Nova Scotia: Three Day Itinerary Help
 

I have only three full days to spend in Nova Scotia.

I plan to fly in/out of Halifax from the United States, connecting in Toronto. Traveling to Halifax, I need to clear customs in Toronto, so my choices are a 1.5 hour layover or a 3.5 hour layover. Is 1.5 hours enough to clear customs/immigration? I will probably carrying on my baggage, so there is no need to claim and recheck. It would be later in the evening, around 9 pm on a Thursday night in early July. On the return flight to the US, I think that I clear customs in Halifax before leaving, so the connection time is not as much of an issue. If I can swing the 1.5 hour layover, it means arriving at midnight versus 2 am, which is much more palatable.

What can I see in three days? I will rent a car in Halifax, and would like to see Peggy's Cove and Lunenberg for sure, possibly Shelburne and Annapolis Royal too. Whale watching is a must, and I would rather do so on a zodiac rather than a boat. I would also like to drive the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island and possibly visit PEI for some mussels. I know that sounds like a lot to accomplish in three days, but that's all I have, so it's either go for three days or not at all. I can possibly add a fourth full day to my itinerary, but it would mean shortening another trip that I'm planning later in the year to Russia. My two travel days in and out do not count in the three full sightseeing days.

Are Peggy's Cove, Lunenberg, and Shelburne repetitive in terms of scenery? Can I choose just one of the three and not feel like I'm missing something? (And if so, which one is best?) Is it worth a trip to PEI just for the mussels, or are the Green Gables house and Province House National Historic Site worth seeing?

I see from other people's questions and trip reports that one can comfortably spend two weeks in this area, but I just don't have the time, so any thoughts/recommendations on a short trip are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

With three days, I'd forget about PEI. If you want to visit Cape Breton, then you'll want the full three days to do that.

Don't try to see everything you want to in such a short time.

My suggestion would be to spend a day in Halifax, then drive down the coast visiting Peggy's Cove, Chester,Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. Stay overnight in Lunenburg, then travel across to the Bay of Fundy to Annapolis Royal and through the Annapolis valley. Stay overnight in Wolfville and the next day head straight to the airport from there.

Your connection times are tight, but you can make it if there are no flight delays or you are not switching terminals. On your return, you will have to clear US Customs and Border Protection in Toronto, not Halifax. There will also likely be further security screening there.

Air Canada gives connection times at Toronto for passengers travelling on that airline as 1 hr 10 min each way. However, if you are switching terminals, then the time will be increased. Most US airlines except for United and US Airways use Terminal 3 while Air Canada uses Terminal 1. The second major Canadian carrier uses Terminal 3. (There is no longer a Terminal 2).

As a start, it is physically impossible to do everything you want to do, particularly if you want to throw in cape breton and PEI, in 3 days. When are you actually travelling as that may well affect any recommendations we might make. Also, what are your priorities - scenery, historic sites, outdoor activities?

You really have time to explore one of the areas you mention and I would suggest either the lower part of Nova scotia or cape Breton - you can't do both. For the lower part of Nova scotia, "laverendrye's" recommendations are reasonably sound. Depending on where your priorities lie, I might not spend a day in Halifax, particularly if you want to squeeze in a whalw watching trip in the Bay of Fundy.

If you want to do Cape Breton, your route and activities will depend on what you want to accomplish. If you are interested in historical sites, the fortress of Louisbourg takes the better part of a day. The drive around the Cabot Trail also takes another full day, particularly if you want to squeeze in either a hike or a whale watching cruise. One of the nice things about Cape Breton is that, with proper planning, you can get in a real mix of adventures including great Cape Breton/Celtic music every evening.

Cheers

All of the above is correct: you should skip PEI and indulge in Indian Point Mussels on the south shore of Nova Scotia (Mahone Bay and Lunenburg restaurants offer these plenifully and cheaply).

You will not find Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg at all similar: they offer very different tourist experiences and vistas.

There are a variety of zodiac whale-watching options both out of Halifax and off the coast of Cape Breton, but do keep in mind that Cape Breton all by itself would be hard to see in 3 days if you really plan to drive there, get all the way up to the Cape Breton Highlands, drive around there and get back in a day, you could do it. But not if you added in a a whale-watching trip.

Personally, I think splitting your agenda between both the South Shore/Annapolis Royal and Fundy Shore and then racing up via Halifax to Cape Breton would be exhausting and end up mostly as a highway driving marathon.

Do consider just the South Shore with a side jaunt to Fundy-side from a base in Lunenburg where you can also whale watch, eat mussels and enjoy one of the most picturesque World Heritage sites anywhere.

Enjoy!

I don't mind the effort to use three days to get something out of Nova Scotia, but I'm fearful as to what to suggest.

