Lonely Planet Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island

By Oliver Berry

Lonely Planet’s Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all that the region has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Explore the Bay of Fundy’s mud flats, walk around Halifax and follow The Viking Trail; all with your trusted travel companion.

 

Inside Lonely Planet’s Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island Travel Guide:
 

What’s NEW in this edition?

Up-to-date information - all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak

NEW top experiences feature - a visually inspiring collection of the region’s best experiences and where to have them 

What's NEW feature taps into cultural trends and helps you find fresh ideas and cool new areas

NEW pull-out, passport-size 'Just Landed' card* with wi-fi, ATM and transport info - all you need for a smooth journey from airport to hotel

 

Planning tools for family travellers

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Eating & drinking in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island - we reveal the dishes and drinks you have to try

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island’s beaches - whether you’re looking for relaxation or activities, we break down the best beaches to visit and provide safety information

Colour maps and images throughout

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, politics

Over 30 maps 

Covers Halifax, South Shore, Cape Breton Island, Fredericton, Fundy Isles, Northumberland Shore, Charlottetown, St John’s, St-Pierre & Miquelon and more

 

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island, our most comprehensive guide to the region, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. 

 

Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet’s Canada guide for a comprehensive look at all that the county has to offer.

 

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. 

 

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – New York Times

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781837581009

Book preview

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Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island

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Contents

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island’s Top Experiences

Need to Know

What’s New...

Month by Month

Itineraries

Outdoor Activities

Travel with Children

Eat & Drink Like a Local

Regions at a Glance

ON THE ROAD

Nova Scotia

Halifax

Around Halifax

Dartmouth

Peggy’s Cove

South Shore

Chester

Mahone Bay

Lunenburg

Liverpool

Kejimkujik National Park

Shelburne

Acadian Shores

Yarmouth

French Shore

Annapolis Valley

Digby

Long Island & Brier Island

Annapolis Royal

Wolfville & Grand Pré

Central Nova Scotia

Parrsboro

Advocate Harbour

Sunrise Trail

Tatamagouche

Pictou

Antigonish

Cape Breton Island

Ceilidh Trail

Cabot Trail

Baddeck

Sydney & North Sydney

Eastern Shore

New Brunswick

Fredericton

Upper St John River Valley

Mt Carleton Provincial Park & the Tobique Valley

Western Fundy Shore

St Stephen

St Andrews By-The-Sea

Fundy Isles

Deer Island

Campobello Island

Grand Manan Island

Saint John

Eastern Fundy Shore

St Martins

Fundy National Park

Alma

Southeastern New Brunswick

Moncton

Sackville

Northumberland Shore

Shediac

Bouctouche

Kouchibouguac National Park

Northeastern New Brunswick

Caraquet

Bathurst

Campbellton

Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown

Eastern Prince Edward Island

Wood Islands

Montague & Georgetown

Souris & Around

St Peter’s Bay to Mt Stewart

Central Prince Edward Island

Victoria

Prince Edward Island National Park

Brackley Beach

Rustico & North Rustico

New Glasgow

New London

Kensington

Cavendish

Western Prince Edward Island

Summerside

Tyne Valley

Newfoundland & Labrador

St John’s

Avalon Peninsula

Southeastern Avalon Peninsula

Baccalieu Trail

Cape Shore

Eastern Newfoundland

Trinity

Bonavista

Burin Peninsula

St-Pierre & Miquelon

Central Newfoundland

Gander

Twillingate Island & New World Island

Fogo Island & Change Islands

Central South Coast

New-Wes-Valley

Northern Peninsula

Gros Morne National Park

Port au Choix

L’Anse aux Meadows & Around

St Anthony

Western Newfoundland

Corner Brook

Blomidon Mountains

Port au Port Peninsula

Port aux Basques

Cape Ray

South Coast

Killick Coast

Labrador

Labrador Straits

Central Labrador

Labrador West

UNDERSTAND

History

Maritimes Music

Atlantic Canadian Art

Landscapes & Wildlife

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z

Accessible Travel

Accommodations

Customs Regulations

Discount Cards

Electricity

Embassies & Consulates

Food

Health

Insurance

Internet Access

Legal Matters

LGBTIQ+ Travelers

Maps

Money

Opening Hours

Post

Public Holidays

Safe Travel

Telephone

Time

Tourist Information

Visas

Volunteering

Women Travelers

Work

Responsible Travel

Transportation

Getting There & Away

Entering the Region

Air

Land

Sea

Getting Around

Air

Bicycle

Boat

Bus

Car & Motorcycle

Hitchhiking

Local Transportation

Train

Language

Behind the Scenes

Our Writers

COVID-19

We have re-checked every business in this book before publication to ensure that it is still open after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long after the outbreak has been contained, and many businesses, services and events referenced in this guide may experience ongoing restrictions. Some businesses may be temporarily closed, have changed their opening hours and services, or require bookings; some unfortunately could have closed permanently. We suggest you check with venues before visiting for the latest information.

