Maritime and Atlantic Provinces Vacation Tour Plan--Back On #42!

[ducklite]

This is getting comical. Our nine day vacation has stretched into a 15 day vacation. Now the plan is to arrive in Boston late in the evening of Friday, May 23rd, and drive slightly north of downtown where we'll stop for the night. On the 24th we'll drive to St. John NB and spend a night there. (Is there anything we should see in Frederickton, or should we take the southern route directly to St. John?) From there we'll head to PEI, spend a couple of days there. Then ferry over to NS where we'll spend a day driving to North Sydney. We'll take the ferry from there to NL, where we'll spend five days. (We're considering driving all the way up to St. Anthony!) Then ferry back to NS where we'll spend another five days before taking the ferry back to Portland and I'll fly back to Florida on Sunday.

I think we'll have plenty of time to explore that way.

Given the extension in time, please give me all of your tips on the things we shouldn't miss that people drive right by. We like history, nature, architecture, anthropology, and good food (doesn't need to be fancy).

Anne

 

[DisneyFreak06]

To see the iceburgs, you'll have to be in NFLD. I've never seen one myself! I'm very happy to see that you are planning a few days in PEI. Most people think an afternoon will cut it! You are in luck if you like food, we have tons of locally owned restaurants around, that for the most part would be considered cheap to you. I believe the only other Islander I've seen on here gave you the link to the PEI tourist information. They are pretty thorough there.

I'm sure you will love your trip to the Atlantic Provinces! (The Maritime Provinces do not include NFLD)

 

[nflder]

Hi Ducklite,

Great to see that you are coming this way. You will have a fantastic time in all of the Atlantic provinces. As you can see from my name - I'm a Newfoundlander and still live here. Since this is your first trip to the province and you are arriving in Port Aux Basque - I would suggest that you stay on the west coast of the province. Take in the Port aux Port pennisula, Corner Brook and take the trip up to St. Anthony with a visit to Lanse Aux Meadows (this is where the vikings first landed).

To come to St. John's as posted earlier is a 12 hour drive - which is basically a full day of driving. When you decide to come back to NL after your first visit - then you can come by ferry through Argentia. St. John's is an hour and a half from Argentia.

With respect to eating - there is great food in our province - try some of the small "mom and pop" type restaurants and take outs. Most times these places have the best food!!

This is just my two cents but I thought I would chime in. If you have any questions just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you out.

cheers,
rhonda

 

[ducklite]

Hi Ducklite,

Great to see that you are coming this way. You will have a fantastic time in all of the Atlantic provinces. As you can see from my name - I'm a Newfoundlander and still live here. Since this is your first trip to the province and you are arriving in Port Aux Basque - I would suggest that you stay on the west coast of the province. Take in the Port aux Port pennisula, Corner Brook and take the trip up to St. Anthony with a visit to Lanse Aux Meadows (this is where the vikings first landed).

To come to St. John's as posted earlier is a 12 hour drive - which is basically a full day of driving. When you decide to come back to NL after your first visit - then you can come by ferry through Argentia. St. John's is an hour and a half from Argentia.

With respect to eating - there is great food in our province - try some of the small "mom and pop" type restaurants and take outs. Most times these places have the best food!!

This is just my two cents but I thought I would chime in. If you have any questions just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you out.

cheers,
rhonda

Thanks for "chiming in"! We think we're going to spend six days in Newfoundland--you don't think that's enough to see both St. John's and St. Anthony, and everything in between?

We'd love the names of some recommended Mom & Pop places to eat--that's exactly what we're looking for. We're planning on B&B's, so won't need breakfast, and will probably just bring along a cooler ans stop at a market for lunch fixings every could of days, but dinners we would really like to taste the local food.

Over the next couple of weeks I'm hoping to fully plan the trip, so tips on must sees are really welcomed!

Anne

 

[DisneyFreak06]

For ideas on what the weather would be like, try www.wunderground.com. They have the trip planner that will give you the average highs and lows for the bast 5-7 years, plus more information. Just prepare yourself for our weather, and you'll be fine. We have a saying on PEI "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes" and it will change.

