Canadian Maritimes July 2024
I'm booked on the Canadian Maritimes trip for July 2024. I live near DC and having a heck of a time finding good flights to Halifax. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't think Tauck offers any flights for this trip.
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You can fly non-stop from Boston to Halifax on Air Canada . You would probably need to get a partner airline from DC to Boston and make a connection. Most options likely go through Toronto or Montreal. Alternatively maybe you could connect through Ottawa (I know you can go non-stop from DC to Ottawa and then non-stop from Ottawa to Halifax). Ottawa is a very small airport which should make connecting quite easy when compared with Toronto.
Looking at the timetables on ExpertFlyer (subscription based) and picking a random date in July, I found the following routes that are same-airline and one-ticket connections:
AA: DCA-PHL-YHZ
UA: DCA-EWR-YHZ
UA: IAD-EWR-YHZ
DL: DCA-LGA-YHZ
AC: DCA-YYZ-YHZ
AC: IAD-YUL-YHZ
AC: BWI-YYZ-YHZ
Times will vary by airline, route and day of the week. There are no direct flights or non-stops.
Luckily, just found an AA non stop from DCA , starting in early June. My trip starts in Halifax on 14 July 2024. I'll probabvly do that flight and then Halifax thru LGA on the way home. My ony concern are possible cancelatons, very few options. As I tell everyone, flying these days is like a crap shoot..Fingers crossed...thanks for your helpful suggestions.
Starting to anticipoate my Canadian Maritimes trip starting in Halifax on 14 July 2024. Think the weather will be OK, not too cold; however, wondering about any special clothes required...boots?....Any info or comments on the trip would be appreciated...
We're going in Sep. I don't plan on bringing boots. The roughest walking looks to be the beach time or maybe getting wet at Peggy's Cove. Definitely plan on a rain/wind jacket and mostly casual clothes that can layer. My husband's thinking "Canadian Tuxedo" LOL.
I really enjoyed this trip. It’s an easy trip. Boots are not necessary at all. When in Halifax, reserve a dining reservation whether it be for dinner or lunch at the Bicycle Thief. Best scallops I ever had.
I haven’t lived in Halifax for a very long time BUT I was born there and graduated from Dalhousie. Unless you are flying from Boston, it is easier to fly Air Canada. That way you will not see your luggage again until Halifax. Last summer, we flew there from Dallas. Canadian Customs are very strict by the way. So is the security coming back into the States. That being said, we did fly on 9/11… If you return through Montreal or Toronto you can pre-clear customs. I would not fly through Pearson/Toronto. It is a zoo. Montreal is bad enough. The Halifax Gardens, Point Pleasant Park and the waterfront are all great to walk. In the last few years, there has been significant storm damage and some of the trees have suffered. Cows Ice Cream is delicious! Exchange your $ before you leave home unless you plan to use an ATM. Much easier. Layers are a great idea. September weather is lovely usually. Highly doubt you will need boots. There is a homeless population. They keep to themselves and are extremely polite. I think they tried to remove the encampments prior to the winter but they may be back now. Cheers.
Except for one time, we always fly Air Canada when visiting there and have been pleased with the comfort and level of service. It's been several years, but the last time we flew into and out of Toronto we experienced no issues. Perhaps things have changed.
You have a beautiful country!
I am on the August 4 tour and found non stop flights from PHL.
Thanks for all the hints. We don't go until September 2025 so keep them coming!!!!
Thanks for the great comments. Found a non stop to Halifax from DCA, ariving on 13 July, a day early. Getting close to my travel date and getting excited. Will take advise and dress in layers as well as take a rain jacket. As of now, weather is forcast to be in 70s, so hope it won't get too chilly. Any additional info will be appreciated...
We just arrived in Halifax, our tour starts tomorrow evening. Based on the recommendation, we booked in advance a dinner reservation at the Bicycle Thief, the meal was outstanding.