Welcome to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island

I first visited Atlantic Canada as a backpacker in my early twenties, and there’s one image from that trip that’s imprinted onto my brain: riding a Zodiac boat off the coast of Cape Breton, and watching a humpback whale breach out of the water before slamming back down into the Atlantic. I’ve since traveled pretty much the whole way round the Maritimes, but that image still encapsulates the place for me: wild, surprising and elemental.

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View from Gros Morne Mountain Trail | DORIAN TSAI/500PX ©

By Oliver Berry, Writer

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png @olivertomberry png olivertomberry

For more about our writers.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island’s Top Experiences

1OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Strap on your boots, pick up a paddle, break out the binoculars – Atlantic Canada lives for the outdoors. Cycling, walking, sailing and kayaking are all popular here, but it’s the chance to see wild whales that really fires the imagination.

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Hiking in Cape Breton Highlands National Park | CURTIS WATSON/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Whale-Watching

Few places on the planet are better for cetacean spotting than Atlantic Canada. From June to October these deep-sea leviathans cruise the region’s waters: humpbacks, minke, North Atlantic right whales, pilot whales, orcas and mighty blue whales can be seen depending on the season. Remote Brier Island is one of many whale-watching locations (pictured).

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SURINAWILD/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Hiking

Coast hikes, beach walks, mountain jaunts, forested trails: there’s a host of hikes to be had, with many charismatic animals to see along the way (moose, bear, sea eagles, beavers and more). Fundy National Park makes a great start, with trails winding along the wooded coastline.

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Hopewell Rocks, Bay of Fundy | LUCIE KUSOVA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Canoeing & Kayaking

Piloting your own canoe or kayak allows you to reach parts of the Maritime provinces most people never see. From mellow lake paddles to multi-day ocean expeditions, there’s a wealth of watery adventures – including along Nova Scotia’s under-explored Eastern Shore.

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DAMIAN LUGOWSKI/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

2HIT THE HIGHWAY

Foggy coast roads, hillside loops, backcountry backroads – there’s a whole atlas of Maritime road trips to discover. Some, like the famous Cabot Trail and Viking Trail, span days, but there are many shorter routes if time is tight.

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Skyline Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park | ROB CRANDALL/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

The Cabot Trail

Sea-fringed Cape Breton Highlands National Park offers the classic Nova Scotian road-trip, the Cabot Trail p. 101: rugged mountains, dense forests, remote beaches and sleepy villages. The circuitous road snakes its way around the peninsula, with numerous hiking, kayaking and cycling possibilities. Look out for moose on the highway and whale spouts on the skyline.

The Viking Trail

The Viking Trail, aka Rte 430, connects Newfoundland’s two World Heritage sites on the northern peninsula. Gros Morne National Park rests at its base, while the sublime, 1000-year-old Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows (pictured) stares out from the peninsula’s tip.

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GNAGEL/GETTY IMAGES ©

Fundy Trail Parkway

Every day, earth’s highest tides swirl around the Bay of Fundy (pictured): a billion tons of water with a range of up to 50ft, the height of three double-decker buses. It’s a surreal sight: when the tides recede, boats are beached, huge sand-flats are revealed and you can walk out onto the sea floor which hours earlier was submerged underwater.

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CWORTHY/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

3SPIRIT OF THE SEA

Wherever you go in this part of Canada, the Atlantic is never far away: you can taste it on the air, hear it on the breeze and, if you’re feeling really brave, feel it on your skin too.

Seaside Towns

Coastal cities such as Halifax and Saint John are full of life, but it’s the quieter seaside towns that have the most character. You’ll find the prettiest of all, Unesco-listed Lunenburg (pictured), along Nova Scotia’s lovely South Shore.

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LAZYLLAMA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Lighthouses

When most people envision the Maritimes, there’s probably a lighthouse in the image somewhere. There are scores to see: Cape Forchu (pictured) is the most unusual, with a distinctive ‘apple core’ profile.

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HENRYK SADURA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Islands

Islands pepper the coastline, some near at hand, some fabulously remote, but each with their own distinctive island character. Grand Manan (pictured) is a popular day-trip, but there are countless others for island hoppers to explore.

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RUSS HEINL/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

4GEOLOGICAL WONDERS

Sculpted by the wind and the waves, Atlantic Canada has some wonderfully weird landscapes – from fossil-studded cliffs and otherworldly rock formations to wild icebergs.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Some of Canada’s oldest fossils can be found studding the cliffs around Joggins – including ancient trees and shrimp-like creatures that lived 300 million years ago.

