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Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Excursion

davidnsteph

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davidnsteph

davidnsteph

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We will be cruising to Canada/New England this August on the Caribbean Princess. Princess offers a 6-hour excursion from Halifax to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We have read that this historic fishing village is a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

Has anyone taken such an excursion from Halifax, or been to Lunenburg on your own? If yes, was there plenty to see, and was it especially memorable?

 

Any experiences would be appreciated.

 

DavidnSteph

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mii

mii

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what might help is f you go the Ports of Call board and scroll to Canada and ask the question there. Also do a Search this Forum on that site. Maybe more info will come up.

 

marilyn

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RickT

RickT

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I'm originally from Halifax and have spent plenty of time in Lunenburg. Here is a link to their website. http://www.lunenburgns.com/ While I like Lunenburg, I'd have to say that a first time visitor to Halifax would have a better time visiting Peggy's Cove and spending time in and around historic halifax. Just my opinion. Guess it really depends on what you want to see.

 

As mentioned, there are a number of posts on Halifax and other ports in Canada here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39

 

Plus a really good one specific to Halifax here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=48217 where a current resident of Halifax posts and will respond to questions. It's a little quiet this time of year but will pick up shortly.

 

Enjoy Halifax... sometimes I wonder why I ever moved away :(

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custompcsys

custompcsys

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While I didn't officially live in Halifax, I had a client there and had to spend 2 weeks a month there for about 7 months, so I felt like I lived there :) I also spent some time driving Nova Scotia and have been to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg. I have to agree with RickT...if you just have one day spend it in Halifax and/or Peggy's Cove. There is so much to see and do in Halifax, you will love it. Personally, I could spend half the day in the Keith's brewery just taking the tour and getting the free samples at the end :D

 

Make sure you stop at Tim Hortons and have a double-double for me! :)

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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We drove out there with a private driver (along with stopping at Peggy's Cove, etc..).

 

I felt like we spent more time in the car driving then seeing things. I would recommend spending time around Halifax.

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lannp

lannp

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I did this trip last fall. Next time I would stay in Halifax. There is so much to do there and for Lunenburg you are of course spending time on the motorcoach. You are also on someone else's schedule. In Halifax you can wander at your own pace and not have to rush off the ship to take the tour.

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Elcruzer

Elcruzer

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While I didn't officially live in Halifax, I had a client there and had to spend 2 weeks a month there for about 7 months, so I felt like I lived there :) I also spent some time driving Nova Scotia and have been to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg. I have to agree with RickT...if you just have one day spend it in Halifax and/or Peggy's Cove. There is so much to see and do in Halifax, you will love it. Personally, I could spend half the day in the Keith's brewery just taking the tour and getting the free samples at the end :D

 

Make sure you stop at Tim Hortons and have a double-double for me! :)

Is Keith's Brewery easy to get to? Is the tour free, if not what is the cost?

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davidnsteph

davidnsteph

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Thank you all for the advice on Halifax. On a previous cruise, we walked through Halifax and took a Horse and Carriage ride, but we never ventured outside of Halifax to Peggy's cove or to Lunenburg. We like history, and descriptions of Lunenburg looked attractive, even though the drive there takes a while, and there won't be a lot of time spent there.

 

Regarding Peggy's Cove, some fellow cruisers on a previous Canada/New England cruise told us that aside from a picturesque lighthouse and a few quaint houses, there isn't a lot else to see or do. Anyone else have an impression of either of these excursions?

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Putterdude

Putterdude

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Regarding Peggy's Cove, some fellow cruisers on a previous Canada/New England cruise told us that aside from a picturesque lighthouse and a few quaint houses, there isn't a lot else to see or do. Anyone else have an impression of either of these excursions?

 

Peggy's Cove is one of those must see's but if it came to seeing it or spending time in Lunenburg, well Lunenburg wins. It has been a few years since we were there but there really is a lot to see in the townsite and on the docks.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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Regarding Peggy's Cove, some fellow cruisers on a previous Canada/New England cruise told us that aside from a picturesque lighthouse and a few quaint houses, there isn't a lot else to see or do. Anyone else have an impression of either of these excursions?

 

That is correct IMO. Also close to this is a memorial for a flight that went down that is also worth seeing.

 

Here is a link to the memorial (Swiss Air 111) and you can see Peggy's Cove in the background.

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pdoeringer

pdoeringer

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Our ship arrives in Halifax at 8 AM. If we rented a car and left Halifax at about 9:30 would we have time to do Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg in 1 trip? We would have to be back in Halifax by 4:30 to turn in the car and get on the ship as it leaves at 6. How many miles would that trip be? How long does it take to Peggy's Cove?

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Cardex

Cardex

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We will be cruising to Canada/New England this August on the Caribbean Princess. Princess offers a 6-hour excursion from Halifax to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We have read that this historic fishing village is a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

Has anyone taken such an excursion from Halifax, or been to Lunenburg on your own? If yes, was there plenty to see, and was it especially memorable?

 

Any experiences would be appreciated.

 

DavidnSteph

 

I would choose Lunenburg over Peggy's Cove. At Peggy's Cove there isn't a lot to see except the lighthouse which is a great photo op but not much else. Lunenburg is wonderful to walk around in. The streets are steep going down to the water so if walking is a problem it might not be a good idea. You will love it if you do go!

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Cardex

Cardex

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Our ship arrives in Halifax at 8 AM. If we rented a car and left Halifax at about 9:30 would we have time to do Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg in 1 trip? We would have to be back in Halifax by 4:30 to turn in the car and get on the ship as it leaves at 6. How many miles would that trip be? How long does it take to Peggy's Cove?

 

Peggy's Cove is about a 40 minute drive from Halifax.

Here is a great map http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/pdf/maps/map_of_nova_scotia.pdf

I would suggest driving to Peggy's Cove on the #333 starting at Halifax and doing the loop then turn on to the #3 and follow it along the coast making sure to drive through Chester and Mahone Bay which are both very pretty towns. Then to head back to Halifax get on highway #103 for a faster drive back.

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  • 2 weeks later...
davidnsteph

davidnsteph

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Thank you all for your advice on Lunenburg and Peggy's cove. We have just booked the 6.5 hour Lunenburg excursion on the Caribbean Princess in early September. We will have about 90 minutes in Lunenburg, including a walk down to the waterfront as a group, then free time to explore.

 

We will also have a 45 minute stop in Mahone Bay.

 

DavidnSteph

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  • 11 months later...
Grego

Grego

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Thank you all for your advice on Lunenburg and Peggy's cove. We have just booked the 6.5 hour Lunenburg excursion on the Caribbean Princess in early September. We will have about 90 minutes in Lunenburg, including a walk down to the waterfront as a group, then free time to explore.

 

We will also have a 45 minute stop in Mahone Bay.

 

DavidnSteph

 

I don't know if you will see this posting, but we are on the Caribbean Princess the October going to Canada and NE and were wondering how you liked the ship's tour to Lunenburg because we are thinking of doing this one. