Active shore excursions?

[TravelingTarheel]

We are active and well traveled cruisers who will take the Holland America cruise from Boston to Montreal in late May. Don't really like the shore excursions offered- either you're on the bus the whole time or you walk somewhere for a couple of hours and don't see the town. Suggestions? Thanks

[maryann ns]

Could you tell us which ports you will stop at?

[TravelingTarheel]

Could you tell us which ports you will stop at?

 

Could you tell us which ports you will stop at?

 

Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, charlottetown, PE, Quebec

 

We like music, sailing, walking, art, photography...

Not interested in much shopping and definitely not in spending the whole time in port on a bus!

Thanks for your help!

[maryann ns]

For Halifax you can walk the waterfront, up Citadel Hill, walk through the Public Gardens and back to the ship. There are also sailing and other boat tours available at the waterfront. Halifax is full of museums and there are several art galleries. You could spend days there. Halifax has a very lively pub scene and many of live music though I don't know how many have music in daytime. Check out listings here: http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/music/Section?oid=957803

 

Or you could rent a car to drive to Peggy's Cove and then go along the shore to Lunenburg. There is wonderful scenery. Lunenburg is a gem of a town and has several art and craft stores. There are also sailing tours available there.

 

For Prince Edward Island I would rent a car and drive around the centre part of the island, including the National Park on the north shore, the town of Victoria on the south shore.

 

Sydney can be frustrating for cruise visitors since most ships do not stay long enough in port. All the attractions are out of town. You have three main choices:

 

1. Take a partial drive along the Cabot Trail perhaps getting as far as Neil's Harbour.

 

2. Spend the day or most of it at Fortress Louisbourg. However, I do not recommend this in May, as the Fortress is not fully operational.

 

3. Drive to Baddeck and Iona. This is a scenic drive and Baddeck has boat tours, the Bell Museum, restaurants and shops. Here is the route: https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Esplanade,+Sydney,+NS&daddr=Baddeck,+NS+to:Iona,+NS+to:Christmas+Island,+NS+to:Esplanade,+Sydney,+NS&hl=en&sll=46.141238,-60.196969&sspn=0.030152,0.084543&geocode=FTYPwAIdl3dp_CmH2p5VKftnSzGi1NYfQuHwCg%3BFc1tvwIdDPVg_CnPkSNJLGJdSzHz0SeXSM56XA%3BFZJPvQIdijBg_Cl3_U_XX2hdSzG-umoFiqZDow%3BFTdSvQIdY9pg_CmLNVmJ_mddSzHgrABkv7cAyg%3BFTYPwAIdl3dp_CmH2p5VKftnSzGi1NYfQuHwCg&oq=sy&mra=ls&t=m&z=10

 

 

You can get much more information by going back to the Ports of Call page for Canada and looking for the search feature to the right of the blue bar near the top of the page. Also do an internet search for toms port guides.

[TravelingTarheel]

Thank you so much! As we will have another couple with us the car rental idea is a good one.

[maryann ns]

You are welcome. If you have more questions, please ask.