Hopewell Rocks

Arches, giant mushrooms, flowerpots and animals can all be discerned in the extraordinary rock formations at Hopewell Rocks, best seen at low tide.

Iceberg Alley

Off the Newfoundland coast, this ocean sound (pictured) offers a glimpse of the Arctic: great shards of ice that have sailed down from Greenland. Steer a kayak through them, take a boat-trip or cool your drink with ancient ice cubes.

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JIMFENG/GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences

5INTO THE WILD

They might not have the big mountains of BC or Alberta, but the Maritimes still offer some fantastically wild locations to escape the madding crowd. For the ultimate experience, pack a tent and camp out for a few nights in the backcountry: the stars are out of this world.

Kejimkujik National Park

Mi’kmaw people have been tramping, paddling, exploring and tending this vast wilderness of lakes and forest (pictured) for thousands of years. A national park since 1967, it’s the optimal place to experience Nova Scotia’s wild side – especially in the Tobeatic Wilderness Area.

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THOMAS FAULL/GETTY IMAGES ©

Witless Bay Ecological Reserve

Birdspotters make a beeline to these four faraway islands: they’re home to North America’s largest puffin colony, along with kittiwakes, gulls, storm petrels and many other species.

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Atlantic puffins | SHARP/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Gros Morne National Park

Perhaps the wildest of Newfoundland’s national parks, this 1800 sq km reserve encompasses mountains, fjords, bogs and deserted beaches where you won’t see another soul.

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Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park | EYESTRAVELLING/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

6TASTES OF THE ATLANTIC

Whether it’s a simple bowl of chowder or a perfectly-brewed beer, tasting your way around the Maritimes is a great way to immerse yourself in local life.

Lobster Suppers

A lobster supper is a rite of passage: armed with claw-crackers and paper bib, you’ll tackle mountains of just-caught crustacean until you can consume no more. New Glasgow on PEI offers the full feast experience.

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MARK MAHABIR/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Craft Beer

Canada’s craft beer boom is alive and well: big name breweries like Alexander Keith’s, Propeller and Garrison can be found in Halifax, but for something truly local, try Tatamagouche Brewing Co.

Wine Tasting

Vineyards carpet the Annapolis Valley, where renowned winemakers like Lightfoot & Wolfville (pictured), Luckett and Domaine de Grand Pré open their cellars to visitors.

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MAURITIUS IMAGES GMBH/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©

Top Experiences

7LIVING HISTORY

From Viking sites to hilltop fortresses, the Maritimes are awash with history – including several places where the past comes to life before your eyes.

Sherbrooke Village

An early 1900s town is the model for this living museum (pictured), where you can watch potters and printers at work, try your hand at weaving or woodwork, get a tintype photo taken or just sit down for a hearty homecooked lunch.

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GINA SMITH/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Kings Landing

Capturing the spirit of New Brunswick c 1800, this fascinating village has a collection of period buildings and people role-playing 19th-century characters: bakers, blacksmiths, publicans, farmers, carpenters and more (pictured).

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HEMIS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©

Fortress of Louisbourg

Razed to the ground and painstakingly rebuilt, this coastal fortress (pictured) is populated by costumed guides – including soldiers, orderlies and artisans – who’ll transport you back to the 18th century.

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REGINE POIRIER/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences

8TRADITIONAL CULTURE

Waves of settlers from many different parts of the globe have settled in the Maritimes, but no-one knows this land better than the First Nations, who have called this region home for thousands of years.

First Nations

The Mi’kmaq and Maliseet people are the oldest inhabitants of Atlantic Canada, and visiting one of their reserves offers a fascinating insight into their way of life, legends and mythology. The informative First Nations guides of Lennox Island offer fascinating walking tours and craft workshops.

Celtic & Acadian Music

Scottish, Irish and French immigrants have left an indelible mark on the region’s culture, notably in the toe-tapping music that can be heard in many a bar, pub or concert hall. Don’t miss a traditional ceilidh (gathering) at the Red Shoe Pub (pictured) near Mabou.

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ROB CRANDALL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©

Need to Know

For more information, see Survival Guide.

Currency

Canadian dollar ($)

Language

English, French

Visas

With the exception of US nationals, all visitors to Canada require either an electronic travel authorization (eTA; visa-waiver) or a formal visa.

Money

ATMs are widely available and credit and debit cards are accepted almost everywhere.

Cell Phones

Local SIM cards can be used in unlocked GSM 850/1900 compatible phones.

