Maritimes trip help?

[CdnMom2]

I have been off these boards for months because I want to go back to Disney SO MUCH now of course after our big "once-only" trip only months ago. And we all know HOW addictive these great boards and WDW and planning trips there can be...

But truly I miss you guys. Such a helpful, best-part-of the internet. I have sworn to my DH & family that we will do the Maritimes next as a big family trip. Any advice on where on the web to start planning. I need a great board like this one and I haven't found anything like it. I do have reams of travel material from the provinces here to drool over. But nothing replaces the people on the DIS boards, especially the Canadian part.

I figure if I come through with this huge goal of the Maritimes trip then I can convince hubby to go to Disney again after it!!! It's not that he's not willing to go to Disney ever again (which was a surprise to him as he didn't want to go the first time, but did it for us), but we want to see our own country and show the kids too.

So lovely Cdn DIs'ers who have always helped in the past -- can you point me in the right direction? I think I'll have to just realize that this Board I've been missing so much is my community even with a trip to WDW so far away....I'll vicariously live through your trips in the meantime no matter how good the deals listed are....

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Where are you planning on going in the Maritimes? My aunt lives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and my great aunt lives in Charlottetown PEI. We've driven down to the Maritimes lots of times. Last summer I drove to Yarmouth for the weekend for my cousin's wedding. That was a bit much -- left Thursday morning, arrived Friday night and left again Monday morning to arrive home Tuesday night -- would not do that again but it was interesting.

Cdnmickeylover

 

[CanadianMinnie]

If you like beautiful scenery and friendly people, the maritimes are just the place for you! I have lived in P.E.I. (Summerside and Charlottetown) and in many places in Nova Scotia over the last 15 years. I would truly tell anyone that this is a true treasure in Canada. There are no shortages of things to do, and there is not very much commercialization. I hope you enjoy your visit to this part of the country. If you need any help, just ask, me and I should be able to help you. Have fun!

 

[CdnMom2]

It would be next year. We would be driving van with the 4 kiddies -- longer than a weekend -- how did you manage!?

No interest in a Maritime winter. Most likely can't do summer because of husband's job. So that leaves ? May? or Sept?
Not sure which one to aim for. Especially with 4 school-age kids too.

Want to eat lobster and other local yummies. Cdn History stuff. Acadian stuff. Scots stuff. Viking stuff (all are family heritage), etc. Beautiful ocean sights. Swimming? Bay of Fundy natural wonders, icebergs, etc. I was trying to find that post many months ago on this board about Titanic things at museum (14-year old spell-bound with it), but Search function is down today.

Want to see Anne of Green Gables stuff, but really don't want the whole giant commercial thing and probably not the show either.

So I'm not sure yet when is the cheaper time to go with lodging and even where and how long we'll stay in any one place. I have to also admit I've wanted to go to Magdelene Islands forever and that adds quite a bit of time it looks like.

Oh decisions, decisions. 4 provinces, a bit of France on 1 vacation...But aiming for WDW was a huge goal too & we did it!

 

[Pretzel]

I would go to the play, its sooo much fun, as for what to do on PEI, Sept or May would be a good time to come, im not sure when our theme parks open, but its sometime in that window. Annes house is kind of more commercial since the big fire, but it does have nice walking trails. If you could come later in August that would be the best time. Old home week is on, the water is nice and warm, the drive in is still open

 

[disney2003]

Cdnmom2, If you are looking for a history lesson on the vikings, the Northern Pennisula in NL is the place for you. That part of our province has just been named by MacLaen's magazine as one of the top eight places to visit in Canada. The area is called Lanse aux Meadows (not sure on spelling!). It is where the vikings first landed. Best time to come here would be September. Temps still a bit warm. Unless of course you want to see icebergs, if that is the case, May would be the time to come here. But keep in mind because of the icebergs it is still a bit cold here!

Hope this helps you out. Good luck planning your vacation!

 

[DCinNs]

Hi Cdnmom2...I live in Truro NS., right in the middle of the province. I would pick Sept. as the best time to come!
May can be cold. Sept is normally nice.
Cape breton is beautiful and scenic. There is also the Fortress of Louisburg in Cape Breton if you want to see a Acadian Fort in the 1700 period, complete with period actors etc.

Halifax is alive with things to do:
1. Halifax Citadel...another fort.
2. Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.....Maritime stuff, Titanic, etc.
3. Casino Nova Scotia...if you are into parting with your money!
4. Historic properties....old buildings. boardwalk along harbour.
5. Peggy Cove... outside of Halifax, surf, lighthouse, Swissair Memorial.

