travelplan

We are planning a road trip to Nova Scotia in Aug. At the moment we are planning on taking the ferry from Portland, ME to Yarmouth, NS. We are a large group (approx 4 families with grandparents and kids as young as 1 year old, all traveling together). At the moment, our plans are to take our individual cars on the ferry as I am sure they will be packed with things. Our group primarily wants to enjoy the nature (no museums, no birders), occasional easy hike, stroll in scenic towns and beaches, lighthouses, see the tides change, etc..basically an easy laid back group trip.

Question 1: Does anyone on this forum know the cost for a family of 4 with a minivan across the ferry? Would you recommend that taking car on the Ferry is the best way to go as opposed to leaving the car in Maine and try to rent a large van (or multiple cars in Yarmouth?)

Question 2: we have 4 days and nights to spend in NS. Would love suggestions on 4 day trip itineraries. I doubt we will be able to go much further north than Halifax without making it too hectic. Is it reasonable to spend one day driving along west coast, next day along east coast, third day closer to Halifax area (see the tides). Any suggestions on specific places to see, routes to take, picnic/beach areas to visit.

Question 3: As opposed to eating in restaurants for every meal (imagine fitting a huge group) we hope to cookout/ picnic along the way (carry a grill find a scenic campground/beachfront/picnic area and cook). Any recommendations ?

Question 4: Finally what will be the best place to stay (close to Halifax that can accommodate about 16 people and allow us the various day trips above).

Flyboy

First, get a copy of the official travel guide, which is excellent:

https://novascotia.com/en/home/plana...s/default.aspx

The CAT is the fast ferry:

http://www.catferry.com/

Once you have the guidebook in hand, you should have a better idea about what is realistic. There are a lot of cheap "mom & pop" seafood places along the Bay of Fundy. As for a base in Halifax, I've used the Holiday Inn Harbourview in Dartmouth a few times because it is convenient to the ferry and has easy parking:

http://www.hiharbourview.ca/halifax-hotels/

I've also hoofed it across the bridge from there. It's a bit of a hike, but it's kind of fun.

artsbabe

DH and I are going to to Nova Scotia in August, and we looked into taking the CAT from Portland, ME, and decided it was too expensive. It is something like $100/person each way plus a car fee. And it takes 5 1/2 hours each way. Because there are just two of us, it made sense to fly to Halifax and rent a car. For your large group... I dunno.

I also have to note that we haven't found the Doers & Dreamers guide particularly helpful except for the maps. It is chock full of ads. A good guidebook, I think, would be better.

elberko

IMHO, getting that many people to NS is going to be too expensive for such a short trip. Are you sure Maine wouldn't work out better?

~Liz

LJ

CAT is viewed by some as pricey, but don't know your budget or circumstances so it may suit you very well...it certainly saves time and driver's nerves. When you get to Yarmouth, keep on going and think about Lunenburg as a base. Using the Doers and Dreamers Guide, you can plot out your own course.

However, I would look at something like this
One Day: Lunenburg-Blue Nose sailing ship, Blue Rocks, whale watching, The Ovens Park/caving
Another Day: Mahone Bay, Chester, Lighthouse Trail with beaches and hiking trails in between
Another Day: Kejimikujjik Seaside Adjunct Park
Another Day: Peggy's Cove, Halifax

The D&D guide does have ads (of course!) but it is also chocked full of useful up-to-date info and they have just released their full schedule of festivals that they send as a follow up to the main guidebook.

ltt

lj's itinerary is reasonably - you could replace one day with a drive down to digby/digby neck. the CAT is very expensive IMO. i drove up to new brunswick and took the ferry from there over to digby. still got a boat ride out of it but it was much more reasonably priced. with the time you have, you are going to see a very, very small portion of the island. lunenberg or mahone bay are lovely places to stay. i camped at the ovens park and zodiac trip through the caves was fun.

toedtoes

I like LJ's itinerary also. With just 4 days, you really need to focus on a specific area. You could do the Lighthouse Trail (see the Doer's & Dreamer's Guide) as LJ suggests with a day trip to Halifax. Or you could do the Digby Neck/Bay of Fundy stretch (stay on Brier Island and enjoy the various trails on the island, whale watching, seal watching, Balancing Rock, etc.). Personally, I wouldn't do the Digby Neck for just a day trip.

For a day trip to Halifax, load up everyone in as few cars as possible and then park at Pier 21 ($10 for the entire day per car) and use FRED the Bus (Free Rides Every Day) to get around the downtown area.

Regarding The Ovens Natural Park - the zodiac boat tours are not in operation at this time. There are some new regulations and the park hasn't been able to get re-licensed yet. However, you can still have a wonderful time visiting the Sea Caves from the hiking trail and/or renting kayaks.

Lunenburg is a nice base point for the Lighthouse Trail. I stayed at the Atlantic View Motel and Cottages. There are just a few cottages (3 one-room, 1-2 room, if I remember correctly), but they are right next to the motel itself. The cottages have outdoor grills, cooking utensils, dinnerware, toasters, coffee pots, etc. They were also inexpensive. I got a one-room cottage for $85CAD last August. The cottages each have a porch. There is a nice big green lawn in front of them, and across the street is a small beach overlooking the bay (and there's even a lighthouse in the distance and an osprey nest near the beach).