Nova Scotia Trip Advice
 

DH and I are thinking about spending a couple of weeks this August in Nova Scotia. We like being near the water, seeing birds (but we're not "birders"), maybe kayaking, walking around small towns, easy hiking. We are not interested in any of the living history museums/reconstructions. We'll rent a car. Here is the tentative plan, and I would love some feedback on feasibility. I don't have my notes with me, so forgive any misspellings:

--Arrive Halifax and spend 3 nights -- visit Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg and Halifax
--Drive the east route along the coast and spend 1 night somewhere -- suggestions?
--Spend 5 nights on Cape Breton, maybe in Baddeck since it seems centrally located
--Drive back along the Trans-Canadian Highway (and other routes) and maybe go all the way to Wolfville, and spend 2 nights? 3 nights? Too long a drive?
--Spend one night in Halifax before flying home

Should we spend more or less time time in any of these places?

Thanks for your help!

Great trip and good agenda.

I would add one more day to the Halifax part and/or consider overnighting part way down the South Shore/Lighthouse Route (i.e Peggy's Cove, Chester, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, The Ovens, ending at Kejimkujik: this is a great blend of authentic small ports, kayaking and beautiful natural hiking/parks and birds ).

I would steal that day from Cape Breton-5 nights is a lot, IMHO esp. if you are not into the Louisbourg aspect of it. The Highlands National Park is beautiful, but not 5 days worth

I don't know the east shore except for (St.?) Margaret's Bay where the smoked salmon comes from so I will let others respond to that: it was a nice town as I recall...but the rest, a little dull.

By all means save some time for Wolfville, the Annapolis Valley, Digby and Blomidon National Park: this is all very picturesque and totally different from both South Shore and the Cape.

So rather than add another week, personally, I would carve back some of the Cape Breton and East Coast time in favour of the South Shore/Halifax/Fundy Coast side of things.

You know what? you'll have a ball no matter what! When you fine tune come back for specifics!

Thanks, LJ, for your helpful suggestions. The Annapolis Valley area kind of struck us as very similar to some of the rolling hills/agricultural areas of the (US) Midatlantic states, so we aren't that enthused about something we could see at home. Are we wrong about what this area looks like?

I think it is likely you would find it more varied: you go from magnificent tidal flats that abut small college towns (Wolfville) to vineyards and farmers markets to the scallop fishing industry and whale watching (Digby) to the cliffs of Blomidon Park. (this, BTW, is meant to be a range of activity, NOT a road map!).

Have you got the Doers and Dreamers Guide from the Nova Scotia government office of tourism.It is a must!

Yes, we have Doers and Dreamers plus a couple of guidebooks. We travel a fair amount, but this trip has been unexpectedly difficult to organize.

No, no...you're doing fine! BTW, if you will be in Halifax and you are the artsy type your name implies, do come back for specific reccos re: local art. My DD works with a gallery there and it is a thriving art community, not stuffy and with a great deal going on!

Will do!

Hi - I've visited Nova Scotia a number of times and like you enjoy being near water, birds (I "am" a birder), easy-moderate hikes and small towns. I'll list a few spots/activities I have most enjoyed:
Cape Breton is spectacularly scenic, especially the Cabot Trail through the National Park. I have spent 5 days very happily exploring and hiking the park, taking scenic drives, visiting towns and leaving a little time for simple seaside relaxation. For being "near the water" several accommodations in the Ingonish area provide seaside cottages. The National Park has some excellent easy to moderate trails - check out their website. Baddeck is a pleasant small town for an afternoon wander with Yacht Harbour and some art shops and cafes. Cheticamp is an Acadian Fishing Village which doubles as a major tourist jumping off point to the park. Bald Eagles abound in Cape Breton - especially around the Bras D'Or Lakes but also in the NP.
Halifax is a great small city with a lively Harbour area - shops, pubs, boardwalk, etc. Mahone Bay and Lunenburg are great small towns to explore. Peggy's Cove is very scenic, but you won't spend long there, it's tiny. Along this "Lighthouse Route" there are a number of beaches - many not well known and without services so can be very quiet - great for strolls, picnics and there will be lots of shore birds in August. Examples include Cherry Hill Beach at low tide, Carter's Beach, Kejimkujik NP Seaside Adjunct and others further to the southwest. Try to find "The Nova Scotia Atlas", a detailed mapbook to locate these. For staying overnight along this shore, there are beachfront chalets at Summerville Beach (never stayed but they look upscale from the outside). If prefer something in or closer to a small town with some services - Liverpool, Lockeport and Shelburne are options. Brier Island at the end of the Digby Neck peninsula is scenic and natureful, has hiking trails, feels rather off-the-beaten path, and offers some excellent whale watching cruises.
I've also enjoyed several days in the Advocate Harbour/Parrsboro area - but for your first visit I would suggest focusing on Cape Breton, Halifax and the Lighthouse Route.
I have not spent time in Wolfville. When I inquired in past on this forum, I got the impression that the Wolfville area might make a pleasant daytrip out of, or overnight between, Halifax and points further west. I'll be interested in additional opinions on this.

Thank you so much mat54!

Here's a suggestion for your trip:

Go to the following tide table and print out the high and low tides for 2 or 3 locales during the duration of your trip.

http://www.lau.chs-shc.gc.ca/cgi-bin...gion=5&zone=30

This way you'll have the significant information in your vehicle/possession at such a time when making plans on the go. It might take up a whole sheet of paper, and a few minutes of your time, but the easy reference you would provide yourself during the trip could be very useful.

I would choose Burntcoat Head and perhaps Hopewell Cape (if you get over that far - it really is an awesome sight - find images of it on Google) and then pick one more location for printing high and low tides before you go.

And go all-out and print the data for the entire window of your trip, juuuuuuuuuuuust in case...

