Oh Canada

[CWJK55]

My wife and I are heading to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine in late June and July.
I thought that we would be heading back to Illinois from there by way of Ontario.
Then we ran into a guy in Nashville who told us how great the Bay of Fundy was and reading about the area the Cape Breton Highlands sounded interesting and Prince Edward Island was right there too...
Now we're looking at going up to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI before coming back through Quebec and Ontario.
Anyway if anyone has any recommendations for places to stay or things to see and do in the area I'd appreciate any help.
I'm planning to make or first stop in Canada near St. Andrews New Brunswick around mid July. After that I haven't really worked out any schedule

[George Schweikle]

We went in 2004, and really enjoyed the area. A neat find was Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site | Tourism Nova Scotia

[Ron_H]

I cannot yet provide any suggestions based upon first hand experience as we've not been there yet, but we begin our Canada Coast-To-Coast trip in 6 days. We depart this Sunday from the Vancouver, BC area and we'll spend the next few months exploring Canada from one ocean to the other. What may be helpful is a list I compiled based upon the itineraries of the various RV tour groups.

The following is a list of the attractions a number of the tour organizations list in their literature. It shows the cities (and prov.) they will be stopping in and the attractions they plan to visit from each stop.

RV TOUR GROUP - LISTED ATTRACTIONS
--------------------------------------------
CITY - PROV. - ATTRACTION
--------------------------------------------
Andrews NB Low Tide Drive to Ministers Island
Andrews NB St Andrews Bus Tour
Caraquet NB Acadian Historic Village
Hopewell Cape NB Hopewell Cape Record Tides Visit
Hopewell Cape NB Tram to ‘Flower Pots’ Rocks
Saint John NB Carleton Martello Tower
Saint John NB Ft Howe
Saint John NB Historic Old City Market
Saint John NB Rapids at "Falls View Park"
Saint John NB Reversing Falls
Saint John NB Reversing Falls Jet Boat Ride
Saint John NB Rockwood Park & City Market
Saint John NB Saint John Motorcoach Tour
St. Andrews NB Kingsbrae GardensSt Nicholas
St. Andrews NB Low Tide Drive to Ministers Island
St. Andrews NB St Andrews Bus Tour
Glen NH Drive Kang' Circle Trail with lunch
Bonavista NL Bonavista Highlights Excursion
Bonavista NL Bonavista Lookout
Bonavista NL Cape Bonavista Lighthouse
Bonavista NL Dungeon Provincial Park
Bonavista NL Dungeon Rock
Bonavista NL Ellison Puffin Sanctuary & Root Cellars
Bonavista NL Mockbeggar Plantation
Bonavista NL Port Union Historical Site & Museum
Bonavista NL Ryan Premises & Bonavista Museum
Bonavista NL Sir William F Coaker Bungalow Guided Tour
Bonavista NL The Matthew Legacy (John Cabot’s Boat)
Bonavista NL White Rock Murals and Lookout
Grand Codroy NL Newfie ‘Screech-In’
Rocky Harbor NL City Tour, UNESCO Site
Rocky Harbour NL Bonne Bay Boat Tour
Rocky Harbour NL Gros Morne National Park
Rocky Harbour NL Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse
Rocky Harbour NL Norris Point
Rocky Harbour NL Quaint Village of Trout River
Rocky Harbour NL Western Brook Pond Boat Tour
Rocky Harbour NL Woody Point Interpretive Centre
St. Anthony NL ‘Viking Feast’ Dinner in a Viking Long House
St. Anthony NL Dark Tickle Tour
St. Anthony NL Grenfell Experience & Famous Jordi Bonet Murals
St. Anthony NL St. Anthony Lighthouse & Waterfront
St. Anthony NL St. Anthony Motorcoach Tour
St. Anthony NL Tour L’ Anse Aux Meadows Historic Site
St. Anthony NL Tour Norstead Viking Village
St. Anthony NL Viking Feast Dinner Theater at Leifsburdir
St. Anthony NL Whale Watching & Scenic Boat Cruise
St. Anthony NL Whale/iceberg boat tour
St. Barbe NL Labrador Motorcoach Tour
St. Barbe NL Lunch at Whaling Station Restaurant
St. Barbe NL Newfoundland Insectarium & Butterfly Pavilion
St. Barbe NL Point Amour Lighthouse & Ancient Burial Site
St. Barbe NL Red Bay Labrador Straits Tour
St. Barbe NL Red Bay Museum & Orientation Center
St. John’s NL ‘Newfie Screech-In’ Ceremony
St. John’s NL Cabot Tower & Petty Harbour
St. John’s NL Cape Spear Lighthouse (Most Eastern Point in NA)
St. John’s NL Newfoundland Lieutenant Governor’s House
St. John’s NL Signal Hill International Tattoo
St. John’s NL Signal Hill, Site of Marconi’s First Transatlantic Message
St. John’s NL St John’s and Cape Spear Tour
St. John’s NL The Veiled Virgin & St. John the Baptist Basilica
