31 Days to Acadia

[OZDUCK]

We are arriving on a cruise ship.Idea is train to Montreal and AC have direct flights from there to Halifax.Currently quoting $C322 return.
Then AA flies from Montreal to DFW.
Hopefully an award will come up to get us home.

That looks like a good idea. Have fun planning.

 

[Magoo]

Thanks for a great report on an area about which I know absolutely nothing.

Added to bucket list!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for a great report on an area about which I know absolutely nothing.

Added to bucket list!

Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed my TR. The Maritimes are well worth a visit.

 

[irv]

Anne of Green Gables is exactly why we are going to PEI.Mrsdrron is Ann.
But the mussels particularly along with all the other seafood is what I am sure we will enjoy most.

As I have posted before on this site PEI is great Cape Breton in my opinion is the best part of this world.

 

[irv]

Thanks, we were there at just the right time.A couple more for you.

Mabou is home to the"Red Shoe Pub - famous for the"Fiddle"music played there.We were going to stay for the music but my wife felt
unwell so went back to our B&B. And then had to listen to all the other guests at breakfast saying what a great show it had been.

Unfortunately you missed out on a treat. The Red Shoe Inn is a not to be missed place of entertainment, would go back in a heartbeat.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks, we were there at just the right time.A couple more for you.

Mabou is home to the"Red Shoe Pub - famous for the"Fiddle"music played there.We were going to stay for the music but my wife felt
unwell so went back to our B&B. And then had to listen to all the other guests at breakfast saying what a great show it had been.

Unfortunately you missed out on a treat. The Red Shoe Inn is a not to be missed place of entertainment, would go back in a heartbeat.

Thanks for rubbing it in

And by the way thanks for the suggestions you made back in February when I was planning this trip. They certainly helped in setting up a holiday I really enjoyed.

 

[irv]

I convinced my wife that it was an easy walk to our B&B in the Upper Town - WRONG. The first part up to the battlements was ok but I hadn't realised how steep the extra climb inside the walls was after that. A few , warranted, disparaging comments were thrown my way.

Yes I know the feeling, and when we were walking up the hill it started belting down..... Can laugh about it in hindsight. Montreal & Quebec in my opinion were great cities, full of history.

 

[irv]

New Brunswick

It is recommended that you visit Hopewell Rocks twice in your visit. Once at high tide and then again at low tide. This is what we did.

It is interesting. We met some people who were sitting there all day just to watch the tide rise and fall

 

[irv]

We had waited for about 30 minutes at "The Lobster Shack" and never looked like getting a seat so we gave up and went
back to the main street in Charlottetown and were glad we did.

Pity, it is a good restaurant. We booked hours ahead, when we arrived that night heaps of people waiting, we were escorted in.

 

[irv]

My lunchtime meal at the Blue Mussel Cafe North Rustico. Halibut, caught that morning from a boat operating out of the harbour.
Oven baked with a mango based salsa. One of, if not the, best fish meal I have ever had.

Yes we enjoyed this restaurant. One thing you can say about that part of the world is the seafood is fantastic and they don't skimp on the meal sizes.

 

[irv]

Cape Breton Island - if I went again I would spend more tine in the "Highlands" area and do more of the Cabot Trail. Sydney didn't seem to have much to offer and while Louisbourg was great but we have basically "done it".

Nova Scotia - I would spend more time in the Annapolis Valley as there were lots of little towns we passed through and they looked like they would repay another visit. Would also go to the southern tip - which we missed - and work our way more slowly along the coast to Halifax. Halifax next time would only rate a day or so - nice place but relatively small.

Have done CBI twice, would go back again, what route did you take, sounds like you didn't do all of the Cabot trail which is a pity. Nova Scotia is a great part of the world.

 

[OZDUCK]

Cape Breton Island - if I went again I would spend more tine in the "Highlands" area and do more of the Cabot Trail. Sydney didn't seem to have much to offer and while Louisbourg was great but we have basically "done it".

Nova Scotia - I would spend more time in the Annapolis Valley as there were lots of little towns we passed through and they looked like they would repay another visit. Would also go to the southern tip - which we missed - and work our way more slowly along the coast to Halifax. Halifax next time would only rate a day or so - nice place but relatively small.

Have done CBI twice, would go back again, what route did you take, sounds like you didn't do all of the Cabot trail which is a pity. Nova Scotia is a great part of the world.

Yes, we only did the "coastal" part from Margaree up "over the top" and then down towards Sydney & Louisbourg. So we never got down to Baddeck.

