WHEN TO GO COSTS & MONEY

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1 Lonely Planet Publications 22 See Climate Charts ( p266 ) for more information. Getting Started Atlantic Canada s tourism infrastructure caters mostly to midrange travelers rather than backpackers and jetsetters, though both of these groups will certainly find options. An important thing to keep in mind is travel time: distances can be deceivingly long and travel times slow due to single-lane highways and even a lack of highways (when you must board a ferry). Don t try to pack too much into your itinerary and do consider limiting your explorations to one or two regions in depth. Public transportation is limited, so you ll likely need to rent a car for at least a portion of your trip. Room and transportation reservations are a good idea in the peak times of July and August. WHEN TO GO You can visit Atlantic Canada at any time of year, but most people arrive in summer when temperatures are pleasant and they can take advantage of the region s abundant outdoor activities and festivals. July and August are the busiest months due to the warm weather and US and Canadian summer holidays. In general, tourist facilities are open May through October, though in colder climes the season can get compressed to July and August only. Peak summer season technically runs from mid-june to Labor Day (which is in early September), and you may find that facilities can be quite crowded at this time. The shoulder season from mid-may to mid-june and in September offers a good compromise between the summer throngs and the winter cold; during these times you ll enjoy mostly good weather and have the place to yourself. The long, dark and snowy winter, from November through April, is strictly for the brave. A small but dedicated group of cold-weather operators offer skiing, snowmobiling and other outdoor activities, but beyond that tourists won t find a whole lot to do. COSTS & MONEY Accommodation is likely to be your biggest expense, although as fuel prices rise, transportation ranks up there too. Because the tourist season is so compressed just eight to 10 weeks over summer in most cases businesses ratchet up prices then for lodging, rental cars and attractions. If you find the prices asked in July and August too steep, try to visit between mid-may and mid-june, when many prices are a third lower, or defer your trip until September. DON T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT Checking the border-crossing ( p276 ) and visa requirements ( p274 ), as these may change Valid travel insurance ( p269 ) Your driver s license and vehicle registration papers, plus adequate liability insurance ( p282 ) Bug spray ( p287 ) Your sea legs and motion sickness medication (useful for whale-watch cruises) Transportation and sleeping reservations, especially in July and August

2 GETTING STARTED Travel Literature 23 In most parts of Atlantic Canada, single travelers who rent a car, stay in decent B&Bs and eat at least one meal out will spend about $165 per day. The total cost is only a little bit more for a couple traveling together. For those on a tight budget, costs can be brought down by staying in hostels or camping, self-catering from local markets, taking public transportation when available and limiting entertainment options. This will reduce your daily costs to about $70. To break down the expenses you ll incur: comfortable midrange accommodations start at around $80 to $90 for a double room, usually including breakfast. A full restaurant midrange meal with wine or beer costs between $15 and $20 plus tax and a tip. The bill is lower if you stick to cafés and casual restaurants and skip alcoholic drinks. Rental cars cost from $35 to $55 a day for a compact-size vehicle, not including gas. Attraction admissions range from $3 to $10. Discounts are widely available to children, students and seniors throughout the region. Most attractions also offer a family admission price, which can save dough for two adults and their brood. Taxes of 14% and up are added to nearly all goods and services, but you can get at least a portion of them back through the Visitor Rebate Program ( p271 ). TRAVEL LITERATURE Get stoked for your journey to Atlantic Canada by reading the tales of those who ve gone before you. Love-him-or-hate-him Canadian author Farley Mowat spins a good yarn in The Boat Who Wouldn t Float (1984), about sailing his woebegone schooner Happy Adventure around Newfoundland. The boat s perpetual leak only enhances exploits involving rum-running, heavy drinking and hanging out with various coastal characters. He also penned A Whale for the Killing (1991), a somber man-versus-nature narrative that pits the townsfolk in the Newfoundland outport of Burgeo against an 80-ton fin whale trapped in a nearby lagoon. Let s just say the whale s outcome is not a happy one. Walter Stewart first zipped across the Trans-Canada Hwy in Thirtyfive years later he did it again, and this time he wrote a book about what he saw. In My Cross-Country Checkup (2000), Stewart moves beyond clichés and explores the Evangeline legend in Nova Scotia and the real Lucy Maud Montgomery of Green Gables, as well as controversies such as the Sydney tar ponds and Irving oil empire. In Welcome Home: Travels in Small Town Canada (1992), Stuart McLean shares his impressions of Sackville, New Brunswick; Pleasantville, Nova Scotia (where we meet a mechanic who makes sculptures out of sledgehammered engine parts); and Ferryland, Newfoundland, among other Canadian outposts. Though written more than a decade ago, a lot of these places and their residents haven t changed much. The Sea s Voice, An Anthology of Atlantic Canadian Nature Writing (2005), edited by Harry Thurston, brings together 24 essays by regional writers focusing on nature, be they pieces on personal healing in the natural world or sorrow caused by environmental destruction. It s true, shipwrecks and whale collisions may not inspire you so much as make you wary, but Ocean of Storms, Sea of Disaster: North Atlantic Shipwrecks of the Strange and Curious (2005) by Robert C Parsons is intriguing reading. Who can resist 70 stories of piracy, mutiny, rum-running and iceberg wrecks? If you can t find it in a store or via an online retailer, check with publisher Pottersfield Press ( HOW MUCH? Fish-and-chips $7 Whale-watch cruise $45-60 B&B double room $90 Pack of cigarettes $6-7 Newspaper $1 See Quick Reference (inside front cover) for additional prices.

