maryann ns

If you can find me on Trip Advisor (check the Nova Scotia forum) send me a PM with your email and I'll send the the letter I sent to those taking tours with me. I had groups of up to 15 and all went well.

Louisbourg is an amazing partial reconstruction of the original French fortified town. It was made from the plans archived in France and also based on the archaelogical information found in situ. I have not been there in the shoulder of off season but there are some reports that it is still interesting. It is more than interesting when fully open with people in character to explain who lived in each building and what they did and it is great to eat in the 1744 pub or restaurant.

If you do some research ahead you should find it interesting. There should be places for lunch in the village of Louisbourg, or you could pack a sandwich.

http://vacay.ca/2012/12/louisbourg-best-place-to-visit-in-2013/

If you think you will never be back this may be worthwhile, but you will love scenic, laid-back Cape Breton. There are no crowds and next to no traffic. It is a great place to come for a land trip.

The scenic drive to Baddeck is lovely and there will be little, if any, traffic. The same goes for the Cabot Trail.

Check out post #97 for a description of taking part of the Cabot Trail: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1769976&page=5

100 kph = 62 mph

There are advantages to both. The itinerary for the first is more interesting and unusual. You can always go to Montreal, Halifax and Charlottetown, but you may not drive to Bair Comeau or Havre-Saint-Pierre. I have yet to be to either. I have been to all the other places.

The Magdaline Islands are remote and interesting with some great little restaurants and shops. I hope you take a bus tour around. It is miles of sandy beaches.

Halifax is a good cruise stop, but staying in Lunenburg would be special.

The leaves will be better for the second, but still may not be at their peak.

As for weather there is no predicting. Bring layers including hat and gloves and a waterproof jacket.

There are a lot of tourist trap restaurants. Avoid the ones with workers outside trying to lure you in or with posted tourist menus.

The one we have gone back to again and again is Le Patriarche: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g155033-d1210543-Reviews-Le_Patriarche-Quebec_City_Quebec.html

I have only stayed in Vernazza and it was magic. We found a room overlooking the main street thanks to the wonderful guys at Il Pirata.

My dream would be to stay in Corniglia which is not so touristy as the others.

Baddeck is a good choice and this is a scenic route to take: https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Sydney,+NS+B1P+1A1&daddr=Baddeck,+NS+to:Iona,+NS+to:Christmas+Island,+NS+to:Destination+Cape+Breton+Association,+Sydney+Marine+Terminal,+Sydney,+NS+B1P+1A1&hl=en&sll=46.14825,-60.203319&sspn=0.00721,0.021136&geocode=FSgcwAIdzmNp_CmTkRO0KuVnSzF_0zNYc7qlyA%3BFc1tvwIdDPVg_CnPkSNJLGJdSzHz0SeXSM56XA%3BFZJPvQIdijBg_Cl3_U_XX2hdSzG-umoFiqZDow%3BFRVTvQIdPNpg_CmLNVmJ_mddSzHgrABkv7cAyg%3BFeQpwAIdzF5p_CGQbhrxmTgVbg&mra=ls&t=m&z=10

You can do part of the Cabot Trail. See post #97 here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1769976&page=5

Here is a map: https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Sydney,+NS+Esplanade+%26+York+St&daddr=Keltic+Lodge,+Ingonish,+NS+to:Ingonish,+NS+to:Neils+Harbour,+NS&hl=en&sll=46.458105,-60.37966&sspn=0.959258,2.705383&geocode=FTcUwAIdmXFp_Cnz_heoLvtnSzHjxX5ZuAOCNw%3BFQuvxwIdJU5m_CHEwR7t5eevTSkXP-57e6xnSzHEwR7t5eevTQ%3BFfC6yAIdIttm_Cl5yCvys1RmSzFvNuIPCctS8w%3BFUo_ygIdypJn_CnRl4vg0ldmSzGQGjYJE8iOlQ&oq=neil&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

Here is another old thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1687976

I agree that you should leave Louisbourg for when it is fully open. Come back on a land trip. Cape Breton is fabulous.

