Road Trip - Southern Maine to Nova Scotia?

BLTtinkerbell

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Jun 15, 2009
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Thinking of taking a road trip this summer. Looking at Southern Maine to Nova Scotia.
How many nights needed?
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thanks
 
We have done it. From Bangor Maine to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. I think we took about 10 days. It depends how much you want to spend in various places. We loved Halifax and actually spent three nights, we used it as a stopping off place to visit Peggy’s cove for the day. And just hung out in the city. The titanic cemetery is very interesting and the port area is lively.

Cape Breton is beautiful. Just pray for good weather because the views are spectacular.

Prince Edward Island is lovely. Be sure to visit the Anne of green gables sites.
 
We took two weeks, but that included driving from Louisiana. We left from Poughkeepsie, NY (our nephew's wedding) and drove to Bangor, ME. From Bangor, we drove to PEI and stayed in Charlottestown for two nights in a B&B. Then we drove to Lunenberg, NS and spend two nights there in a B&B. Then drove to St John NB and spent two nights in a B&B on Bay of Fundy. Then drove to Quebec City when we decided to change our plans mid-trip and wound up seeing Red Hot Chili Peppers who were playing at a festival in the city right across the street from our hotel. Spent a night there, drove to Niagara Falls, ON (stayed on the Canada side) for one night right on the falls. Drove to Pittsburgh to drop off our son at the airport (he had to go back to Orlando for work), and then headed back to Louisiana via Columbus OH and Memphis TN. We also hit up Gettysburg on the way to NY and Antietam. It was jammed packed with things to see. Now we'd like to head back to the Maritimes again and do a bit more. The bridge from NB over to PEI is a really long toll bridge. Neither Bill or I like driving over long bridges, so our son was the lucky one to do it both ways. We ate a lot of lobster, drank a lot of beer and just had fun.
 
We took two weeks, but that included driving from Louisiana. We left from Poughkeepsie, NY (our nephew's wedding) and drove to Bangor, ME. From Bangor, we drove to PEI and stayed in Charlottestown for two nights in a B&B. Then we drove to Lunenberg, NS and spend two nights there in a B&B. Then drove to St John NB and spent two nights in a B&B on Bay of Fundy. Then drove to Quebec City when we decided to change our plans mid-trip and wound up seeing Red Hot Chili Peppers who were playing at a festival in the city right across the street from our hotel. Spent a night there, drove to Niagara Falls, ON (stayed on the Canada side) for one night right on the falls. Drove to Pittsburgh to drop off our son at the airport (he had to go back to Orlando for work), and then headed back to Louisiana via Columbus OH and Memphis TN. We also hit up Gettysburg on the way to NY and Antietam. It was jammed packed with things to see. Now we'd like to head back to the Maritimes again and do a bit more. The bridge from NB over to PEI is a really long toll bridge. Neither Bill or I like driving over long bridges, so our son was the lucky one to do it both ways. We ate a lot of lobster, drank a lot of beer and just had fun.

That sounds like a great trip!

OP - do it! The Canadian East Coast (The Maritimes) are amazing place to visit.
 

I'm from Nova Scotia - how much time you need really depends on what you want to see and do and how much you like to drive in a day. You can drive from Portland- Halifax in about 10-11 hours. You might want to look in to taking the Yamouth -Bar Harbour ferry either on the way to NS or on the way back to mix things up.

Halifax and area has lots of museums and restaurants and breweries and and touristy things and festivals - you could definitely keep yourself busy for several days.

If you want to visit Cape Breton, it's about 4 hours to go from Halifax to Baddeck (the start of the Cabot Trail) You'd really want a day to do the trail with stops. The Alexander Bell Museum in Baddeck is nice. The Fortress of Louisbourg and the Miner's Museum in Glace Bay would take up another day if you wanted.

The South Shore is lovely and picturesque. Peggy Cove is popular and Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg are very pretty towns about an hour from Halifax. Lots of little shops and restaurants and inns. The Ovens are cool and there are lovely beaches (but you may find them colder than you are used to)

The Annapolis Valley is farming country with lots of markets and vinyards and wineries, again only and hour or two from Halifax.

If you want to see whales, the best tours are from Brier Island, about four and a half hours from Halifax either through the south shore or though the valley. It's also about 2 hours from Yarmouth if you decide you want to take the ferry back to Maine Great seafood down that way too.

If you want to add a side trip to PEI, that would need 2-3 days at least.

If you like hiking/nature/kayaking etc, there are tons of places to check out all over the province.

M.
 
Stayed in a cabin in Fundy National Park, New Brunswick. The Bay of Fundy has some of the the biggest tides in the world, and this makes for some fascinating scenery and hiking at low tide. You just have to be aware of the tides so you don't get stuck coming back. A whole world opens up. Was many years ago, but it was so memorable.

