Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia: How to Go?
 

Going to fly to Bangor, then drive to Bar Harbor doing Acadia NP. We want to go to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. First, if we want to rent a car in Bangor, can we take the rental to NS? If so, the Ferry/Cat service is fairly pricey 95$ per vehicle plus 55 per person one way. Maybe flying would be better. I know to drive to Halifax would be a long day. Any other ideas on how to do this? Judy

Driving from Bar Harbor to Halifax would take you (roughly) 8 hours. I have done the drive many times (from Bangor to Halifax vicinity),and it's not that bad and traffic is almost nonexistent, although I don't mind long drives. The Cat is fast (if all engines are running), but you are dropped off on the southern tip in Yarmouth, you are quite far from Cape Breton. Also, last time we took the Cat with some friends it was choppy out and over half of the boat was vomiting. I have taken the Cat about 8 times and that only happened once.

As far as car rentals, I am not sure if you can take them over the Canadian border from the US and vice versa. That may vary from company to company.

If Cape Breton is your final destination why not fly to Sydney, Nova Scotia instead of flying to Bangor? Rent a car to pick up @ the airport in Sydney and drop off in Halifax. Avis is best in Sydney. Fly out of Halifax after touring the rest of NS. Alternatively, you cld fly into/out of Halifax & pick up/drop off your rental car @ the Halifax airport.
As Mazey has pointed out, Yarmouth is a very long way from Cape Breton! Do a quick Mapquest search to see what we mean!

How long is your trip? As the others have said, Cape Breton is a long trip from Yarmouth.

We spent 6 days in NS, arriving and departing by ferry from Yarmouth. While we really enjoyed CB, we vowed never again to spend so much of a vacation in the car. Next time we would fly into Halifax and rent a car there to go to CB.

Well, just checked out flights from Bangor to Halifax...way too much money. May rethink this whole trip. Maybe we will just do Nova Scotia, or maybe just Maine and New England coasts. We will be flying to Bangor from Fl(trying to beat the heat), July 28-August 8, with 4 days in Bar Harbor, then 6 days in NC. I am waiting for my guide books to get here from Amazon. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it! Judy :-)

Another option (if destination airport is flexible) is to fly to Boston or Manchester and take ferry from Portland one way and Cat to/from Bar Harbor the other way.

We took Cat over to NS several years ago and returned to Portland on the all-day ferry. Was surprised how much I enjoyed the longer ferry ride - saw whales and dolphins, had an OK meal, rested in our cabin.

we had hoped to take the ferry years ago, but the rental company (Alamo) would not allow it. I called my travel agent from Bar Harbor, trying to see if there was any other company that would allow it, and she said no, they all do not allow the cars to be taken into Canada. Maybe it has changed in the past 15 yrs.

I think saving Nova Scotia and Cape Breton for another trip is a good idea. We spent the month of August exploring PEI and NS one wonderful summer. Each area is very different. The drive between Cape Breton and Halifax was my least favorite. The beaches south of Halifax are beautiful while the ones around the Bay of Fundy are rocky with turbelent tides.
There's plenty to do in Maine. We enjoyed the Cole Transportation Museum in Bangor. Take time to explore the Blue Hill Peninsula just south of Acadia. Visit Camden. Check the boat tour schedule for the Martime Museum in Brunswick. Have a great trip.

Thanks so much all of you for your input! I surmised that the rental car would be a problem. I think we will wait till next year to do NS and Cape Breton. I think we will fly into Halifax next year. Cape Breton looks gorgeous BTW. dfo: we will do Maine and New Hampshire coasts this time. Maybe you can give me some input later on, ok? Thanks once again one and all! Judy :-)