Hi everyone

We are travelling to Halifax for a 9 day trip with 2 children aged 4 & 5. As well as a research trip, we need to make it fun for the children. Has anyone got any ideas what we can do in a short space of time to stop the kids going crazy!

Many thanks.

Just spent a good hour on the phone to Canada bob, he was singing the praises of Nova, he's spent a fair few years out there. CB if your out there get in touch with these guys

Hello.
Only thing I can think of is nail one foot each to the floor ! :scared: ......NO it's NOT cruel...they can still run in circles and therefore exercise themselves,whilst you get a nice peaceful look around Nova Scotia !
Only alternative I can think of is ...trade them in for something realllllly useful.........( only kidding of course....... who'd swap them for something useful....)
Enjoy your trip!
Bo

When are you going?

We spent a week there last summer with the kids (aged 4 at the time), mainly around the Halifax area. We stayed along St Margarets Bay, approx 45 mins from Halifax. The weather was great so a couple of days were spent pottering around the local beaches. We took a day trip to Lunenburg, which was beautiful, and you can take a look around the Bluenose II if it is in harbour there. Other days were spent in and around Halifax - there are various museums to visit that are geared up for kids, plus the harbour front and the Citadel of course (check the times for particular activities there). We also went to Peggy's cove (as you do!) - the kids loved clambering over the rocks. We took the good old rough guide to Canada, which has a small section on NS. We also went on a whale watching trip from Halifax harbour which was a waste of money - go somewhere else in NS for that! Restaurants etc that we visited were all child-friendly. We loved NS - hope you have a good time too

For the best whale watching, go to Digby which is about a 2 hr drive from Halifax, also in that area is Upper Clements Park, "theme park" would be an ambitious label to put on it but it is good for kids and consists of rides and a zoo (of sorts) http://www.upperclementspark.com/

I'd suggest an afternoon in Point Pleasant Park. Take a picnic, explore the ruined forts (I think you can still climb on Fort Ogilvie, though Cambridge Point may now be fenced off), hunt for crabs and periwinkles under the rocks along side the beach (though don't swim there!). Shakespeare by the Sea does matinees aimed at children during the summer months there as well.

I think Maritime Museum of the Atlantic has some attractions that little kids would find interesting. I'm not sure what month you are planning to be there, but in the summer the CSS Acadia is berthed outside and you can go onboard and look around it. As far as other museums go, the Citadel might not be that entertaining for 4 and 5 year olds. I haven't been to the Museum of Natural History for years, but they might have some exhibitions of interest - I think the 100+ year old turtle is still there, though he doesn't do a lot! The Discovery Centre downtown is sort of a hands-on science centre aimed at kids, so you might want to take a look at that.

Hope this helps a bit!

Hi,

my son really likes the discovery centre, for $70 you can get a yearly family pass that gets the family into many museums all around Canada (so I am told), which makes good value if you plan on going to a couple of them during your stay (the discovery centre costs about $8 for the adults, kids under 2 are free and then a small fee for the kids). We went to a zoo (oaklawn zoo) in aylsford last weekend (it turned out to be about 1 1/2 hours away in the car) but we had great fun, only $12 for us all to get in and there were lions, camels , goats, etc. we had a nice picnic and there are loads of other nice things to do in the annapolis valley too.
Hope you enjoy it

kay

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. We actually fly out next weekend so need to spend the next few days trying to put together some sort of itinery. Do you reckon it's worth looking at schools whilst on a research trip or would you advise to do that at a later date depending on the area you intend to live in?

We'll probably spend a full day driving around looking at various neighbourhoods to get a feel for the place (God help us with 2 bored children in the back!). :scared:

What is the weather like during May?

Schools are specific to catchment area so probably not worth visiting until you know what area you are likely to be living in.

Weather at the moment is gorgeous, but in NS it can be changeable and depend on where you are. Yesteday my family had a cub Fun Day in Halifax overlooking the harbour - freezing cold, misty - I was at home in Fall River - sunny and hot!

Hope you have a good trip. Feel free to PM if you have any particular questions.

Deborah

Check out this site the weather network

You can view 14 day predictions for various parts of Canada, look at historical trends (e.g. last May) and check out webcams in NS and elsewhere(my personal favourite )