Maritimes Trip - how to split?
 

Hello,

I am planning a trip to the Maritimes in early June, and have my flights booked. How would you recommend I split my time between the 3 provinces? This is what I'm currently thinking:
Day 1: travel, arrive in Halifax (YHZ) late night.
Night 1: Halifax
Day 2: Halifax area
Night 2: Halifax
Day 3: Nova Scotia (Cape Breton/Cabot Trail)
Night 3: Halifax
Day 4: Nova Scotia (South of Halifax)
Night 4: Halifax
Day 5: New Brunswick (Hopewell Cape, maybe Fundy National Park)
Night 5: Moncton
Day 6: New Brunswick (St. Martins, Saint John, Saint George)
Night 6: Saint John
Day 7: NB/Prince Edward Island
Night 7: Charlottetown
Day 8: Prince Edward Island
Night 8: Charlottetown
Day 9: PEI/NB/NS?
Night 9: Dartmouth
Day 10: travel, depart YHZ in the morning

I'm sitting on a boatload of points and free night certificates for Marriott and Hyatt, so I would need a compelling reason to stay at a smaller town that doesn't have one of these chains.

Would you recommend I allocate my time differently? If we want a slower paced, more relaxing trip, which area should I drop?

I think you should look at tubing in the Miramichi River. Thats a very enjoyable trip. Half a day should be enough

Going from Halifax to Cape Breton and back to Halifax in a day seems like a waste. Stay in Sydney and enjoy that end of the province more.

That's a good point! I also forgot I had some Hilton points and there's a property in Sydney. How about this instead:

Day 1: travel, arrive in Halifax (YHZ) late night.
Night 1: Halifax
Day 2: Halifax area
Night 2: Halifax
Day 3: Nova Scotia (SW of Halifax)
Night 3: Halifax
Day 4: Nova Scotia (4-5h drive to Sydney + Sydney)
Night 4: Sydney
Day 5: Nova Scotia (Cabot Trail/Cape Breton)
Night 5: Sydney
Day 6: Nova Scotia/New Brunswick (5h drive to Moncton)
Night 6: Moncton
Day 7: New Brunswick (Hopewell Cape, St. Martins, Saint John, Saint George)
Night 7: Saint John
Day 8: NB/Prince Edward Island (ideally hit the Bay of Fundy locations at a different time of day to see the tide)
Night 8: Charlottetown
Day 9: Prince Edward Island
Night 9: Dartmouth
Day 10: travel, depart YHZ in the morning

Unfortunately, we're arriving too early in the month for Miramichi River tubing, that doesn't start until the 24th.

Your first version had too much driving. It's better now, but could be improved a bit.

After Cape Breton, head to Pictou and take the ferry to PEI. It's 75 min and will give you a taste for how everyone got to the island before the Confederation Bridge was built. When you get off the ferry, turn right and head to the north side of the island. Have look at the beaches, maybe stop for Cow's Ice Cream in Cavendish for a cone and a t-short before heading to Charlottetown.
Visit Charlottetown in the morning, then drive to Shediac NB for lunch (lobster capital of the World). Drive to Saint John and stay two nights.
Next day, drive to Saint George, then on to St Andrews for lunch. Back to SJ. Don't miss the City Market, great architecture of Germain and Prince William Streets, and the lively atmosphere everywhere "uptown".
Next day, pack, drive to Moncton via St Martin's and the absolutely fantastic Fundy Trail. You can pass through a bit of Fundy National Park as you get close to Alma.
Have lunch or dinner in Alma. Lots of seafood choices.
Visit Cape Enrage Lighthouse and Hopewell Cape on your way to Moncton.
From Moncton to Halifax, stop in Sackville NB and/or Fort Beausejour near the NB-NS border.
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13F

Thank you for this suggestion - I did not know about that ferry. It looks like with this itinerary we would only be spending half a day in PEI? I'm not a fan of Anne of Green Gables, is there anything else major I should see there?

1. Beaches.
2. A famous lobster dinner in a church hall or community centre.
3. https://confederationcentre.com/
4. https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=578

Two questions I guess -
1) if I wanted to stay longer in PEI than a morning to fit in one or more of these (say 1 night stay at PEI), which parts of the previous itinerary would you remove or trim back on to make room?
2) if Mrs. tomatogrower wanted a more relaxed pace, which parts would you recommend trimming?

Tough question! Perhaps drop St George and St Andrew's. Most of the drive will be highway, with a few views of the Bay, but the Fundy Trail from St Martin's to Alma will provide you with spectacular sites. St Andrew's is small and very charming. It was settled by United Empire Loyalists (how some of the houses got there is interesting), but you can learn much of the same history in Saint John.

A good idea because it's free.
You are only charged when you leave PEI.
Driving off the island is cheaper than taking the ferry off the island.

I just plotted this out on Google maps and there is a LOOOONG day of driving from Cape Breton to Saint John. How about this instead:
Cape Breton -> Pictou -> PEI -> Shediac (dinner) -> Moncton
overnight Moncton
Moncton -> Saint George -> St Andrews (lunch) -> Saint John
overnight Saint John
Saint John -> St Martins -> Fundy Trail -> Alma -> Cape Enrage -> Hopewell Cape -> Moncton
overnight Moncton
Moncton -> Sackville -> Fort Beausejour -> Dartmouth

Yes and no. Can you drive from Halifax to Cape Breton, do the Cabot Trail, and come back the same day? Yes. If you leave at 4 am.
Would it be a waste? Yes.
Stay in Sidney? By god no.

