Help with plans/Nova Scotia-September
 

We will be traveling to Nova Scotia in a couple of weeks and need help. We will be taking the CAT ferry from Bar Harbor coming into Yarmouth. I have the DOers & Dreamers Guide, but am undecided about our first leg of the trip - to go from Yarmouth to Halifax and do the Lighthouse Route along the South Shore up to Halifax OR do the Evangeline Trail - seeing Digby, Annapolis Royal and then over to Halifax? Whichever of those 2 routes we decide on, then we will go from Halifax to Truro, New Glasgow, then on to do the Cape Breton loop, with a little bit of back tracking back thru New Glasgow to Moncton, then down to Fundy Nat. Park to see the Hopewell Rocks, etc. Any suggestions as to which of the first 2 routes to take from Yarmouth, and any help along the way will be greatly appreciated. We enjoy seeing the coastline, fishing villages, some lighthouses and where or where can I see some puffins?

Jean: <BR>If you enjoy the rugged coastline, do the trip from Yarmouth to Halifax via Shelburne, Liverpool, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Chester, etc. Keep on the back roads as much as possible. As for seeing puffins, you might have to access a boat for that. Check in with the tourist centre once you enter into Yarmouth. <BR> <BR>On your way back from Cape Breton, take the Sunrise Trail from Pictou to Amherst. This back route is a lovely drive.

I found this on the Nova Scotia Museum website (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nsbirds/bsite2.htm): <BR> <BR>Bird Islands, Victoria County [Cape Breton] <BR> Home of most of Nova Scotia's nesting Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, and lots of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Black Guillemots and Great Cormorants. More information can be obtained through the Van Schaik family's Bird Island Boat Tours, Bras d'Or. <BR> <BR>You're never far from the ocean in Nova Scotia, but the Evangeline Trail takes you through the Annapolis Valley, the Lighthouse Route follows the South Shore. If you're interested in natural history, I highly recommend the Ultimate Nature Guide published by Nimbus, which describes everything you see along the provincial travel routes.

Jean: <BR>I just got back from 15 days in Nova Scotia and suggest the following: It will take you FOREVER to drive the Lighthouse Route from Yarmouth to Halifax. Yes, you will see some rugged coast and fishing villages (if they're not fogged in)but you'll see all that during the rest of you're trip. <BR> <BR>From Yarmouth I would get on the Trans Canada Highway (Rt 103)to Shelburne check that out then get back on the highway to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay (you could easily spend days in Lunenburg)back on the highway to Peggys Cove (you can't go to Nova Scotia without going to Peggys Cove) then on into Halifax. <BR>Be prepared for an absolutely wonderful vacation

Jim, thanks for your suggestion. I think we may take you up on the Rt. 103. Going that route, could you give me an estimate on miles/time from Yarmouth to Lunenburg or Peggy's Cove? Also did you do the Digby, Annap. route? Which did you enjoy better if you did both? Where did you spend most of your time. Did you go to Cape Breton? We may be foolish to try that loop, but right now that is our plan. From Peggy's Cove, which route would you take to get to Cape Breton? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

From Halifax to Cape Breton you will have divided highway for the first 1.5 hours of the trip. Things slow down from there as the Trans Canada Hwy is both way. From Yarmouth to Lunenburg it will probably take you about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the traffic. Again, no divided highway here. <BR> <BR>You can always take the Annapolis Valley Route, take the highway to Lunenburg at Windsor and then into Halifax. The valley is a very pretty spot to visit as well. <BR> <BR>