Will be arriving in Halifax with husband, parents, sister, brother-inlaw & 2 year old neice via cruise ship on 9/27 and am looking for the best tour values. The excursions offered through the cruise line seem way too expensive. I'm considering Aberdeen tours: 2 1/2 city stroll walking tour @ $9.50 per person, as well as their 2 1/2 tour to Peggy's Cove @ $25.00 per person. Has anyone taken these tours? Is it possible to fit both in one day - depart ship about 11:00 am and reboard by 6:00 pm. The other tour company I have looked at is Atlantic tours, but they are a few dollars more expensive and their website didn't mention that they could arrange pickup at the port. <BR><BR>Also, are advanced reservations required for these types of tours, or will there be plenty of choices once we step off the boat?<BR><BR>Thank you much!

The city tour would probably be interesting, however, you can certainly do something like that on your own. The Harbour Hopper is a quick land/sea tour that will give you some good history of the city as well as show you around the downtown core area and possible places you might want to visit.<BR><BR>Peggy's Cove is a lovely spot. You might want to consider renting a van for the afternoon and taking it out to the area. At $25/person, it may be a cheaper option? It is about a 45 minute drive to Peggy's Cove from Halifax. It is a lovely spot but be careful with your niece - very rough terrain but picturesque.<BR><BR>Your niece may enjoy exploring the Public Gardens on Spring Garden Road. Here she can feed the ducks and birds.<BR><BR>I can't see you fitting in both tours.

I was on the waterfront at lunchtime and completely forgot about the Peggy's Cove Express which offers round trip from Halifax to Peggy's Cove. look at www.peggyscove.com You go out by water and have the option of returning via water or land.

Thanks for the information. I've checked in renting a private van, since there are so many of us, this is the best value and we won't have to be on a bus with lots of others. Since we'll be departing from the cruise ship, I don't know that I want to spend more time on the water (Peggy cove express). Also, I thought that if we had our own van to Peggy's cove, we may have time for the city tour. Anyone else have thoughts?

Tracy,<BR><BR>Please make sure to rent the van as soon as possible. There aren't many rental locations in downtown Halifax and vans book up very fast. I tried to rent one myself a few weekends ago and they were booked two weeks in advance.<BR>

Honestly, if I had the choice of one or the other, I would spend my time in Halifax and skip Peggy's Cove. It's picturesque enough, but the party's over once you've snapped a few pictures. Given the limited amount of time you have, I think the run to Peggy's Cove and back would be a weak return for investing half of what you have to spend and whatever it costs you to get there and back. The waterfront and downtown area have a lot of interesting things to see and you could also take a walk up to the Citadel. But's that's just IMHO; I'm sure you'll have a great visit regardless!

I'm with Jim on this one, Peggys Cove IMHO is not worth some of your very limited time in Halifax. We visited NS in July and I have to say Peggys Cove was the low point of the trip, (too,too many tourists, including us!). One of the high points however was the four hours we spent visiting the Citidel

Thank you for your opinions. I think I'll take your advice and not try to fit in Peggy's Cove. We'll visit Halifax and enjoy the walking tour. Thanks.

we are also visiting halifax at the end of october w/ our 1 1/2 year old daughter, but we will be in port from about 8am to 5pm. i'm having second thoughts about peggy's cove now. it seems like it would be a nice ride out there, and something that you just "have to see" while you're in the area.<BR><BR>we were thinking of renting a car, doing peggy's cove in the morning. in the afternoon: the waterfront/shops, and a park (either point pleasant or the public gardens). <BR><BR>the citadel has come highly recommended to us, but it just doesn't grab our interest. same for the maritime museum of the atlantic, but i'm leaning towards that one if weather is bad and we want to do something indoors.<BR><BR>do you think this is do-able? anyone else have input on peggy's cove? how is the ride, is it scenic? any other opinions on scenic drives in/around halifax during the foliage season?