Sydney transportation

we will be in Sydney this June, and I am interested in doing the coal mine tour. It appears that the museum is a distance away, and I was wondering what might be the best method to get there. I think there will be 6 of us going.

I have seen car rentals, but have also seen people have trouble with pickups and returns.

would a taxi be an economical way to go. or would we want to try and hire a car for the day we are in port from 8:00 to 5:00. would we have time to see the museum in the morning and see some sites near sydney?

It would be best to rent a car to get to the Glace Bay Miner's Museum. The tour they give is really interesting by the way. You could perhaps combine this with a short visit to Louisbourg which will be in shoulder season.

Here is an earlier thread where I outlined options for Sydney.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1687976

Here is an earlier thread where I outlined options for Sydney.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1687976

Hi Maryann ns -

In an earlier thread you gave three links for tours while in Sydney. One was for the Cabot Trail. I tried the link, but it would not open. Could you repost the link? We have six hours in port and would love to see some of the Cabot Trail.

we will be in Sydney this June, and I am interested in doing the coal mine tour. It appears that the museum is a distance away, and I was wondering what might be the best method to get there. I think there will be 6 of us going.

 

I have seen car rentals, but have also seen people have trouble with pickups and returns.

 

would a taxi be an economical way to go. or would we want to try and hire a car for the day we are in port from 8:00 to 5:00. would we have time to see the museum in the morning and see some sites near sydney?

We rented from Enterprise at 446 Grand Lake Rd and went to the museum. The museum was really great. We had no problem at all with pickup or return.

Here is the route to tour a small part of the Cabot Trail. It is not the best part in my opinion, but it is a pretty drive. The last part is the best. However it is a four and a half hour drive without stopping or troubles.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=marine+terminal&daddr=Neils+Harbour,+NS+to:Sydney+Ports+Corporation,+Sydney+Marine+Terminal,+Sydney,+NS&hl=en&sll=46.148068,-60.203316&sspn=0.007537,0.021136&geocode=FeQpwAIdzF5p_CGMJ_rjijvihikBDbhD1fpnSzGMJ_rjijvihg%3BFUo_ygIdypJn_CnRl4vg0ldmSzGQGjYJE8iOlQ%3BFeQpwAIdzF5p_CGMJ_rjijvihikBDbhD1fpnSzGMJ_rjijvihg&oq=sy&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

Here is the route to tour a small part of the Cabot Trail. It is not the best part in my opinion, but it is a pretty drive. The last part is the best. However it is a four and a half hour drive without stopping or troubles.

 

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=marine+terminal&daddr=Neils+Harbour,+NS+to:Sydney+Ports+Corporation,+Sydney+Marine+Terminal,+Sydney,+NS&hl=en&sll=46.148068,-60.203316&sspn=0.007537,0.021136&geocode=FeQpwAIdzF5p_CGMJ_rjijvihikBDbhD1fpnSzGMJ_rjijvihg%3BFUo_ygIdypJn_CnRl4vg0ldmSzGQGjYJE8iOlQ%3BFeQpwAIdzF5p_CGMJ_rjijvihikBDbhD1fpnSzGMJ_rjijvihg&oq=sy&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

Thank you. We will be in port from 10 AM to 5 PM. I am assuming that we need to be back on board by 4 PM. I wonder if we will have enough time to drive this portion of the Cabot Trail?

You would have enough time if you don't stop too often and nothing goes wrong.

Chazeek - when are you in port? We are also looking into that tour,

You can easily take a bus.

We berthed at the Sydney Marine Terminal located at the corner of York and Esplanade. You are in town. There really isn't much of note in the town itself. You've got to get out of town. Fortunately, they have good local bus service. We set our sights on The Miners' Museum (a AAA Gem) located in nearby Glace Bay. They are open 10:00am - 6:00pm and costs $6 pp + Mine Tour $6 pp. The bus stop is about 4 blocks from the pier. Take Esplanade to Dorchester to George. Wait at the glass-enclosed bus stop on Dorchester just short of George Street. Take the #1 Glace Bay bus at 9:00am. It may arrive early but it will wait and leave on the hour. The ride takes about 50 minutes. Once you arrive in Glace Bay, get off on Commercial (between Marconi and York, across the street from Tim Hortons). Walk downhill on Commercial St. Commercial becomes South after you cross over a stream. Continue on South St and turn left at Birkley St. The museum will be straight ahead, about 2 blocks. (Total walk is 1.1 km, which will take you about 20 minutes). You will see occasional signage.