Time

Atlantic (GMT minus four hours)

When to Go

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High Season (Jul & Aug)

A Warm weather and long, sunny days mean busy highways and slower travel times.

A Summer means festival mode, with theater, music and food extravaganzas.

A Attractions and visitor centers keep longer hours.

Shoulder (May–Jun & Sep–Oct)

A Wildflowers in spring and crimson leaves in the fall.

A Cool but comfortable. You may have things all to yourself.

A Some lodgings close and restaurants may open under reduced hours.

Low Season (Nov–Apr)

A Few lodgings and attractions outside the big cities and ski resorts remain open.

A Darkness and cold take over. Driving can be fraught with challenges.

A Christmas festivals liven up December and January.

Useful Websites

Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/canada) Destination information, hotel reviews and more.

Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism (www.newfoundlandlabrador.com)

Nova Scotia Tourism (www.novascotia.com)

Parks Canada (www.pc.gc.ca) Official website of the National Parks Service.

Tourism New Brunswick (www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca)

Tourism Prince Edward Island (www.tourismpei.com)

Important Numbers

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island’s area code is 902, New Brunswick is 506, and Newfoundland and Labrador is 709. Many accommodations have toll-free numbers that are free to dial from Canada and the US. For local calls, you need to use the area code but not the country code.

Exchange Rates

For current exchange rates, see www.xe.com.

Daily Costs

Budget: Less than $100

A Dorm bed: $25–40

A Campsite: $20–35

A Markets and supermarkets for self-catering

Midrange: $100–250

A B&B or room in a midrange hotel: $90–200

A Restaurant meal: $15–25 plus drinks

A Rental car: $25–60 per day

A Attractions: $5–25

Top End: More than $250

A Four-star hotel room or luxury B&B: from $180

A Three-course meal in a top restaurant: from $45 plus drinks

A Sea kayaking or canoe day tour: $65–175

Opening Hours

The following list provides standard opening hours for high-season operating times.

Banks 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday; some open 9am to noon Saturday.

Bars 5pm to 2am.

Clubs 9pm to 2am Wednesday to Saturday.

Museums 10am to 5pm; may close on Monday.

Restaurants 8am to 11am and 11:30am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday, 5pm to 9:30pm daily; some open 8am to 1pm weekends.

Shops 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, noon to 5pm Sunday.

Supermarkets 9am to 8pm; some open 24 hours.

Arriving in the Region

Halifax Stanfield International Airport MetroX bus 320 runs every 30 to 60 minutes (5am to midnight). Maritime Bus (www.maritimebus.com) operates an hourly airport shuttle ($22, 30 to 45 minutes) between May and October. Taxis cost $56 to downtown (30 minutes).

Moncton Airport Bus 20 travels from the airport to Champlain Pl nine times a day on weekdays. A taxi to the center costs about $20.

St John’s International Airport Taxis cost $25 plus $3 for each additional passenger to downtown (10 minutes).

Land Border Crossings The Canadian Border Services Agency (www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/bwt-taf) posts updated wait times hourly; it’s usually less than 30 minutes.

Getting Around

Public transportation is available in cities and between larger towns, but most visitors rent a car for flexibility.

Car Good-value rentals are available in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. There are fewer vehicles and higher prices in Prince Edward Island. In Newfoundland, this is even more the case.

Train Clean, economical and reliable VIA Rail connects Halifax to Montréal via various stops in New Brunswick.

Bus Buses cover more ground than trains; places not serviced by buses usually have private shuttle services for similar fares, more cramped seating and door-to-door service.

For much more on getting around.

What’s New

Like the rest of the world, the Maritimes have been weathering some seriously stormy waters recently. Hopefully brighter times are on the horizon, with intriguing developments from a new pan-island trail on PEI to a stunning tree-top gondola at Cape Smokey.

The Island Walk

Launched in fall 2021, this epic 700km trail (www.theislandwalk.ca) loops pretty much the whole way around PEI, encompassing blustery bluffs, dirt tracks, beaches and quiet backcountry roads along the way - along with stops in the island’s main towns of Charlottetown and Summerside. It takes around 32 days to complete, or more like 35 if you take things at a more leisurely pace.

Ingonish Gondola & Treewalk

The first gondola in Atlantic Canada, this new cable car near Ingonish (https://capesmokey.ca/gondola-ticketing) carries visitors from the bottom of Cape Smokey to a viewpoint at 285m, from where there’s a grandstand view of the Cape Breton coastline. Construction is also underway on the Ingonish Treewalk, a 30m-high treetop walkway, which is due to open in late 2022.