 

[nflder]

Hey Ducklite,

I'm glad to help you out. Six days in NL - you should be able to get away with seeing a bit of our province. What did you decide for the dates? Not sure what to say about going to St. Anthony and seeing St. John's. Really tough call - is there a particular reason why you have chosen St. Anthony - I'm thinking it is for the ice bergs if you are coming in the May time frame. If this is the case - there is a town on the east coast - called Bonavista which is closer to St. John's - it is where John Cabot landed in 1492 - here you will see icebergs, whales - it is right on the coast - I spent two days there the summer and really loved it.

I'm not trying to discourage you from visiting any particular place, I'm just giving you other options.

With respect to the mom and pop places - I dont' have any particular names but when you drive through any community in NL you will see them. They are not that hard to spot. As you get closer to finalizing an itinery, I'll try to help you out as best as I can with recommendations. There are alot of communities I have not seen in NL - but I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the island.

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more!!

 

[ducklite]

Hey Ducklite,

I'm glad to help you out. Six days in NL - you should be able to get away with seeing a bit of our province. What did you decide for the dates? Not sure what to say about going to St. Anthony and seeing St. John's. Really tough call - is there a particular reason why you have chosen St. Anthony - I'm thinking it is for the ice bergs if you are coming in the May time frame. If this is the case - there is a town on the east coast - called Bonavista which is closer to St. John's - it is where John Cabot landed in 1492 - here you will see icebergs, whales - it is right on the coast - I spent two days there the summer and really loved it.

We've decided on 5/23-6/8, with the first and alst day being flights between Boston and Orlando. We're thinking we'll *probably* take the ferry on a night crossing on5/28 and return fron Port Aux Basques back to North Sydney on the night crossing on 6/3, giving us pretty close to six full days in NL. We wanted to go up north in order to see Lanse Aux Meadows.

I'm not trying to discourage you from visiting any particular place, I'm just giving you other options.

No problem, at this point I'm open to any suggestions.

With respect to the mom and pop places - I dont' have any particular names but when you drive through any community in NL you will see them. They are not that hard to spot. As you get closer to finalizing an itinery, I'll try to help you out as best as I can with recommendations. There are alot of communities I have not seen in NL - but I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the island.

Thanks!

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more!!

Not at all, I'm really trying to soak up as much info as I can.

Anne

 

[Debbie]

A co-worker just got back from NFLD and was showing me her pictures. The trip up to St. Anthony and Lanse Aux Meadows were great! The pictures of the coastline and the houses look just like the postcards I've seen. She had a fabulous time! Have fun!

 

[ducklite]

Well, here's our tentative plan. All 4000+ miles of driving, four ferry crossings, and hopefully a few iceburg sitings. I'd love to hear from people as far as don't miss places to eat and sites to see. I'm not set in stone on any of this, but it's probably pretty darn close to what we're going to do. I know that a few of the days are very aggressive with the milage, but we'll have no kids with us and we're used to making long drives, so it's not a big deal.

May 23
Fly MCO to BOS arriving ~10:00 pm. Stay at Peabody, MA Hampton Inn

May 24
Drive from Peabody to St. John, NB (390 miles) arriving approximately 4:00 pm. Check into Hilton and tour downtown area. Go to Fundy Bridge to see the falls reverse in the evening, have dinner at Grannan’s (unless someone has a better suggestion). (Lose an hour as we cross into NB)

May 25
See more of St. John and watch the falls reverse the other direction. Then leave for Summerside, PE. (250 miles) via the Fundy Trail. Stop in Moncton to see Magnetic Hill. Check in to Silver Fox Inn. (www.silverfoxinn.net) Dinner TBD in Summerside. (Maybe BrothersTwo?) (250 miles)

May 26
Breakfast at Silver Fox Inn, the travel the north coast/west side of PEI for the day, lunch TBD at a local restaurant. Swing around east and visit the Green Gables/Cavendish Historical Site. Finish the day in St. Peters Bay with dinner at room at /www.innatstpeters.com (220 miles)

May 27
Breakfast at the Inn at St. Peters. Travel to Charlottetown and take a self-guided historical walking tour. Take Hwy 1 south/east towards Woods Island, diverting to see the Prim Point Lighthouse. Take the Wood Island ferry to Pictou NS at 4:30, arriving approximately 5:45. Travel directly to North Sydney for the NF ferry. Depart 11:45 pm. (260 miles plus ferry)