Furthermore, you don't tell us the exact parameters of your time in NS. (being at the airport in TO late on a Thursday night is plenty specific... about the airport in TO)

I'm going to guess that you will wake up in Halifax, dead tired, on a Friday morning with "three full days" in the province, and I hope that means you leave either extremely late on Sunday night, or on Monday morning.

(note: As soon as you put too much pressure on any of these places, the gloomy FOG will swoop in and render you no longer in control of your fate)

SO...

You awaken in Halifax, on Atlantic Time, and you should probably go immediately to Peggy's Cove and to Lunenberg to get what you can from them, during most of Friday. If the weather is clear the coastal driving will be very pleasant and enticing.

I think it would be safe to stay at the same place in/near Halifax on Friday night as well as Thursday night. IF you've made good time during your day, you simply return to Halifax to take what little you can from the city on what will be a Friday night.

The days are plenty long near then, so at least you get the most out of it.

Just roam many of the downtown streets and the waterfront on foot and pick some random spot for dinner, maybe walk to Citadel Hill if there is time.

Saturday morning, get a reasonably early start to the north and progress with the distant target of Pleasant Bay, on the Cabot Trail (271 miles - "5 hours" driving time).

Use that as your marker not because it is central or any special point to see, but because if you're doing Cape Breton, the Cabot Trail is the top priority there.

Furthermore, if you get out early enough on Saturday morning you afford yourself the added window of hope of driving the Cabot Trail on either Saturday OR Sunday, on the chance that the Cabot Trail is totally fogged-in on Saturday.

If by the time you reach the Cabot Trail, late afternoon is upon you, you must press on, just to assure completion of this part of the journey (provided it isn't foggy).

If blessed with good fortune, and seeing the Cabot Trail on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, then you should probably keep moving and attempt to reach, oh, maybe Pictou or Truro by bedtime on Saturday night.

DO NOT get cute and try to navigate the backroads while hoping to see just a little bit more. Things go pretty slow on NS roadways and you need every minute.

So if you awaken in Truro on Sunday morning you'd be looking at a 3-hour drive to Annapolis Royal (Truro to Sackville to Annapolis Royal - so says MSN Maps), but if it were me, I would ad-lib that trip based on the TIDES. There are plenty of good tide-viewing spots near Wolfville. If the tide is low, you can walk way out in the surf and take pictures. If the tide is high, perhaps time it so you're on a lookoff that overlooks the powerful tide as it rolls in. (do some research for the optimum window to view in order to see the most dramatic effect of the incoming tide).

Depending on the tide thing, I would perhaps opt-away from Annapolis Royal all together, instead taking the path back to Halifax from Wolfville on what is the evening of your final full day of seeing Nova Scotia.

You can find the tide schedules for your trip NOW, at http://www.lau.chs-shc.gc.ca/cgi-bin...gion=5&zone=30


Depending on the timing there, and on whether you're OK with giving up on Annapolis Royal, you could spend that Saturday night in Pictou (vs. Truro) and then take your time if the tides permit doing so.

I really know how it feels to have so little time while still making a priority of a place like Nova Scotia. I know that it has been plenty worth it to me whenever I've been there, but you really will have to 'haul ass'...

I'm looking for a very similar itinerary for 3.5 days. I'm wondering out of the suggest route of Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, Annapolis Royal, and Wolfville, which ones are the best for scenic kayaking?

If you looking for kayaking suggestions or want to book a tour, check out Coastal Adventures in Nova Scotia. Reputable company that has been around for many years. http://www.coastaladventures.com/index.html

You could be correct fluffnfold about clearing customs in Halifax. There is preclearance to the US as long as your flight originates in Halifax and flies directly to a US destination. Since it is a separate part of the Halifax airport, clearance is usually efficient without many delays. However, they typically ask you to be there 3 hours prior to departure for any international flight.

To go whale watching in Digby Neck is probably your best best - but really it would take your full three days. You can whale watch out of Halifax on the waterfront, but it won't be by zodiac. One day to travel (along the way you can take your time do the Valley through the backroads) and then arrive Digby area. The next day will be your whale watching day. The following one you could cut through to the southshore and follow the back roads through the coastal areas of Liverpool, Lunenburg, Chester, Peggy's Cove. It would be a full day's drive.

Similarly, you could potentially do Cape Breton Trail - but not both. If you were to do Cape Breton it would take you the better part of the day (with stops along the way of course) to reach say Mabou or Cheticamp. The next day to explore the trail with a stopover in Baddeck for the night. And the next day driving back - again could be with stops using a different route (say Eastern shore through Sherbrooke).

On your arrival, you may simply want to stay the night at the one of the airport hotels.

We spent 5 nights in Nova Scotia last fall. Here are a few ideas on what there is to see and do in:

Nova Scotia: http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...%20Scotia.html


Halifax:
http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...a/Halifax.html

Annapolis Valley: http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...%20Valley.html

South Shore:
http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...h%20Shore.html