Georges Island National Historic Site

The newest of the designated national historic sites around Halifax, this island fortress (www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/georges) can be reached by boat from the city’s waterfront. Notorious as a prison and internment camp, it once formed part of the defensive system that protected the city from seaborne attack.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NOVA SCOTIA

By Oliver Berry, Lonely Planet Writer

Like the rest of Canada, the Maritimes have been hit hard by COVID-19 – even though they’ve fared far better compared to Canada’s more populous provinces, with some of the lowest case and death rates in the country. The effect of repeated lockdowns and huge disruption to the tourism industry has caused major damage to the Atlantic economy, and with a tentative reopening scheduled for 2022, it remains to be seen what the long-term fallout will be. Pandemics haven’t been the only problem, however. Severe winter storms rocked the Atlantic coast in late 2021, causing storm surges and knocking out power to some areas for days – an early warning sign, many fear, of the tempestuous future that lies ahead for the Maritimes as a result of climate change. Still, there’s hope in the region’s move towards renewable energy: several provinces have put themselves on track towards carbon neutrality, and Canada’s first tidal stream energy project is slated to open in 2022, designed to harness the massive tides that sweep through the Bay of Fundy every day. It’s a potentially unlimited energy source that could utterly transform the region’s prospects – but just how fast, and how far, remains to be seen.

Waterfront Trailer Village, St John

The port city’s waterfront has a new look thanks to the addition of 60 shipping containers housing a mixed-use space of shops, food trucks, bars, pop-ups, a performance space and a beer garden (www.area506.ca/village).

Fossil hunting on PEI

PEI is the only place in Canada where fossils from the Permian period can be found in abundance – including big dinosaurs. The discovery of fossilized footprints in 2018 belonging to the sail-backed Dimetrodon has really put the island on the paleontological map: the fossils’ discoverer, Laura MacNeil, now offers guided fossil-hunting tours (www.prehistoricislandtours.ca) around the island’s cliffs and beaches.

Lighthouse tours at Cape Forchu

Nova Scotia’s most distinctively shaped lighthouse has recently opened up for guided tours, offering the chance to climb the 77 spiral steps up into the lantern room for incredible views over the coastline around Yarmouth.

Véloroute Bike Trail

This 610km-long cycle trail (www.veloroutepa.ca) loops New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula, and is split into 22 sections offering views of Chaleur Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Queen’s Marque, Halifax

Several years in development, this huge complex on the Halifax waterfront has finally opened with the five-star Muir Hotel, along with restaurant, art gallery, speakeasy and even a private yacht.

Founders’ Food Hall, Charlottetown

Charlottetown now has its own trendy food hall (www.foundersfoodhall.com), with twenty vendors offering some of the best eats and drinks on PEI – from French-Caribbean bokit sandwiches to donuts, sushi burritos, vegan wraps and tacos.

Dining on the Ocean Floor

For Nova Scotia’s most unusual eating experience, how about a slap-up meal on the sea-bed? Several times a summer at low tide, dinners are hosted out on the mud flats around Burntcoat Head. Tickets sell out lightning quick: book at www.foodfantastique.ca/dining-on-the-ocean-floor.

Developments at Beaverbrook Art Gallery

Fredericton’s top art gallery has added a new pavilion, allowing extra exhibition space, along with the new Harriet Irving Gallery.

Hearst Lodge on the Fundy Trail

Formerly a private salmon-fishing lodge, this backcountry cabin complex is reached via a 2.6km hike and a suspension bridge off the beautiful Fundy Trail Parkway.

LISTEN, WATCH & FOLLOW

For inspiration and up-to-date news, visit www.lonelyplanet.com/canada/articles.

CBC (www.cbc.ca) Latest news courtesy of Canada’s national broadcaster.

Saltwire (www.saltwire.com) News, features and views from across the four Atlantic provinces.

Curated (curatedmagazine.ca) Insights into Nova Scotia’s food and drink scene, published online along with a quarterly magazine and annual guide.

FAST FACTS

Food trend Craft beer

Length of coastline 43,000km

Number of whale species 22

Pop 2.3 million

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Month by Month

TOP EVENTS

Lobster suppers June–September

Whale-watching June-October

Stan Rogers Folk Festival August

Celtic Colours October

Ceilidhs July

February

This is not a popular month to visit this part of Canada unless you’re looking for deep snow and hard ice.

2 World Pond Hockey Tournament

Hockey purists shouldn’t miss this event at Plaster Rock in New Brunswick. Around 120 teams come to shoot pucks around the ice, with the event helping to support the ongoing cost of a new recreation centre for the people of the Tobique Valley.

5 South Shore Lobster Crawl

Lobster-themed events spring up all along the South Shore in February, from a challenge to find the finest lobster roll to a grand chowder showdown (www.lobstercrawl.ca).