St. John’s NL Whale Watch Boat Tour
Twillingate NL ‘Split Peas’ Live Local Musical Performance
Twillingate NL Atlantic Aviation Museum
Twillingate NL Auk Island Winery Tasting
Twillingate NL Durrell Museum & Polar Bear Exhibit
Twillingate NL Historic Long Point Lighthouse
Twillingate NL North Atlantic Aviation Museum
Twillingate NL Prime Berth Fishing Museum & Demonstration
Twillingate NL Silent Witness Memorial
Twillingate NL Twillingate Dinner Theater - Newfie Dinner & Show
Annapolis Royal NS Annapolis Royal Bus Tour
Annapolis Royal NS Candlelight Graveyard Tour
Annapolis Royal NS Fort Anne
Annapolis Royal NS Grand-Pré National Park
Annapolis Royal NS Port Royal Habitation
Annapolis Royal NS Royal Historical Botanical Gardens
Baddeck NS Cabot Trail Tour
Bras D'Or NS Bell Museum Tour and "Hall of Tartans"
Bras D'Or NS Bird Island Boat Tour
Bras D'Or NS Cabot Trail Tour
Bras D'Or NS Cross the "Canso Causeway"
Bras D'Or NS Tour Fortress Louisbourg
Elm River NS Tidal Bore
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Acadian Maple Products Tour
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Alexander Keith’s Brewery Tour
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Citadel National Historic Park Tour with Changing of the Guard
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Fairview Cemetery — over 100 victims of the Titanic
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Halifax Waterfront
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Historic Buildings & Stone Fortress
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Historical Halifax Bus Tour
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Mahone Bay
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Marine Museum of the Atlantic Visit
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Nova Scotia International Tattoo with Dinner
Halifax-Dartmouth NS NovaScotian Hand Cut Crystal Factory
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Peggy's Cove
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Scenic Cruise
Halifax-Dartmouth NS St. Margaret’s Bay Driving Tour
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Swissair Flight 111 Memorial
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Tall Ship Silva Sailboat Cruise
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Titanic Memorial & Burial Grounds
Halifax-Dartmouth NS Tour to Gran Pre'
Hilden NS Rafting the Tidal Bore
Louisbourg NS Louisbourg Playhouse (Live Ceilidh Entertainment)
Louisbourg NS Tour Fortress at Louisbourg
Lunenburg NS Bluenose Tour
Lunenburg NS Fish & Lobster Plant Tour
Lunenburg NS Lunenburg/Atlantic Fisheries Museum
Lunenburg NS Mahone Bay, Blue Rocks
Lunenburg NS Old Town Lunenburg
Lunenburg NS Peggy's Cove
North Sydney NS Alexander Graham Bell Museum
North Sydney NS Cabot Trail Motorcoach Tour
North Sydney NS Cape Breton Highlands National Park
North Sydney NS Fortress of Louisburg
North Sydney NS Les Trois Pignos
North Sydney NS Village of Cheticamp & Keltic Lodge QC
Peggy's Cove NS Peggy's Cove Tour
Tilden NS Up-river Tidal Bore
Cavendish PEI ‘World Famous’ Lobster Dinner on the Wharf
Cavendish PEI Anne of Green Gables Home Tour
Cavendish PEI Anne of Green Gables Live Stage Musical Comedy
Cavendish PEI Avonlea of Greene Gables Tour
Cavendish PEI Charlottetown
Cavendish PEI Charlottetown Centre Show
Cavendish PEI Charlottetown Historic Downtown Walking Tour
Cavendish PEI Charlottetown Motorcoach Tour
Cavendish PEI College of Bag Piping Performance
Cavendish PEI Confederation Bridge
Cavendish PEI Confederation Centre Show
Cavendish PEI Cows Ice Cream Factory Tour
Cavendish PEI Fisherman's Wharf Dinner
Cavendish PEI Historic George Street
Cavendish PEI Lobster Fishing Demonstration
Cavendish PEI Music Shindig & Live Local Ceilidh Entertainment
Cavendish PEI North Rustico
Cavendish PEI North Shore Tour
Cavendish PEI PEI Preserve Company
Cavendish PEI Prince Edward Island Motorcoach Tour
Cavendish PEI Prince Edward Island National Park
Cavendish PEI Queen’s Square Tour
Cavendish PEI Red Shores Race Track
Cavendish PEI Victoria Park
Cap-aux-Os QC Forillon National Park
Métis-sur-Mer QC Reford Gardens & International Garden Festival
Percé QC Boat Cruise on Percé Bay
Percé QC Bonaventure Island Excursion
Percé QC Percé Rock
St. Nicholas QC Albert Gilles Copper Works
St. Nicholas QC Beaupre Coast
St. Nicholas QC Lunch at Montmorency Falls Restaurant
St. Nicholas QC Montmorency Falls & Isle of Orleans
St. Nicholas QC Notre Dame Cathedral
St. Nicholas QC Old Quebec
St. Nicholas QC Sainte-Anne Beaupre Basilica

