How long to do the best of Nova Scotia
 

We will be visiting from Australia in early June. Have cut our driving itinerary from Toronto to NS and will now fly to Halifax so we can spend more time in NS and CBI. We now have ten days in your part of the world so what are the best things to do. We will hire car and plan to drive to Wolfville and do the Bay of Fundy shore then down the coast to Antigonish over to CBI to take in Louisbourg and three days for the Cabot Trail (my main reason for visiting). Back to Halifax along the coast. My Canadian sister in law says 7 days was too ambitious would ten days be enough. Leaving in Sydney in 10 days so urgent assistance is needed. We won't get a chance to get back so we really want to make sure we cover the "best bits". I thank you in advance.

We spent 7 days in NS last year and did not find ourselves too rushed. Your itinerary does not sound to ambitious - just try not to underestimate driving times. The driving times listed on official sites, we found, were pretty accurate. Most of the time is due to distances rather than traffic, even in mid-summer.
Here are a few possibilities of specific locales:
A. Whale watching: If a possibility, I'd recommend driving across from Halifax to Digby Neck on Fundy Bay. Down the Neck are a handful of whale watching boats, as well as two small auto ferries, which my kids liked. And generally speaking, there tends to be more of a variety of whale in the Bay than in the ocean due to the smorgasbord of food for the mammals.
B. On the way to Digby Neck, there's a wonderful small provincial park called Kejimkujik with great canoeing and bike rentals. I think canoeing in Canada got it start in this area hundreds of years ago.

C. Miners Museum at Glace Bay: Operated by retired coal miners. You go down a shaft and its quite interesting. Its about 45 minutes from Baddeck.

D. Puffin bird tours. There's a couple of tour boats on CBI dedicated to this bird (my wife's favorite), and the boat trip is fun.

Have fun!

Thanks for your welcome reply.

Regards

Jenny Russell

I must add, if you really want to get a sense of the Bay of Fundy and its dramatic tides, you should vist the advocate harbor area. You can stop at the public docks during low tide and see large fishing boats hanging by ropes from the dock. On the way to Advocate Harbor I suggest you stop at Five Islands Provincal Park. I believe it is a must see. Large,.. Large isnt the word huge rock formations towering out of the water. And best of all, during low tide you can walk to them. Also on the way stop a Val D'Or Lighthouse. Picturesque views of the bay of a large cliff

I must add, if you really want to get a sense of the Bay of Fundy and its dramatic tides, you should vist the advocate harbor area. You can stop at the public docks during low tide and see large fishing boats hanging by ropes from the dock. On the way to Advocate Harbor I suggest you stop at Five Islands Provincal Park. I believe it is a must see. Large,.. Large isnt the word huge rock formations towering out of the water. And best of all, during low tide you can walk to them. Also on the way stop a Val D'Or Lighthouse. Picturesque views of the bay from a large cliff