April

The land is usually thawing by April and trees are sprouting new leaves, but if you visit you’ll be enjoying it all with very few other people around.

z Mi-Carême

Mid-Lent, usually in March or April, is marked in the Acadian town of Chéticamp by going in disguise and visiting neighborhood homes to see if anyone can guess who you are.

5 PEI Burger Love

Carnivores go crazy at this month-long celebration of the humble burger. Restaurants around the province devise mouthwatering creations that compete for the title of Most Loved Burger: all are crafted with love and imagination using homegrown ingredients.

June

June weather can be sunny but brisk. In some areas many tourist-oriented attractions may still be shut or keep low-season hours, but in general you’ll find the Maritime provinces ramping up for the summer season.

2 Whale-watching

Whales begin to be seen in the Bay of Fundy and off the coast of Newfoundland this month, then hang around to feed until around October or November. On Nova Scotia’s South Shore the season runs from July to October.

1 Iceberg Festival

Spring and early summer are the best times to see some of the tens of thousands of icebergs that break off in Greenland to sail down the coast of Newfoundland’s ‘Iceberg Alley.’ In honor of these giant white monsters, Northern Newfoundland even hosts its own weeklong iceberg festival in early June.

3 Acadian Concerts

In late June you’ll start to find summer Acadian concerts and kitchen parties along the Nova Scotia coast between Yarmouth and Digby. More are scheduled through July, and by August you can find a performance most nights of the week.

July

Summer starts to heat up, days are long and festivals bring music and food to the streets. All outdoor activities are go! If you’re lucky, things can still be relatively uncrowded early in the month.

5 Lobster Suppers

During the summer lobster season (which varies depending on the region), tasty crustaceans get boiled up en masse and served to hungry crowds with all-you-can-eat fixings and pie for dessert. Try New Glasgow Lobster Supper on PEI or Halls Harbour Lobster Pound in Nova Scotia.

3 Ceilidhs

Cape Breton is the capital of these foot-tapping Scottish music performances, where most people in the small communities show up as audience and get up and dance. While found year-round, they occur almost every night in July and August.

z Canada Day

Canada’s national holiday is celebrated throughout the region with parades, fireworks, music and picnics. Many businesses close their doors in observance of the holidays, so be sure to have plans and a picnic packed before the big day, July 1.

3 Cavendish Beach Music Festival

Some of the biggest names in country music head to Cavendish, PEI, to play one of the largest outdoor music festivals in North America.

3 Indian River Festival

As an antidote to Cavendish partying, this Kensington festival from the end of June into October showcases classical, jazz and world music in an acoustically sublime St Mary’s Church. The French Gothic architecture complements the beautiful music in a wonderful summer experience.

1 Peak of Lupine Season

Lupine usually begin blooming in June but by July they cover hillsides, colorfully border the highways and decorate home fronts. Purple is the dominant color but you’ll also see scatterings of pink lupine, especially in PEI.

z Halifax Pride Week

Halifax booms with events for Pride Week, the largest this side of Montréal. Don’t miss the annual, highly entertaining Dykes vs Divas softball game, the Queer Acts Theater Festival, nightly parties and one hell of a parade.

z Bastille Day

Celebrate the July 14 French national holiday with bona-fide French nationals in St-Pierre. The town comes alive with music, food stalls and family-oriented games for nonstop fun. Stop in for a few éclairs while you’re there as well.

2 Antigonish Highland Games

Always wanted to see a caber being tossed? Harbor secret dreams of doing a Highland dance? You’ll get your chance at this long-running event held in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, since 1861 – making this the longest-running Highland Games outside Scotland.

August

High season is in full swing by August. The weather is at its sunniest, everything is open extended hours and festivals are going on everywhere.

3 Stan Rogers Folk Festival

The tiny remote seaside town of Canso swells with visitors once a year for what many claim is one of the best music festivals in the Maritimes. It’s a mellow scene with camping, easygoing people and amazing live performances.

3 Halifax International Busker Festival

Comics, mimics, daredevils and more from Canada and around the world perform on several outdoor stages over 11 days. This is the oldest festival of its kind in Canada and the audience usually exceeds 500,000 people.

z Festival Acadien

The largest Acadian cultural festival kicks off in Caraquet during the first two weeks of August. Along with 100,000 other visitors, you’ll be entertained by top Acadian singers, musicians and performers from all across the Maritimes, and from further afield too.

6 Halifax Seaport Cider & Beerfest

The Maritimes sure do love a good brew, and this three-day event at the Cunard Centre in Halifax is a must for beer and cider lovers, with new brews from many of the region’s leading brewers, plus guest ales from around the world.

z Panmure Island Powwow

Learn the art of tribal drumming, hear First Nations stories and even brave a sweat lodge at this important powwow, which brings more than 5000 people to little Panmure Island, off the PEI’s coastline.