Our actual route was, arriving from PEI, we overnighted at Port Hood - just south of Maboo. Even though we missed the Red Shoes we did get a bit of private fiddle playing by our Acadian host at the "Fiddle and the Sea" B & B in Port Hood over breakfast. The next day we drove up through Inverness, Cheticamp etc and did the Skyline Trail walk. Unfortunately this was one of the few days when the skies were overcast all day, and while it was still lovely, the views would undoubtedly have been more spectacular in sunshine. We stopped for the night at a little B & B (Oakwood Manor) just off the Cabot Trail at Cape North. The next day we drove via Neils Harbour and Ingonish and then took the cable ferry at Englishtown. I also would happily go back to spend more time around Nova Scotia - and especially the Cabot Trail.

With regard to your other posts. Sitting all day watching the tide change does sound a bit excessive. We were happy to stay overnight in Moncton to see the two levels. It was also pouring with rain the first day so staying around wasn't really on the cards.

We did make a mistake with the Lobster Shack and should have booked, but it didn't look too bad at first and they assured us it wouldn't be long. But we never actually looked like getting in. And as one who doesn't like Lobster - and my wife only likes it once in a while - I was much happier at our second choice of the Terre Rouge Craft Kitchen and would really recommend it to anyone visiting Charlottetown. It is right on the main street down towards the marina end.

I agree that PEI meals ensure that you walk away feeling pleasantly full - at least. The seafood was very good all round the Maritimes - except for some fish and chips in Moncton, where the batter would have repelled an RPG.

My wife struggled with the Seafood Chowder. Apparently her mother used to poach bland fish in milk and that was all she could taste in most of the ones she tried. I had to finish a couple of them for her. The only one she really liked was the one I ordered in a little restaurant - The Landmark Cafe in Victoria, on the Northumberland Strait side of the island. It was not at all "milky" and in fact almost had a laksa spiciness with a rich taste - I had to fight her off my serve and I note that in Trip Advisor there a couple of posts praising the chowder and warning against letting your partner tasting it

 

[petunia]

I came across your trip report today and really enjoyed it. Brought back great memories of a similar trip we made last year using our QFF points on a J trip to Canada, Chicago, NYC and Alaska. We spent five weeks in the Maritimes, travelling by bus, train and hire car. We travelled by sleeper train from Quebec City to Moncton (the view was of endless forest) where we picked up a hire car. We loved Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, PEI (where we stayed with a friend who is a lobster buyer), Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. Really disappointed we didn't have time for Newfoundland as well.
I agree with your comments re decent bread in Canada, we are very lucky in Perth with great bread and coffee. We had many magnificent seafood meals and I am now a chowder fan.
The Maritimes is indeed a fascinating, beautiful and under rated destination. Thanks for sharing.

 

[OZDUCK]

I came across your trip report today and really enjoyed it. Brought back great memories of a similar trip we made last year using our QFF points on a J trip to Canada, Chicago, NYC and Alaska. We spent five weeks in the Maritimes, travelling by bus, train and hire car. We travelled by sleeper train from Quebec City to Moncton (the view was of endless forest) where we picked up a hire car. We loved Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, PEI (where we stayed with a friend who is a lobster buyer), Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. Really disappointed we didn't have time for Newfoundland as well.
I agree with your comments re decent bread in Canada, we are very lucky in Perth with great bread and coffee. We had many magnificent seafood meals and I am now a chowder fan.
The Maritimes is indeed a fascinating, beautiful and under rated destination. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading and posting. It seems that we both had very similar and equally enjoyable trips. The view from the highway was pretty much the same - endless forests.

I liked the Maritimes more than I thought I would - definitely need more time on Cape Breton Island. My wife is still very much not a chowder fan and mutters at me if I say anything nice about most of the ones she tried. I am sorry that we also didn't have time for Newfoundland - maybe next time.

 

[irv]

I came across your trip report today and really enjoyed it. Brought back great memories of a similar trip we made last year using our QFF points on a J trip to Canada, Chicago, NYC and Alaska. We spent five weeks in the Maritimes, travelling by bus, train and hire car. We travelled by sleeper train from Quebec City to Moncton (the view was of endless forest) where we picked up a hire car. We loved Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, PEI (where we stayed with a friend who is a lobster buyer), Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. Really disappointed we didn't have time for Newfoundland as well.
I agree with your comments re decent bread in Canada, we are very lucky in Perth with great bread and coffee. We had many magnificent seafood meals and I am now a chowder fan.
The Maritimes is indeed a fascinating, beautiful and under rated destination. Thanks for sharing.

Huge fan of the Maritimes, NewFoundland on the bucket list, from our perspective PEI, could share between there and AUS each year