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I'm trying to plan a trip for next July to Nova Scotia. My problem: I will only have ~5 days of riding and I can't determine what the must see places are (besides the cabot trail). We plan on day 1 riding from Boston area to Portland then taking the Nova Star across. This would leave 5 days in NS to get around. I don't want to hammer out 400 miles everyday in order to get it all in. We want to stop and enjoy places (harbors, food, etc.). I'm trying to determine the routes, sites to see or places to eat, and where to stay. I'd like to do around 250 a day, give or take around 50 miles either side of that.
I have purchased the tour guide book, which is great, but isn't helping me narrow things down!
I'd welcome any planning suggestions. I'd even welcome the opportunity to talk live to someone to get some ideas.
Thanks.
We rode NS 3 years ago. First, I would recommend that you plan on being in Halifax on July 1st. This is Canada Day, similar to our Fourth of July celebration. They put on a very nice show in the harbor, worth it to see.
We started in Yarmouth and ran the 'Lighthouse Route' up the coast. Stopped in the small fishing villages to see the light houses.
Make sure to time one of your days so that you can see the tide change. You can get tide schedules on line for any day.
Make sure to take rain gear. Even if you don't run into rain, you'll see a lot of fog in the mornings.
Remember, you'll be in Canada so money is different. They have currency exchange spots and the banks can exchange it.
You'll be going thru customs as well, so make sure to check on those regs.
We had a great time and the people of Nova Scotia were some of the nicest that we've met. Many times we'd be pulled off to the side of the road just to take pictures and someone would stop and ask if we needed help/directions.
I'm not from NS - I'm from that big "Rock" to the east of the rest of Canada but...
Definitely a great idea to be here for Canada Day on July 1st... and Halifax might be the best bet for that
1) Yes - the Cabot Trail for sure...
2) Halifax and the Harbor/The Citadel
3) Annapolis Valley and the Wineries....great roads and some wonderful scenery..and lots of wineries to tour(and sample).
Try contacting the local HOG chapter(s) in NS or Privateers Harley in Halifax....I'm sure they'd be willing to give you some great tips...
See the Bay of Fundy tides. They are amazing.... The southern parts from Yarmouth are nice....I grew up in New Brunswick. We went when I was a kid... Eat some of the clam dishes like Rappie pie...
So; you dock at Yarmouth and come up the coast...Lunenburg is a living museum town; history lesson. Halifax is a great city to stay in; downtown rocks friendly on Friday and Saturday nights. I'd go north from Halifax and do Cabot Trail counterclockwise so you can pull off easy to your right for pics and views. Glenora Distillery on Cape Breton sells a tasty souvenir. You'll find it's not all open road either, BTW. See if you can make the Sydney coal mines tour...closest thing to white slavery Canada had; you actually go down into the mine, too. I like to "plot" our trips on goggle maps to get an idea of realistic travel times and distances for the day; also can help put the whole trip into perspective. Coming back down; are you going to ferry across at Yarmouth or loop around thru New Brunswick and Maine? Grohmann Knives in Pictou provides another neat souvenir of Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick, Hopewell rocks exemplify Bay of Fundy tides the best, if your into that. People, history, nature, food...all available on this trip...It'd be ideal to have just a couple more days; I could go on about other things in the area but those are what come to mind first. Welcome to Canada and enjoy!
We were up there in 2012 the Cabot Trail was spectacular, the tide change at the top of the Bay of Fundy is something to see. The locals were good hosts and the seafood was damn good. We also spent some time at Fort Louisbourg on cape Breton they did an amazing job restoring and maintaining the site. We rode the Cabot Trail counter clockwise which keeps you on the ocean side of the road, the scenery is amazing. Either way enjoy your ride.
Try yo get yo see the clams the dive to get on the bay side just north of Yarmouth.... Near Metehgan or Baie Comeau....Bay Sainte Marie is nice, my sister in law is from there, I sown about a week there for my brothers wedding, it was nice.
If you have time take the southern route through St Stephen NB, if the tides are right try to see the reversing falls in St John NB. Having grown up there and living in NC for 25 years now I can tell you, it's way different than here...
Are you riding all the way or trailering some?
I went up 4 times in 18 months, jet me know if you need route advice.
Last edited by Notgrownup; Oct 18, 2015 at 06:50 PM.
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Need help with Nova Scotia trip planning