I enjoyed this trip, that began Aug. 11. There was nothing particularly exciting, and no “wow” moments, but it was a very nice trip. I live in New England, and driving along the coast just reminded me of driving along the coast of Maine. As a result, I was rather underwhelmed by Peggy’s Cove, which I felt I had seen many times. However, I did enjoy seeing the many small coves on the ride into Peggy’s Cove that we were told were used by many rumrunners during the Prohibition era in the US. (One of our prominent Boston families, one of whom became a US President, allegedly made its fortune that way.)
Our welcome dinner was at the Citadel, which I enjoyed. I see that the 2025 welcome dinners are at the Immigration Museum. I think that that’s a shame. I enjoyed the tour of the Citadel and the demonstration of different kinds of firearms. The young man who was dressed as one of the Highlanders stationed at the Citadel (who was a university student) wound up sitting at my table at dinner that night.
We were informed before the tour started that because of a change in the ferry schedule from Digby, NS to St. John, NB, our itinerary would be changed. The new itinerary provided for a guided tour of the Immigration Museum in Halifax, and a visit to the Port Royal National Historic Site. It meant that we would have less time to explore St. John. I was very happy with the change. The Immigration Museum tour was excellent, and some members of our group were able to find information about their ancestors there. St. John did not have much to recommend it, in my opinion, except for the evening session with the First Nation storyteller. The visit to the sturgeon farm and caviar tasting was interesting, but the 7-course sturgeon/caviar luncheon was over the top. (Admittedly, I’m not a caviar fan, and passed up several courses.)
We were fortunate to be in Moncton, NB, during Acadia Day (Aug. 15) the celebration of the French settlers who were forced out of the area by the English. A few of us just happened to leave the hotel in the early evening, and we wound up enjoying the local celebration, where people decked out in the Acadian colors (red, white and blue, like the French flag, but with a yellow star) banged pots and pans in a parade to celebrate the day.
My impetus in taking this trip was to visit the “home” of Anne of Green Gables. I loved that book as a child, and have wanted to visit Anne’s homeland of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island ever since. Of course, the book is fiction, but that didn’t matter to me. I loved walking through the recreation of her home, and the woods nearby. Charlottetown was a lovely town to walk around, and I was thrilled that on our free night there, the local theatre was performing “Anne of Green Gables.” I went to the performance, which was a lot of fun (though it took several liberties with the book, that I had re-read before the tour). I later learned that the theatre offers that show every summer, alternating with a different performance. (When I was there, the alternate was “Jersey Boys,” which I had seen in New York.)
We had an interesting experience at the Keltic Lodge in Cape Breton. When we arrived there, we learned that there had been a fire in one of the outbuildings, and there was no power to the kitchen. Fortunately, our rooms were not affected. In true Tauck fashion, pizzas were ordered (from God knows where, because we were in the middle of nowhere), and there was an open bar, and we had a great, fun night. By the next morning, power was restored, so we had a normal breakfast.
I very much enjoyed our visit to the Gaelic College in Cape Breton. We were given demonstrations about kilt-making, a milling frolic, and Celtic music. It was a very informative visit. It’s also a good place to buy souvenirs,
I stayed an extra day in Halifax and very much enjoyed a visit to the Public Garden and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. On both of my first days and last days, on my own, I enjoyed walking along the waterfront, and a visit to the Maritime Museum located on the waterfront. I had an added surprise on that “bonus day” when I went out of the hotel and heard bagpipes and drums. I followed the parade of the 78th Highland Regiment as it turned into Government House, and learned from a very friendly police officer that they were celebrating “Freedom of the City” day, where they exercised this privilege by marching through the streets of Halifax with bayonets fixed, pipes piping, drums beating, and colours flying. The Leftenant Governor of Nova Scotia came out to review the troops.
There was nothing particularly exciting about this trip, but I enjoyed it very much. I learned a lot of Canadian history. I met many very nice fellow travelers and had a great tour director, Jay Gould. And Canadians are so friendly! I'm thinking about doing another trip north of the border,
MCD I did the Nova Scotia and PE Island tour, we had our welcome dinner at the Maritime Museum of Immigration but we also had a tour and dinner at the Citadel which was just like yours.
