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From Toronto to PEI Help

Perfect timing for this. I'm in yhe beginning stages of planning my trip for June. Subscribed

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If you are doing Cape Breton and not camping then you really need to get a handle on accommodations as the season is short.
I'd leave Cape Breton as late in June as you can so it's warmest ...

https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/Cape-Breton-Island--Canada




.same goes for Gaspe tho I think accommodation not so limited.
 
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how long in advance should I book these? what's the absolute latest before I'm pushing my luck?
 
I'd communicate with a couple of the AirBnb people...they can tell you when they book up...often you can just log on and look at their calendar ..see what is open.
My advice would be to book 2-3 days in Cape Breton and take your time in the area as a whale watch will tke the better part of a day. Not knowing how long you trip is makes it hard to advise.
We did the area in 3 weeks - 8 of those spent relaxing in the Annapolis Valley and day tripping around.

This might help ...
http://www.cabottrail.travel/accommodations/

I find TripAdvisor reliable
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Tourism-g154972-Cape_Breton_Island_Nova_Scotia-Vacations.html
 
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did you guys have any scares when it came to being low on gas or is there a decent amount of stations scattered across the rural areas of the provinces?
 
If you like whiskey? Checkout Glenora distillery on cape Breton it has accommodations as well as an interesting tour and tasting area.
It is the only single malt whiskey distillery in Canada ( it can not be called scotch).
 
did you guys have any scares when it came to being low on gas or is there a decent amount of stations scattered across the rural areas of the provinces?

You need to understand that this is a rural area for the most part, yes there are enough gas stations etc, but they close between 7-9 pm 24 hour gas is a big city thing.
This is rural Canada it is a slower pace of life, manners matter greatly.
 
You need to understand that this is a rural area for the most part, yes there are enough gas stations etc, but they close between 7-9 pm 24 hour gas is a big city thing.
This is rural Canada it is a slower pace of life, manners matter greatly.
extremely true.
we had a bike breakdown while on PEI and pulled into a Just Joes (some local bike repair shop) he didnt have time to get to the bike that day so we said well do you mind if we just work on it in the back of our truck in your parkinglot. he had us pull up to a bay door, handed us whatever tools we didnt have (which wasnt much) and he just kinda wandered around helping us troubleshoot issues. he even called around to find us new plugs for the bike because he didnt have them in stock.
we ordered a pizza to the shop and hung out with the owner and the staff, joked around, ate, got the bike running then took off. he let us leave the truck there while we rode for the day and he said we could leave it there anytime. he even walked up to us once while we were fixing the bike and jokingly said man i could watch you boys fix bikes all day, wanta work here?
Great guy, very laid back shop.
go in to places and be friendly, it will go a long way out there.
 
If there are "Must see" places on your list check to see if they are open.

I've only seen Newfoundland in the winter and I want to go back. I hear it's pricey though. The NF ferry can be an experience in bad weather. Land lubbers beware.

East coasters have their idiosyncrasies so get used to the odd quirk but they'll rarely let you down in a pinch. That all changes if you mess with them.
 
You have to go on a few tours to figure out what works best for you. All the best laid plans could go up in smoke when you realize how much pavement pounding you're actually doing. You're not covering a small area. My advice, based on my experience, is to decide if you want to do a big driving loop or do you want to experience culture, sightseeing and activities. If you really want to see and do stuff pick a smaller concentrated area. Get to know it, bond with it, build memories. Doing a big driving route (not that there's anything wrong with that) will just turn into a big blur and as much as you're seeing from the road you're also aware and frustrated by all the neat attractions you're missing. Either way, when you get home, you'll chuckle how the theory of your trip doesn't match the reality.
 
You have to go on a few tours to figure out what works best for you. All the best laid plans could go up in smoke when you realize how much pavement pounding you're actually doing. You're not covering a small area. My advice, based on my experience, is to decide if you want to do a big driving loop or do you want to experience culture, sightseeing and activities. If you really want to see and do stuff pick a smaller concentrated area. Get to know it, bond with it, build memories. Doing a big driving route (not that there's anything wrong with that) will just turn into a big blur and as much as you're seeing from the road you're also aware and frustrated by all the neat attractions you're missing. Either way, when you get home, you'll chuckle how the theory of your trip doesn't match the reality.

Yeah, when you get back someone says "Did you see XXX. It's fabulous" and you didn't see it.
 
Happened to me with Alaska ...did not know about Steward/Hyder and went by on the Cassiar only 30 km from Steward.....urk... :(

Made sure we got it second go :D

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Yeah, when you get back someone says "Did you see XXX. It's fabulous" and you didn't see it.

Number one reason I tell people contemplating a road trip to the west coast to not rush it. We did an ~11K trip in 4 weeks (plus the weekends on either end of that) and still had plenty of didn't see it situations. The timeline didn't allow as many stops as we would have liked given our goals for places we DID want to stop and spend time at. IE, visiting Drumheller AB would have taken a day off of our planned time in Banff. Going to Lake Louise would have cut a day out of Vancouver or Whistler. A day in Seattle cut time out of Yellowstone National Park. It was tradeoffs everywhere.

When I hear people talk about doing the same sort of trip in two weeks I genuinely tell them to pick something less enthusiastic and closer to home - they will not have many good memories in the end, but they'll sure remember those endless days covering crazy distances stuck in their cars. We had a great time all in all, but we would have had a great many more memories and seen a lot more had we had 6 or 7 weeks instead.
 
