New Brunswick or Nova Scotia?

[Aneille]

I hoping all you great Canadians over here can help me decide!

This summer we would like to take a 2 or 3 night trip to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia to see the Bay of Fundy and some other sights. Which would you suggest.

Our time is limited. We really can only do a weekend or long weekend trip in August or early September so we can't do both. We used up all our vacaction time with WDW trips

I am also worried because this is a last minute trip and I hope we can get a place to stay.

I believe it is a 9 hour drive from Boston to New Brunswick. I would love to see Hopewell Rocks. The plan would be to drive straight through. Next day see Hopewell Rocks and spend the night somewhere probably in Alma. Then head back and maybe stay somewhere in ME for one more night.

Our other option is taking the Cat either out of Portland, ME or Bar Harbor into Nova Scotia.

Which is a better 2/3 night destination? Can you give us some suggestions on what to see in these areas? Festivals that are really good or great places to stay.

The group will be my parents, me, DH, DD 4.5, DD 3, DS 8 months and maybe our dog as well.

 

[pooksma]

well I am slightly biased but...you may want to check out the following site:

www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca

If you are coming from Boston, you may enjoy a night in St.Andrews as well. Lots of beautiful scenery, shops, Kingsbrae gardens and a fab hotel-the Fairmont Algonquin.

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM if you need more help!

 

[bbangel]

I say go for Nova Scotia. My best friend lives there and I always have a great time when I visit. Lots of history and beautiful scenery and great food!

Whichever province you end up in I'm sure you will have a great time!

 

[declansdad]

If you want to see the Bay of Fundy, the NB side is better. The Hopewell Rocks and Fundy Park are great to see. You could probably get a cabin in Fundy Park as well. The scenery in that area is fantastic.

 

[RainbowsMist]

Biased here as well....Nova Scotia!!! Here's a few links you can browse.

http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx

http://www.destination-ns.com/

For our Disney trip next March we are driving to Boston (from Nova Scotia) and flying out of Logan. If the cat was operational in March we would have went that way however it's not Let me know how the drive is when you've returned. We too will be making the trip with 3 children.

Nova Scotia truly is gorgeous and you couldn't pick a better time to visit!

Good Luck!

 

[tribus121]

Driving time from boston to St John NB would be around 8 hrs But I would allow at least 10 hrs or more with small Kids If you spend first night in St John (www.tourismsaintjohn.com ) you could go to the saint john city market then drive the aprox 2 hrs to funday park ( http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nb/fundy/default.asp ) lots of scenic areas for a picnic lunch .then drive along the coast to the hopewell rocks ( check tide tabels you want to visit at low tide) http://www.lau.chs-shc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showFrameset&zone=30&language=english&region=5&stnnum=170
spending 2nd night in moncton ( http://www.gomoncton.com/ )you would have about a 11 hr drive home ( about 9 hrs actual driving time ) ( If you go labor day weekend you could get held up at the border waiting to go through customs)

ps I am a Charter Bus driver and have made the drive to boston several times .

 

[Aneille]

Thanks so much everyone for the links and all the suggestions!

Tribus that sounds like a perfect plan but I am being over-ruled.

As of right now we are going to wing it! They would prefer not to have any definite plans! I used to travel like that all the time before kids, this should be interesting!

The plan (if you can call it that) is we will go up to Portland and take the Cat. Then make our way to Digby to take the ferry to St. John. However, we will be driving back from New Brunswick to Boston.

Will we have problems finding places to stay if we don't make ressies ahead of time? What if we take our dog? Are there more pet friendly places than not? From my quick check it seems most places allow for dogs but not sure.

I definetly want to see the Hopewell Rocks and The Reversing Falls. I would also like to see Fundy National Park. I haven't picked what we are going to check out in Nova Scotia yet.

At the very least this should be a fun trip!

Thanks again. I will let you guys know how it turns out. We can't wait to go!

 

[tribus121]

If I can be of further help please e mail me

 

[murcor]

Check out my signature.....Bay of Fundy...on the Nova Scotia side

Beautiful or what

 

[cvs2kids]

As the Treasurer for St Andrews, I can attest to the wonderful time here. We also have whale watching, which actually takes you on to the Bay of Fundy. We're closer than Saint John, and I've made that trip in less than 7 hours, easily.

www.standrewsnb.ca This is a private site, not associated with the Town, but still gives you an idea.

I would warn you about the 2 ferries (Portland to Yarmouth, Digby to Saint John), they both can be quite expensive.
http://www.bayferries.com/fares

Its a long drive between Digby and Saint John (6-7 Hours).

From here in St Andrews, we're about 3 hours from Hopewell Rocks, 75 minutes from Saint John, 45 minutes from the Maine/New Brunswick border.

There's a lot of history in our little neck of the woods, plus a salt water cove (Katy's Cove) that is significantly warmer than the rest of the Bay.

We have a great Golf Course http://www.fairmont.com/FA/en/CDA/H...ry_type=actv_type&property_seq=100127,00.html

plus Tennis, Kayaking and a small aquarium featuring local sea life (it is certainly not Sea World).

Hope to see you here in 2006!
http://destination-nb.com/common/property.asp?DirectoryID=565

 

[Aneille]

Murcur - It does look beautiful. We can't wait.

cvs2kids - Yes those ferries are expensive. I would really like to skip them but I think they are staying. I keep bringing up the cost but they don't care! Does anyone have any cost saving tips for the ferries? AAA or something? We are already going to stuff ourselves into one minivan for the ride. Close quarters!

I am trying to convince the family to now make a pit stop in St. Andrews on the way back.

And I think we are know certaintly looking at 3 nights due to including Nova Scotia into our plans. Maybe even 4 nights.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Last summer, my husband and I drove from Boston to St. Andrews (NB) and stayed at the Fairmont Algonquin. They welcome dogs, by the way and like most Fairmonts, they have their own resident dog. It was about a 6 hour drive.

The ferry ride is SO long, not very interesting and it's very expensive. I would just drive.

There are many whale watching choices from St. Andrews, as well. You can also see the tidal action right in the bay, as well as tour Kingsbrae Garden, which is well worth visiting.