Province of Nova Scotia Travel Forum

My cruise ship will stop at Sydney on Sept. 2 and will be there from 8 am to 5 pm. I intend to rent a car. How best should I spend the time? Going up the coast toward Ingonish or driving toward Baddeck?.

Going to Lunenburg next week. First time to visit Nova Scotia. We're thinking a whale watching cruise would be nice. Please let me know if you've done this and what you thought. Feedback on the particular tour providers would also be appreciated. Thank You!

We are staying at the Marriott Harborfront in Halifax next week and would love a couple of ideas for places that are within walking distance for lunch and dinner. We really prefer casual dining and don't need anything fancy. Does anyone have any ideas? I think this Marriott used to go by another name (something with Casino in it)? We are joining a tour after that and will get lots of help with the official sightseeing but if there's any dining, shopping or just a local "must see" that we shouldn't miss in that area, we have some time on our own and would love to hear about it. Thanks in advance.

I'm planning to travel to Newfoundland in August and will take the ferry from Portland to Yarmouth. I should arrive in Yarmouth at around 2pm and then will take the ferry from North Sydney the next day. Can anyone recommend a hotel/b&b en route? I'm completely unfamiliar with Nova Scotia and so I'm not sure where the ideal place to stop would be. Any recommendations on the best route to take would be helpful too. Thanks!

We are planning a family trip from Pennsylvania to Cape Breton in July. We have our accomodations as well as some Restaurants. In Halifax lunch at Cheelin dinner at Il Mercato; catching The Citidel, Maritime Museum, Titanic sites, Public Gardens (the next day should we drive down to Peggy's Cove if we are spending that evening in Isle Madame a few hours in the opposite direction)?? While in Cape Breton (for a week) we are planning a day in Baddeck (Amoeba Sail, Bell Museum lunch at Water's Edge); a day around the Highlands Park; a Celeidh in St. Anns? On return we have a night at the Pines Resort in Digby; Upper Clements Tix included in family plan (how cool!) and lunching at Brown Eyed Susans overlooking the gardens I hear. WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE DO BESIDES RELAX OUR HIGH ENERGY SUBURBAN PHILLY MOTORS??!!

Hi

I am from the UK and have considered moving to Canada for some time. We thought we might try buying a holiday home there first. Could you give some feedback on the pros and cons of the province as a 4 season destination (we are particularly keen to try skiing). In addition, where would you recommend buying, especially as we have a young son?

Thanks, Simon

Hello Oh-Worldly-Ones -

We are planning a trip to NS (probably staying along the south shore) June 13 - 21. I've been told by a cottage owner that the bugs are bad at this time and that it really is not the time to be there.

It's the ONLY time we can go. Are they really that much of a problem? My daughter is quite sensitive to insect bites and they treat her like she's a Sunday buffet. Should we reconsider?

Thanks.

We're a group of 6 travelers trying to decide how to get to Nova Scotia. We will have to fly to get to the NE anyway, so we were considering flying into Boston and driving from there into Nova Scotia. Our connections from Texas are much easier going to Boston than Portland, etc. Does anyone know how long of a trip (Boston to the Amherst area) that would be? One of our travelers gets motion sickness, so the ferry may not be an option. We want to maximize scenic car-time, but I am afraid this may be just crazy. As you can see we're total novices to this area. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Has anyone stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian? If so, how was it?

Has anyone seen whales while on the Blue Nose II? I'd like to do a whale watch and go on the Blue Nose II, but was wondering if that was too much for 2 days in a row.

We are traveling to Bar Harbour ME from NJ. From there we are taking the ferry " The Cat ". to Nova Scotia. We would like to visit Cape Breton.
1. Bar Harbor- any ideas of where to stay by the water. Restaurants?
2. Anybody go on " The Cat"? How was it?
3. Cape Breton. Where to stay, restaurants to go to . Good lobster places to eat?
4. ANY INFO is a great help! I have never been to any of the above places and I don't have a lot of $$$$$$. Pls reply.
Thank you.......

My husband and I are planning a one week trip to N.S. in August. We were thinking of flying into Halifax and then taking day trips from there. We don't want to spend a lot of time driving, but we were told that we may not see enough of Nova Scotia if we just stay in Halifax. Any ideas for a one week itinerary that will allow us to see some sights, have fun, relax and not exhaust ourselves?
Thanks!