May 28
Disembark Ferry at about 8:00 am in Channel-Port Aux Basques. Drive to Corner Brook and check in to Glynmill Inn. Spend the day in Corner Brook and the surrounding area. (Benoits Cove/Cox’s Cove, etc.) Dinner at Gitano’s? (220 miles)

May 29
After breakfast drive into Gros Morne National Park to Green Point or Sally’s Cove before turning around and heading out of the park and onto Hwy 1 east towards Springdale. Spend the night at Riverwood Inn. (215 miles)

May 30
Drive from Grand Springdale to St. John’s, stopping at points of interest along the way. Check in to Everton House B&B. Do some sight seeing in St. John. Have a nice dinner (where?) and maybe go to a pub for a bit. (332 miles)

May 31
Take a scenic boat cruise (www.icebergquest.com) and explore St. John’s some more. Second night at Everton House. Dinner ?

June 1
Drive from St. John’s to Trinity in search of iceburgs and Puffins. Generally a relaxing day. Spend the evening at the Artisan Inn. Lunch and dinner will be local restaurants. (165 miles)

June 2
Leave Trinity by 9:00 am and drive 475 miles to Channel-Port Aux Basques for the ferry. Depart at 11:45 pm with sleeping cabin booked. Breakfast will be at the Artisan Inn, lunch and dinner will be on the run.

June 3
Disembark Ferry and Tour the Cabot Trail north to Cape North then west to the Glenora Distillery. From there we’ll drive to Mabou then head east on 19 to route 223 to route 216 to East Bay, then south to Ben Eoin where we’ll stay at the Birches for the night. (250 miles)

June 4
Leave Ben Eoin and drive south on Route 4 to Port Hastings, then take a southerly/westerly route along the south coast to Halifax. Check into the Hilton Garden Inn. (320 miles)

June 5
Get up pre-dawn and drive to Peggy’s Cove to catch the sunrise. Return to Halifax and spend the day downtown exploring. Dinner? (140 miles)

June 6
Take the Lighthouse route along the south shore to Shelburne, overnight at the Coopers Inn. (200 miles)

June 7
Tour one or more museums in Shelburne, then drive to Yarmouth for the 4:00 ferry. (65 miles) Check in to Hampton Inn Portland.

June 8
Fly home!

I'd love to hear imput!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

double post.

 

[sympatico]

Hi, I'm from the southern part of Nova Scotia near Yarmouth so I guess we've got all the maritimes covered now.
My suggestion for when to go would be the Aug - Sept . In May and June we have a lot of fog. The water temp and air temp are so different that we have fog but by the end of Aug and into Sept it's great.
Another suggestion for info. is to go on the Tripadvisor forums for Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and PEI and ask the experts on there. This is the one for NS.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g154967-i326-Nova_Scotia.html

 

[nflder]

May 28
Disembark Ferry at about 8:00 am in Channel-Port Aux Basques. Drive to Corner Brook and check in to Glynmill Inn. Spend the day in Corner Brook and the surrounding area. (Benoits Cove/Cox’s Cove, etc.) Dinner at Gitano’s? (220 miles)

May 29
After breakfast drive into Gros Morne National Park to Green Point or Sally’s Cove before turning around and heading out of the park and onto Hwy 1 east towards Springdale. Spend the night at Riverwood Inn. (215 miles)

May 30
Drive from Grand Springdale to St. John’s, stopping at points of interest along the way. Check in to Everton House B&B. Do some sight seeing in St. John. Have a nice dinner (where?) and maybe go to a pub for a bit. (332 miles)

May 31
Take a scenic boat cruise (www.icebergquest.com) and explore St. John’s some more. Second night at Everton House. Dinner ?

June 1
Drive from St. John’s to Trinity in search of iceburgs and Puffins. Generally a relaxing day. Spend the evening at the Artisan Inn. Lunch and dinner will be local restaurants. (165 miles)

June 2
Leave Trinity by 9:00 am and drive 475 miles to Channel-Port Aux Basques for the ferry. Depart at 11:45 pm with sleeping cabin booked. Breakfast will be at the Artisan Inn, lunch and dinner will be on the run.



Anne[/QUOTE]

Anne,

Wow - that's a pretty detailed itinery!

