hi- how come no one ever mentions the marine drive as an option for going from halifax to CBI? is it boring or something? the girl at the nova scotia tourist board told me it was her very favorite of all the drives, yet i never see anything about it in these posts. thought it would be nice to go that route one way, and then Pictou route the other way. any thoughts?

this was a mystery to me too when i did the trip last year. after much research, i heard the from several people that #1 - it was VERY slow so allow a full day to do the drive #2 someone said that you can't see the water for much of the drive which is the reason i would have wanted to take it.
i did do it so don't know if the above is factual, just reporting what i heard. if you do it, post back and let us know what you thought.

sorry, last sentence, i meant to say i did NOT do it

The Marine Drive just isn't as popular as say Cape Breton or the South Shore of NS. There are many pretty spots along the way and some great beaches to relax at. The gem at the end from Halifax to Antigonish is Liscomb Lodge and Sherbrooke Village. Similarly, Pictou County is often overlooked by tourists as they simply drive through enroute to Cape Breton. However, don't expect a lot of "touristy" spots along the way - more natural and unspoiled than most areas.