Halifax/St John/Moncton
 

Your opinions greatly appreciated...I'm planning a trip to see some of the wonderful things in the area.. will be end of June.. will be flying into Halifax on Sunday and having to leave the following Saturday...trying to minimize moving around..would 2 nights in Halifax, 3 nights in St John and then one night in Moncton the night before we leave allow us good access to major points in the area?? The Bay of Fundy has been on my bucket list for a long time.. so even if we have to drive back a 2nd time if weather turns sour we'd hopefully have that option.

Opinions??

thanks..

Pat

If the Bay of Fundy is on your list, then you should ensure that you stop at the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, preferably at low tide. You'll have to head south and west from Moncton to visit them, as opposed to taking the main road between Moncton and Saint John. That would allow you to visit Fundy National Park too. If at all possible try and visit at low tide, walk on the seabed floor around the Hopewell Rocks and then return later at high tide and see the same rocks you walked past, now as small islands that you could Kayak past.

In Saint John you should visit the Reversing Falls, another Bay of Fundy event.

In Halifax, my hometown, you should visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and be sure to visit the Titanic artefacts’, including the an original Titanic deck chair, that was collected from the flotsam, and spend some time in the Halifax Explosion gallery too. If the Titanic, floats your boat, there are several Titanic grave sites in Halifax too. If you fancy a high end lobster dinner, visit the Five Fisherman Restaurant and ask about the history of the building and the Titanic. The Citadel is an interesting historical visit too.

Obviously no visit to Halifax would be complete without a trip to Peggy's Cove. Just past Peggy's Cove to the West is a very poignant monument to the memory of the Swiss Air flight that crashed just off the shores of Peggy's Cove.

On the Nova Scotia shore of the Bay of Fundy at the entrance to the Annapolis Valley you have Grand Pre National Historic Site and further up the valley at Annapolis Royal you have both Acadian French and British historic sites worthy of a visit.

PM me when you have dates and if I’m home, I’ll buy you a drink and welcome you in person.

mpc1

Thanks for a quick response...it looks like we will be arriving sunday june 21...I'll let ya know later on for sure!! Would love an opportunity to get together, if it works

After re-reading your initial post, I'm curious why you'd want to spend three nights in Saint John? The people there are friendly enough, but it's a fairly industrial city, one day there would probably be more than enough to catch the reversing falls and historical downtown.

If you wanted to spend another night/day in that part of New Brunswick, I'd suggest Saint Andrews by the Sea as a much nicer place to spend a day.

Moncton, would be a reasonble stop enroute to/from Fundy Park, Hopewell Rocks and Saint John/Saint Andrews, but I don't think that there's much to see in Moncton itself.

If you had extra day(s) to allocate, I'd suggest either a night in the Annapolis Valley and/or a trip over the bridge to PEI for one/two nights.

mpc1
If I'm not away in Africa or Asia, the offer of the drink still stands

Sacrilege! I must defend YSJ!

• Historic downtown.
• Reversing Falls, with or without the jet boat tours through the rapids.
• New Bruswick Museum
• Saint John City Market
• Irving Nature Park
• Rockwood Park and Cherry Brook Zoo
• Moosehead Breweries
• Carleton Martello Tower
• Fort Howe Lookout
• Harbour Passage walking trail
• St Andrew's (can be done as a day trip... less than one hour each way)
• St. Martin (on the Bay of Fundy, old shipbuilding town full of artisans and the gateway to the Fundy Trail)

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13F

PS to avoid confusion with St. John's, it's better to use Saint John.
PPS a drive across the Confederation Bridge to PEI is well worth it.
PPPS You can skip Halifax all together. Just go from the airport to Peggy's Cove. ;)

Thanks for the responses... we are trying to stick to two major hotel chains for this trip.. helps with expenses.. the only place I've booked so far is Halifax..so feel free to continue with suggestions (hotel chains are hilton and intercontinental properties).


Pat

YSJ has a Hilton right on the harbour, walking distance from several of the attractions listed above.
--
13F

FWIW, we thought that the Saint John Hilton was very very good - one of the best Hilton experiences we've had!

Concur with St. Andrews - a nice location. Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to drive back and forth if you do end up staying in Saint John. On the plus side, the Atlantic provinces have incredible roads - wide and generally uncrowded.

Add: btw, the 'Saint' in Saint John, NB is almost always spelled out to avoid confusion with St. John's, Newfoundland.

Looks like you are arriving at the beginning of whale wathcing season in the Bay of Fundy!!!

There are numerous companies offering whale watching, check here for some options.

Here's a link to an online photo album of my trip to the area back in '04...should give you a taste. I echo/amplify most of the recommendations already posted on this thread.

http://tinyurl.com/dktn8l

This is looking better and better!!