North America

Day 1 : Arrive Halifax (2 nights)

Welcome to the vibrant city of Halifax. Immerse yourself in the city's rich maritime history or take some time to relax. Gather at the hotel at 6 p.m. with your Travel Director and fellow travellers for a Welcome Reception.

Day 2 : Halifax Sightseeing

Start the day with a guided visit of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and acquaint yourself with Nova Scotia's maritime heritage. Next, join your Local Specialist for an exploration of this sparkling port city. Travel to the local cemetery, where many of the Titanic victims were laid to rest before a visit to the Victorian-era inspired Halifax Public Gardens and the bustling harbourfront. End at the massive Halifax Citadel, formerly one of the principal naval bases of the British Empire. The rest of the day is at leisure to pursue your own interests until this evening when you visit one of the oldest breweries in Canada, located in a massive ironstone and granite building for a Cultural Insight. Animators in period costume and character bring 1863 Halifax to life in song and story as they lead you through Alexander Keith's beautifully detailed brew house and taproom, followed by a Regional Meal dinner of traditional Maritimes pub fare and the best brews.

Day 3 : Halifax – Baddeck (3 nights)

Head north to Jeddore Oyster Pond and the Fisherman's Life Museum, where you can imagine the life of a typical fisherman's family in the early 1900s. Stroll among the clapboard houses, visit the blacksmith's shop and see the local school. End your travels in the quaint village of Baddeck. This evening, enjoy a unique local tradition, a Celtic Evening of Smiles, including dinner at your hotel followed by an entertaining musical theatrical production. 

Day 4 : Baddeck Sightseeing and Free Time

Visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site where the inventor of the telephone chose to build his grand Canadian estate. Step aboard a small yacht for a scenic cruise on Bras d'Or Lake. Observe majestic bald eagles as they circle the boat. While on the cruise, see the grounds of Bell's Beinn Bhreagh mansion and the beautiful shoreline. The rest of the day is spent on your own. 

Day 5 : Cape Breton Highlands and the Cabot Trail

This morning, visit the Gaelic College, devoted to the study and preservation of the Gaelic language and Celtic arts and culture. Then get a taste of true natural beauty as you travel along breathtaking Cape Breton and the world-renowned Cabot Trail, one of the world's most scenic drives. Keep an eye out for black bear, moose and bald eagle as you travel past majestic cliffs and canyons and search for whales in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. A little later, enjoy lunch in the scenic village of Cheticamp.

Day 6 : Baddeck – Wood Islands Ferry – Charlottetown (2 nights)

Traversing the scenic Nova Scotia countryside, spot glittering stretches of blue water and rocky headlands before arriving in the lovely harbour of Pictou. Cross the Northumberland Strait to magical Prince Edward Island and arrive in picturesque Charlottetown. This evening, drive to one of Canada's most quaint small villages where your hosts greet you for a Be My Guest evening at their PEI Preserve Company. Learn their secrets of making delicious fruit preserves, fruit sauces, honey, jellies and maple syrup before sitting down for a delicious dinner featuring authentic local cuisine and genuine Prince Edward hospitality.

Day 7 : Charlottetown Sightseeing and Free Time

Join a Local Specialist today for an insider's tour of Prince Edward Island. Begin your exploration at Prince Edward Island National Park with its sand dunes festooned with gently waving beach grass and striking red sandstone cliffs. Visit Province House, Prince Edward Island's legislature meeting place since 1847 and a National Historic Site. In Cavendish, meet a Local Specialist for an in-depth visit to Green Gables House and its museums and sites. This is the gabled house that provided inspiration for L.M. Montgomery's beloved children's classic, Anne of Green Gables. Later, return to Charlottetown and enjoy the evening on your own.

Day 8 : Charlottetown – Shediac Bay – Hopewell Rocks – Saint John

Cross back over the Northumberland Strait via the Confederation Bridge, an eight-mile-long engineering wonder. Once in New Brunswick, head onto the waters of Shediac Bay where you meet your Local Specialist, an expert on all things lobstering. Enjoy a delicious Regional Meal lunch of lobster served local style aboard the boat (weather permitting). Then, get out your Guinness Book of World Records as you join another Local Specialist to visit the magnificently eroded Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy, site of the world's highest tides. Arrive in Saint John this evening.

Day 9 : Saint John – Digby – Lunenburg (2 nights)

Board a ferry for the crossing of the Bay of Fundy and arrive in Digby. Continue on to Annapolis Royal, a beautiful community nestled in the Annapolis Valley, originally inhabited by a strong Mi'kmaq community that in 1605 became home to some of North America's earliest European settlers. Head for the South Coast of Nova Scotia and arrive in Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Day 10 : Lunenburg Sightseeing

This morning, join a Local Specialist for an in-depth visit of Lunenburg, the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. The inhabitants have managed to safeguard the city's identity for centuries by preserving the wooden architecture of the houses, some that date back to the 18th century. Visit the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic where you have time to browse through the interactive exhibits, aquarium and explore the decks and passageways of real ships. Visit to the Ironworks Distillery, situated in a historic blacksmith's shop that once produced ironworks for the shipbuilding trade. Take a tour and learn about the traditional methods of distilling and sample some of the spirits. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure before a Farewell Dinner this evening at the hotel. You'll also be joined by a Local Specialist who will entertain you with a presentation on the history of Oak Island and its so-called Money Pit, which has made the island the site of over 200 years of treasure hunting, as represented in the reality television program The Curse of Oak Island.

Day 11 : Lunenburg - Peggy's Cove - Depart Halifax

This morning, breathe in the fresh ocean air at Peggy's Cove on St. Margaret's Bay, delighting painters and photographers alike. Depart for Halifax and the Stanfield International Airport where your trip comes to an end or choose to extend your stay in Halifax and spend a few days exploring. Perhaps you may decide to head down to America and include a city stop in New York or Philadelphia. 

Call the travel specialists at Bon Voyage to discuss your ideal Enchanting Canadian Maritimes adventure.