Hi Dave, I'm from Boston too- anyway, we went for a week to NS and a little of New Brunswick last June and as I told people when I got back "its a great place if you like cows and Baptist churches". Its very pretty, very quiet and peaceful, very very farm-y, drivers are very polite- its a decent place for a low stress vacation BUT if you're a foodie, don't go, the food is lousy, if you like excitement in the form of nightlife- good luck to 'ya. (There are fiddle festivals around here and there but finding them is the trick). All in all its very good if you are 100% outdoorsy as the parks are gorgeous, lots of good hiking and some very hilly biking, excellent scenery, the Bay of Fundy is awesome of course and there is the occasional pretty lighthouse. The beaches are terrible, basically they don't exist. We stayed in B&Bs which were all very nice. It isn't the USVIs by any stretch of the imagination and you may come back well rested but feeling that you did nothing but drive around-unless you are into the physical exercise you can get in the Parks.
We drove up from just south of Boston through Maine into NB then over to NS. Digby Island was cool actually but VERY small. We went home via the Cat boat from Yarmouth to Bar Harbour I think- no big deal but it cut out alot of driving. Other questions, just ask!
STJ- maybe back again next year for us, can't wait as always.

Hi, Dave!

Sue from Pepperell, MA here.

I just read your post (I am at work - sshh!) - anyway, when I get home I will try to find all of my info from a Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island trip that my husband & I took about 5 years ago.

You will think I am a geek - but, hopefully, I can find my spreadsheet with places we stayed & things we saw. Like you, I think we did about a 10 day driving trip and really covered a lot of ground! - I actually had a binder & everything. It helped me to keep track of where we would be staying each night and all of their info & stuff, driving directions, etc.

Too bad I don't have a way to contact you - off of this forum - so, that we don't bore all of our fellow USVI travelers. Also, I could just send you an attachment of that spreadsheet, if I can find it. I will also tell you the "Highlights", as I recall them.

It was a great trip - nothing like St. John - but, really neat, none-the-less. And really lovely scenery.

Catch back with you tonite or tomorrow!

Dear Dave,

Have you checked sites such as Fodors, googled for tourist info on Nova Scotia, etc? Most visitor/tourist sites these days have forums and I'm sure there's a wealth of information out there in cyberspace.

Have a great trip!

Thanks you guys...

Sue, feel free to email me direct at [email protected] if you wish.

We are also, ahem, beginning to think about "just Maine." Cause when I calculated the cost to take the high speed Cat round trip with our car, it would be $700 bucks!! Sheesh - That kinda cash could probably get us to the Caribbean...

There are some decent Nova Scotia tourist sites I've found (which, since I'm writing this from work I don't have them bookmarked here). As an aside, I tend to have better luck with Frommers as opposed to Fodors... maybe that's just familiarity talking.

Hey Karrieb - did you guys ever decide on a "windfall" vacation? I've been away from this list for about a month or two...

Thanks again,
Dave

I went about 30 years ago to a place in Digby, NS. I'd have to agree with most everything here; food uninspiring, very, very low key. The sidewalks rolled up at 8 pm. You couln't find a restaurant with a bar open after 8 pm. But if you don't like heat, it is the place to be. Locals will know you are from away when you wear shorts (because they don't). But extremely friendly people. Come to Maine; we need the sales tax revenue!

Hi Dave, how cool of you to remember! YES, believe it or not, as of last night, literally, we looked at each other and said, basically "who are we kidding" and decided to come back to STJ (see my new email posted today on Harmony Studios at Maho). We had a trip planned to Savannah but decided to heck with it so we're coming back to STJ in mid November for a week!!! We did ALOT of surfing for other island destinations and inclusive package deals, have been to St martin and Jamaica before but once we saw that the airfare to STT wasn't nearly as bad as we thought, it took us one second to decide! We think we will try for Harmony Studios this time at Maho as we love the overall atmosphere but we may take a quick look at villas too. I am concerned about the heat at Harmony as we had an awful time sleeping at Concordia last Nov due to the nighttime heat, but I bet we get over that quick. The "windfall" is still in the bank and I think it'll get earmarked for our two weeks in Italy next year. Staying at Maho, with the shuttle and the affordable food makes this a not so expensive trip, extra money or not!.
Maine is great, I would vote for that for you. Digby Peninsula was very pretty as is all of NS but it is like ibtkvd said, the sidewalks roll up everywhere pretty early. Nothing beats the Maine coastline and its such a quick trip up from Mass as we all know. If you don't take the CAT, you are talking about ALOT of driving to NS. If we go up there again, we'll fly to Cape Breton directly which is supposed to be gorgeous too but according to our son, is very, very laidback with little to do except all the great outdoor stuff.
Let us know what you decide.

I am very surprised at your description of your vacation to Nova Scotia,,,Have you been to Halifax, N.S. or Fredericton, N.B...Halifax is an amazing city, the food, night life, waterfront, is incredible, yes, some places are low key and have cows, but when you drive through country roads that is what you see, we do not have high rise buildings running through the whole province,
You must have eaten at Macdonald's, because the sea food, and cuisine in the Atlantic provinces is next to none, along with the birth of Cajun cuisine, what about the fresh fruit and walking through the apple orchards an picking apples, or grapes or anything else.

As far as the beaches go, what side of the province were you on, ...you must have been asleep, I cannot believe that one would not have respect for nature the way you do,,,yes, we have nature, but we also have cities, it doesn't sound like you went to any,,

So please do not look at our provinces, through the eyes of this person, I have flown half way around the world and back, trust me, I would not want to be anywhere else.