I think the room rates get better in Sept., but don't hold me to it.
All I can think of for now....Ask away if you think of more questions.

Derrick

 

[CdnMom2]

How silly of me to even try to look for another board to answer these questions. All the helpful travel planners are here.

Well, I have some more research to do here -- like room rates in May vs. Sept., when some of the top attractions are open for us, etc. Start pouring over the catalogues of info from the provinces.

Yes, both L'Anse Aux Medeau (?sp) and Fortress of Louisbourg were on our wish list along with many other things mentioned. No casinos though -- we can do that here if we wanted to and we'd rather have another trip back to Disney with that money!!Thank you for your advice so far and be sure I'll have some questions in a little while!

 

[cdnmickeylover]

I would recommend in no particular order:

1. Cabot Trail
2. Louisbourg
3. Halifax Citadel
4. Lobster supper on PEI -- we usually went to one of the church sponsered suppers in New Glasgow
5. Seeing the tide come in along the Bay of Fundy
6. Magnetic Hill
7. Peggy's Cove
8. Seeing the play Anne of Green Gables -- my great aunt used to go everytime they had a cast member change. It's a great play.
9. Cavendish beach in PEI
10. Seeing "The Cat" come into Yarmouth harbour -- it's the ferry that goes between Bar Harbour, Maine and Yarmouth -- amazing to watch
11. Luneburg
12. Port Royal

That's all for now off the top of my head. Can't comment on Nfld. because I've never been!! I lived in Nova Scotia growing up and we never got to Nfld because everytime we planned a trip my grandparents would decide that was the week they were visiting. I will get there someday though.

Weekend drive -- not recommended. I didn't realize that it would be a weekend trip when I agreed to go to my cousin's wedding but it turned out that I couldn't get any more time off work. It was actually really quite funny because the day we left Toronto was my DS's 16th birthday. He had planned on getting his G1 that day but couldn't (and still hasn't almost a year later) but I told him that not many people got to spend their entire birthday in the car. One hint I will give is to stop driving early to get a hotel. We didn't because of the length of drive and ended up sleeping in the car because I couldn't drive any further -- we got to Edmundston, New Brunswick. We did get a hotel on the way back though. It was exhausting but great to see family that I don't get to see very often.

Cdnmickeylover

 

[bclydia]

to visit my best friend and her family. I've usually flown into Montreal and driven Hwy 1 to New Brunswick. It's about an 8 hour drive to Moncton. Last trip we drove through the states and it was a wonderful way to go. I'd highly recommend a stop at King's Landing and Magnetic Hill. The Bay of Fundy is wonderful and if you can find time to stay on the coast up near Shediac, the water is warm and the scenery beautiful. Try driving the Confederation Bridge to PEI and then spend a few days on PEI. The Anne play is really worth your time and $ (yes, really). Summerside is so pretty and be sure to spend some time up near Cavendish. We stayed in a motel in North Rustico that was reasonably priced, had a pool and was just great! The ferry from the Island to Nova Scotia is a great way to go and the scenic routes around NS are very beautiful. Have a wonderful trip!
Lydia

 

[PhotobearSam]

Come see me in Shediac...We are inutes from everything and have the warmest beaches north of the Virginias!!!

We are the LOBSTER CAPITOL OF THE WORLD!!!!!

Since I now manage a motel and 16 chalets, I even know where you can stay.


We are 40 minutes from the bridge to PEI and 20 minutes to Moncton. We have a lot of Acadian Flavour and lots of good food and entertainment.

Maybe we can do a HUGE DIS meet and everyone can come

www.shediac.com/gaudet/ Come visit! It's my homepage...

 

[Pretzel]

Summerside....pretty? it must be the intense Charlottetown-Summerside rivalry that prevents me from seeing it lol

 

[CdnMom2]

Yes, both are on our to do's.

Thanks for the your link PhotobearSam. Still in the very early stages of planning, but good to know the info -- especially the warm beaches & lobsters! So which is better time to come East in your opinion -- motel pricing/weather/attractions open & good -- May or Sept? MAY be able to do an early June trip.

Although Charlottetown is my priority for our PEI visit I was a "base brat" in my early days. Hardly any memories, but if we're going to travel all that way we should stop in to show the kids.