I have my listing in a database so exporting it as text for here looses the formatting but you should be able to decipher it. It was a lot of work to compile but it allows me to enter a city or date and see which groups are in the area to help identify available RV parks and busy attraction along the way.

[RUFINIT]

Originally Posted by CWJK55

My wife and I are heading to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine in late June and July.
I thought that we would be heading back to Illinois from there by way of Ontario.
Then we ran into a guy in Nashville who told us how great the Bay of Fundy was and reading about the area the Cape Breton Highlands sounded interesting and Prince Edward Island was right there too...
Now we're looking at going up to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI before coming back through Quebec and Ontario.
Anyway if anyone has any recommendations for places to stay or things to see and do in the area I'd appreciate any help.
I'm planning to make or first stop in Canada near St. Andrews New Brunswick around mid July. After that I haven't really worked out any schedule

Back in 2011 we stayed in Shediac, NB for a few nights. We just took our toad over to PEI. There are basically two towns. Nice drive and can do it in one day.

Lobster is fantastic and the people in NB were extremely friendly and welcoming.

Definitely see the Bay of Fundy. Really cool

[CWJK55]

I can pull the text into a spreadsheet. Thanks for the information. I'll dig through it.

[CWJK55]

Originally Posted by George Schweikle

We went in 2004, and really enjoyed the area. A neat find was Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site | Tourism Nova Scotia

Of read this earlier about Bell's love for Nova Scotia: I have travelled around the globe. I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty Cape Breton outrivals them all.
Alexander Graham Bell

[CWJK55]

In looking at seeing the Bay of Fundy at St. Andrews. Is this a good is our is there a better place to view the tides?

[Gladie]

Where in RI and Mass are you headed? Maybe I can be of some help, a RI native.

[CWJK55]

My wife is taking a class in Providence RI around the end of June. I'll be staying at the KOA by Plymouth MA.
Her class is done on the 29th but we'll be staying at the KOA until the 6th of July to miss the holiday traffic.
Any ideas for things to do are welcome.
We're planning to visit Plymouth, Cape Cod and maybe Martha's Vineyard.

[cbilodeau]

One of the most interesting for a tourist is Old Quebec city. You will spend many days. They restored hundread of houses, stores, streets, churches, castle, port, etc, etc. This is one of the two first towns in North America.

See this link.

You will have hundread of top restaurants with French cuisine, bars, disco, beautiful women (and men I suppose) etc.