3 24 GETTING STARTED TOP FIVES AND 10 S Top 10 Bashes For a list of more swinging parties, see p269. For food fests, see p55. Pictou Landing First Nation Powwow ( p117 ; June) Drumming and craft demonstrations in Pictou. Festival Western ( p150 ; July) Cowgirl beauty contests, poker games and country music in St Quentin. New Brunswick Highland Games Festival ( p144 ; July) Whiskey, haggis and kilts in Fredericton. Privateer Days ( p87 ; July) Avast, it s pirate re-enactments in Liverpool. Royal St John s Regatta ( p224 ; July) Rowing event that empties St John s streets. Stan Rogers Folk Festival ( p135 ; July) A whopping musical hootenanny and Nova Scotia s largest festival in Canso. Evolve ( p71 ; August) Renewable energy demonstrations along with music at this green fest in Antigonish. Festival Acadien ( p180 ; August) Acadians from around the world celebrate their culture in Caraquet. PEI International Shellfish Festival ( p190 ; September) Oyster shucking and chowder eating in Charlottetown. Celtic Colours ( p120 ; October) Foot-stompin music and flame- colored foliage in Cape Breton. Top 10 Historical Sights See the History chapter ( p31 ) for more information on the region s past. Acadian Historic Village ( p179 ) Witness Acadian culture and the hard life post-expulsion. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site ( p133 ) Examine the inventor s telegraphs, telephones, kites and seaplanes. Citadel National Historic Site ( p65 ) Hike the hill to Canada s most-visited historic site, a star-shaped beauty. Fort Anne National Historic Site p100 ) Tour the French fort by day, its lantern-lit graveyard by night. King s Landing Historical Settlement ( p147 ) Live the early 1800s life in horse-drawn carts and candlelit pubs. L Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site ( p248 ) Walk in the 1000-year-old footsteps of Viking Leif Eriksson. Louisbourg National Historic Site ( p131 ) Munch on French soldiers rations and bribe the guards at this 1744 fort. Province House National Historic Site ( p187 ) See the birthplace of Canada, where 23 guys created a country. Red Bay National Historic Site ( p259 ) Learn how Basque whalers hunted mighty prey from tiny dinghies. Signal Hill National Historic Site ( p220 ) Take in views, cannon fire and ham radio above the harbor. Top Five Regional Reads These are tales of Acadian separation, Beothuk times and quirky village life, among others. For more reads and more details on these titles, see p39. Anne of Green Gables (1908) by Lucy Maud Montgomery Evangeline (1847) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. No Great Mischief (1999) by Alistair MacLeod. Rare Birds (1997) by Edward Riche. River Thieves (2001) by Michael Crummey. Top Five Regional Reels Whether they make you laugh or cry, these films give a sense of the region, its culture and its history. For additional flicks and further details on those listed below, see p39. Margaret s Museum (1995) directed by Mort Ransen. Random Passage mini-series (2002) directed by John N Smith. The Shipping News (2001) directed by Lasse Hallström. Titanic (1997) directed by James Cameron. Trailer Park Boys TV series ( ) directed by Mike Clattenburg.

