Originally Posted by
ClimbGuy
depnding on how much time you have, you may consider taking the ferry from Yarmouth to Portland, then you can fly from there or take a bus or train.
As far as I can tell, those ferries don't run in winter; OP wants to travel in February.
Originally Posted by
jackal
Not sure if this option interests you, but Halifax-Montreal-New York (with VIA and Amtrak) comes out to about US$330 round-trip booked well in advance.
Travel time is about 20 hours on the way to New York
I think you misread something somewhere, because VIA rail takes over 20 hours from Halifax to Montreal alone. Outbound time would in reality be more like 33 hours by rail, and as you note there's a problem with the return.
Buses (Acadien to Rivier du Loup, Orleans Express to Montreal, Greyhound to New York) will work out cheaper and faster, taking about 28 hours each way. This kind of thing would fit well into the wanderings of a student like me, but I presume the OP (quite reasonably) wants to maximise their time in Europe.
Kayak shows me some YHZ-JFK roundtrips on AA for $361 for some dates in Feb, but even that isn't really worth it if you're only going to JFK to get a cheaper flight. Maybe the OP should redeem miles?