mhgr

A Fall trip to explore Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine in an 11 day (10 nights) period. We had been hoping to be able to rent a car in Halifax and do a one-way drop off but evidently that isn't going to be allowed with the car rental companies. So opting for a Halifax to Halifax trip. Below is what we're considering. By the way, we think part of the fun is driving the road and experiencing the lay of the land. Other interests are history of the area, food and fun! Another "by the way": this can be totally reworked as long as it's 11 days with Halifax as the beginning and the end. (And Bar Harbor ,ME can be left out if necessary).

Night 0: Arrive in Halifax at midnight
Night 1: explore Halifax and spend night
Night 2: Drive to Baddeck. Spend night.
Night 3: Drive the Chabot Trail. At the end, hike the Skyline Trail. Spend the night in Cheticamp.
Night 4: Spend night in Moncton.
Night 5: Okay this day may be too much: Hopewell Rocks, Cape Enrage, drive through Fundy Nat'l Park, St. Martins sea caves. Spend night in Saint John. I know, I know, it's too much! Please help Spend night in Saint John.
Night 6: Bar Harbor ME
Night 7: Bar Harbor ME
Night 8: Okay, to not cover previously covered ground: Drive back from Bar Harbor and spend night in either Fredricton or Gagetown.
Night 9: Maybe Wolfville, NS?
Night 10: Lunenburg
Our flight out of Halifax is at 12:30 p.m. the next day (day 11)

mhgr

I am already realizing that we should cut the Maine portion out of this...

xcountry

Mhgr - You may know this but there is a ferry from Bar Harbour to Yarmouth Nova Scotia until mid-October. That would allow you to complete your circle route. I'm not necessarily recommending it but the coast south of Halifax is very pleasant.

mhgr

No I wasn't aware of that xcountry. Thank you for the tip! I'll check it out.

mhgr

Okay, thanks to xcountry, I've reworked this again. It seems that there is not a ferry any longer from Bar Harbor, ME to Digby, NS but there is one from Saint John, NB to Digby. I have decided to not include Maine in this trip.

Here's the latest iteration:
Night 0: Arrive Halifax late
Night 1: Halifax
Night 2: Halifax (drive to Peggy's Cove/Lunenburg for day trip).
Night 3: Baddeck
Night 4: Louisbourg
Night 5: Ingonish
Night 6: Cheticamp
Night 7: Moncton, NB
Night 8: Saint John, NB
Night 9: After taking the 5:30 p.m. ferry from Saint John, spend night in Annapolis Royal. This would probably put us in Annapolis Royal at about 9:30 p.m. or so....
Night 10: Can we spend night in Wolfville and make a 12:41 international flight out of the Halifax Stanfield Airport or should we spend the night closer? We'd probably need to get to the airport by 10 a.m. to return our rental car.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to give their advice!

One more question: Does everything shut down on the Canadian Thanksgiving day? It's Monday, October 9th this year. Will the weekend before also have closures?
Thanks again!

Daniel_Williams

Hi

I think your second plan looks better than the first. My only issue with the second is that I don't like spending one night per place, but different people have different travel styles. From your original plan, I was going to suggest going up to PEI after Cape Breton instead of Maine, but I have no experience with Saint John & the Annapolis Valley, so could be similarly lovely like PEI.

Happy travels! Daniel

xcountry

That's a nice plan. I can't say I'm a big fan of Moncton but that is probably because I am working when I am there. No problem getting to the airport from Wolfville on your final day.

I had to think about your last question and I still didn't come up with an answer. I think Sunday's are treated differently in NS and NB. Most shops should be closed on Monday but Thanksgiving is not a legal holiday in either province though most places do close. I'm afraid google will be your friend on this one.

mhgr

Thank you to both of you for your input! I'm actually now thinking of seeing the Bay of Fundy's extreme tidal changes on the Nova Scotia side so that we can save a lot of travel time. I don't want to take anymore of your time but...if you have any input on where are some good places to see this phenomena on the Nova Scotia side, I'd love to hear it!

xcountry

I will ask my BIL who grew up in Digby, got his three degrees at Acadia in Wolfville, and is now a retired scientist. Answering this question will definitely be the highlight of his week lol. I will pass on the parts of his answer that I understand.

xcountry

For your future use:

http://bayoffundytourism.com/worlds-...t-tides/times/

xcountry

My BIL shook off his Nova Scotia heritage and said you should go to just south of Moncton:

http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/

Touristy but amazing. And he said watch the tides! You really can get trapped.

In Nova Scotia he suggests Cape Blomidon, not far from Hopewell as the crow flies but four hours by car.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Blomidon.

Note that some of the provincial parks in the area plan to close October 9th. I doubt that will have any practical effect on your visit but something to keep in mind.

Scotia

Arriving in Wolfville early, you can drive to Cape Blomidon. It is less than an hour's drive. There are many restaurants in Wolfville where you can have lunch, or eat at The Port Pub in Port Williams, not far from Wolfville and on the way to Cape Blomidon. OR you can go to Grand Pre Evangeline Diner which is 3 miles from Wolfville for a light snack. You can also visit the National Park where the Acadians were supposedly expelled. From there you can drive to Evangeline Beach to see the tides. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand-..._Historic_Site
Please check to see if the above establishments are open on Canadian Thanksgiving Monday.
Wolfville is about 1 hour and 15 minutes to Halifax Airport.

mhgr

I can't thank you all enough. This is very helpful. And thank you to your BIL, xcountry!

NorthwestMale

Here's the warning sign about the tides :


https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...g-5867-jpg.jpg


... and while I too wouldn't miss Hopewell Cape, I hesitate to endorse going all the way to Saint John (just to take a ferry back).

"11 days" is cozy, and you don't need to keep <I>streeeeeeeetching it</i>.

With 11 days you can take <b>time</b> to be comfortable and <I>unrushed</i> on the Bay shore down below Wolfville, and get a chance to see areas of NS which many/most just don't have time to ever visit.

Not only that, but a bit more <I>time</i> affords the opportunity to spend that last night <b>IN Halifax</b> while reducing the chances that things go awry before your flight.


So I am going to <i>vote</i> for something more along the lines of this:


Night 1 (which is the night you arrive @ midnight - what trip begins with a "night zero" ?) <b>Halifax</b>

Night 2 <b>Halifax</b>

Night 3 <b>Louisbourg</b> (after 5 hour drive)

Night 4 <b>Ingonish</b>

Night 5 <b>Cheticamp</b>

Night 6 <b>Pictou, maybe</b>

Night 7 <b>Moncton-ish potentially between two visits (high &
low tides) to Hopewell Cape</b>

Night 8 <b>Annapolis Royal</b> (after path from Moncton<b>Parrsboro</b>-Truro-Burntcoat Head-Annapolis Royal)

Night 9 <b>Annapolis Royal</b>

Night 10 <b>Halifax area</b>

(perhaps before that 10th night you <I>go across the middle</i> and hit Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove (for dinner) on the path)


YOU listed 11 nights 0-10 and I have only 10 nights so far... SO you could possibly add one of your choosing in the location of your choosing, with my suggested path.

Hope this makes sense.

mhgr

Thank you Northwest Male! (Love the name You gave me even more food for thought. I'm ruling out NB so that we can be not too crazy. I'm thinking about adding Advocate Harbour and I'll check out some of the other towns you mentioned on the way to Annapolis Royal. I'm excited about so much to explore.