When you say that the Airport Shuttle runs between 6am to 1pm, if my flight arrived at 6:59am how long would I have to wait to get on a shuttle to go to Dartmouth NS?

Hello,

I'm looking for help with routes from Halifax, NS to Vancouver, BC. I'm going to be moving from Halifax to Vancouver in August and we will be driving a U-Haul pulling our car behind it. We're planning on making it from Halifax to Montreal the first day of travel and then from there we need help with routes. We would like to take the fastest routes possible and stay in Canada the whole way. Anyone who's made a similar trip, your advice would be great appreciated. We need advice on routes and also hotels/motels along the way. We prefer not to stay in hotels right in big cities as we have a U-Haul full of our valuables and would like to reduce the risk of it being broke into while we're sleeping for the nights. So any advice on hotels in quiet, small towns along the way would be great too. We're planning on driving about 12 hours a day, give or take an hour. Anyone that can help, please do.

Hi Everyone,

I would appreciate any feedback on my proposed itinerary below. I also have some specific questions at the bottom of this post.

I am driving up from Boston with my wife and two kids, age 8 and 6. They are both good travelers, but I am still trying to limit the amount of driving time per day. I have already done a fair amount of research, but am always interested in hearing any suggestions of activities, especially for young kids.

We will be traveling late June/early July. The main focus of the trip is Cape Breton, which we have never been to before. We also have friends in Halifax that we will visit.

Day 1 - Drive from Boston to Moncton - our longest driving day.
Day 2 - Hopewell Rocks in the AM, then drive to PEI. Haven't decided where to stay on PEI yet.
Day 3 - Explore PEI
Day 4 - Travel from PEI to Cape Breton. Days 5-7 - Explore Cape Breton. Please see my questions about this below.
Day 8 - Travel from Cape Breton to Halifax.
Days 9-10 Halifax. We will be with friends, so I need no suggestions here. We visited them 4 years ago and I just loved Halifax.
Day 11 - Travel to St. Andrews, NB (with a stop at the chocolate museum in St. Stephen).
Day 12 Travel home

Specific Questions

On the journey from PEI to Cape Breton, I am debating about whether to drive back over the bridge or take the ferry. The ferry is obviously more expensive, but allows the kids to run around on the ferry, which is always fun for them. I’m not sure how much actual time it would save us. If we do drive, I think we would we will likely drive along Rt. 6 and explore the towns on the northern coastline of NS between Amherst and New Glasgow (Feedback appreciated on whether it is worth it to do this).

I am trying to decide how to organize our time on Cape Breton, including where to stay. We have 4 nights and 3 full days, plus some time on the days we arrive and leave. The things we know we will want to do: a day visiting Louisbourg, a day driving through the national park, and a day to go whale watching. If there is time, I would like to visit the Highland Village in Iona, perhaps on the day we head for Halifax. We are also very interested in spending an evening going to a Ceilidh or other music performance.

Regarding where to stay, one possibility is to just stay for all 4 nights in Baddeck, which some guidebooks recommend, since it is centrally located. On the other hand, I am considering spending the first night or two along the western coast, around Mabou or Margaree. The advantage of that approach is that it puts you closer to the park for the day when we drive through the park. The disadvantage is that it kind of commits you to a specific day for driving through the park, and I have been told it is not worth the drive if it is foggy.

If we start in Baddeck, how much actual driving time does it take to make a loop through the park and end back where we started? We love to hike, so I want to have enough time to stop a few times for hikes. Therefore, we don’t want the driving time to be too much.

Regarding a whale watch, I see there are some companies in Pleasant Bay, but there is also a company in Igonish. Any recommendations? The company in Igonish has a sailboat, which appeals to me immensely, but are there better sightings on the west side of the cape?

Finally, any recommendation on where to eat and stay are appreciated. We are budget travelers, especially for a vacation of this many days. I love to stay in bed and breakfasts, but with young kids, it is often not appropriate, especially if the room is small (we want to stay in a single room, but we bring air mattresses for the kids, so only one actual bed is needed, plus a reasonable amount of floor space).

Thanks for reading this lengthy post. I look forward to reading the responses.

Would like to visit and require any information on the area and site

I would like to travel from Halifax to USA by bus or by train. Is there any bus or train company operating from Nova Scotia to USA?
Thanks
Greg

I'm an Irish/Celtic musician planning a trip to Cape Breton and have heard a lot about The Barn but can't find any info about the location. Where is it?