4 GETTING STARTED Internet Resources 25 INTERNET RESOURCES Environment Canada ( Is it raining in Halifax? Snowing in Corner Brook? Check here for the forecast. Government of Canada ( The mother of all Canada websites, with information both national (immigration rules, national anthem lyrics) and regional (ice conditions off Labrador, provincial tourism offices) in scope. Lonely Planet ( Fire up Atlantic Canada travel news and summaries. Podcast Alley ( Type in an Atlantic city or province, and hear podcasts covering niches from the electronic music scene in Halifax to hockey in St John s. Sierra Club of Canada Atlantic Chapter ( The Sierra Club s site provides background on local environmental concerns such as the Sydney tar ponds.

5 26 Itineraries CLASSIC ROUTES Drive into the land the Acadians cherished and see lighthouses, wineries, giant pumpkins and more stars than you can possibly imagine. What? You want yoga and lobster fishing too? Done, on this 530km loop that rolls through Nova Scotia s South Shore and Annapolis Valley. LUSH NOVA SCOTIA Four Days / South Shore & Annapolis Valley Soak up Halifax ( p61 ) then travel to nearby Peggy s Cove ( p78 ). Jostle for position to snap the most photographed lighthouse in the world, or have a more subdued experience picnicking in equally pretty Prospect ( p78 ). Unfurl the yoga mat in ecominded Mahone Bay ( p81 ) before moving on to Lunenburg ( p83 ), a world heritage site known for its colorful boxy buildings, Bluenose schooner and lobstering tours. The Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct ( p89 ) provides miles of unspoiled white beaches (and maybe seals), while its big brother Kejimkujik National Park ( p88 ) lies inland and is a prime place to float a canoe and drift through the woods. Move on to Annapolis Royal ( p100 ) and explore its fort by day and graveyard by night; don t forget to look up at the zillions of fat stars smudging the sky. The next day go river tubing and wolf down a meal in Wolfville ( p105 ), before stopping at the winery in Grand Pré ( p106 ). Visit Windsor ( p107 ) to see Howard Dill s scale-busting pumpkins before returning to Halifax. Grand Pré Wolfville Annapolis Royal Windsor Halifax Kejimkujik National Park Mahone Peggy's Bay Cove Lunenburg Prospect Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct

6 ITINERARIES Classic Routes 27 HEART OF THE MARITIMES One Week / Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & PEI Eat and drink your way through Halifax ( p61 ), then make a break northwest toward Amherst ( p114 ) perhaps detouring to Maitland ( p108 ) for a tidal-bore rafting excursion. Your real goal is to reach Prince Edward Island, but to do so you ll first have to cross into New Brunswick. Crustacean lovers won t mind since Shediac ( p175 ) is just up the road. It s the home of the world s biggest lobster sculpture and no surprise the cooked version of the creature gets served in eateries all over town. It s even used as a pizza topping. Barrel over the 12.9km Confederation Bridge ( p200 ) that links New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island and begin the pilgrimage to Anne s Land. Anne, of course, is the fictional redheaded orphan of Green Gables fame, and Cavendish ( p206 ) is the wildly developed town that pays homage to her. It s now a cavalcade of kitsch, complete with a wax museum and glow-inthe-dark minigolf. Spurting lobster all over your shirt at a lobster supper initiates you into the local lifestyle; North Rustico ( p204 ) is a good place to get juicy. Go from red shellfish to red sandstone bluffs at Prince Edward Island National Park ( p201 ); there s bird-watching, beach walking and swimming, too. Stop in PEI s compact, colonial capital Charlottetown ( p186 ) before taking the ferry from Wood Islands ( p195 ) back to Pictou ( p116 ) in Nova Scotia. You can stroll Pictou s boardwalk and if you re lucky, the town might be hosting its First Nations Powwow ( p117 ). It takes about two hours to return to Halifax from here. You ll get a bit of everything on this 650km loop that starts and ends in Halifax: the bundle of Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island), a looooong bridge, a ferry ride, high kitsch, beachy solitude and a whole lotta lobster. Shediac Cavendish North Rustico Amherst Prince Edward Island National Park Charlottetown Confederation Bridge Wood Islands Pictou Maitland Halifax