There are loads of places to eat in St. John's - here are a few -
Hungry Fisherman - located in the Murray Premises in downtown.
The Cellar - located downtown.

These are higher end restaurants. If you get a chance there is also Ches's Fish and Chips.

With respect to a pub in St. John's - you will have no trouble finding one. Try O'Reilly's on George St. They play traditional NL and Irish music.

Since you are going to Trinity - which by the way is absolutely beautiful. There is a NL Theatre company that performs there during the summer. Their webaddress is www.risingtidetheatre.com. They do a walking tour of the community that is called the Trinity Pageant also they have a number of plays and dinner theatres that you could take in.

The community I mentioned before -Bonavista is about 1/2 an hour away from Trinity. If by the time you get to Trinity you haven't seen an iceberg, go to Bonavista. Chances are if we have a good ice berg season, you'll see one here. Also out by the light house in Bonavista there are thousands of puffins - which is really cool to see.

As you get closer - or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

rhonda

 

[sheilag]

I'm from Corner Brook - the Glynmill is the place to stay. Not so sure about Gitano's to eat - it's supposed to be quite nice, but I've heard mixed reviews (my brother still lives there, and I believe they've been there often). The Glynmill itself has a couple of great restaurants within. Other spots that are getting rave reviews are in the new Humber Village resort (I ate there in July) and 13 West.

Corner Brook is by far the prettiest spot on the island - but I'm not biased. Don't forget Lark Harbour (in addition, or in lieu, of drive to Cox's Cove). Also, a boat trip around the Bay of Islands should figure in there somewhere (there are charters). Stephenville has wonderful plays/ festival - but don't think that's on in May.

Gros Morne Nat'l Park is quite large - going to see Western Brook gorge should figure into your plans. Check out boat tours (Rocky Harbour or Norris Point searches should give you details). Beautiful long, sandy beach in Shallows Bay (just before Sally's Cove) too. There are plays in Cow Head and Norris Point - dinner theatre that's just great.

Have fun planning!

 

[MickeyMacks]

If you have any recomendations as to B&B's or places to visit, I'd love to hear them!

Anne

For your two nights in PEI, Craigview Farm (browse the tabs at http://www.bbcanada.com/craigview) near Montague in the eastern end. It's not far (half hour-ish) from Charlottetown, a historical settlement, Panure Beach and lighthouse and the ferry to Nova Scotia.

It's a working dairy farm surrounded by gorgeous countryside. You can stay in the farmhouse B&B or a housekeeping cabin with kitchen. I stayed there with several family members for a week years ago.

My boyfriend and his kids stayed here a couple years ago for two nights as part of a weeklong Maritime tour, and had a nice beach day at Panmure Beach before hitting the ferry to NS early the second morning. He said it was nice to stay at one place two nights in a row. (He's from Ontario and a week in the Maritimes is a LOT of driving and slow going on two-lane highways.)

The hostess at Craigview Farm has a lovely faint Scottish accent and may deliver fresh farm eggs, mini pancakes or other goodies to you. Oh, and there's an excellent trout fishing pond a few minutes down the road at Ben's Lake (http://www.benslake.com/) and they'll even clean the fish for you - great folks!

FYI: Maritimes = NB, NS and PEI; Atlantic Canada = all that plus Newfoundland - don't ask me why

 

[MickeyMacks]

Your plan sounds great but that is a lot of driving in a short time. Cape Breton and the rest of the maritimes have so much to see, and as mentioned, from Port Aux Basques to St. John's is about a 12 hour drive. You can get a glimpse of things as you drive by, but the plan sounds a little ambitious to me. You may want to consider adding days to your trip if possible.

I have to agree - distances on maps can be deceiving - this is rugged country, especially in coastal areas, and each province has about one four-lane highway going through the most uninteresting inland woods and swamps. The good stuff's on the two-lanes, which you'll share with all the pulp trucks and tractors (sorry, not kidding)

What I generally recommend to someone taking less than a minimum of two full weeks is: either do NB, PEI and mainland NS (doable in a week to 10 days) or do Cape Breton and Newfoundland (I couldn't hazard a guess for the combo). It's a good seven or eight hours drive from the Cape Breton causeway to North Sydney.