Do yourself a favour and add more time for Cape Breton. It is gorgeous. But don't waste time on Sidney or Sidney Mines. Stay somewhee ON the Cabot Trail. Or in Bay St. Lawrence (North of the Trail). Or on Isle Madame. Or in St. Peters. All of those are much nicer than Sidney.

Dingwall Beach is great during sunset.
The next evening, watch a sunset from around here https://goo.gl/maps/u4aW1CRcifLHivPz6

In the unlikely case you take an interest in aviation, you want to visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck.

Drop New Brunswick. Moncton and Saint John are not for tourists.
Replace Hopewell Rocks with Burntcoat Head in Nova Scotia. Same idea, but higher tides, more spectactular view, fewer tourists.

Note that you have to time your visit with the tides. Check the timetable. Ideally, you want to get there a little before the lowest point int he tide, go for a walk on the ocean floor, then come back at the highest tide (the same day or another day).

Personally, I wouldn't go to PEI either. There is so much to see in Nova Scotia. You could drive to Brier Island - needs two ferries which are very cheap and operate 24/7 - and stay a night there.

Grand Pre (National historic site) is very nice and has a good musem.
The immigration musem at Pier 21 in Halifax is splendid.

Peggy's Cove is best when the weather is NOT perfect. Fewer tourists and much better scenery. Make sure you drive the loop to Peggy's Cove instead of just driving back the way you came. If you can, take a side tour to the end of the road in Prospect Bay.

Not really, if you ask me. There is a beach with red sand. Another beach with sand dunes and "singing" sand. (But not that you would go swimming. The water is cold.) It makes a noise. The island is beaucolic, but no comparison to the many bays, islands, lakes, and scenery of Nova Scotia.

Note that the Confederation Bridge toll is over $50.

That is not enough of a reason to skip PEI.
I agree there's not much for tourists in Moncton. But Saint John has plenty to fill several days. Plenty.
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13F

Hmm, thanks for the input. Regarding the toll for the bridge - I'm fine paying the toll to visit another province - although the toll is steep enough I think I want to spend a little more time there than the few hours the previous itinerary had. I understand that Sydney and Moncton aren't really for tourists, I was just planning on spending the nights there as convenient in-between points to split up the driving (also in the case of Sydney vs small town, it's hard to beat free as I have points lying around that I wouldn't otherwise have a use for). That said, if you've never been to the region and you don't know when you would be able to return, you would really drop PEI and NB entirely to focus on Nova Scotia? I mean that certainly appeals from a less-driving POV. We love exploring different foods - does that change anything in terms of where we should be visiting?

How about this:

Day 1: travel, arrive in Halifax (YHZ) late night.
Night 1: Halifax
Day 2: Halifax area (Citadel, pier 21)
Night 2: Halifax
Day 3: Nova Scotia (Peggy's Cove/Burntcoat head/Grand Pre)
Night 3: Halifax
Day 4: Nova Scotia (Halifax -> Sydney)
Night 4: Sydney
Day 5: Nova Scotia (Cabot Trail/Cape Breton)
Night 5: Sydney
Day 6: PEI (Cape Breton -> Pictou -> Charlottetown)
Night 6: Charlottetown
Day 7: New Brunswick (Shediac, Hopewell Cape, St. Martins, Saint John, maybe Saint George depending on time and how we're feeling)
Night 7: Saint John
Day 8: New Brunswick (ideally hit the Bay of Fundy locations at a different time of day to see the tide)
Night 8: Moncton
Day 9: Moncton -> Sackville -> Fort Beausejour -> Burntcoat Head -> Dartmouth
Night 9: Dartmouth
Day 10: travel, depart YHZ in the morning

I'm not aware of any travelworthy food options you would find in NB or PEI but not in NS.

Pier 21 experience
 

Allow half a day at Pier 21 i.e. its that good. If you have any family ties, I suggest visiting the archives on the main floor. I did and found my mother & two sisters on a boat from England to Sain John, NB in 1948.

I'd skip New Brunswick (really - it's just alot of trees) and throw in another day on PEI. The Delta Prince Edward is right on the waterfront and within walking distance of lots of restaurants & entertainment. I'd also vote for taking the ferry from NS, it's a nice break and the drive from Wood Islands to Charlottetown is quite scenic. You can also stop for a walk on the Basin Head Beach along the way (the "singing sands" referred to by another poster).

For me, the real "flyover country" is not places like Nebraska or Wyoming, but rather Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as I have come within 7 miles of each of those provinces, but have never been on the ground in any of them. Come September 5, I am remedying that. I've taking 9 days to travel from St. John's NL to Cleveland OH by surface transportation.

I fly to YYT on September 5 and will stay there two nights. On September 7, I am setting out for Cleveland, taking the 13+ hour DRL bus ride to Port au Basques. I am booked on the overnight Marine Atlantic ferry to North Sydney, NS; upon arriving there I am taking the 0835 Maritime Bus service to Halifax. I'm just going to spend one night there, and then take a bus at noon on Saturday 9/9 to Charlottetown. I'm going to spend 4 days on PEI, and then on Wednesday 9/13 I'm going to bus down to Amherst NS to meet up with VIA Rail's Ocean train (I have a sleeper cabin booked). This train only runs 3 days per week. At Montreal, I'm booked to connect with Amtrak's Adirondack train, alighting at Schenectady, NY, where I have a scheduled 56 minute layover to connect to the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited, which reaches Cleveland at about 0353 on Friday 9/15.

Interestingly, were I to stay on the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago (where it terminates), one more train connection would get me to either Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area, or either Seattle or Portland (one train, the Empire Builder, splits at Spokane and serves both big cities in the PNW).

When I get to PEI I will have visited all 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces plus Yukon.

I can't wait.