Visitors to Nova Scotia should spend a little time poring over a map (and this travel guide) before leaving home. Your biggest challenge is narrowing down your options before you set off; numerous loops and circuits are possible here and the available permutations multiply once you factor in the various ferry links to the United States, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Figuring out where to go -- and then how to get there -- is the hardest work you'll need to do in a place that is relatively easy to travel around once you're there.
The only travelers I've heard complain about Nova Scotia are those who tried to see it all at once, within a week. That sort of approach leaves you strung out and exhausted. Instead, prioritize your interests and decide accordingly. Looking for picture-perfect scenes of coastal villages? Focus mostly on the South Shore, specifically the trio of Chester, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay. Drawn to hiking amid rocky coastal scenery? Allow plenty of time for Cape Breton. Looking for more pastoral ocean scenery? Head for the Fundy Coast. Want to spend a quiet day canoeing? Build your trip around Kejimkujik National Park. Dying for some gourmet dining and urban buzz? Factor in a few days in Halifax. Above all, schedule plenty of time for simply doing not much of anything: strolling or biking in quiet lanes; picnicking on beaches; and watching the water from docks, boat decks, and hotel porches are some of the best ways I know to let Nova Scotia's charms unfold at their own unhurried pace.
Visitor Information
Every traveler to Nova Scotia should have a copy of the massive (400-plus-pages) official tourism guide, which is the province's best effort to put travel-guide writers like me out of business. It's comprehensive, colorful, well-organized, and free, listing all hotels, campgrounds, and attractions within the province, with brief descriptions and current prices. (Restaurants are given only limited coverage, however; investigate those on your own using this book and your own nose for eats.)
The tome, called the Nova Scotia Doers & Dreamers Guide, is available starting each March by phone (tel. 800/565-0000 or 902/425-5781), fax (902/424-2668), mail (Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, P.O. Box 456, Halifax, NS B3J 2R5), and Internet (www.novascotia.com). If you wait until you arrive in the province before obtaining a copy, ask for one at the numerous visitor information centers, where you can also request the excellent free road map.
The provincial government administers about a dozen official Visitor Information Centres (known as "VICs") throughout the province, as well as in Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine. These mostly seasonal centers are amply stocked with brochures and tended by knowledgeable staffers. In addition, virtually every town of any note has a local tourist information center filled with racks of brochures covering the entire province, staffed with local people who know the area. You won't ever be short of information.
In general, the local and provincial visitor information centers are run with cordiality and brisk efficiency. I have yet to come across a single one that wasn't remarkably helpful, although the press of crowds can sometimes require a few minutes' wait to get individual attention at the more popular gateways, such as Amherst (outside Halifax) or Port Hawkesbury (entering Cape Breton Island).
For general questions about travel in the province, call Nova Scotia's information hot line at tel. 800/565-0000 (North America) or 902/425-5781 (outside North America).
Year-Round Tourist Info? Yes! -- Coming to Nova Scotia off season? Fear not. Halifax's two VICs, one located at the airport and one situated downtown on the waterfront's Sackville Wharf on Lower Water Street, are both open all year round. There's also a year-round VIC located in the town of Amherst, at the westernmost entry point to the province (in other words, on the main road coming from New Brunswick). Cape Breton visitors will be cheered to know that the VIC guarding the island's entrance (it's just across the bridge from the mainland) in Port Hastings is open 8 months out of the year, closing only from early January through late April. And if you're arriving via the ferry to Yarmouth, the city's VIC is only open from mid-May through mid-October, yes -- but it does have a gift shop on the premises to compensate, which is a good spot to pick up local products.
Getting There
By Car & Ferry -- Most travelers reach Nova Scotia overland by car from New Brunswick. Plan on at least a 4-hour drive from the U.S. border at Calais, Maine, to Amherst (at the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border). Incorporating ferries into your itinerary can significantly reduce time behind the wheel. Seasonal ferries (figure June to the first week of Oct) connect both Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine, to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, at the peninsula's southwest end, though neither runs daily; at press time, each operated three to four times per week, depending on the season.