The town is circled by huge old stone walls, canons, etc.

The other provinces are not so interesting in my opinion, the food is bad, the clothes are bad, etc, etc, etc.

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by CWJK55

.....I'll be staying at the KOA by Plymouth MA. .......

We're planning to visit Plymouth, Cape Cod and maybe Martha's Vineyard.

CWJK...... That KOA in Middleboro is well located as a base for the whole area, including Boston. Don't miss Boston. After Plymouth (include Plimoth Plantation), be sure to drive to the end of the Cape to Provincetown to see where the Pilgrims REALLY landed first! Once you get past the elbow and well onto the lower Cape you can begin to see the raw, exposed kind of place the very early settlers had to deal with.

In Buzzards Bay MA you can learn about CC Canal history and visit the Mass Maritime Academy if you wish. New Bedford MA and Mystic CT (19th century whaling ports) are also well worth a look, as is Newport RI, (19th century mansions and current world sailing capital).

Or you can just drive around through some of the towns in southeastern MA. The area is so packed with history folks don't even notice. 35 years ago DW and I owned a house in Raynham MA built in 1817. Guys I worked with thought that was pretty old, but the house across the street dated to 1690.

I see you're from Dixon. I visited Dixon on one of my motorcycle trips in the 70s. Do you still have that big sign spanning the main street? There was a great diner nearby back then. Delish breakfast!!

Enjoy your trip!


John & Diane, fulltiming since '12
'02 DS, FL, Cat, '04 Element
NHSO RVM103

[CWJK55]

The arch is still here in Dixon. It was originally put up after WWI to welcome the soldiers home. The one you saw was replaced about a decade ago with one made of fiberglass. I think that this is the forth or fifth arch since 1918.
The KOA looks like it will be a good base of operations. We were going to stay on Cape Cod but since I have to make two runs into Providence RI this looked like a good option.
My wife wants to visit the Vanderbilt mansion in Newport which is about an hour away. We also plan to go to Plymouth, Martha's Vineyard and drive out on the Cape.
We should make it to Boston for a day.

[docj]

We've spent several summers in the Canadian Maritime provinces and have visited all of the areas the OP mentions. Before providing advice as to things to see, my first question is "how much time do you intend to devote to this section of your trip?" There are many, many things to see in all of the places he has mentioned and there's no point to providing a huge list if he has only a week to tour all of it.

Since the OP said he was staying in St. Andrews NB as his first stop, then I would highly recommend Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping, especially if you can get an oceanview site. You can see some rather large tides in St. Andrews, but they aren't as huge as they are in places like Alma. The absolute best tides to see are at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.

From there, he might consider going to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Stay in the national park campground in Cheticamp and use that as a base from which to tour the area. It's easy to make reservations at Canada's national parks and they even have some sites with full hookups.

From there it's an easy drive to where you can catch the ferry to Prince Edward Island but you'll probably need to make reservations in mid-summer to ensure you can get on. There is no charge for "going" to PEI; both the ferry and the bridge charge when you leave the island. Since the bridge is a lot cheaper than the ferry, going by ferry and leaving by the bridge is the most economical approach. On the island you can do the Anne of Green Gables tourist stuff, or you can spend the time to learn a bit about the island and the wonderful people who live there.

What I've just outlined is at least two weeks worth of driving and sightseeing and it doesn't include touring Halifax and its surrounding area. In addition to Halifax itself, there's also Lunenburg, the Acadian expulsion site at Gran Pre, and Peggy's Cove to mention just a few things worth seeing. We've spent several months in the Maritimes and don't at all feel we've seen everything.

Many Americans seem to think they can "breeze through Canada" and do it justice. IMHO you're much better off focusing on one area and doing it thoroughly than wasting your time driving all over and seeing very little. JMO

[Gladie]

Newport RI will be well worth your time. Not only will you see Vanderbilt mansion but many, many others on Bellevue Avenue. And be sure to take the 10 mile Ocean Drive. You can spend days in Newport. I believe there is a ferry right from Plymouth to Provincetown which takes much less time than traveling in the Cape traffic and would be more relaxing.