 days there alone.
so, with only 3 weeks, i would recommend that you focus on quebec, new brunswick and nova scotia. you could easily spend 5 nights on cape breton island. at that time of year, it will be beautiful.

itt
Thanks for the input. Regarding the # of days required, we are all retired and have time to do more if required.

My initial thought is that it would take you at least six weeks to tour the all of the areas you mentioned in your recent posts for the Atlantic Provinces are vast, with driving distances far greater than they appear on a map. If you're serious, I'd suggest beginning your trip right after Labor Day when the kids are back in school and finish up by mid October to maximize good weather and follow the fall foliage down the coast.

Although I have never done it personally, you might look into starting in Montreal and Quebec, then taking a transport vessel (with your vehicle aboard) up the St. Lawrence to the coast of Labrador. From there you could ferry across from Red Bay to St. Anthony and tour Newfoundland, ending up on the Avalon Penninsula where you would catch the ferry from Argentia to Sydney NS. After driving the length of Nova Scotia, you could then take the Yarmouth CAT to Maine or continue your drive through PEI and New Brunswick.

Newfoundland is a wonderful province and you could easily spend two weeks there touring Gros Morne NP, L'Anse aux Meadows, Twillingate and the Charge Islands, the Bonavista Peninsula with stops at Bonavista & Trinity, the Burin Peninsula including a side trip over to St. Pierre & Miquelon (French Islands), and the Avalon Peninsula with stops at Placentia, Cape St. Mary's, Trepassey, the Irish Loop, and St. John's.

Having been to Newfoundland twice in the last decade, the most recent time last May, I could probably answer some more specific questions you might have on 'the rock', but I've never been to Labrador.

I would save Newfoundland for another time and concentrate on the three Maritime Provinces after Quebec.

Where are you departing from?

Tanya and Retired Teacher thanks for your posts. We will be driving from Michigan. Except for Montreal and Quebec City we don't expect to spend any time in cities. We won't do much hiking--my brother's wife has a bad knee--so most of our time will be driving. The four of us are use to traveling long distances together. But, based on insights from several posting to mine, as well as others, I am beginning to realize how vast and beautiful that part of Canada is. I'm not certain if our wives will be willing to take a 6 hr. ferry ride but if they are it sounds like Newfoundland and Nova Scotia will be our primary focus along with NB Hopewell Cape. We can spend more than three weeks if the trip plans out that way. For planning purposes here is a tentative schedule:
2 days travel and Montreal tour
1 day Quebec City
5 days travel-Hopewell Cape and PEI
5 days Nova Scotia
6 days Newfoundland (Labrador?)
1 day Nova Scotia
3 days NB and Maine
2 days travel to Michigan
I would appreciate any additional input

Six days isn't enough for Newfoundland. We tried to do it a couple of summers ago, and all we basically did was drive. No time to explore. Two weeks is essential. If you do decide to go, make reservations in advance for the ferry from North Sydney to Nfld. Make sure you get a berth (4 bunks with private bath). I would suggest you take the midnight sail and arrive early in the am. That way you can head towards the National Park for the remainder of the day. On your way home, you may want to make reservations at a B&B or Inn in Port Aux Basques for the night and take the early morning sailing to North Sydney. Here was our itinerary:

Day 1 - Depart NS - midnight
Arrive NFLD - am and drive to Gros Morne - explore Gros Morne - spend night in Rocky Harbour
Day 2 - Drive to St. John's
Day 3 - St. John's
Day 4 - drive towards Twillingate
Day 5 - drive towards Port Aux Basques
Day 6 - morning departure to Cape Breton

Oh my, where to begin....? Although you have managed to get your trip down to 3.5 weeks on paper, I believe that you have created an itinerary that will dictate rushing about from one location to the next without s-l-o-w-i-n-g down and taking the time to enjoy the scenery and the people..... which is really the very best part about a trip to the Atlantic Provinces.

Working off your plan, I'd suggest adding at least another day in Quebec as your current schedule probably won't get you into the city before noon. During the next segment of your trip remember that you will want to have time to observe both the high and low tides in the Hopewell area, so be sure to book an overnight reservation near Alma.

My favorite part of Nova Scotia is Cape Brenton Island, followed by the fishing villages and lighthouses along the south shore. I'd suggest taking the ferry over from PEI and exploring the northeastern shore including Cape Brenton Island (Cabot Trail & Baddeck) before taking the ferry to Newfoundland. See the following link for ferry info: http://www.wordplay.com/tourism/howtogethere.html

As Newfoundland is a <b>LARGE</b> island and you're allowing yourself less than a week on 'the rock', I'd recommend taking the Argentia ferry from Sydney. Yes, I realize that's a 14 hour trip over open water, but your wives need to know that those ferries are huge ships and they'll be fine.... This plan will allow you to drive across the island one-way, east to west, but the last ferry crossing of the season at Argentia is on 9/12. I'd suggest spending a day in St. John's, a day on the Bonavista Peninsula (stay in Trinity), a day driving the coastline with stops at Terra Nova NP and Musgrave Harbour to Twillingate, and a day in Gros Morne NP before driving down to Port aux Basques to catch the ferry back to Sydney. If you can add another day or two, drive up the western arm to the Viking site at L'Anse aux Meadows and spend the night in St. Anthony before heading back.

Once you're back in Nova Scotia, visit the Fortress at Loisbourg before heading south along the coast. Spend a day in Halifax and be sure to stop in Peggys Cove and Lunenburg. From there you'll have the option of taking the CAT back to Bar Harbor from Yarmouth and focusing on the Maine coastline or contine clockwise around the southwestern side of Nova Scotia stopping at Digby and Wolfville before heading back via New Brunswick.

I'm sure that after this introduction to the Atlantic Provinces, you'll want to return and allow yourself more time to explore the individual provinces as my husband and I have done.