If you have the time, do the Gaspe loop in Quebec. You can do it easily in a day.
I took the eastern route through NB via Moncton. Then the western route via Saint John, Fredericton and Edmonston on the way back.
PEI can easily be made part of the trip. Take the bridge over then there is a ferry at the extreme east end of the island that connects to NS.
 
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Number one reason I tell people contemplating a road trip to the west coast to not rush it. We did an ~11K trip in 4 weeks (plus the weekends on either end of that) and still had plenty of didn't see it situations. The timeline didn't allow as many stops as we would have liked given our goals for places we DID want to stop and spend time at. IE, visiting Drumheller AB would have taken a day off of our planned time in Banff. Going to Lake Louise would have cut a day out of Vancouver or Whistler. A day in Seattle cut time out of Yellowstone National Park. It was tradeoffs everywhere.

When I hear people talk about doing the same sort of trip in two weeks I genuinely tell them to pick something less enthusiastic and closer to home - they will not have many good memories in the end, but they'll sure remember those endless days covering crazy distances stuck in their cars. We had a great time all in all, but we would have had a great many more memories and seen a lot more had we had 6 or 7 weeks instead.


100% ....we started out looking like 600km per day for 24 days and realized it simply was not going to fly.

We cut back a long loop in N BC and it dropped to 450 with a few fudge days in case of RAIN ( we needed one ). And still at times it felt rushed.....I'm ****** missing Chief Joseph Parkway.....made a GPS error and ended way past on the slab before I realized it. Also missed the Badlands loop tho that was mostly because we wanted to get home ( dodging weather ) and was getting mixed reviews on it.

No matter where you head ....weather has a role and Cape Breton is notorious as is the Gaspe which I have yet to loop. You need to allow weather delays when riding tho I will usually ride through most.
 
100% ....we started out looking like 600km per day for 24 days and realized it simply was not going to fly.

We cut back a long loop in N BC and it dropped to 450 with a few fudge days in case of RAIN ( we needed one ). And still at times it felt rushed.....I'm ****** missing Chief Joseph Parkway.....made a GPS error and ended way past on the slab before I realized it. Also missed the Badlands loop tho that was mostly because we wanted to get home ( dodging weather ) and was getting mixed reviews on it.

No matter where you head ....weather has a role and Cape Breton is notorious as is the Gaspe which I have yet to loop. You need to allow weather delays when riding tho I will usually ride through most.

when i did the cabot trail last summer the day started off amazing, warm and sunny and ended with a rain storm. probably thr last 1 hr of the ride was extremely wet...we just hammered through it, there was no sign of a break in the weather.

pack your rain gear.
 
Never fails does it.
It hasn't rained in Cape Breton for two weeks.
I show up to do the Cabot and the skies open up.
If you wait for perfect weather, you'd never leave home.
 
Day 1: Leave house at 7am
Montreal
-Montreal 1 pm
-1379-A Sherbrooke Street West -- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / 20 Dollar Adults, 13 Dollar Students
2:00pm
-110 Rue Notre Dame Ouest -- Notre-Dame Basilica
2:30/3:00pm
-800 Rue de la Gauchetière Ouest – Underground City (Mall)
4:00pm
Old Montreal – Walk around, Sightseeing etc.
5:00pm
-4050 Bullion, Montreal Dinner – Arepera 60 Dollars
6:00pm
Drive to Quebec City 3 Hours
9:30-10:00pm
7320 Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel, Quebec City – Hotel for Sleep and Breakfast

Day 2 Quebec City
Wake up 10:00am Breakfast at Hotel
Montmorency Falls and Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré from Quebec – Sights
11:00 am
Old Quebec and Lower Town – Walk around, sights, lunch etc.
1:00-2:00pm
Leave for Fredericton New Brunswick 6 hour drive
8:00pm
649 Queen St, Fredericton New Brunswick – Dinner at Isaac’s Way 60 Dollars
9:00pm
1214 Lincoln Road, Fredericton – Hotel

Day 3 New Brunswick
Wake up 10:00-11:00am Heavy Breakfast
Odell Park
12:30pm
Leave for St John, New Brunswick (1 hour)
2:00pm
33 Canterbury Street Saint John New Brunswick – Lunch at Thandi’s 50 Dollars
3:00pm
Irving Nature Park on Sand Cove road
4:00/5:00pm
Leave for Moncton (2 Hour Drive)
7:00pm
130 Westmorland Street, Moncton – Dinner at Gusto Italian Grill and Bar
8:00pm
Casino/Live Theater/Hotel and Relax
Casino Address: 21 Casino Drive, Moncton
Theater Address: 811 Main Street, Moncton
Motel Address: 1650 West Main St., Moncton GoMotel

Day 4 New Brunswick/Nova Scotia
Wake up 10:00am
1999 Mountain Road, Moncton – Breakfast at Jean’s Place
11:00am
Hopewell Rocks and Lunch 10 Dollars Per Person entry – 40 Dollar lunch
2:00pm
Leave for Halifax, Nova Scotia (3 Hour Drive)
5:00/6:00pm
1533 Barrington Street, Halifax – Dinner at 2 Doors Down 50 Dollars
7:00pm
Drive to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia (2 Hours)
9:00pm
917 East River Road – Sleep at Hotel 80 Dollars

Day 5 Nova Scotia



This is what I have so far after about 3 hours of planning. Looks like I'm going to end up going by myself too. Any recommendations to make the itinerary better so I don't get flustered when I'm down there?
 

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