Sláinte,
Donnacadh

I want to know if you can take a tour of the Citadel Hill and I want to know the hours that they are open to the public ?
My son is doing a Historia Project for School and he needs alot of information on this subject !!

My husband, and I were thinking about moving to Halifax.

We don't have a car and are happy with that choice for now.
We use the bus system and walk or bike most places.

Recently I have seen posts on the internet about the violence,and muggings against people walking around Halifax at night or even during the day ...

Is this really true?
It is very important for me and my husband to walk freely at night to the bus and home or to school or work in the morning.

PLEASE can anyone BE HONEST.

Is it safe for pedestrians in Halifax? Morning noon and night?

thanks for you help

Is this an unknown grave? I try not to be psychic but I keep getting details.

I may be wrong but I have specific information. Can someone please help me?

Thanks

Hey
I'm moving to Kennedy Drive in Dartmouth in December and will need to take the bus from there to the Bayers Road Shopping Center to get to work, I know I start off on bus 10 but where do I go from there? any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

My husband will be travelling from Charlottetown to ANNAPOLIS Royal in december ,do you have to go through Halifax to get to Annapolis Royal from Charlottetown OR what is the closest to Halifax he will be passing,also he is going to from Annapolis Royal to Glace Bay ,same deal does him go though Halifax to go to Glace bay or what is the closest place to Halifax he passes? If anyone can share some answers it would help greatly....thank you

My husband and I arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia 14th October (this sunday) for 1 week.
Is Halifax have a chinatown or any asean store?
Any asean restaurant especially from Malaysia.
We're driving there from Quebec city, any good place to stop in between.
Merci beaucoup.

We are planning a weekend get-away on the weekend of October 12th and was wondering if anyone might know of any ghost-walks happening anywhere along the trail? Perhaps in Cheticamp or St. Ann's? Or maybe known stories of places in the area said to be haunted? Any info in this area would be appreciated.

Greetings:
I have a friend who will be flying into Halifax, NS on June 22, 2008 and he will be leaving for the Middle East on June 28, 2008. Can anyone suggest a reasonable place (i.e., if possible, under $100 CAD a night) for him to stay during this period of time? He will be alone and he is on a tight budget (e.g., he is paying for this stay himself) so the cheaper the better. Frankly, what he really need is just a big bed for a few days before he embarks on a long flight.
That’s it for now. Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Greetings:
I have a friend who will be flying into Halifax, NS on June 22, 2008 and he will be leaving for the Middle East on June 28, 2008. Can anyone suggest a reasonable place (i.e., if possible, under $100 CAD a night) for him to stay during this period of time? He will be alone and he is on a tight budget (e.g., he is paying for this stay himself) so the cheaper the better. Frankly, what he really need is just a big bed for a few days before he embarks on a long flight.
That’s it for now. Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Greetings:
My wife and I are arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June, 2008 and we are staying in a university residence until August 25, 2008. On that date, we must vacate the residence due to returning students. Unfortunately, we have to stay in Halifax until 25 September 2008. Therefore, we must find a place to stay in Halifax, NS from 25 August 2008 to 25 September 2008.
Firstly, what we are looking for is a cheap place (i.e., under $1000 a month). Secondly, our needs are very basic. A room (in a B&B, an Inn, a motel, whatever is no problem) with kitchen facilities with a large bed would be very nice indeed. We have no children and are non-smokers, non-drinkers, non-party-ers and just plain quiet people. Thirdly, in Halifax or near Halifax wouldn’t be a problem because we will have a rent-a-car with unlimited mileage so we are very flexible in terms of our accommodation’s location. I think that this the tourist off-season so perhaps this presents opportunities for us. Finally, we will be Halifax early so if a place is suggested to us, perhaps we can negotiate the rate before we move in.
That’s it for now. Any advice or suggestions you can give us is greatly appreciated.

Hey, I'm looking to do some research on African history and presence in Nova Scotia,and things of that nature because I'll be taking a trip there shortly and would be interested in these topics. Also, places to visit that African-Americans/Africans would find interesting. Any help would be interested.
e.a. Where to start?

Several people have asked about fall colours. I haven't kept track of you all, so here goes. I was travelling in central Nova Scotia yesterday, and there are signes of leaves turning. SO, if you're planning to travel in late September, early October, you should be treated to a really nice display. It's usually 4-6 weeks from the first signs to the end of the colours, so you can use that as your guide.