 

[PhotobearSam]

September....no doubt...may is still to cold....

 

[jaysue]

You will love the Martimes, it is our alternate vacation favourite with Disney. I always found ordering the provincial tourism books and material to be very helpful - the quality of the material is very good. Go to the provincial websites uner tourism and order away - I would get the 03 material so you can start getting an idea of what is out there even though not going until 04

We have been to Newfoundland/Nova Scotia/Cape Breton(yes part of Nova Scotia but so different worthy of separate mention)/PEI/New Brunswick and Newfoundland (but not Labrador)

So so so much to do........your iterinary sounds very ambitious - how much time were you planning to spend there?

Thanks
jaysue

 

[allayden]

hi - I'm in Halifax - try NovaScotia.com and order the vacation planning book. It's helpful. I too would recommend Sept over May. Our springs are rainy and cold but Sept is beautiful. Oct. is also nice for the leaves changing, especially driving around the Cabot Trail.
PEI offers discounts on accomodations after Labour Day weekend but a lot of touristy stuff shuts down after Labour Day! Great golfing this time of year if you're into that.
Hope this helps.

 

[poffles]

Agree with AllayDen, www.novascotia.com is an excellent resource. I live in Halifax and order the tourism booklets myself.

You will love the area, it is truley beautiful and often taken for granted by many who live here (myself included.)

 

[CdnMom2]

Yes, the planning is underway. Thank you for all your responses. We will be driving East 2nd or 3rd day after Labour Day. Back home 3rd weekend of Sept. The rest is still in the planning given my usually overly ambitious plans. Newfoundland & the Magdalen Islands have been dropped for this trip.

New Brunswick (Bay of Fundy & Shediac, probably!), PEI (including the Anne Show), Nova Scotia including Cape Breton.

I am having trouble narrowing down all the must-do Forts/Pioneer Villages to show our kids. Louisbourg looks like the must-do. But then, Halifax's Citadel, Kings Landing, an Acadien village?, Scots Village at Cape Breton? Does anyone have any advice here? We do have a Pioneer Village here & they've been to Toronto's Black Creek one. I do realize the different "flavours" involved, especially with their school curriculum, but you know there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Kids will be 6 to 15yrs. We will be at Halifax to see Maritime Museum, Pier 21 among other things. Lunenburg for Fisheries Museum & a lobster boat trip and the view. We're also very interested in Mining Museum (Sydney? Glace Bay?).

I'm also having trouble finding affordable lodging (compared to Orlando's family friendliness & competition!). Where do you guys start when you're looking for motels in Canada? We may camp a few days too.

Can we realistically expect any ocean swimming at this time?
How about any tent-camping advice? Prince Edward Island National Park & NB's Kouchibouguac (sp?) are looking like good candidates for this so far, but I know Sept in Ontario can get pretty chilly in eve -- I'm wondering about near the ocean? Meat Head, Cape Breton sounds like quite the view for camping, but would just be 1 night -- anyone know about this one? My other concern would be if we camped for a few days at a locale would we be able to reasonably leave our things & go to see a tourist sight for day like Anne's House or something. I've read on here enough about Ft. Wilderness, but these campgrounds aren't the same. I wouldn't want to be repitching camp stuff every eve, but I wouldn't want to come back to see our temporary home for 6 so far from our own home or stove or whatever was gone!

Another question: Would you recommend seeing both the Bay of Fundy Hopewell Rocks experience AND the tidal bore at Truro, NS under these circumstances or would Truro feel redundant. Sorry, not wanting to insult any one here! The short circumstances & attention spans are the problem here. We do have to come back home & make a living & attend actual school at some point!

Also, please, can you see Whales/Seals/Puffins from the shore anywhere?

Thank you so much for putting up with the LONG post & all the questions (sadly, lots of ignorance), but you did invite me to ask them! Thank you for any responses. Getting rather anxious now that I'm trying to schedule in actual dates & locations & exorbitant hotel rates and waiting for those large 2004 provincial tourist books to arrive!

 

[DCinNs]

I live in Truro & would recommend "skipping" the tidal bore. We refer to it as the tidal boreING!!! Have a great trip!

 

[SandraC]

Hi ~ So happy to read this thread! We are considering a trip out east too! I think we would take our tent trailer, but stay in hotels occasionally too.

I want a nice warm beach! Where is the best warm beach in the Maritimes? Can anyone suggest a few great campgrounds, especially near the ocean. Thanks ! Sandra