The Miners' Museum has a movie and exhibits on coal mining, methods, tools, and history. The real value in visiting the museum is the tour, led by retired coal miners who share with you their coal mining experiences. You go underground into a 1932 'room and pillar' coal mine where you will see coal-lined walls and learn from a true insider about the mining methods and working conditions. He will share his stories with you as you enter one tunnel after another. The tour is advertised to last 20 minutes. Our 10-person tour lasted at least an hour. Highly recommended!

Catch the return bus on Marconi Street, near where you arrived, at Noon or 1:00pm (and arrive 1 hour later). If you get back to the bus stop a little early, stop in at Tim Hortons for a fresh Krispy Kreme-style doughnut or muffin, and coffee or hot chocolate.

Cost for the bus was $3.25pp 1 way (except Saturdays where all fares are just 1 Loonie). Discount bus fare books of $13.75 can be bought for $12.50 at any Shoppers Drug Mart store or Sydney Citizen Service Centre (320 Esplanade in Sydney 8:30am - 4:30pm). Allow a total of 6 hours for this excursion (1.5 hours for the bus and walk each way and 3 hours for the museum and mine tour).

What to do in 5 Canadian Ports: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/constellation.html

Wow! What a great detailed description. I will be adding this to my notes. Thank you so much.

Another great feature of the Glace Bay Miners' Museum is the restaurant in one of the old miner's houses.

We rented from Enterprise at 446 Grand Lake Rd and went to the museum. The museum was really great. We had no problem at all with pickup or return.

How far from the port is the car rental is it walk able or did you have them pick you up? If you had them pick you up approximately how long did it take?

How far from the port is the car rental is it walk able or did you have them pick you up? If you had them pick you up approximately how long did it take?

They picked us up and were there when we walked off the ship. There were 8 of us that they were waiting for and they had our names. I believe that it took about 10 minutes to get to there office--they dropped us off then went back for more cruisers. Very good experience.

They picked us up and were there when we walked off the ship. There were 8 of us that they were waiting for and they had our names. I believe that it took about 10 minutes to get to there office--they dropped us off then went back for more cruisers. Very good experience.

Thanks for the info when I called Enterprise they said I would need to call an hour before to confirm pick up time / location. Did you need to call or were you able to pre-arrange pick-up time? Sorry for all the questions but I am traveling with mom she worries about everything and will drive me crazy instead of just going with the flow she will start the night before with are you sure they will pick us up, what happens if they don't have a car for us, etc.

Thanks for the info when I called Enterprise they said I would need to call an hour before to confirm pick up time / location. Did you need to call or were you able to pre-arrange pick-up time? Sorry for all the questions but I am traveling with mom she worries about everything and will drive me crazy instead of just going with the flow she will start the night before with are you sure they will pick us up, what happens if they don't have a car for us, etc.

When we went in 2011, we walked out beyond the secure area and I was getting ready to call, but they were there. There were already a couple of people in the car and they were waiting for a couple more. They had our names.

We were on a Holland America cruise last fall that stopped in Sydney/Cape Breton. If I was going back, I would not rent a car. For our particular cruise, this was a short time in port. I believe sail away was at 3. Enterprise would drive a car down to the terminal and carry people back to their office which seemed more than a few miles away. They had two people there helping people get off and into their rentals. It was not fast. We drove a little of the Cabot Trail and whizzed by the Alexander G Bell museum and then drove like crazy to get back on time. We admittedly got lost (even with GPS) so that threw us off about 30 minutes.

If I had it to do all over again, I would take one of the cruise sponsored tours or whatever. I don't think we saw a lot and it was more stressful than enjoyable as opposed to our car rental experiences in Halifax and PEI which were great.