I agree with The Ovens. When I went last year, I stayed a couple nights in Lunenburg at the Atlantic View Cottages and Motel. I booked a one-room cottage and it was very nice. From my front porch, I could watch the osprey on a manmade nesting post across the street and could see the lighthouse at the end of the bay in the distance.

It was also a quick drive to The Ovens where you can kayak into the sea caves, etc. There's also a nice trail that takes you to the caves also. It made for a nice day of outdoors.

From Lunenburg, I headed south to Liverpool and then crossed over to the west coast and to Brier Island which was nice. While you're staying in Lunenburg, you could easily make a one-day trip down the coast a bit to see the sights, and then head up to Cape Breton.

Thanks for your great suggestions. We have made progress on the trip: we booked our flight (we'll be in NS for 2 weeks) and decided to spend our first three nights in Lunenburg at Pelham House B&B. We'll hit Halifax on the back end of the trip before we fly home. I'll post more and ask for help in a few days, I'm sure.

Pelham House is a great place to stay. If you are foodies, just say the word and I can help with all sorts of reccos.

Hi, everyone! I have a couple of new questions. We plan to go from Lunenburg to Wolfville and spend 3 nights. If we then drive directly to Cape Breton--say, Baddeck--how long a drive is it? If we choose to stop for a night somewhere, where would be interesting?

On Cape Breton, does it make sense to stay in one place, like Baddeck, or maybe divide up the time between Baddeck and somewhere like Cheticamp, Ingonish (sorry, I don't have the spelling correct) or a smaller town. One feature that is important to us in choosing a location is that we want to come back to the B&B from a day out and about and be able to walk to a good restaurant.

Thanks!

topping

If I remember correctly there was only one good restaurant in Cheticamp while there are several choices in Baddeck. It has been several years since I was in that area so that may have changed. Baddeck is a larger community and closer access to other points of interest on Cape Breton.

Yes, I think I would agree that given your criteria, maybe you want to stay in Baddeck for your Cape Breton visit and make that a base for day-trips which is quite feasible. Ingonish is really a series of tiny communities strung out along several miles of picturesque coastline so there would be less choices within walking distance of any one accommodation (although there are a few accommodations with dining rooms on the premises).

Thank you Scotia and Mat54. I would still love some advice on the length of time in Wolfville--3 days?--and the length of drive between Wolfville and Baddeck. I can get the mileage, of course, but it is a bit hard to tell how long it will actually take. If we were to stop somewhere for an overnight, what would be a good place?

Note: it MIGHT be a good idea to use Baddeck as a main base as proposed, and then have the plan that says you head for the Cabot Trail on the first available sunny day. The FOG in the area can render the whole thing view-less, so you'd do well to have a window of 2 or 3 days where you'll take the first available opportunity for a day trip around the Cabot Trail.

Three days are plenty to spend in Wolfville. It is a lovely university town with good restaurants and good B & B's. There was summer theatre in Wolfville but not sure if it is still running. You can see the town of Wolfville in less than an hour but it is a good base for other points of interest. From there you can drive to Cape Blomidon, and if you like hiking, take the trail from Scott's Bay into the Bay of Fundy. You can also drive to Hall's Harbour, which is on the Bay of Fundy, for a lobster lunch. It is a quaint little fishing village. A drive to Grand Pre is about 10 minutes from Wolfville where you can visit the National Park dedicated to the Expulsion of the Acadians and also visit the winery. Further along you can visit Evangeline Beach to get a really good view of low tide and high tide. If you are visiting during August you might be lucky to see the Plover birds on their annual stop for food before they fly to South America. Wolfville is one hour from Halifax and I would suggest allowing five hours from Halifax to Baddeck.

I highly recommend the Marine Drive - a scenic route along Nova Scotia's north Eastern shore. When we did it a few years ago I lost count after 20 rainbows. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We did it in one day (on our way to Cape Breton) but we wished we had stopped overnight along the way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Drive_(Nova_Scotia)

If you do drive from Wolfville to Cape Breton and take the scenic, slower Marine Drive, I also suggest you stop overnight. There is the Liscombe Lodge and there used to be a motel at Auld's Cove but I can't think of the name. It is close to Canso Causeway. Ordinary motel but I remember their restaurant was excellent.

I thought I would report back in with our final itinerary. Thanks for your help.

Arrive Halifax
Lunenburg -- 3 nights at Pelham House B&B
Wolfville -- 2 nights at Gingerbread House
Pictou -- 2 nights at Auberge Walker Inn
Baddeck -- 3 nights at Broadwater Inn
Neil's Harbour -- 2 nights at Seymore Harbour View
Halifax -- 2 nights at Marriott Harbourfront ($75 US on priceline)
Depart Halifax

Lunenburg and area abound with interesting things to see, do and eat and sounds like you know most of the first two...now as a true Chowhound, just lurking on Fodor's for fun, here are some places and things to eat.
Lunenburg: 1. Trattoria della Nonna: the calamari are superb and look for Indian point mussels (local, best supplier on the coast!)2. Fleurs de Sel-very pricey, but worth it, lots of regional cuisine, excellent wine list 3. Knots Pub: good pub grub, local beers and great atmosphere 4. Fisherman's museum restaurant, good fish and chips

Mahone Bay: 1. Le Havre's Bakery-esp. good old-fashioned cookies, bars etc and their Mexican bread is special 2. The Biscuit Eater: great coffee/book store/sandwich shop

Both those towns have good farmers markets (L's is Thursday and I think MB is still Sunday)...look out for local sausage (Lunenburg was originally settled by Germans), mussels, cranberry products by Terra Beata and West Hill Farms Cheeses...also lobster, lobster, lobster; cheap and plentiful this year!

Have fun and eat well, you'll walk it all off on those hiking trails!