Help needed: Attempting to explore the best of Halifax and area in 3 days
 

My husband, 2 1/2 year old son and I are planning a trip to Canada's East coast. We are coming from Ontario. I am researching the trip slowly and have started with Halifax. In this post I am looking for input on the first part of our trip. We are planning on coming in July and will likely fly into Halifax and rent a car. Through my research here is what I have tentatively planned thus far, looking for feedback and tips to improve our experience. We are looking for scenic drives and locations, beaches, easy walking trails (stroller accessible) and anything else that might be enjoyable for a family with a toddler.
- Day 1: Fly into Halifax rent a car. Spend time exploring the city's downtown including the waterfront and boardwalk. Stay downtown Halifax for one night.

- Day 2: Drive from Halifax to Peggy's Cove (will take suggestions on where to stop along this drive)
Continue drive to Lunenburg (possibly checking out Queensland beach and Mahone Bay on the way). Stay overnight in and explore Lunenburg.

- Day 3: This is where I am stuck.....at some point we are going to continue our trip from this point to Cape Breton and then onto PEI. On Day 3 I am not sure where we should go. I am debating between continuing to sight see in the areas of Lunenburg/Halifax OR travelling up to take in the Bay of Fundy (perhaps Burntcoat Head Park?) or perhaps we should leave the Bay of Fundy for another trip. I can't figure out what would make the most sense here before continuing on. The other thing we could do is leave Day 3 for beginning our travel to Cape Breton Island....suggestions please!!!

The other thing I am now thinking, after we explore Lunenburg, perhaps we continue on to Cape Breton (I haven't planned that part of the trip yet) and after that portion take in areas of the Northumberland Shore before continuing on to PEI......this is hard, I wish I had two months to explore instead of what will likely be 10 days total!

My initial instinct is to say 'spend a second night in Halifax'... that will be easiest with the kid, it will give you a 'home base' for a day of exploration... you all might have fun taking the passenger-only ferry over to Dartmouth ( just stay on the boat round-trip)... and you can go to the Citadel, and spend more time gazing into the water at sand dollars on the Halifax waterfront with your kid.

As for Fundy... you ARE driving, so dip down to see Hopewell Cape at low tide ON THE WAY IN!

You have enough time for the backbone of a thorough trip, and to err on the side of minimal travel on that one day WILL pay off somehow!

Sorry please clarify....when should we go to Hopewell Cape? You said on the way in.....which part of the trip would that make the most sense? Also thanks for the tip of an extra day on Halifax. It would be nice to have a hotel for 2 nights and have some more time. Thanks again! I will likely continue to post ad we plan and would love your input!

I agree with NorthwestMale. Stay an extra night in Halifax.

If it were me, I would drive across the Province from Lunenburg area to Kentville, about an hour--boring drive--and then go to Hall's Harbour for lunch. There you can see the Bay of Fundy tides. Then proceed through the Annapolis Valley to Grand Pre. I recommend the Evangeline Inn & Motel, a 50's style motel but also has a historic Inn. They have a pool where toddler can swim and is short drive to Evangeline Beach where you can also can see the tides and the birds, depending if tides are low, which might be of interest to toddler.

You can then proceed to Halifax or go through Highway 14 at Windsor to proceed to NB or Cape Breton. If you go to Hopewell Rocks, you can drive to PEI from NB on the new bridge, see PEI, and then take the ferry from PEI to Pictou area where they have beaches along the Northumberland Strait on your way to Cape Breton. I recommend getting the Doers and Dreamers guide to help plan your trip. Again, it is a long drive to Cape Breton.

Definitely order the <I>Doers and Dreamers Guide</i> <b>now</b>.


Oh, oops, I blew it on <I>(blurring threads/trips by two different people)</i>. (some people from Hawaii <b>are driving</b> from Ontario, and I was confused)

So, yikes...

The most emphatic and telling bit of the <I>Fundy Tides</i> comes courtesy of a trip to Hopewell Cape, yet obviously nobody aged two-and-a-half <I>needs to see it</i>.

And the <I>catch</i> with Nova Scotia is that it is almost never <b>on the way to anywhere</b> (Newfies don't count)... soooooooo, <b>realistically</b> enticing yourselves back that way is challenging.

Yet, with that logic in mind, <b>it does make sense</b> to cover the eastern-most spots this first time, <b>(and then pray that you can somehow one day talk yourselves into getting to Hopewell Cape)</b>. But if you have any designs on going to and from PEI with <b>either</b> transit via the Confederation Bridge, then Hopewell Cape seems entirely sensible for adding to the bridge end of the path.

Such a detour could add as few as 5 hours to such a trip, <b>but that is if you timed the tide ideally, and did little more than spend an hour at Hopewell Cape and stopped for a <U>quick</u> bite to eat somewhere (Moncton?).</b>

Google maps just said it takes 95 minutes to get from the southwest end of the Confederation Bridge to Hopewell Cape.

As to the ferry from the Pictou area to PEI, it appears that you can't make "<b><U>reservations</u></b>" for one-way trips from Pictou... but based on what I read on the website, you can perhaps wait in a line to take the ferry to PEI, and then, no matter how you exit the island, you will have to PAY as you leave. Confederation <b>Bridge toll is now $46.00 </b> !!

The website doesn't exactly saaaaaaaaay how much you pay, one-way, when <b>leaving PEI via the ferry</b>, yet it does say that you pay only when leaving PEI. (do you have to pay the round-trip fare then? ... even IF you arrived via the Bridge?)

Perhaps the logic is that <I>'you owe'</i> regardless of which way you got yourself to the island, and which way you intend to get back.