Eastern Canada trip advice

[DisFam95]

Hello there. We are planning a trip soon to Eastern Canada and I need some help! I'm used to one stop shopping DIsney or resort style vacationing and not a roaming one so it's stressing me out a bit. I mean I don;t know how myuch time I want to spend in each place. I guess I need to just make hotel ressies and work around that?? not sure..

Anyway..any advice or opinions on what we should should not see or which route to follow or timing of days woudl be fantastic.

We go in mid August. Arrive in Halifax late so will stay in a nearby hotel for the night then planned to head outward to other cities. Or return flight is super early so we planned on returning so our last day/days are in Halifax.

The only thing I MUST experience is the Hopewell Rocks.

DH wants to see PEI/Charlottetown, Peggy's cove, and sail in a sail boat or tall ship

Other places/little cities we've consider for a visit are

- places along the east shore of NB and/or Fredericton, St John

- northern NS like Pictou or New Glasgow (DH is of scottish decent)

I'm just not sure where we need to stay for the night? Can anyone familiar with this region offer a route/plan?

We have 5 FULL days not including travel days and we want to end in Halifax.

Thanks for any help!!!!

 

[Gigi22]

You might reach a wider Canadian audience if you put your post on the Canadian Trip Planning and Community Board, as well as here.
As a non-easterner, I am a bit concerned about your timetable. My DH and I were planning a trip to Eastern Canada (we have visited before, once in the late 1980s and a couple of times on a cruise), and we had allowed ourselves 10 days to two weeks to do a less ambitious itinerary than yours!

 

[maddiel]

Hmmmm?

Spend your first night at one of the downtown hotels.

Day 1

Do the Halifax Waterfront,
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic,
Pier 21,
Citadel?
Public Gardens?

You can walk to any of the above if you stay downtown

Head out to Peggy's Cove (1 hr drive) late afternoon and eat supper at the Southwester.
Stay the night in Peggy's cove area

Day 2

Drive down to Chester/Mahone Bay/Lunenbug
Sail on a boat
Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site
Stay the night in Peggy's cove area

Day 3

Drive to New Glasgow/Pictou ( ~3.5 hours)
Noodle around a bit
Take ferry to PEI (40min + possible wait)
Drive to Charlottetown ( 1 hour?)
Spend the night in Charlottetown
See a play at the Playhouse?

Day 4
Explore Charlottetown
Head to Cavendish?
Spend the night in Charlottetown

Day 5
Drive to Hopewell Rocks NB Via Bridge (~3hrs)
Visit Moncton ( 1 hour drive)
Drive back to Halifax Airport hotel (1.5 hours)

How's that?

 

[starrzone]

I'll try and give you at least a bit of a starting point!

Hope this works...

The red spot is your starting point, Halifax. The blue spot is the Hopewell Rocks. Now, I'm not a travel expert, but I thought the route marked in orange might be ideal for you because a)you'd get to go on 2 ferries (Digby NS-Saint John NB and Wood Islands PEI-Caribou NS), which I still enjoy!; b)you'd go through Saint John; c)you'd get to visit the Hopewell Rocks; and d)the PEI-NS ferry would take you right by Pictou/New Glasgow. There is definitely a lot of driving involved, but to maximize your 5 days, I think the route would work.

***Not quite sure about the Halifax-Digby driving route; perhaps someone with more knowledge of that area could pipe in. As well, I'm not as familiar with NS as I am with NB and PEI; you might be able to fit a trip to Peggy's Cove in there as well.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to post them or PM me. I used to work in tourist information and I love helping people; I love traveling and appreciate having a local to help!

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

as a halagonian i was so excited to see this thread! looks like the above posters already have you one the rite track.

a few thoughts to throw out to you- if youve never been here before- the airport is about 45 mins outside of the city. there are 3 or 4 hotels by the airport. we stayed at the garden hilton in april the nite before we left for disney and i must say it was a beautiful hotel.

as for tourists spots, i suggest the harbour hopper, which is based in downtown halifax. did it once and learned a lot about my own city. and had fun at it too! if you have kids you may want to check out the discovery centre for them, also in downtown halifax.. a mini science museum if you will for kids. i think youre too late for the buskerfest as i believe that ends the 10/12thish of august.

if you head to peggys cove, stop into goldas cafe. a small tea room, the house its in actually belonged to my grandmother once upon a time. sorry had to get that in there! lol a short distance from peggys cove is the memorial to swissair 111 that crashed off peggys cove in 1998. theres actually three points to the memorial making a triangle.

one of my faves, the uniacke house a short distance out of the city is a museum that once belonged to a former attorney general in the 19th century. i have loved that place ever since i was a small girl. the property is absolutley stunning.

if i think of anything else, ill be back. enjoy your trip!

 

[endy]

As someone who grew up in New Glasgow I can't think of any reason to visit the area. Joking.
Yes it's a long time since I was there and appreciate visiting more now. Happens wherever you live I think. You take for granted what others are in awe of.
Very Scottish area. If you take the ferry from PEI then Pictou is just a few minutes away. Think they have a tall ship you can tour, not sure. Also in Pictou is a small shop that sells local kitchen knives, Grohman (maybe) I have a set 20 years old & love them.
PEI is amazing, you'll never meet nicer people. There are local beaches you'll never see anything about that beat the National Parks.

Have a great trip.