Eleven day trip Nova Scotia to Toronto

[dj toast]

I'm off to Canada at the end of August; my parents are Canadian so I was there many times as a child but haven't been for 20 years or so, and my wife's never been so I'm really looking forward to the trip.

We've got our itinerary pretty much sorted already I hope, partly determined by relatives we wanna visit along the way. There's a few pretty hefty drives but we'll both be driving and from what I recall the scenery should keep us from finding them too much of a drag. I did this trip as a kid with two drivers in a shorter time so I think it's do-able.

It's looking like:

Day 1: Halifax
Day 2: Halifax
Day 3: Halifax
Day 4: Baddeck, Cape Breton Island
Day 5: Campbellton, New Brunswick
Day 6: Matane, (Gaspé peninsula), Quebec
Day 7: Quebec
Day 8: Montreal
Day 9: Toronto
Day 10: Toronto
Day 11: Toronto

One possible error is that getting to Cape Breton and not seeing the Cabot Trail would seem silly, but with a lot of ground to cover to get to Campbellton the next night it might be more than would be manageable. Not sure if we can lose a day in Halifax though...

Anyhow, I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for things to see and do in or around any of these places? Everyone seems to suggest Lunenberg in NS is worth a trip, and at the other end Niagara is presumably a good bet... but beyond that I don't really know what to try to cram into the moments we're not in the car! Any help would be very gratefully received.

Cheers, Alec

[Mark Sedenquist]

Anyhow, I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for things to see and do in or around any of these places? Everyone seems to suggest Lunenberg in NS is worth a trip,

Alec, I have been to Toronto and points east a few times, but haven't yet made it to NS -- but one of our contributors, Garry Sowerby, lives there and his book has several suggestions about places to explore.

Moderator Gen, on the other hand, has wandered through much of this territory.
Coastal Labrador (the pre-planning threads)
This is a really content-rich thread:And the field report from that adventure is here

Syv's 2005 field report from Ontario to the Maritime provinces including Newfoundland.

Mark

[Go Mango]

Hi Alec, I'm from Paisley, now living in Canada.
I lived in Halifax for about 10 years before moving to Toronto, so here's my humble opinion of nice spots to visit.
In Nova Scotia: Yes, Lunenburg is a must visit, nice seafood eateries, a quaint museum, and the drive there is awesome.
In and around Halifax, head over to Lawrencetown, about 40 minutes away, and you might catch some surfers, they have nice swells there and run some good competitions too. Make sure you walk along the fairly new waterside project they have in Halifax, including the Privateers Wharf area.
When in the Toronto area, yes Niagara Falls is spot you have to take in. When down visiting the Falls, drive around the countryside, look up Niagara on the Lake, a very nice little town, and always busy with tourists. Try to take the country roads either going to N.Falls or driving back to Toronto, the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Highway) is a busy and frustrating highway as travel crawls along too often. If you have kids, or even not, check out the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in Toronto. Check out the new team in town, Toronto FC, which Moe Johnstone coaching them, if you can get tickets that is. Go up the CN Tower and walk out on the glass floor.
Toronto is a fun town, so many different things to do, enjoy it.
Good luck on the trip.

...Rab