7 28 ITINERARIES Classic Routes Wild, windswept and whale-riddled, this 1400km route calls for some serious time behind the wheel. Thankfully, the sea-and-cliff vistas you ll spot from the car make up for the stiff knee joints. Do try and keep your eyes at least partially on the road. CABOT & VIKING TRAILS Two to Three Weeks / Halifax to L Anse aux Meadows Spend a couple days in Halifax ( p61 ) enjoying the cosmopolitan life, then hit the road to Cape Breton Island. In between, raft the tidal bore s waves in Maitland ( p108 ) and climb the 13 sand dunes at Pomquet ( p119 ). As you approach Baddeck (about halfway up Cape Breton Island) hook up with the Cabot Trail ( p124 ), a well-marked 300km loop through the region. Aah, now you re getting your money s worth. First up as you swing around to the northwest is Chéticamp ( p123 ), a deeply Acadian town. Next you can watch whales or chant with monks at the Tibetan monastery in Pleasant Bay ( p126 ). Look for moose and nesting bald eagles in Cape Breton Highlands National Park ( p124 ). It s always nice to stretch your legs with a hike at Meat Cove ( p127 ). And don t forget to get your art fix at the studios along the St Ann s Loop ( p128 ) before arriving in industrial North Sydney for the ferry to Newfoundland. It s a six-hour sail over the sometimes-rough swell of the Cabot Strait to Port aux Basques ( p253 ). Alight and drive north to Gros Morne National Park ( p244 ), rich with mountain hikes, sea-kayak tours, fjords and weird rock formations. Take the Viking Trail from here to its awe-inspiring endpoint: L Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site ( p248 ), North America s first settlement. Leif Eriksson and his Viking pals homesteaded the place 1000 years ago, and it probably looked much the same then as it does now. After coming all this way, you too will feel like an Atlantic explorer. L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site Gros Morne National Park Port aux Basques Meat Cove Pleasant Bay Cape Breton Highlands Chéticamp National Park St Ann's Loop Baddeck North Sydney Maitland Pomquet Halifax

