(9 days / 8 nights - Begins & Ends Halifax)
Tour Itinerary
Day 01 - Halifax Arrival
Arrive at Halifax International Airport. Pick up your rental car and proceed to your hotel.
Hotel: Citadel Halifax Hotel or similar
Day 02 - Halifax – Peggy’s Cove – Halifax
Driving Distance: 61 mi./99 km.
This morning at 08:00 hours, you will be met by your AmericanTours International representative and provided with a welcome kit which includes driving instructions, vouchers, maps, and brochures of the places that you are about to visit. Drive to beautiful Peggy’s Cove, a lobster/fishing village, and walk on the giant white granite boulders to the lighthouse that is perched on them. This is the most photographed place in Nova Scotia and the charm of Peggy’s Cove is indescribable. Return to Halifax and visit The Citadel. Located on top of a hill overlooking Halifax, this star-shaped fort includes features such as the musketry gallery, the dry defensive ditch, the vaulted rooms, the restored ramparts, and a stunning view of Halifax and its harbor. Later, enjoy the many fine shops along the harbor front.
Day 03 - Halifax – West Bay
(Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island) Driving distance: 402 mi./647 km.
Travel to the northernmost part of Nova Scotia, cross over the Canso Causeway, and enter beautiful Cape Breton Island. Continue on to Baddeck and visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. At this famous inventor’s summer home, see one of the largest collections of his photographs and personal mementos covering his extraordinary range of interests.
Hotel: Dundee Resort or similar
Day 04 - West Bay
Enjoy a drive on the Cabot Trail, the East Coast’s answer to California’s Pacific Coast Highway. As this scenic drive makes a giant horseshoe around the northernmost part of Cape Breton Island, see stunning seascapes of giant cliffs and high mountains as they tumble down in to the ocean from high above the sea. It is likely that you will spot wildlife such as moose and bald eagles as you make your way along the Cabot Trail. On the eastern end, whales can often be seen from your car as you drive the high cliffs along the shore.
Day 05 - Baddeck, NS – Charlottetown, PEI
(via car ferry) Driving distance: 376 mi./605 km.
Return to mainland Nova Scotia and take the Northumberland Ferry Line (not included) to Prince Edward Island, then continue on to Charlottetown for the night.
Hotel: Comfort Inn Charlottetown or similar
Day 06 - Charlottetown
Explore Prince Edward Island, a striking land featuring carpets of bright green grass leading to bright red cliffs. At the northern end is the Atlantic Wind Test Site where towering windmills generate energy. There is an interpretive centre here along with a restaurant overlooking the northern tip of the island and a picturesque lighthouse. Return south and visit the Potato Museum, located in O’Leary, dedicated to Prince Edward Island’s most famous crop. Then proceed to Cap-Egmont to view the amazing Bottle Houses; these are three buildings that are made out of more than 25,000 glass bottles. Travel to Kensington and see the Woodleigh Replicas and Gardens. There are 30 large-scale models of castles and cathedrals from throughout the British Isles, set amid English country gardens. On the Central North Shore, visit the Anne of Green Gables House, immortalized in the famous Prince Edward Island-based novel of the same name. You may also wish to enjoy a famous Prince Edward Island tradition the bountiful lobster suppers, which you will find offered at numerous spots throughout the island.
Day 07 - Charlottetown – Shediac – Magnetic Hill – Moncton – Hopewell Cape – Fundy National Park – Saint John
Driving distance: 249 mi./401 km.
Leave Prince Edward Island via the Confederation Bridge, one of the longest continuous multi-span bridges in the world. Enter the province of New Brunswick and pass through Shediac to see the world’s largest lobster, then continue on to Moncton. On the outskirts of town, visit Magnetic Hill, the second most visited natural attraction in Canada after Niagara Falls. Drive to the bottom of Magnetic Hill, put your car in neutral, take your foot off the brake, and your car will roll backwards up the hill! Then go downtown to view the Tidal Bore. When high tide from the Bay of Fundy arrives, a 50 foot high wall of water rolls up the tidal basin turning a small trickle of water in to a swirling mighty river right before your eyes. Continue on to The Rocks at Hopewell Cape, the most photographed place in New Brunswick, which offers the opportunity to walk on the ocean floor during low tide amongst odd tree-toped rock formations resembling giant flowerpots. Next, pass through Fundy National Park with its charming covered bridges and additional tidal phenomenon before travelling to Saint John.
Hotel: Comfort Inn Saint John or similar
Day 08 - Saint John – Port Royal – Fort Anne – Grand Pre’ National Historic Park – Halifax
Driving distance: 128 mi./206 km.
Witness more tidal phenomenon in Saint John with a visit to the Reversing Falls. During low tide, the massive waterfall will fall from the river to the bay. When high tide comes, the waterfall is turned around and falls in the opposite direction from the bay to the river, thus reversing. Visit the historic Fort Howe, which offers a lookout with a spectacular panoramic view of the entire Saint John area and a large portion of the Bay of Fundy. Later, stroll through the historic district of Saint John to see its cobblestone streets, quaint old gas lamps, shops and boutiques. Travel by car ferry to the village of Digby, Nova Scotia. An option here is a visit to the Port-Royal National Historic Site, The Habitation. This recreated 17th century French settlement is protected by a palisade and a cannon platform centred on a courtyard in the style of a 17th century French farm. Continue on to Annapolis Royal and visit the Fort Anne National Historic Site, and see four well-preserved earthwork French fortifications, a powder magazine, and a storehouse. Next travel to the Blomidon Lookoff for a breathtaking view of the Minas Basin, then visit Grand Pre National Historic Park. See Evangeline’s Well and Evangeline’s Church, along with a statue of this tragic heroine, whose face seems to age as you walk around her. Return to Halifax.
Hotel: Citadel Halifax Hotel or similar
Day 09 - Halifax Departure
Return your rental car to Halifax International Airport before your return flight
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