Check out Tom's Port Guides: https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Sydney,+NS+B1P+1A1&daddr=Baddeck,+NS+to:Iona,+NS+to:Christmas+Island,+NS+to:Destination+Cape+Breton+Association,+Sydney+Marine+Terminal,+Sydney,+NS+B1P+1A1&hl=en&sll=46.14825,-60.203319&sspn=0.00721,0.021136&geocode=FSgcwAIdzmNp_CmTkRO0KuVnSzF_0zNYc7qlyA%3BFc1tvwIdDPVg_CnPkSNJLGJdSzHz0SeXSM56XA%3BFZJPvQIdijBg_Cl3_U_XX2hdSzG-umoFiqZDow%3BFRVTvQIdPNpg_CmLNVmJ_mddSzHgrABkv7cAyg%3BFeQpwAIdzF5p_CGQbhrxmTgVbg&mra=ls&t=m&z=10

We stayed at the YHA the Rocks. This is an amazing location. It has private rooms. You can get breakfast there and it is close to lots of pubs and restaurants. You can walk to Circular Quay and the Opera House.

If you get an account at Bank of American you can use WestPac Bank ATMs in New Zealand and Australia without transaction fees. We have a ScotiaBank account and we were able to find WestPacs in most places. These banks are part of the Global Banking Alliance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance

We also used our credit cards quite often.

Budget is the way we go. We were in Venice in 2011 and stayed here: http://www.allelagune.it/en/location.html This is a converted school and our room was huge with large windows and a great bathroom. Breakfast is included and free wi-fi.

The bus was right on the street and it took ten minutes or less to get to Venice. The money saved made for some great restaurant meals!

Learn the international signage, especially the ones for parking or no drive zones! They may look complicated, but notice all the red circle outlines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_European_road_signs#Prohibitory_or_restrictive

We have driven extensively in Europe but always had a three week or more lease from Renault or Peugeot, so I cannot help on the rental. I know an automatic is more expensive and Sunday rentals can be an issue.

I will stick to ports which are convenient for cruisers, especially for those who like to tour on their own.

Tops for me was Istanbul. I also had an easy and magical day in Bodrum and another in Kusadasi.

Shanghai, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Xiamen and Pusan were great ports as well.

The first time we went we stayed outside the CT and spent the day there. That was wonderful, but even better was last time when we stayed overnight in Vernazza in a room overlooking the main street and ate in a restaurant watching the sun set over the ocean.

Check on Trip Advisor. We saw a tango show at the Tortona Cafe. We just went on our own. Is your ship staying overnight? The shows I read about were all at night.

http://www.tomsportguides.com/Quebec-06-10-2011.pdf

I agree that you can easily spend a day just wandering around. There is no need to go outside the city, but if you wish to and have time, you can rent a car and go to Ste. Anne de Beaupre and Montmorency Falls and/or drive around Ile d'Orleans.

This is a lovely drive and you have picked two very different places. You should have a great day.

Absolutely go on your own. You can use a combination of ferries, trains and walking.

Be sure to see Corniglia, which is the least visited village and has a spectacular location. We went there by train and walked up the hill but there is apparently a shuttle bus.

I agree that you can tour Istanbul and Athens on your own. We had Rick Steves guide books and lots of information from here and Trip Advisor. We felt very safe walking around Istanbul in the dark.

I assume you are going to Saint John (notice the spelling), New Brunswick and not St. John's, Newfoundland.

If you go back to the Canada page (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39 )and go to the search section at the top you can search for and find many previous threads.

Here are a few to start:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1653563

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1936086

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1908992

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1847765

If you do a search on Trip Advisor you will find information there. Do a search. I am looking at options for a cruise in Myanmar.

I wish Rick would branch out. He's in the middle east but shows no signs of venturing further.

For other places I use a combination of things: Lonely Planet has good maps. You can download the chapters you need.

I also rely heavily on Trip Advisor.

And for cruise ports check out http://cruiseportwiki.com/wiki.asp and http://tomsportguides.com/

For Southeast Asia check out http://www.travelfish.org/

We just climbed part way up the walls to the old church. The view from there was wonderful. Then we wandered around town. Kotor and the bay are very beautiful.

If you plan ahead and get tickets you could have a wonderful day in Milan, seeing "The Last Supper" and visiting the cathedral, etc.

If you join the roll call for your cruise you may be able to get a group together and share a ride.

We took two weeks just to see Sydney, Cairns and Uluru. You could not see more than that properly. September was ideal weather-wise.

September was also fine for New Zealand.

I do not think a cruise is the ideal way to see either country. This is particularly so for New Zealand where much of the spectacular scenery is inland.