Maritimes Explorer

Arrive in the port city of Halifax and transfer independently to your hotel. Halifax is a quintessential Maritime destination and cultural hub of Atlantic Canada, offering visitors a vast scope of things to do and places to explore. Spend some time exploring the beautiful waterfront area.

This morning, begin with a drive to beautiful Peggy’s Cove, and visit Canada’s most photographed lighthouse, perched atop granite boulders. Visit the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, located on top of a hill overlooking Halifax. Explore the history of the fortress and the soldiers stationed there. Each day the Citadel comes alive with the sounds, displays and colour re-enactments of the kilted 78th Highlanders and the Royal Artillery. Later, take time to explore Halifax’s Titanic connection and the many fine shops along the harbor front.

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 National museum, see one of the largest collections of his photographs and personal mementos. Explore the work of this creative genius through displays and one of the largest collections of his photographs and personal momentos. 

Enjoy a drive on the Cabot Trail, the East Coast’s answer to California’s Pacific Coast Highway. On this scenic drive see stunning seascapes of giant cliffs and high mountains as they tumble down into the ocean from high above. It is likely that you will spot wildlife 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. DISTANCE: 208 MILES, 335 KILOMETERS

Return to mainland Nova Scotia and take the Northumberland Ferries Limited (free of charge) to Prince Edward Island, 2013’s Travel and Leisure Magazines #1 ranked Island in the Continental US and Canada, then continue to Charlottetown.

Known as the Birthplace of Canada, you can visit a replica of the Confederation Chamber at The Confederation Centre of the Arts, Canada’s Memorial to the Fathers of Confederation. Explore Prince Edward Island, featuring carpets of bright green grass leading to bright red cliffs. At Cap-Egmont, view the amazing Bottle Houses; these are three buildings that are made out of more than 25,000 glass bottles. Visit the Anne of Green Gables House, immortalized in the famous Prince Edward Island-based novel of the same name. Charlottetown is the home of the longest running seasonal musical in the world “Anne of Green Gables”. 

Cross The Confederation Bridge, the longest toll bridge in the world over water that freezes. Depart Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for New Brunswick, voted one of the Top 50 destinations to “discover, explore, and experience” by Natural History Magazine, behold the world’s highest tides of the Bay of Fundy, where twice a day, 100 billion ton’s of seawater flow; a feeding ground for 12 species of whales including the endangered North Atlantic Right whale. Include visits to Hopewell Rocks with lunch, Cape Enrage, village of Alma and Fundy National Park and arrival in city of Saint John, Canada’s oldest incorporated city and the only city on the Bay of Fundy. Saint John has a Loyalist heritage that goes back centuries. Today, Saint John is a popular port-of-call on many of the Canada-New England cruise itineraries.

Visit the world-class New Brunswick Museum and experience the “Great Hall of Whales”. Then meet the locals at the historic Saint John City market – a great place for lunch too! First opened in 1876, the City Market has withstood the test of time - from The Great Fire of 1877 which devoured the city around it only a year after it opened, to the twentieth-century urban renewal that built a brand new city right outside the iron gates. Visit the New Brunswick Museum Canada’s oldest continuing museum & remember to view The Hall of Great Whales & Birds of New Brunswick. Depart for nearby local town of St. Andrews by-the-Sea, one of Canada’s most renowned coastal resort communities. Visit Huntsman Science Centre/Fundy Discovery Aquarium, and/or Atlantic Salmon Nature Centre Site.

In the morning enjoy a whale & wildlife excursion. Lunch and leisure, local shopping time in the National Historic District of St. Andrews. For lunch, enjoy one of the many popular spots along Water Street followed by some local shopping while exploring the National Historic District of St. Andrews.

Enroute to Halifax, stop in the city of Moncton to experience Magnetic Hill with lunch at Magnetic Hill Wharf or at Magnetic Hill Winery. Or try an amazing lobster educational cruise with Shediac Bay Cruises in the town of Shediac, “the lobster capital of the world”. Depart Moncton or Shediac for an easy afternoon drive to Halifax.

Depart Halifax Stanfield International Airport.