Pogopat

Just finished booking our flight into Halifax. We will arrive on August 12 and leave on the 19th. That should give us plenty of time to see Cape Breton. We will want to participate in some ceilidhs...so in looking up music stuff I came across the Judique on the Floor Festival Aug 12-15th. I also noticed that it is where the Celtic Music Center is. Is this festival worth visiting? How about the center....the town itself? Might we leave the Halifax area and go that side of the island first to hit this festival...then go up and over the top and down to Banneck and the Fort? Then back to Halifax. We will definitely want to do a lot of hiking up around the top of the island..Pleasant Bay ...Meat Point and around there I guess.
Also.....When leaving Halifax to go to the Cape...the map shows a shoreline route (7)and then one higher up that looks like and interstate (102 and 104). Which one is the preferred route? We are supposed to arrive in Halifax about 2:30 in the afternoon.

NS_Crowgirl

Your route choices are either a scenic but loooong shoreline route with lots of lower speed stretches and sections of badly maintained road which I'd forgo and the much speedier 102/104 highway route. It's not completely dreadful highway - there's farmland and foresty bits and loads of spots to stop for food/stretch your legs.

Pogopat

Speaking of speed....just got a ticket coming home from some volunteer work (no good deed goes unnoticed by cops!). Fortunately, my husband will probably be doing all the driving in NS and the chances of getting a ticket are much slimmer. Are there also cops behind every tree there?

NS_Crowgirl

Not really but you'll want to watch your speed in Cape Breton (especially the Highlands area) in case of wildlife on the road. You REALLY don't want to hit a moose (and even a deer can do some major damage).

cabottrail

Do you have 2 or 3 questions on the go ??
You have 7 days, and depending on your departure time, you may only have 6 on the ground, so try to work backwards here eh.
As I said in another of your posts I believe, get to Judique as the Saturday night will likely be a dance night and that is great as you get the music and the action.
Judique is maybe 50 houses , 1 store, 1 church, 2 Celtic music centers .
Leave the airport on the 102 / 104 to CB, then take 19 to the left on the Island and in 20 minutes you'd be in Judique. Try to stay near there or Mabou . Next night head for Margaree area or Cheticamp area, then to maybe Dingwall or Ingonish , then down the other side to say Sydney and then take Route 4 off the Island.
Highway 7 is very nice but very slow . From Antigonish to Halifax , allow at least 5 jours .

You need 3 hours for the Skyline trail hike. You need 1/2 hour to drive into Meat Cove. You need 3 hours for a whale watch trip. From Ingonish to Sydney , you need an hour then another 45 minutes to get to Louisburg

I wish there was some way to communicate directly on this site to help you more Prefer Trip Advisor .

Don't worry about the deer , and as for the moose , you will likely only be on the Trail where the moose are in the day light anyway.

katherinejhr

We just got back from the trip you described - it was fabulous! We hit the Sunday afternoon ceilidh at the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique, then stayed in Mabou for 2 nights - went to the Red Shoe Pub for supper (live music from 5 to 7, arrive early!) Check out the Glenora Distillery as well. We were also interested in hiking, but just didn't have time to do as much as we thought. We did the Skyline Trail in the Park, then up to Meat Cove and camped there. It was the most incredible campsite, right on the ocean at the end of the world. I highly recommend it. We hiked out to the lighthouse - it was a good workout! A short visit to Baddeck, then on to Louisbourg. They tell you to bring a jacket and they aren't kidding. We were there in what was supposed to be a heatwave in town and it was misty and cold out at the fort. We also attended a show at the Louisbourg Playhouse - more Celtic music. We only intended to spend a few days on Cape Breton and spent a week. I wish we'd had more time.