Help with Sydney port excursion

[steve333]

Good morning,we are due in Sydney as our last port of call in September and I’m stuck between 2 ship tours,one a 4 hour trip to Baddeck town ariving back in Sydney at 13:00 to have lunch/sight see/shop or a 7 hour Cabot trail excursion including lunch at Keltic lodge leaving  little time in Sydney before boarding-any help/advice welcome,Steve 

Edited August 21, 2019 by steve333

[maryann ns]

If you insist on a ship's tour I would take the partial Cabot Trail one. If you go on your own you could skip the time consuming lunch at Keltic Lodge and see a bit more of the scenery.

 

Sydney is not all that interesting. If you go on your own to Baddeck you could have lunch there and a bit more time to explore.

 

You can go here for lots of information for various options for cruise visitors to Sydney.

 

[steve333]

19 minutes ago, maryann ns said:

If you insist on a ship's tour I would take the partial Cabot Trail one. If you go on your own you could skip the time consuming lunch at Keltic Lodge and see a bit more of the scenery.

 

Sydney is not all that interesting. If you go on your own to Baddeck you could have lunch there and a bit more time to explore.

 

You can go here for lots of information for various options for cruise visitors to Sydney.

 

Hi Maryann,thank you for your reply and link-the ships Baddeck tour is 4 hours and I think we have enough free time there for lunch otherwise we will be back to Sydney cruise port for 13:00 so could have lunch then,as the Cabot trail(partial) is a long way from the cruise ship and we are only in port for around 10 hours I wouldn’t be comfortable doing it privately for obvious reasons,Steve.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I do not want to hijack your thread--but, I have a related question.  

 

We usually book independent tours or DIY.  [I will not rent a car--just nor in my comfort level]  

 

We are looking at ship's tours, too.  I am thinking of Fort Louisburg [sp?]  I would get a private tour there, but I have read on this message board that while the fort is open after Labor Day all of the reenactors, etc are not there.  [not much to see]  I have read the ship tours pay these reenactors to come back for the day.  Does anyone know if this is true?  TIA

[maryann ns]

The ships pay for at least one costumed person to give a guided tour but in no way will all the summer animators be there.

 

Fortress Louisbourg is still interesting but nothing like the way it is in summer. Come back again in summer or come for a land tour. 

 

http://*****/2nKbbyK Cape Breton

[DragonOfTheSeas]

14 minutes ago, maryann ns said:

The ships pay for at least one costumed person to give a guided tour but in no way will all the summer animators be there.

 

Fortress Louisbourg is still interesting but nothing like the way it is in summer. Come back again in summer or come for a land tour. 

 

http://*****/2nKbbyK Cape Breton

I will keep that in mind-but for this fall I have a port stop on October 10.  I am trying to decide what to do. . .  our port time is 7am to 3:30pm.

 

So the question is--go to the fort or do something else?  We are history buffs.

Edited August 21, 2019 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Frncie]

57 minutes ago, maryann ns said:

The ships pay for at least one costumed person to give a guided tour but in no way will all the summer animators be there.

 

Fortress Louisbourg is still interesting but nothing like the way it is in summer. Come back again in summer or come for a land tour. 

 

http://*****/2nKbbyK Cape Breton

We will be in Sydney on Saturday, October 12. We were thinking of picking up a rental car in town and driving out to Fort Louisbourg. If we’re not on a ship’s tour, but just arriving on our own and buying a ticket, will we still have something to see at the Fort that late in the season?

[maryann ns]

Here is the information posted in the website for Fortress Louisbourg.  So you can tour with a mobile app. 

 

You can also see things historical by touring the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck and the Highland Village Museum in Iona. 

[FoolishMe]

We'll be in Sydney in early Sept and have booked a Highland Village/Baddeck/Bell Museum Tour (Blackwood). We're hoping it will have beautiful scenery and some history.  We are also history buffs, but decided against Fortress Louisbourg since would be so few reenactors .

https://www.blackwoodtours.com/tours/highland-village-baddeck-bell-museum/

 

Good luck

[DragonOfTheSeas]

46 minutes ago, FoolishMe said:

We'll be in Sydney in early Sept and have booked a Highland Village/Baddeck/Bell Museum Tour (Blackwood). We're hoping it will have beautiful scenery and some history.  We are also history buffs, but decided against Fortress Louisbourg since would be so few reenactors .

https://www.blackwoodtours.com/tours/highland-village-baddeck-bell-museum/

 

Good luck

Thanks! That looks like a very good tour.  I checked for my date Oct 10, 2019 and I see there is only a 1-7 PM tour left. We leave port at 3:30pm.  

 

Have fun on your cruise. 

[JsEscape2]

We will be in Sydney 9/30.  If we get off the ship in port can we arrange to get to Fort Louisbourg without renting a car?  Doesn't look like private tours (Blackwood) have an opening .  

Are the reenactors all gone by then?  We love history and the fort sounds neat..  

[DragonOfTheSeas]

33 minutes ago, JsEscape2 said:

We will be in Sydney 9/30.  If we get off the ship in port can we arrange to get to Fort Louisbourg without renting a car?  Doesn't look like private tours (Blackwood) have an opening .  

Are the reenactors all gone by then?  We love history and the fort sounds neat..  

I would like to know that, too.  it seems all of the private companies are full.  

[sunsetbeachgal]

On 8/21/2019 at 5:15 PM, maryann ns said:

The ships pay for at least one costumed person to give a guided tour but in no way will all the summer animators be there.

 

Fortress Louisbourg is still interesting but nothing like the way it is in summer. Come back again in summer or come for a land tour. 

 

http://*****/2nKbbyK Cape Breton

We are in Sydney on October 20 and decided to book the ships tour to Louisbourg.  I normally do private tours, but I could not find an operator with a tour going there that day.  My husband and I love history and he has been reading up on history of this area and Quebec City.  Even if Louisbourg  is not fully in operation, for us it’s a must see! 

Edited August 26, 2019 by sunsetbeachgal

[maryann ns]

I do not have any recent reports about taxis being available for private tours at the pier. It is a long drive to the Fortress and you would likely need the taxi to wait. That would likely be very expensive. It is an easy drive so renting a car is more practical.

https://goo.gl/maps/zDD8bGQXfHeQqJte9