Maritime Vacation

[tranquility]

Planning on a Maritime vacation in 2013. Several tour companies are available to NS, Labrador etc. Seem pricey but I see benifits also. Looking for opinions based on your experiences. Will be in a year old 38 ft. gasoline V10 coach.

[Akibase]

Hi and greetings from the Maritimes. You are planning a trip to one of the most beautifull areas in Canada. I am from Moncton, New Brunswick and would love to give you some ideas on what to see, routing, or whatever you need. Send me a private message and I will help you. Tour companies are expensive. You can take this trip without them and have a great time. You will never find more friendly people than maritimers. We might even find you a great feed of lobster.

[bigmichael]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Planning on a Maritime vacation in 2013. Several tour companies are available to NS, Labrador etc. Seem pricey but I see benifits also. Looking for opinions based on your experiences. Will be in a year old 38 ft. gasoline V10 coach.

We toured the Maritimes, including the Gaspe penisula, Newfoundland, etc, with Adventure Caravans two years ago. It was a very well planned trip, and the second time we had used them as we also rallied with them at Mardi Gras. Apparently Adventure Caravans and Tracks to Adventure have now become one company. But we had nothing but positives to say about Adventure Caravans both times.

It can be a bit, to a lot more expensive than if you did it on your own. I really think the two primary benefits are the security of assistance should anything breakdown, and the camaraderie you develop with your fellow travelers. And you are likely to see some things you might not see if on your own.

With that being said, I doubt we will do another caravan unless it were to be to Mexico's Copper Canyon or through South America. Part of that just comes from now having Full-timed for 4+ years, and having the confidence that we can probably find and work our way through most of what is thrown our way. We also found the biggest downside with the caravan to the Maritimes is that had we been on our own, there would have been some places we would have liked to spend more time at. But the schedule is the schedule when on a caravan.

We spent all of this past spring and summer in Alaska. We knew we wanted to go at our own pace, and we were very glad we did. We ended up going to places we hadn't planned, stayed longer at some places than we planned on, and did some things we wouldn't have had time to do on a Caravan.

We have friends that only go with a Caravan. It works well for them. On the other hand, I think we are at the point where it is just way to restrictive for the "seat of the pants" movement we have become accustomed to.

Hope this helps in your thinking it through. Its very individual but I tried to at least give you some of our thought process.

Good Luck--you will love the Maritimes. Newfoundland was an example of a place where we would have stayed longer had we not been in the Caravan on that trip. You just HAVE TO LOVE the newfies!.