8 ITINERARIES Tailored Trips 29 TAILORED TRIPS FEEDING FRENZY Loosen the belt: you ve got several hundred kilometers of eating ahead. It s no surprise, given the watery environs, that seafood rules the tables in Atlantic Canada. Foodies around the globe salivate over giant scallops ( p98 ) from Digby. Nothing beats a cold beer to chase down Malpeque s oysters ( p208 ), famous for their moist, briny taste. Seaside cafés steam up batches of fresh mussels ( p209 ) on Prince Edward Island, especially the western side in towns such as Summerside. And don t dare leave the island without strapping on a bib and making a squirty mess at a traditional lobster ( p205 ) supper in New Glasgow. Newfoundland and Labrador have unusual foods on their provincial plate, including caribou meat ( p249 ), surprisingly tender and rich-tasting, available in Northern Peninsula towns such as L Anse aux Meadows; and bakeapples ( p259 ), an apricot-meets-raspberry fruit that shows up in jams and syrups for which Labrador s Forteau is famous. New Brunswick s Miramichi River Valley is renowned for fiddleheads ( p179 ), a distinctive green that s only edible in springtime. You re probably getting thirsty thinking about all this food. Vineyards carpet several hectares of the Annapolis Valley; Grand Pré s winery ( p106 ) is highly regarded. The air is sweeter in Mabou thanks to the aroma of single-malt whiskey from the Glenora Distillery ( p120 ) wafting forth. And for dessert? Glad you asked: sweet and smooth Ganong s Chocolate ( p152 ) is in St Stephen. GET CULTURED Impress your friends by returning from vacation more knowledgeable. Cape Breton Island combines cultures. See Acadian traditions ( p123 ) in action, such as the art of hooked rug making, at Chéticamp. Get your Gaelic fix ( p128 ) near Englishtown, where the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts & Crafts offers classes in playing bagpipes or dancing like a true Scot. The 1744 fortress and ruins at Louisbourg provide your full dose of French-versus-English regional history (p131 ). Set foot on PEI and discover how a fictional orphan became a worldwide phenomenon (p206 ); Anne-mania peaks in Cavendish. Lennox Island s Aboriginal Ecotourism Complex is an ideal place to explore Mi kmaw culture (p213 ). Charlottetown s Province House ( p187 ) is one of the country s most important historic sites. In New Brunswick, visit King s Landing Historical Settlement to see the life of the British Loyalists ( p147 ). Compare it to the not-so-plush French Acadian ( p180 ) lifestyle at Acadian Historic Village. Finally, see where it all began 1000 years ago when Viking Leif Eriksson ( p248 ) built a sod house at L Anse aux Meadows. Miramichi River Valley Forteau Malpeque Summerside New Mabou Glasgow St Stephen Grand Pré Digby Acadian Historic Village Lennox Island Chéticamp Cavendish Charlottetown King's Landing Historical Settlement L'Anse aux Meadows Englishtown Louisbourg L'Anse aux Meadows

9 30 FAST FACTS Population: 2.34 million Unemployment rate: 10.4% Median family income: $49,725 Hours per week of TV watched: 22.3 Average life expectancy: 66.5 years Number of homicides (2005): 38 Nova Scotians who smoke: 23.4% New Brunswickers for whom French is their mother tongue: 33% Number of annual moose vehicle collisions in Newfoundland: 700 Potato production per capita on PEI: 8000kg Snapshot Sit down at any dinner table in Atlantic Canada, and you ll hear the same thing: My [fill in the blank: sister, cousin, neighbor] just left for Alberta to work in the oil fields. Outward migration, or outmigration, is the single biggest issue facing Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and especially Newfoundland and Labrador. As the provinces traditional industries fishing, logging and mining fall deeper into decline, and as Alberta s oil fields gush high-paying industrial jobs, people are leaving in droves to make their living where it makes economic sense. Who can blame them? Newfoundland s unemployment rate hovers near 16%, the highest in Canada. Prince Edward Island is second-highest at 10%. The problem is nothing new: Atlantic economies have been taking a beating for the past 15 years as their resource base codfish, timber and coal was depleted and little effort was made to diversify early on. Newfoundland is the most extreme case of what happens as a result. Its population has spiraled downward for 14 years in a row (a statistic that happens to correlate to the 1992 codfish moratorium), and in 2006 the province had more deaths than births for the first time. While people of all ages migrate, it s mostly younger folks who are bidding adieu to the region. As one local said, we re Canada s greatest exporters of youth. Local governments worry about the future as the population that remains gets older and no younger generation comes in to take over and foot the bill for the oldsters. Right now it s a conservative government that s figuring out how to deal with the situation. Each province is led by a center-right party, in line with Canada s current federal administration. In general, Atlantic Canada skews conservative, perhaps due to its ruralness. For instance, Nova Scotians recently went to the polls to vote on whether stores should be allowed to open on Sundays. The result? The province decided to keep them shuttered in accordance with the Lord s day and to encourage family time. It s true that many people kick and scream about the waning economy and population decline, and they expect the government to bail them out. But this is also a region that embraces an independent and entrepreneurial spirit. Plenty of creative folks see it all as an opportunity: they refurbish fishing boats into whale-watch boats, or turn mines into attractions that teach about ecology. The region s abundant natural resources are still there for the taking, they just come in new forms. Codfishing may be on its way out, but offshore oil drilling has arrived to take its place. What remains to be seen is how these resources are developed from now on: hopefully the region has learned from past mistakes (see p46 ) and will move forward responsibly and sustainably. It s this struggle that will loom largest over Atlantic Canada in coming years.