Also, went to Grand Manan Island and stayed on the island for a couple of nights. The cliffs at the southern point are very dramatic, and the northern tip is very pretty. Intensely rustic experience. Would do both again if I had the chance..
 
What I really loved about Bay of Fundy was the smooth granite rocks on the beaches. The tides just polish the edges off the rocks. So not shiny just smooth.
 
Can’t help you as far as Nova Scotia but my husband and I did a road trip to coastal Maine in 2014. First we stayed in Ogunquit which is on the southern coast, then traveled further north to Boothbay Harbor and our final stop was Bar Harbor which was actually my least favorite. It is such a tourist trap. The entire town was just crazy crowded. We drove around Acadia and it was also very crowded. The parking areas were so full you couldn’t even park anywhere to get out and look around. Would not waste my time going there again. I loved Ogunquit and Boothbay Harbor is a quaint little town to explore too.
 
Don't skip Acadia National Park if you think you might want to go there. It was so nice. We found plenty of parking spaces. It does get hard to park at the top of Cadillac Summit. You just have to plan your trip. The national park website does give you hints to managing your parking.
 
Forgot to mention we stopped in Freeport to visit the L.L. Bean store. Didn’t buy a single thing but it was fun to see the giant boot. :) Acadia National Park was beautiful, but I don’t need to see it again. I could have easily stayed a week in Ogunquit. Really cool rock formations with beach and a very nice walking trail to a cove with little shops and restaurants. We stayed at a hotel right off the trail/beach that was really nice.
 
Can’t help you as far as Nova Scotia but my husband and I did a road trip to coastal Maine in 2014. First we stayed in Ogunquit which is on the southern coast, then traveled further north to Boothbay Harbor and our final stop was Bar Harbor which was actually my least favorite. It is such a tourist trap. The entire town was just crazy crowded. We drove around Acadia and it was also very crowded. The parking areas were so full you couldn’t even park anywhere to get out and look around. Would not waste my time going there again. I loved Ogunquit and Boothbay Harbor is a quaint little town to explore too.

Wow, not our take at all. Is one of our favorite places to go. Some is touristy, but in a good way. So much to do around the harbor town, plus Acadia National Park is outstanding. We loved biking the carriage roads, taking in the scenery along the rocky shoreline, getting lobsters at the pounds, and so much more.
As for the ferry from Bar Harbor to N.S. that another poster mentioned, would not be near as fun now as the 'slower' ferry (the older Blue Nose) that we went on for a day trip - was wonderful in itself - had a fabulous sit down meal on it - was great. The newer (several years now) one is much faster, so not as interesting to us.
 
Wow, not our take at all. Is one of our favorite places to go. Some is touristy, but in a good way. So much to do around the harbor town, plus Acadia National Park is outstanding. We loved biking the carriage roads, taking in the scenery along the rocky shoreline, getting lobsters at the pounds, and so much more.
As for the ferry from Bar Harbor to N.S. that another poster mentioned, would not be near as fun now as the 'slower' ferry (the older Blue Nose) that we went on for a day trip - was wonderful in itself - had a fabulous sit down meal on it - was great. The newer (several years now) one is much faster, so not as interesting to us.
Boothbay Harbor was a much better Harbor town to explore. Really nice excursion boat service. When we went to Bar Harbor we had to park about 3/4 of a mile outside of town and walk cause there was literally no place to park in town. The shops were packed like sardines, you could barely walk down the sidewalk and forget about the restaurants. We finally found a place to eat on the outskirts of town. It was horrible. Had I known it was going to be that bad we never would have bothered going there at all. I assume we were there on a cruise ship day but that still doesn’t explain how terribly crowded Acadia was. We did the driving tour and it was absolutely crazy doing that too. No wonder place at all to pull over or park to get out and explore. People and cars everywhere.
 
As for the ferry from Bar Harbor to N.S. that another poster mentioned, would not be near as fun now as the 'slower' ferry (the older Blue Nose) that we went on for a day trip - was wonderful in itself - had a fabulous sit down meal on it - was great. The newer (several years now) one is much faster, so not as interesting to us.

I mentioned the ferry as an option thinking some folks might find it an interesting way to vary the travel. As a Nova Scotian though, I think the current Yarmouth ferry is a total boondoggle. Apparently it won't start operating until mid-July this summer because of delays in moving the US Port from Portland to Bar Harbour.

M.
 
We did the long drive because I get seasick. I got so sick going from Vancouver Island, BC to Port Angeles, WA that we had to find a bathroom so I could change clothes and clean up. So no ferries out on the open seas.
 















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