Canada Travel Forum

I have 7 weeks all to myself to explore the East Coast.

I have a Hostel membership and map of all Hostels. I plan to spend a day or two in Montreal and Ottawa on the way, but the bulk of my time will be in the coastal Provinces.

My sister has been a few times, and tells me that I can't do all the Maritime provinces in that short a time, and that I need to choose (ex. either Newfoundland & Labrador or Nova Scotia/PEI/New Brunswick)

I'm leaning towards the Southern Provinces, although my sis tells me the people in Newfoundland & Labrador are the most enjoyable/interesting.

Any advice on what-not-to-miss or otherwise would be fantastic. If you disagree with my sister's assessment, that also would be interesting to hear.

thanks!

Are you driving back too? If you don't spend too much time on Ontario and Quebec, it is definitely doable with 7 weeks. Note that you need to take a ferry to get to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia - http://www.marine-atlantic.ca.

Not to miss in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador in my opinion,

Peggys Cove
Lunenburg
Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Gros Morne National Park
L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (it is a long drive!)
Twillingate Islands
St. John's

If you're driving your own car, then seven weeks is more than enough time. I did all but Newfoundland once in two weeks (no time for the ferry both ways). I would agree not to miss Nova Scotia (haven't been to Nfld, so I don't know).

How much of the Maritimes you can plan for depends on what sort of a driver you are. It is a long drive from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia - about 3500 to 4000 km or 40 hours depending on your route. We don't drive more than 8 hours a day when we travel - so the best we could do is five days travel each way.

Anyway if you have 5 weeks once you are there, you could almost do all four provinces. The last time we went, we spent a week on the island of Newfoundland, and found that was not enough time - especially if you want to drive up to L'Anse Aux Meadows. We also spent 2 1/2 weeks in NS, and found that was not enough time either, but in both provinces we saw most of the highlights. That would leave a week for PEI and NB, which would be rushed as well.

For NS and Nfld, we tried to write a guide to help you plan such a trip - perhaps you could check them out: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1a307/534/ and http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1a307/535/.

One thing you have to be aware of is that accommodations are limited in the Maritimes in summer. If your five weeks there are in July and August, you will have difficulties finding a place to stay unless you book ahead of time (which limits last minute changes).

Good luck; have a great holiday

I have a suggestion for the first part of your trip. I've driven variations of it many times. Quite frankly, the Ontario portion east of Winnipeg is ... well, boring. It's much more scenic and interesting to go down into the States and then re-enter Canada in Southern Ontario.

Here's one such route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=winnipeg,+mb&daddr=toronto,+on&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.27475,117.421875&ie=UTF8&z=6

Yes, that is why there is a range of distances between Winnipeg and the Maritimes. You have a number of choices on how you get by the Great Lakes, and personally, I would go east a different way than you come back (just to see different scenery). You can go over all the lakes, under all the lakes or under Superior and over the rest of the lakes (which is the shortest route I think).

i think including newfoundland might just be pushing it a bit. i did a similar trip a few years ago and cut out newfoundland cause i didn't want to be rush. having said that, if you are an avid hiker, i hear gros morne on newfoundland is fabulous. you can do some wonderful hikes in fundy national park, new bruswick and cape breton. one place i would not return to is saint john, newbruswick. if you want to see a city there, i'd choose moncton or fredericton. when i was there the visitor centres had a great program setup that you could pull in, tell them where you expect to be that night, how much you want to pay and they'll check what accommodations are available.

You could easily do the 3 Maritime provinces but Newfoundland is a bit further. No one has mentioned Halifax and it is the one city that you need to visit if it is August. The weather should be good unlike a lot of the year and you will enjoy the boardwalk on the waterfront which stretches over a mile and is filled with museums (the Pier 21 Immigration museuem and the Maritime Museum), restaurants, shops, and oh yes boats and boat tours naturally. At night there are many pubs and bars open till 2 or 3 if you like that. Also historic sites such as the Citadel.
http://www.halifaxinfo.com/
http://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Canada/Nova-Scotia/Halifax