10 20 The Authors KARLA ZIMMERMAN Coordinating Author, Newfoundland & Labrador Karla became an honorary Newfoundlander after indulging in a drop o Screech, and is thrilled to be a citizen of the big-hearted, good-humored province. To further her assimilation, Karla munched cod tongues and caribou in Labrador, hit the high seas whale-watching in St Anthony, drove by moose in Burgeo and inhaled an embarrassing number of éclairs in St-Pierre. When she s not north of the border, Karla lives in Chicago with husband Eric (another honorary Newfoundlander) and writes travel features for newspapers, books, magazines and radio. She has authored or coauthored several of Lonely Planet s US and Canadian titles. My Favorite Trip It s gotta be Newfoundland s Northern Peninsula and the Labrador Straits. The region gets bigger, bolder and more savage with each kilometer northward. I start in Gros Morne National Park ( p244 ) and think that s pretty outlandish with the bald, golden tablelands and blistering wind (makes for a helluva thigh-grinding bike ride). Then I take the Viking Trail north to L Anse aux Meadows. I love the simplicity of the Viking site ( p248 ) pretty much the same desolate expanse of bog and shore that Leif Eriksson must have encountered 1000 years ago. I jump a quick ferry over to the Labrador Straits ( p257 ), and the landscape becomes positively primeval. Black basalt cliffs and rocks dwarf the lone road. Clouds tear across mammoth skies. People are few and far between, so the hikes I take by whale bones and warship fragments make me feel like a true voyager. Labrador Straits Gros Morne National Park L'Anse aux Meadows National Park LONELY PLANET AUTHORS Why is our travel information the best in the world? It s simple: our authors are independent, dedicated travelers. They don t research using just the Internet or phone, and they don t take freebies in exchange for positive coverage. They travel widely, to all the popular spots and off the beaten track. They personally visit thousands of hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars, galleries, palaces, museums and more and they take pride in getting all the details right, and telling it how it is. For more, see the authors section on

11 Lonely Planet Publications THE AUTHORS CELESTE BRASH Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island So this is where people from Tahiti go on vacation? This question was asked of Celeste several times during her voyage through the Maritimes. Lighthouses and lupine are a far cry from palm trees and hibiscus but that s just what she was hoping for. Celeste fell in love with the crisp air, became certain that Atlantic lobster is the best food on earth and came unabashedly out of the closet as an Anne fan. Satiated, she returned to her island home, husband and two children to eat mangoes instead of blueberries. She is still dreaming of lobsters. My Favorite Trip With crisp air, green hills fringed by the icy Atlantic and a lively mix of Scottish, Mi kmaw and Acadian cultures, Cape Breton Island ( p120 ) won me over in an instant. From the blustery fort of Louisbourg ( p131 ) and the damp, underground mines of Glace Bay ( p131 ) to the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site in Baddeck ( p132 ), this is history, hands-on. Of course nothing rivals watching eagles soar over pods of minke whales at Meat Cove ( p127 ), pulling over to the side of the road to get close-up to moose in Cape Breton Highlands National Park ( p124 ) and looking a humpback whale in the eye from a zodiac in Pleasant Bay ( p126 ). I learned to love fiddle music at the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou ( p120 ) then continued on to ceilidhs in Baddeck ( p132 ). One of my favorite experiences was meeting the Mi kmaw community in Wagmatcook ( p133 ) and learning about the cultures colorful past at their village museum. CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR Meat Pleasant Cove Bay Glace Cape Breton Highlands National Park Bay Baddeck Wagmatcook Mabou Louisbourg David Lukas wrote the Environment chapter ( p43 ). David works as a professional naturalist, leading nature tours, conducting biological surveys and writing about natural history. His articles have appeared in Audubon, the Los Angeles Times, Orion, Sunset and elsewhere. David has contributed chapters to more than 10 Lonely Planet titles including Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Lonely Planet Publications. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - Do the right thing with our content.