Hi,
My sister and I will be visiting N.S. & P.E.I. for 5-7 days in mid-September after a brief stay in St. John, N.B... We are traveling by car with our dogs and would like to hike, kayak (with a tour guide), experience the tides, perhaps see a whale and get a feel for the history of these provinces. Given our limited time we are looking for suggestions on "the best" things to do in the time we have.
Thanks!
Some ideas / suggestions based on previous trips in 2007 and 2017:
- Cape Breton Highlands National Park has lots of nice hiking. I did a whale watching tour at Pleasant Bay and saw lots of pilot whales.
- If you're interested in history, Fortress of Louisbourg near Sydney is very interesting.
- The Bay of Fundy is famous for its tides. There are numerous places in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where you can see the tides. Fundy National Park in New Brunswick has some walking / hiking trails.
- PEI National Park has some walking trails, although it was hard hit by Hurricane Fiona last year and I'm not sure how much is open.
It would help if you would clarify a few things. Like 'St. Johns'....there is no such place. There is Saint John, New Brunswick, or St. John's, Newfoundland. I am going to assume you mean Saint John, New Brunswick.
Then the next question is to clarify the car situation. Can you leave from any city in Nova Scotia (as in the ferry from Yarmouth to Maine) or do you have to return a car somewhere, or return into New Brunswick?
5-7 days doesn't really give you time to see both provinces (and Nova Scotia isn't an 'island' by the way). You can take take a ferry from Saint John to Digby, NS. The Annapolis Valley has hundreds of years of history and is lovely scenery. Some of the coves are great rock hunting areas for agates. Head east and the Minas Basin has some of the highest tidal bores in the world. It is also heading into Acadian country where the French Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia and a bunch ended up in 'Cajun' country in Louisiana. Head east to Truro and then North to drive the Confederation Bridge to PEI, or I suggest continuing east to Pictou and take the ferry to Wood Islands PEI, spend as many days as you can in PEI and head back across the Confederation Bridge into New Brunswick.
Now, if you want to take the Ferry to Maine from Yarmouth, NS, then you do it in reverse.
Check the provincial tourism websites for their Summer travel books....ebook downloads, I would assume. They will have some route suggestions, or give dates for any Highland Games or special events to consider (though I don't know how pet friendly these are - particularly if there are animals in the events). I also don't know how you can do whale watching; unless you are lucky enough to see them on the Saint John to Digby crossing (it is possible).
Though these provinces are small (compared to others in Canada), they are steeped in history and 100 miles can take a whole day if you take the opportunities to stop along the way. There isn't really even time to touch on the southern NS shore with its fishing history and picturesque towns like Lunenburg - or the world famous Peggy's Cove.
Choosing 1 - PEI for 5 days, or NS for 7 would give you a better feeling for them.
Thank you Evan and Maria for your suggestions and the education. I am just researching this trip and obviously have a lot to learn about the area. To clarify: We will be coming from St. John, N.B. and can leave the province (not island) from any route.
The area looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to explore.
Thanks again!
I have always liked the east coast provincial tourism books....though I usually got them in paper form.
If Saint John was further east, I would say just focus on PEI and Cape Breton Island, NS. There would be lots of hiking there.
I don't know if it is dog friendly, but a couple of years ago PEI created the Island Walk, an extensive set of continuous trails (like the Appalachia Trail), and I assume you could do portions of it.
As a thought, I see that PEI tourism has lists of walks and trails. Perhaps plot some of those and see how to connect them up.
By mid-September, tourism will be down, but know that a lot of rural tourist services close after our September Labour Day weekend (first Monday of the month). So provincial camp grounds (which I think are our best camping options) will have reduced availability. Also weather will be cooling. That being said, it is a gorgeous time of year for the eastern provinces.
If you're starting in Saint John NB and have to leave by way of New Brunswick and you only have 5-7 days, it's probably best just to do New Brunswick and PEI. You could spend a couple of days on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick (including Fundy National Park), drive to PEI (Confederation Bridge), spend a few days in PEI, drive back to New Brunswick, and then head on your way. Depending on your route out of New Brunswick there may be some things to see and do along the way (I'm not very familiar with New Brunswick outside of the Bay of Fundy area).
There are lots of things to see and do in Nova Scotia so it might be best to do that as another trip. Also, if you're interested in visiting Newfoundland, ferries to/from Newfoundland run from North Sydney, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton. On my last trip in 2017 I flew into Halifax, visited Fortress of Louisbourg near Sydney, took the ferry to Newfoundland (Port-aux-Basques), visited western Newfoundland and also went over to Labrador for a day, took the ferry back to Nova Scotia, visited Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and then back to Halifax for the flight home.
On my 2007 trip I flew to St. John's Newfoundland and visited it, flew to Halifax, visited Cape Breton Highlands National Park, took the ferry to PEI, visited PEI, spent some time in New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy, took the ferry to Nova Scotia, visited the Annapolis Valley, and back to Halifax for the flight home.
