NB,NS,PEI
 

Hi to all.
We are from Italy and this summer we'll come in Canada to visit these 3 states. We have a daughter (1 year old) so we'll really appreciate your help about a possible itinerary.
We'll be in Boston on June 27th and we'll leave from Halifax on July 8th.
Thanks to all of you
Giovanni, Paola,Sofia

Welcome
In Canada, we call these areas provinces, not states. All have good web sites for tourists.

How do you plan to move from area to area? If you are renting a car in Boston,make sure you are llowed to drop it off in Halifax, because rental agreements sometimes do not cover two countries.

On the north shore opf PEI, near Cavendish, and on the New Brunswick nearShediac, the water is warm enough forswimming. When the tides are out, there are little pools of water a few inches to a foot deep which warm up with the sun, and the little girl will enjoy these, and she will enjoy playing in the sand.

BAK

You might get some ideas to help you prepare an itinerary at www.drivecrosscountry.net/RouteM1 There are links to provincial tourist sites in the trip planning section.

You are planning on being in the Maritimes at a beautiful time. July 1st has the Canada Day celebrations. Probably the largest display of fireworks is in Charlottetown, PEI.

As BAK said the beaches on PEI are grand. The first week in July would have a water temperature of a bit below 20 C. Several of the provincial parks have nice sandy beaches with no surf - Cabot, Sally's, Cartier, Red Point - and my favories: Basin Head and Panmure Island. Each has adaquate parking and changing rooms. Panmure has an additional advantage for small children because across the road is a bay which is somewhat warmer.

Enjoy the trip...

Don't miss the flower pot rocks (Hopewell Rocks) in New Brunswick if you want to see the effects of the world's highest tides.

From Halifax, if you have time to go a bit further west (about 100 kms past Halifax), Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove are worth a visit.

The Cabot Trail in Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) is one of North
America's most scenic drives, especially the section through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There are pull-offs, picnic areas and several beaches on route. Also a number of small towns and villages with tourist facilities - hotels, restaurants, shops.

The Lighthouse Route also in Nova Scotia southwest of Halifax has many charming towns and villages, maritime scenery and some lovely beaches although the water does tend to be very cold along this shore.

Halifax is a very nice small city. There is a vibrant Harbour district downtown with walkways, restaurants, boat tours, shops and museums.

The tides of the Bay of Fundy are extraordinary and are most dramatically seen in New Brunswick from either Hopewell Rocks as suggested by ventdest or the Alma/Fundy National Park area. If you can plan to see both high and low tide for contrast, this is best.

Hi Giovanni, Paola, Sofia,

Does this mean you *arrive* in Boston on June 27th? You will want to allot a few days to Boston if it's your first time there as it is an enjoyable city that will take more than a day to explore (South Side, North Side, Cambridge).

I agree you'll need to let us know how you plan on travelling and BAK makes a good caution about rental cars between the two nations. Just so you know, there's not much in the way of public transportation that directly connects New England, USA to Maritime Canada and also within Maritime Canada itself. Last I checked, there still is one bus daily that runs from Bangor, Maine to Saint John, New Brunswick. One idea would be to rent a car in Boston for drop off in Bangor, rent a car in Saint John for drop off in Halifax? Acadian Bus Lines does travel between the major regional population centers of the Maritimes (Saint John to Halifax or Charlottetown via Moncton), but would not get you to scenic spots like Hopewell Rocks, Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, the Cabot Trail or the Northumberland Strait beaches.

Alternatively, from Boston, there's a bus also to Montreal, where it might be easier to rent a car, but this may bring you further west than you'd planned and cut a chunk of your time to explore the Maritime Provinces. One option from Montreal is that there is a 22 hour train ride to Halifax...a beautiful ride but not inexpensive, particularly if you go comfortably by getting a sleeper (rather than economy class).

Perhaps others with experience with renting a car in the US and dropping it off in Canada can address this point.

Once you figure out the logisitics, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Maritime Canada is one of my favourite parts of the world!

Daniel

Thanks for all your great advices!
We are reconsidering the logistics and we are tryng to arrive directly in Halifax and from here renting a car and make the trip.
We'll arrive in June 27 and we'll have about 10 days for visiting these provinces..
We now have to think about an itinerary just to be in Charlottetown on July 1st.
It is better to go to Cabot Trail and then take the ferry? Or do you suggest something else?
Ciao
Gio,Paola,Sofia

Just for thinkng about

June 27 arrive Halifax, stay overnight
June 28 drive to Cape Breton
June 28 around Cabot Trail
June 30 ferry to PEI
July 1 Canada Day in PEI
July 2 in PEI
July 3 Confederation Bridge to mainland, Parlee Beach, Shediac. stay in Moncton
July 4 Hopewell Rocks, (see note), back through Moncton, Sackville, into Nova Scotia, back to Halifax
July 5 back to Halifax,
July 6 South East to Chester, Peggy's Cove, etc.
July 7 Leave for Italy

As you can see, this is a pretty light schedule.

Compare to Canadians who want to see Venice, Verona, Florence and Rome in ten days.Possible, but very rushed.

I was botrninMoncton, and my grandmother born in Hopewell Hill, near the rocks, but here's a miunimum of NB version

June 27 arrive Halifax, stay overnight
June 28 drive to Cape Breton
June 29 around Cabot Trail
June 30 ferry to PEI
July 1 Canada Day in PEI
July 2 in PEI
July 3 Confederation Bridge to mainland, Amherst NS , Truro NS,
July 4 Nova Scotia shore along Bay of Fundy to Yarmouth
July 5 Through Liverpool, Lunebridge, Peggy's Cove, Chester to Halifax
July 6 Leave for Italy

You miss Moncton, Parlee Beach, and the Hopewell Rocks, but you gain a university town (Wolfville) and fishing villages and seascapes along the Nova Scotia Coast.

The main Transcanada Hihgway does not have much to see, and the smaller highways take you more interesting places, but you do not get to go very far in a day.

BAK

Typo above.

The sentence should read: "As you can see, this is a pretty TIGHT schedule.

You do not have a lot of time to spend in each community.

BAK

It seems a very good project!
I am a photographer and I'm sure there will be many sites to take a picture of. Do you have advices about any hidden or not well known spots?
Thanks
Giovanni

Hi Giovanni,

In terms of photography, there are many wonderful locations, some of them (like PEI in general, Peggys Cove in NS, the Rocks in NB, and the Cabot Trail in NS) very well known.

In terms of wonderful, but lesser known, ones I would include:

Grand Manan Island (off coast of NB, near border with Maine) - authentic and beautiful.

The Fundy Trail which starts near St. Martin's in NB. Of limited length compared to the Cabot Trail, but incredibly beautiful.

Burntcoat Head at the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy in NS, and actually the location of the highest recorded tides in the world. Not on a major road, but serene, with interesting rock formations.

Sackville, NB (ok I am biased :-) but a very beautiful small university town with an incredible Waterfowl Park right in the centre of town.

Digby, NS. A very vibrant and beautiful small town harbour.

If you want a bit more detail on these, and others, I put together a checklist of my favourite Bay of Fundy locations a few months ago, and a copy is at http://bayfundy.blogspot.com/2010/11...checklist.html or alternatively at http://www.bayfundy.net/checklist/checklist.html. I hope you have a wonderful vacation.

Bob

Thanks, I will take a look to your lesser known spots.