Bay Ferries (tel. 888/249-7245; www.catferry.com) operates the ferries. The Bar Harbor-Yarmouth and Portland-Yarmouth routes use The Cat (short for catamaran), which claims to be the fastest ferry in North America and since going into service in 1998 has cut the crossing time from Bar Harbor from 6 hours to 2 3/4 hours, zipping along at up to 50 mph. Note that the ride can get very bumpy depending on wave and ocean conditions, so if you're sensitive to seasickness, bring and take motion-sickness medicine.
Summer rates one-way from Bar Harbor in 2007 were C$63 (US$57/£32) for adults and children age 13 to 18, C$43 (US$39/£22) for children age 6 to 13, C$58 (US$52/£29) for seniors, and C$105 (US$95/£53) and up per vehicle. From Portland, it costs C$89 per adult (US$80/£45), C$59 (US$53/£30) per child age 13 to 18, C$85 (US$77/£43) for seniors, and C$149 (US$134/£75) and up per vehicle. Same-day-return and weekend-getaway round-trip fares are cheaper. I cannot stress enough that reservations for both routes are vital during the peak summer season.
To shorten the slog around the Bay of Fundy, a 3-hour ferry (also operated by Bay Ferries) known as the Princess of Acadia links Saint John, New Brunswick, with Digby, Nova Scotia. Remarkably, this ferry sails daily year-round, with as many as three crossings per day in summer. Peak-season one-way fares (charged June-Oct) in 2007 were C$40 (US$36/£20) for adults, C$25 (US$23/£13) for children age 6 to 13, C$5 (US$4.50/£2.50) per child under age 6, C$30 (US$27/£15) for seniors, and C$80 (US$72/£40) and up per vehicle. Fares are a bit cheaper outside the peak travel months; if you walk on and return within 30 days, there are also discounts available on the round-trip. Complete up-to-the-minute schedules and fares for the Princess of Acadia can be found at www.nfl-bay.com or by calling tel. 888/249-SAIL.
For those traveling farther afield, ferries also connect Prince Edward Island to Caribou, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland to North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
By Plane -- Halifax is the air hub of the Atlantic Provinces. Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com) provides daily direct service from New York and Boston using its commuter partner Jazz (www.flyjazz.ca), which also flies directly to Sydney, Charlottetown, Saint John, and St. John's, as well as several more remote destinations in eastern Canada. But other contenders are jumping into the fray, as well: Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) flies direct from Newark to Halifax several times daily in summer, for one. American Airlines' American Eagle (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) service recently added one daily flight in each direction between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Halifax, in small 37-seat jets. If you're coming from anywhere other than New York, however, you will probably need to connect in Montréal or Toronto, which can turn into a half-day excursion or more.
Also good to know: Canada's WestJet (tel. 800/538-5696; www.westjet.com) flies year-round into Halifax from Toronto, Calgary, Hamilton, and St. John's, and seasonally from Montréal, Edmonton, and several Florida airports. The regional airline CanJet (tel. 800/809-7777; www.canjet.com) also flies to and from Orlando, Florida -- though, again, only in winter.
By Train -- VIA Rail (tel. 888/842-7245; www.viarail.com) offers train service 6 days a week between Halifax and Montréal; the entire trip takes between 18 and 21 hours depending on direction, with a basic summertime fare of about C$240 (US$216/£120) each way, not counting sleeping accommodations. Discounts for those buying at least 1 week in advance are possible.
Sleeping berths and private cabins are available at extra cost -- the cheapest bed, in a double-bunked cabin, is about twice the cost of the no-bed fare -- and VIA also recently added a higher class of service on its overnight run; this new summer-only Easterly class aboard the Ocean offers all-inclusive meals, sleeping accommodations, exclusive access to lounges and a panoramic car, and continuing presentations from an onboard educator about Maritime Province culture and history.
The Ocean runs daily (except Tues) each direction year-round, with standard overnight sleeper-cabin service; the Easterly option is available from mid-June through mid-October. Check the VIA Rail website for updates on routes, schedules, and online booking.