I'm not sure all four provinces could be visited within two weeks and get any real relaxing done. Take a beach day in PEI but bring your sweater if you're going in June!

 

[MickeyMacks]

This is getting comical. Our nine day vacation has stretched into a 15 day vacation. (Is there anything we should see in Frederickton, or should we take the southern route directly to St. John?) Anne

Yay, now you're talking - 15 days should do it!

Coming from the US, your best bet is to enter NB at the southern route, Calais ME/St. Stephen NB border, which puts you on the Route 1 which takes you to Sussex (great place, but I'm biased...) which gives you access to NB's main coastal attractions on the Bay of Fundy coast (20 miles away as the crow flies but a 1 hour drive, getting the picture?)

FYI, hoping you already know this but the Fundy Trail Parkway is a side trip, not a through route. It's a six-mile coastal scenic driving trail, absolutely beautiful scenery, but not a route to PEI. It's a dead end, so an hour back to Sussex and the highway. The six-mile trail itself takes at least an hour to navigate and return, as it's full of steep hills and hairpin turns with 30 km/hr sections, but pack a lunch and take the time to stop at the lookoffs.

The trail gateway village, St. Martins, is a living postcard and there's good fish and chips at the Cave View takeout on the beach!

Okay, I'm backing away from the computer now, no more backseat vacation planning... Have fun!

 

[lisaviolet]

They say that about much of Canada it seems

It's going to be high 80s here in Southern Ontario for the next couple of days. I guess skiing is out of the question. Crap!

Enough teasing. Very envious of your trip. I'm enjoying reading about all your plans. It's so beautiful on the east coast. Have a wonderful trip.

Lisa

 

[ducklite]

Unfortunately something has come up that isn't going to allow us to take that vacation next year, so we've got to put this idea on the back-burner. We're going to continue to research and plan, and will most likely take the trip in two or three years. Thanks so much for all of the advice I've gotten so far--I'm sure when we get closer I'll have more questions.

Anne

 

[PhotobearSam]

Too bad You are not coming to the Lobster Capitol of the World Shediac NB. We own a motel there as well as chalets and we have DISer rates...LOL

Let us back in on the planning when you want to come...Us Maritimers are a really helpful bunch.

 

[Judique]

I have to agree - distances on maps can be deceiving - this is rugged country, especially in coastal areas, and each province has about one four-lane highway going through the most uninteresting inland woods and swamps. The good stuff's on the two-lanes, which you'll share with all the pulp trucks and tractors (sorry, not kidding)

What I generally recommend to someone taking less than a minimum of two full weeks is: either do NB, PEI and mainland NS (doable in a week to 10 days) or do Cape Breton and Newfoundland (I couldn't hazard a guess for the combo). It's a good seven or eight hours drive from the Cape Breton causeway to North Sydney.

I'm not sure all four provinces could be visited within two weeks and get any real relaxing done. Take a beach day in PEI but bring your sweater if you're going in June!

I agree with most of this post, except for the number of hours from the causeway to North Sydney - it's barely an hour and a half! Did you mean Yarmouth to North Sydney? That would be easily 7-8 hours.

Also, originally being a CB'er myself, I was disappointed to see you(ducklite) head of to East Bay from Glenora - you would miss our Celtic Music Interpretive Center in Judique further south on Route 19.(www.celticmusicsite.com) Then there are other charming and historical areas such as Bras D'or and Baddeck, Iona, Saint Ann's, Louisbourg, just to mention a few. I guess you can't really see it all in one short trip. You should however, not miss a scottish concert if one is on while there, or a church lobster supper if you happen upon one.

The Maritimes are breathtakingly beautiful. Distances are deceptive on the roads. Except on the limited access trans Canada, you will not make the times one would expect travelling in the US. If I were you I would scale down the amount you are planning to 'glimpse' and plan a bit less driving. NFLD is a vacation in itself. I would fly in and rent a car there versus adding it to a Maritimes trip. I read that you have put off this trip for a bit longer. That will give you more time to put it all in perspective.

As far as time of year, late Aug to early September is an excellent time to go. The tourists will have mostly gone home, but you'll have great Indian Summer days and the added draw of the changing colors.

You've made me homesick. I can't wait for the trip report, even though it's several years away!