5 Digby Scallop Days

Celebrating Digby’s massive scallop fleet, this five-day festival in early August lets you try out different styles of preparation. Alongside it are parades, dances, car shows and even a kids’ pie-eating contest.

3 Miramichi Folksong Festival

This is North America’s oldest folk-fest set along its winding, namesake river in New Brunswick. Expect a low-key family vibe set to the tune of fiddlers and singers with all the old folks getting up to boogie.

2 Royal St John’s Regatta

Newfoundland keeps up the action with this rowing regatta, claimed to be the oldest sporting event in North America, on Quidi Vidi Lake. St John’s becomes a ghost town as thousands head to watch and enjoy the sunshine.

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Royal St John’s Regatta | GGW/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

September

Summer gets extended for a slew of music festivals, while the harvest of food and wine is enjoyed to the fullest. Temperatures become more brisk but the sun still makes regular appearances.

5 PEI Fall Flavours

Called ‘the biggest kitchen party in Canada,’ here you get your hands juicy with interactive culinary demos, gorge on the best seafood in the world and enjoy two chowder championships. Meanwhile there’s live music, a widely regarded oyster-shucking contest and chef challenges.

3 Atlantic International Film Festival

Atlantic Canada and Canada’s best films plus some gems from around the world get screened at this intimate yet internationally recognized film festival in Halifax. Of course, this is Nova Scotia so there are plenty of music performances scheduled alongside.

3 Canadian Deep Roots Festival

Enjoy live folk music and move to the beats of Mi’kmaw, Acadian and other unique musical genres, all with Canadian roots, in the fun university town of Wolfville. Workshops are available with some of the artists.

October

Ah, the colors of fall. As the world turns from green to red and the temperatures start to drop, there’s still plenty to enjoy in the Maritimes. Canadian Thanksgiving is the perfect time to experience the warmth and hospitality of the locals.

1 Fall Foliage

One of nature’s most spectacular shows of color begins late September and peaks in October. Panoramas are filled with brick reds, rust, gold and copper that eventually turn brown before dropping to the ground. The forests of Cape Breton put on a particularly fine show.

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Fall foliage, Cape Breton Island | CURTIS WATSON/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

3 Halifax Pop Explosion

Up-and-coming bands play a series of intimate gigs at various venues across Halifax during this lively music festival. The lineup is skewed towards Canadian names, but there’s usually a pretty broad spectrum to the schedule.

3 Celtic Colours

The who’s who of the Maritimes’ music world make it to this Cape Breton music festival, which is highly regarded among lovers of Celtic music.

Itineraries

Nova Scotia Loop

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1 WEEK

This compact itinerary showcases the historic and natural diversity within easy reach of Halifax.

Soak up some music and culture in Halifax, then travel to nearby Peggy’s Cove and jostle for position to snap the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Don’t forget your sunscreen in Mahone Bay, where the sun shines on great craft shopping and sea kayaking. Move on slightly south to Lunenburg, a World Heritage site known for its colorful boxy buildings and Bluenose schooner. The Kejimkujik National Park offers a range of terrain from its coastal beaches (in the section of park known as the Keji Seaside Adjunct) to inland rivers, which are the perfect spot to float a canoe and drift through the woods. Cross the province to Annapolis Royal to stay at a heritage B&B; explore its fort by day and graveyard by night. The next day visit the wineries around the fabulous college town of Wolfville and the Grand Pré National Historic site, before stopping to down a meal at a fine vineyard restaurant. Lastly, explore the Fundy coast around Parrsboro and Advocate Harbour, or go to Maitland to get right in and raft the tidal bore. From here you can easily continue on to PEI, or return to Halifax.

Itineraries

Cabot & Viking Trails

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2 WEEKS

Experience the living world at its most magnificent and explore the juxtaposing cultures that have shaped eastern Canada in this grand northerly tour, best suited to those who love hiking, wildlife and photography.

Spend a couple days in Halifax enjoying lively bars and a nonstop music scene, then hit the road up the Atlantic Coast. Stop for a chilly surf at Lawrencetown Beach or a hike through pine forest to a spectacular white-sand beach at Taylor Head Provincial Park. Visit the historical village at Sherbrooke then cut up Hwy 7 for a shortcut to Cape Breton Island. Just after arriving on Cape Breton from the causeway, veer left toward Hwy 30 and stop in at one of the many ceilidh music gatherings along this route. Hook up with the Cabot Trail at Chéticamp, a deeply Acadian town. Next you can watch whales or chant with monks at the Tibetan monastery in Pleasant Bay and look for moose and nesting bald eagles in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Get your art fix at the studios dotted along the last section of the trail before heading over to Baddeck to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Alexander Graham Bell at the town’s fabulous museum. From here take a jaunt east to Louisbourg to visit the massive, windy restored French Fort, complete with costumed thespians and activities to take you back to the 18th century. Stop at the Cape Breton Miners’ Museum in Glace Bay before arriving in industrial North Sydney for the ferry to Newfoundland.

