bsktfan

My husband and I are investigating our first trip to the Atlantic Province region. We began researching PEI but I think we have settled on Nova Scotia for August 28 -Sept 4. We love to explore outdoors, scenic views, lighthouses, good food and we would love to be in an area that we can see these things by bicycle from a central base. We have 7 nights so possibly 2 or 3 base camps...any suggestions on what are must-sees or areas that we should not miss while allowing an easy pace to enjoy... we need to rent bicycles as the distance from the US prevents driving and bringing our own! We'd love suggestions from veteran NS travelers!!

bsktfan

Change of plan. We are now considering driving to St. John, NB and taking the ferry to NS so that we can transport our own bicycles. We'd like to explore the lighthouse area, south of Halifax and the eastern shore area. Can anyone recommend a B and B in each of these areas that allows us access to good food and can serve as a base for our day trips via bike? We usually ride 40-50 miles per day so a central location is helpful. We are thinking 3 nights along each coast. We'd love to see the Cape Breton area but think it may be too much to be included in a 1 week trip. Any Suggestions?

QueScaisJe

If you haven't yet, get a copy of Nova Scotia Tourism's "2010 Doers' and Dreamers' Travel Guide": "The 384 page guide contains everything you need to know with contact information for all of our tourism operators and services." And it does.

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

Tanya

Here are a couple of sites that may be able to help you best when it comes to bike rentals and touring

http://www.atlanticcanadacycling.com/
http://novascotia.com/en/home/whatto...s/cycling.aspx

paradisefound

In the area south of Halifax I would recommend Atlantic Sojourn B&B in Lunenburg. Sebelle and Susan are wonderful hosts. Along the "Eastern Shore" I would highly recommend Elephant's Nest B&B.

Cheers

bsktfan

Thanks for the input. We are waiting for our Guidebook, apparently they aren't available until this month. Sorry, I confused our destination. Since Nova Scotia in general is east of us, I made an error in direction. I meant western shore...most likely we'll come off the ferry in Digby and stay a few days in the area of Annapolis Royal and then over toward Lunenburg. Is there any area in particular that we should add?? We will have 7 nights in Nova Scotia. Thank you for the suggestions..any others are appreciated!

paradisefound

On the western side of Nova Scotia I would recommend "A Seafaring Maiden B&B (www.aseafaringmaiden.com") in Granville Ferry near Annapolis Royal. It's a lovely old Victorian home beautifully restored with excellent hosts. They have bike storage which would be an added bonus.

Sue_xx_yy

Greetings bsktfan

Two points: eastern shore is beautiful but also fairly isolated once you get more than an hour or so (by car) outside of Halifax.

Do not underestimate distances. The coastline that makes NS beautiful also means that the distance between any two points can be longer than expected. For example, Yarmouth to Halifax is 3 hours by car, and that's by the 'boring' 103 series highway, not the scenic route. Second example: Peggy's Cove is about 90 km, or 63 miles, round trip from Halifax by the most direct route.

Thus, I would recommend as a strategy picking 2 or 3 bases as you planned, but putting the bikes on the car and driving to where one could do 1 or 2 mini bike trips per day. For example, if based in Halifax, I would drive to some place like Glen Haven (check google map) park the car, and bike to Peggy's and back. You're by the water almost all the way, and it's about 36 km, or about 24 miles, round trip. Bear in mind that there are few places in NS where you won't find hills, and this route is no exception, so as you know this should be considered when factoring in biking time.

Someone in the (Annapolis) valley is sure to kill me for saying this, but I don't consider it my favourite part of NS. Annapolis Royal is pleasant, but very small - you can walk the village in an hour or less - although the Historic Gardens are worth a look and would add another hour or so. The surrounding countryside is pastoral, but not what one would drive many miles to see.

Personally, with a week, I'd still try to find 3 nights for Cape Breton, bearing in mind that yes, it's a bit of a drive to get there. Spectacular scenery, but if on a bike for any part of the way, be sure to note that the hills are substantial.

Other key place for a base would be Halifax and/or immediate environs of South Shore (Lunenburg being about an hour's drive from Halifax, with lots of places worth exploring en route.)

Happy biking!

Peregrino

You might take a look at the following article: http://pure.canada.travel/en_us/cate...story/350.html

mat54

I'm not a cyclist, but if you're crossing over at Digby, I'm wondering if a bike ride up the Digby Neck Peninsula to Brier Island at the end might be interesting to you? Quaint, off the beaten track, some interesting scenery on Brier Island (volcanic cliffs) and known for excellent whale watching with boats going out into the Bay of Fundy (and I believe your timing is good for seeing whales). You could overnight at Brier Island but would have to do the same ride in reverse.

The Lighthouse Route is charming with quaint fishing villages and historic towns, but the "scenic" route follows the shore, as mentioned, making it a bit long and winding. Perhaps staying somewhere like historic Lunenburg would offer both a pleasant base plus opportunities for cycling daytrips in both directions.

The Cabot Trail is spectacular, especially through Cape Breton Highlands National Park - but that is another good long drive away. Also, the national park (as "highlands" suggest) makes for intense cycling (although cyclists are not uncommon on the Trail).