colon, not semi colon

WOW, I think I get your point. It may be time to revise my itinerary

I've been reading all the helpful advice and I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some more! We are also planning a trip to the Maritimes. I came across this discussion looking for advice whether to go clockwise or counterclockwise around the Cabot Trail. After reading the conversation I thought there might be other things I could plan so that the trip runs more smoothly. If anyone would be willing to take a look at our itinerary and make comments about what might or might not work, I'd appreciate it. I've done quite a bit of research, but it's hard to plan for driving distances etc.

We are from Calgary, but are starting the trek in Montreal. I'll only include the Cape Breton part of the trip, but we'll have already gone through New Brunswick and PEI, with more of Nova Scotia to follow. This is my itinerary so far:

Day one - Depart early from Port Hawkesbury to Big Bras D'Or where we will do the Bird Island Boat tour, and then travel on to Louisbourg to visit the Fortress. (I know it takes a whole day to tour, but we have so much of the Maritimes to see!) We'll stay the night in Sydney.

Day two - Rejoin Cabot Trail and head on to either Ingonish for a schooner tour or to Cheticamp for whale watching, heading counter-clockwise around the Trail (comments?) Stay in Truro for the night.

Day three - Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park and then on to Halifax.

We're traveling with two teenagers who don't mind getting up early. We're trying to do more active things to compliment the driving and spectacular scenery we hope to find. We'll be there in mid-August, so hopefully fog won't be as likely to spoil our plans.

Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

C21: From my experience, I think that you're trying to do far too much in the time available, particularly on Day 2. To start in Sydney, tour the Cabot Trail with a schooner tour or whale watching expedition thrown in, and then continue to Truro for the night makes for a very hectic day indeed. I also think that on Day 1, Port Hawkesbury to Louisbourg to Sydney is a full day as it is.

The activities are great ideas to break up the trip, but I have a feeling that you will be spending long days on the road and feeling very rushed.

Hello, C21! You may want to consider starting a new post for your questions. If you do that, I think you will get more responses. In the meantime, review your itinerary against your NS Dept of Tourism "Doers'& Dreamers'Guide" available @ www.novascotia.com and also @
www.explore.gov.ns.ca (I give you these in case you do not have the Guide)
Actually, I think these 2 sites get you to the same place but I am giving you both in case I got one of them wrong!

Hi C21! I definitely agree with the 2 previous suggestions to A) seriously reconsider your Day 2 plan and B) start a new post to get even more info.

Laverendye makes a really good point about your trip being very hectic. Day 1, from Port Hawksbury to Big Bras d'Or to Louisbourg to Sydney is going to be a whole lot of driving/activities and very rushed. However, if get an early start, don't mind rushing through your activities and don't mind driving, it is "doable". Out of curiosity, where will you be coming from the previous day? Will you be overnighting in Hawksbury? Maybe we can make a suggestion to help you free up some time there. Day 2, however, is simply virtually impossible. I really don't think there is any way you can get from Sydney to Ingonish, do some activities, travel around the rest of the trail and then make it to Truro. My suggestion is to spend another night on the island, maybe in Baddeck or Mabou. Then, on Day 3, head to Halifax, stopping on the way in Shubie Wildlife Park (it really won't take you very long to see this, and your total driving time for this day would only be about 4.5 - 5 hours).

As for you clockwise/countercloskwise question - if you are coming from Sydney and ultimately planning to drive off the island back to the mainland, it makes much more sense to go counterclockwise, through Ingonish first then on to Cheticamp.

In August fog shouldn't be much of a problem, as the ocean will be heating up a bit by then. Still, it never hurts to have some spare time, just in case.

Start a new post, ask any new questions, and I'm sure we'll all be more than happy to help!!

Thank you all for your replies. I am going to re-think our schedule to make it less hectic. Considering our time constraints I gather it would be best to cut out either the trip to Bird Island or the visit to Louisbourg on Day one. We will be coming from Charlottetown and overnighting in Hawkesbury. I guess alternately we could cut PEI short and make it to Baddeck to stay for the night? That way we might have a chance of doing both? I also like the idea of staying an extra night in Baddeck or Mabou instead of going to Truro (I'm thinking Mabou? I've heard that it's a great place for a fun musical evening. Any suggestions of where to go or where to stay?) Now that I know the wildlife park won't take long, we can definitely make our destination of Halfax by Day three...even if it does mean slightly more driving time that day. I will take your advice and start a new post for the (tentative) new itinerary and see what the comments are. Thanks!