It’s a six-hour sail over the sometimes rough swell of the Cabot Strait to Port aux Basques. Alight and drive north to Gros Morne National Park, rich with mountain hikes, sea-kayaking tours, fjords and weird rock formations. Take the Viking Trail from here to its awe-inspiring endpoint: L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, North America’s first settlement. Leif Erikson and his Viking pals homesteaded the place 1000 years ago, and it probably looked much the same then as it does now. After coming all this way, you too will feel like an Atlantic explorer.

Itineraries

Bay of Fundy Tidal Tour

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10 DAYS

Experience the dramatic Fundy tides and wildlife on this loop that can be tackled from Maine, USA.

Cross the bridge to Campobello Island, the childhood home of 32nd US president Franklin D Roosevelt, from Lubec, Maine, then visit Roosevelt’s home, which is now a fascinating museum. The next day take the car ferry to fisher-funky Deer Island to check out Old Sow, the world’s second-largest natural tidal whirlpool, before boarding another ferry that shuttles you to the mainland. Drive north to gritty yet cosmopolitan Saint John to fill up on fine dining, and warm up your hiking boots at Irving Nature Park the following day to see hundreds of birds and possibly seals.

Follow the coast as far as St Martins – with an optional detour to the Fundy Trail Parkway if you wish to break in your hiking boots – then head north towards Sussex, gateway to the wilds of Fundy National Park and its extensive coastal trails. Continue north to Cape Enrage to take a tour of the lighthouse, and sea kayak or rappel down the rock cliffs that meet the rise and fall of the powerful tides. Move on to a day trip to the bizarre Hopewell Rocks formations, a must-see –but expect hundreds of visitors.

Now it’s time to change provinces. Drive across the border to Nova Scotia and down to Joggins to see the Unesco World Heritage fossil cliffs. Continue along driftwood-strewn Chignecto Bay to stop for lunch in Advocate Harbour, then move onto Parrsboro via the Cape D’Or Lighthouse, to look for semiprecious stones on the beach and stay the night. Enjoy the views of the Cobequid Bay tides, which can change up to a foot per minute, until you reach Maitland where you can get into inflatable dinghies for an exhilarating rafting adventure on the tidal bore. Scoot southwest to fabulous Wolfville for a night or two to explore the surrounding countryside, before heading deeper into the Annapolis Valley to delightful Annapolis Royal, and onwards to Digby where you can dine on succulent scallops before resting your weary head. In the morning, head over to Long Island, home to the region’s most spectacular whale-watching, before turning back to Digby for the car ferry to Saint John, New Brunswick, where the adventure began.

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Charlottetown | PETER UNGER/GETTY IMAGES ©

Itineraries

Island Drive

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1 WEEK

Start with a day in Halifax, walking the waterfront, visiting the museums and soaking up the city’s dining and drinking scene. Take the Prince Edward Island (PEI) ferry from Pictou. Spend your first day exploring the east; stop at Rossignol Estate Winery, stroll on Basin Head Beach, swig some potato vodka at Prince Edward Distillery and walk among the Greenwich Dunes. Head south to Charlottetown, a perfect base for exploring the island’s centre. Devote a day to the beaches of Prince Edward Island National Park and the home of Anne of Green Gables in Cavendish, stopping in Malpeque Oyster Barn for an oyster lunch and New Glasgow for a lobster supper.

Overnight in Summerside, then drive up the west coast through Acadian villages to lighthouse vistas. If time allows, spend a day or two cycling along the Confederation Trail, driving up to North Cape, and learning about Mi’kmaw culture on Lennox Island.

Take the Confederation Bridge to drive back to Halifax via the wine region around Tatamagouche, or head down the Fundy Coast to Parrsboro for geological explorations.

Itineraries

Maritime Drive-Through

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10 DAYS

This whistle-stop, three-province tour takes in the essential sights. Enjoy Halifax for a day before swinging down to snap a few photos at Peggy’s Cove, then stop for the night in World Heritage–listed Lunenburg with your camera at the ready at every turn. The next day cross via Bridgewater up Hwy 8, stopping for a day hike or a paddle in Kejimkujik National Park, then stay in Annapolis Royal and take the town’s famous nighttime graveyard tour, if you’re not easily spooked! Take a short drive to Digby for a lunch of fried