Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all offer picturesque fishing ports, dramatic seacoasts and pristine landscapes, as well as superlative seafood.
Owing to an excellent network of highways and ferries, the ideal way to see the Maritimes is by taking a circuitous tour by car. Along the way, explore the diverse flora and fauna of the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, the impressive waterfalls of Fundy National Park and the inimitable charms of pretty little port towns. Whether taking a relaxing walkabout amid refined hotel gardens or taking a hike in old-growth forests, picnicking by the sea or whale-watching on the high seas, the Maritimes let you experience the best of Atlantic Canada.
Our itineraries are for your inspiration. Please contact a travel advisor to customize this itinerary to fit your needs.
A two-hour flight northeast of New York, Halifax is the center of commercial and financial life in the Maritimes.
Founded in 1749, it remains a small city of some 298,000 inhabitants, and its heart is still the waterfront, around which a collection of neighborhoods has coalesced. It is an appealing place, worth a visit for its own attractions, as well as for being convenient to the charming towns on the so-called South Shore of Nova Scotia.
The Prince George Hotel is close to the harbor and numerous restaurants. After check-in, take the rest of the afternoon to explore the city at your leisure.
For dinner, make your way to The Five Fisherman, a restaurant and grill just around the corner from your hotel. Seafood is the specialty, but carnivores are not neglected. For a full range of menu selections, the more formal upstairs dining room is the best choice.
The following day, head southwest on a three-and-a-half-hour drive to your next destination, Trout Point Lodge in Kemptville. On your way, stop at Salt Shaker Deli for lunch. This cozy place in Lunenburg is just a couple of blocks from the water and has red-checked tablecloths and a homey feel. Expect dishes like smoked seafood chowder with mussels, shrimp, scallops and smoked haddock and flavorful and filling cod fish cakes.
After 130 miles, turn onto the NS-203, which passes through the pristine Tobeatic Wilderness Area. Comprising more than 400 square miles of old-growth pine and hemlock, barrens and wetlands, the wilderness is home to moose, black bears, bobcats and pine martens.
Trout Point is the kind of place where you can take on the great outdoors — guided canoeing, hiking and more — or simply find the right spot and settle in for a nap masquerading as an attempt to read. (The sound of the Tusket River is an ideal lullaby.) Be sure to sign up for Trout Point Lodge's renowned cooking class if it is in session.
From Trout Point, drive 69 miles up the north coast of Nova Scotia to Digby, where you will board a car ferry to carry you across the Bay of Fundy to New Brunswick. Landing in St. John, head west to the charming little town of St. Andrews, just across the St. Croix River from Maine.
St. Andrews is laid out on a gently sloping hillside that descends to the river. At the crest of the hill stands Kingsbrae Arms, set in a dignified 1887 shingled house. Long a personal favorite, it succeeds in creating the atmosphere of a refined private home (there is no front desk or office) with wainscoted walls, a graceful staircase and rigorously selected art.
There is much to do in the St. Andrews area, including whale-watching in season (May through October), playing a round of golf or perhaps enjoying the peace of Kingsbrae's garden. A day trip to the summer home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Campobello Island is a must.
Each evening, you can enjoy delicious cocktails in the attractive library lounge of Kingsbrae Arms with subsequent superb dinners.
The next leg of your tour will take you through Fundy National Park, where a rugged landscape of dense forest and impressive waterfalls rises to the Acadian Highlands.
The 60-mile-long Bay of Fundy experiences the greatest tidal range in the world — the record is 53.3 feet — with more than 100 billion gallons of seawater moving in and out twice a day! The best place to observe this phenomenon is at the Hopewell Rocks, about 25 miles northeast of Fundy National Park. Here, at low tide, you can descend to the sandy seabed, from where you can look up at the rocks and see the effects of the massive tidal flows. Advancing and retreating tides have eroded the bases of the rocks at a faster rate than the tops, resulting in precarious towers and dramatic sculptural shapes.
For your stay in eastern New Brunswick, the Maison Tait House in Shediac is a fine option, as the town is just 45 miles west of the bridge across to Prince Edward Island.
The following day, set off for Prince Edward Island, crossing over from New Brunswick on the eight-mile Confederation Bridge before stopping for lunch in the pretty port city of Charlottetown. Set on the east coast of the island, The Inn at Bay Fortune is a handsome gray-shingled house that once served as a summer getaway for both playwright Elmer Harris and actress Colleen Dewhurst.
During your stay, make a circular journey around the well-marked Points East Coastal Drive, starting at the Greenwich section of Prince Edward Island National Park on the north shore. (Fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the thin strip of park is 37 miles long but only a few hundred yards wide in places, and includes beaches, dunes, wetlands and salt marshes.) Proceed east to the little port of Naufrage for a picnic lunch by the sea, followed by a tour of the Prince Edward Distillery. Further stops should include North Lake Harbour, “Tuna Capital of the World”; the East Point Lighthouse; and the long golden beach at Basin Head.
For your final stop in the Maritimes, head west toward Prince Edward Island National Park. On your way, stop for lunch at Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. Set in an attractive location on the Hunter River, three miles from the island’s northern shoreline, the restaurant here features hearty fare at lunch that includes a fine version of French onion soup and a very satisfying lobster quiche. The coconut pie is irresistible. Back in the shop, you will find an extensive array of preserves, condiments and teas.
Your hotel, Dalvay by the Sea, is set within Prince Edward Island National Park. A Scots immigrant to America, Alexander MacDonald, built the home as a summer retreat in 1895, after having made his fortune as president of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Constructed of local stone and wood, with numerous gables and windows, the house is steps from the beach and overlooks lawns that lead to the waters of Dalvay Lake.
Conclude your journey through the Maritimes by taking the ferry from Wood Islands on the southern shore of Prince Edward Island to Caribou in Nova Scotia, which is just 88 miles north of the Halifax airport.
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