Yet another insightful and well written narrative. Thank you, MCD, for sharing. Overall, how was the food? I presume much seafood?
kfnknfzk -- Yes, I had lots and lots of seafood. I'm sure that I had at least one seafood meal every day, but there were always other options for people who did not eat seafood, even on our lobster boat cruise. I also chose "potato pie" for lunch at the PEI Preserves Company (very tasty) and "Acadian meat pie" (not so tasty -- I asked what the meat was and was told that it was chicken) another day. We were able to order off the menu many places, including Gio, the upscale restaurant in our Halifax hotel. I chose the wild boar. Ten days later, on my "bonus" night, I returned to that restaurant, and the server remembered me and what I had ordered!
Thanks for the reply, MCD. I, too, have had many fine meals—and local specialties—at restaurants within hotels.
You mentioned you might return to Canada. I have done all of the Tauck Canadian tours except the one you just completed. If you would like to experience both city and country life, you might consider the 'Canada's Capital Cities' tour. They were all lovely, but I found the Capital tour to be so very unique and one that I shall do again. One of the most memorable and very special welcome reception and dinner was held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Warm regards.
Excellent review MCD. We're about 2 weeks out from our start date and I just received the notice of the change in the Day 3 Schedule. I thought it looked like an improvement over the original so I was glad to read your comments. Nice to not have an early start that day and to see some extra sites. Getting excited but keep revising my packing list trying to game the weather. A likely hopeless task.
Thank you MCD for your review, more insight on the rest of our trip ahead of us. We enjoyed the dinner at the Citadel. We visited Peggy’s Cove years ago, but it was socked in by fog, hopefully clear weather this afternoon.
The itinerary was recently changed and we’re the first tour with the revised. Here’s the change for day 3. We left the hotel at 9:00 for a Halifax City tour, followed by a little over an hour in the Immigration museum, including a walk/talk by a museum staffer. Very interesting. Back on the bus it was a ride through the valley for the lunch stop at Halls Harbor. This was the lobster fest, with a couple of options for those who don’t eat lobster. The restaurant is on the Bay of Fundy. Folks from New England rated the restaurant a ten based on how they were raised eating a lot of fresh lobster. Not being lobster folks, we chose an alternative, so no personal rating from us. Next it was back on the bus for the 90 minute drive to the ferry slip and a two hour sail to Saint John. We couldn’t do the quick stop in Digby due to a large motorcycle event this weekend.
On the ferry we all had a box lunch of sandwich, apple, cookie and water. After a heavy lunch, it was all that was needed.
Thanks for the heads up on the ferry boxed lunch for dinner. What was the sandwich ?
Njhoo, thanx for the info. At lunch were there lobster options that didn't involve dismantling one? A nice lobster roll or lobster mac n cheese?
On our ferry ride, our box dinner was 1/2 chicken salad sandwich (mine was on wheat) and a roast beef and cheese sandwich on a roll. And I believe I had an orange rather than an apple. I saved the roast beef sandwich put it in the hotel refrigerator and ate it and half the bag of chips the following night. I didn't feel like going out to dinner after our sturgeon/caviar lunch. On the lobster lunch cruise, the choice was either a cold whole small lobster (that we call a chicken lobster) or grilled chicken. There might have been a 3rd choice, but nothing involving lobster. There is a tutorial for people who aren't familiar with eating a whole lobster, and lots of napkins.
Well I guess dismantling a lobster it is. I have done it before but it's been awhile. Will need a tutorial.
One of the sights I'm hoping to see in St John is the Reversing rapids/falls. Hoping there is a chance to stop there or go on our own.
We did go to the reversing falls for our evening with the First Nation storyteller. However, the falls aren't really a falls; it was just kind of an eddy in the river. Maybe you'll hit it at a better time than we did.
The options for the lobster feast was a 1, 1.5 or a 2 lb lobster as shown in the pictures. The other choices were a fish & chips, creamy chicken penne, vegetable penne, or burger. The ferry lunch was as MCD described. We did go over to the story teller, the tide was going out, so the river was flowing normally. Off to Monkton today 🙂
I've seen some videos of the falls/rapids so I know it's not a traditional falls. Also that low or high tide is the most dramatic time. Viator has a tour to it but also includes a boat ride in it. A little too exciting in my opinion.