Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Hi guys and girls!!

Heading out for our 7 day recce in May and wanted to know whether it was better to stay in Halifax and drive out to the areas we wanted to visit like Bridgewater, Yarmouth, Bear River, Pugwash, Amherst, Truro etc we intend on travelling right round to see some if not all of the major towns and life there. Or is it better to drive and stay in each Town?

Has anyone done either?

Many Thanks

Andrew

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

I would drive and stay. Seems a little ridiculous to spend time travelling back to halifax when you don't need to. Plan your route for maximum stays time in each location.

Seems obvious really, just like any Fly Drive holiday.

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Not that ridiculous when you consider you wouldn't have to worry about checking in and out and lugging all your stuff each time you want to go to the next town. It's about having a base versus travelling round and considering NS isn t that big just wanted to know if anyone who had done this found it to be more practical!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

I would just say it would suit some to stick to one hotel and others to stop somewhere different every night. So stop squabbling!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Im asking for other peoples experiences of either - hence the original thread!!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

And I'm giving it to you, for example Halifax to Yarmouth ( one of your major towns ) is 3 and 1/2 hrs. So that's 7 hours round trip... doesn't leave much time to explore the surrounding area, soak in what it has to offer etc etc etc.

See my point ?

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Now thats more helpful!!! I see what you mean!

Thank You!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

When I came over house hunting 2 years ago I initially booked 7 days in Amherst but my realtor arranged for me to see houses in Truro and Bridgewater and after discussion found it easier to book a hotel in Bedford for the last 3 days making it easier on travelling and looking around.

Takes me approx 2 hours to get from Oxford to Halifax so if you are looking at a good look around then may be beneficial looking for a base for a few days say in Halifax where you can look around that area and then a base say Amherst/Oxford where you can look round that area.

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Yes NS is a relatively small province but its still a big place. Its hard for us englanders to get a handle on the distances between stuff over here.
For example the first time we visited NB we booked a week in Alma which on the map looked well placed to visit both St John and Moncton. Turned out it was an hour just to get to the highway!

A good tool to use is google earth and google maps. you can compare ditsances from Halifax to each place and work out where you can easily visit for a day and where it might be advisable to move on and stay over for a bit.

Have a good reccie.

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Thanks Penny and Silver!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Ok, here is my two cents for what it is worth, If you have plans to go to Peggy's Cove and take the day driving down that coastal drive. Then I would stay in Halifax for at least two nights. Lots to see in Halifax, the Marine Museum, great place if you are interested in the "Titanic" and the story of the day that the amunitions ship blew up in Halifax harbour. Also wonderful information on Peir 21 in regards to the immigrants that came in the early 1900's. Visit the graveyard where most of the people were buried from the "Titanic" including the unknown young child. Spend the evening at O'Carrols Pub, for a great supper and wonderful live musical performances. Next day on to Peggy's Cove, have lunch at the lovely restuarant overlooking the water, drive to the memorial for the Swiss Flight that went down a few years ago. It is a beautiful spot and a wonderful memorial to the people who died that day. Go down the coastal drive and stop and visit all the wonderful little stores on the way, back on to the 102 and back to Halifax for the last night.

For the rest of your journey I would stay in either Mahon Bay (beautiful place) or Lunenbeurg, go see the The Bluenose if its in the harbour, great old boat. You will love the south shore of Nova Scotia, enjoy it. Halifax airport is 28 kl from Halifax. Great place to stay in Halifax is the Delta in Halifax, there are two of them, the one on Barrington is a wonderful place to stay, staff are fantastic, food is great and it is within walking distance of the harbour, and downtown. Hope you have a great time.

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Really useful thread as we're planning our reccie for later this year. I'd be interested in knowing why ex-pats chose/choose NS over other areas of Canada?
My wife is originally from Fredericton and I've always enjoyed my visits there however NS seems like a good option for us too - don't want to be too near the inlaws (but close enough if you know what I mean) and NS is a relatively short flight back to the UK for visiting my friends and family.

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

Easterndawn - thats fantastic - thanks for all your info - much appreciated!!!

: )

Chobert I will post our experience when I return!!

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

We was lucky that we knew dh would be working from home and the company gave us an option for anywhere but did ask us to consider NS and we did and it had what we wanted. We wanted rural and we wanted land for our dogs. Did a lot of looking on mls and bought a map of NS and stuck pins in it to where the houses where that met our list. Cumberland county came tops and when I came out house hunting visited a few areas and Cumberland county felt more to what we liked and as they say the rest is history

Re: Have you "Done" Nova Scotia?
 

You could hire an rv and have maximum flexibility on moving from place to place. Also this avoids the packing and unpacking.