We travelled to the Maritimes the first two weeks in October arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our trip included time in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. We also have Travel Blogs on these two provinces and a video, Maritimes Sight & Sounds highlighting some of our special moments on our Murlo Discovery Channel.
You may want to consider traveling this time of year in the Maritimes. The weather is mainly sunny with temperatures in the mid 20’s (Celsius). Even if the weather isn’t great, the Fall colours are in full view for a picturesque scenery! Another bonus this time of year is less tourist traffic especially on some the more curvy roads.
In Nova Scotia, we visited Halifax, Dartmouth, Digby, Lunenburg, Swiss Air Memorial and Peggy’s Cove to name a few.
Halifax
– Tours: Alexander Keith’s Brewery, Harbour Tours
– Restaurants: McKelvies, 5 Fisherman, The Arms Public House, many Waterfront Vendors
– Accommodation: Homewood Inn & Suites by Hilton
– Attractions: Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk, Halifax Citadel, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic,
Note: Street signs are placed high on the pole. We were lost our first night attempting to find a particular restaurant. We asked several people if they knew the street or restaurant we were looking for. Many in Halifax were also tourists who also had the same issue as us! Be sure to look way way up the corner poles to located the signs!
Dartmouth
We didn’t realized how close Dartmouth was to Halifax. There are numerous ferry crossings per day taking approximately 15 minutes to cross for a very reasonable rate per person. We stopped at the The Wooden Monkey during our short stay in Dartmouth. It was a place recommended by our tour guide on the Halifax Harbour Boat Tour and it did not disappoint!
We’ll definitely visit Dartmouth the next time we are back to this area.
Digby (World Capital of Scallops)
We arrived in Digby about 10:00 am after a 2.5 hr ferry ride from Saint John. I should mention the ferry ride was the first one ever for us and it was a great experience. Another item off the bucket list!
Digby is an amazing town with a lot of history and character. We spent most of the day walking around the town and at times, sitting to watch the many boats unload their catch onto trucks for their final destination. Fun to watch when you’re from the prairies.
Fundy Restaurant: We ate at this restaurant for an incredible lobster meal on the upper outside deck over looking the harbour.
– Saint John/Digby Ferry: Two hour Ferry ride connects Digby, Nova Scotia to Saint John, New Brunswick.
From here we traveled two hours to Lunenburg.
Lunenburg
We made a brief pitstop outside of Liverpool, N.S. to see the falls and rushing river which is shown in our video.
Lunenburg is an incredible historic town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town has a lot to offer including many colourful heritage buildings and harbour front.
We went on a three hour whale watching tour seeing seals and a tuna jumping out of the water chasing fish. Unfortunately, no whales on this trip.
– Tours: Whale Watching,
– Restaurants: Savory Sailor, Smoke Pit BBQ,
– Accommodation: Rum Runner Inn
– Attractions: Shipwright Brewing Company, Fisheries Museum of The Atlantic, Ironworks Distillery, Bluenose II, High Liner Foods.
Peggy’s Cove & Swiss Air Memorial
We drove from Lunenburg back to Halifax where our traveling companions would fly out the next day.
Google maps shows the drive to Halifax as 1:15. The speed limit is reduced in many places given the many twists and turns on this stretch of highway. We recommend allowing at least 2 hours during the busy tourist season as you are not likely to pass slower vehicle along the way.
We made two stops on our way to Halifax. The Swiss Air 111 Memorial and Peggy’s Cove. The rocky landscape in this area is incredible. The ground vegetation and moss added colour to the otherwise grey landscape.
Fall River (Inn On the Lake)
We stayed one night at Inn On The Lake prior to flying home. The Inn is a relaxing stay with a rushing river nearby and large well treed grounds.
– Restaurant: Encore Dining connected to the Inn offers great food!
– Pub: Oliver’s Gastropub is an amazing character pub with a full food menu.
– Attractions: The picturesque grounds in fall colours.
Got to like the maritime sense of humour!
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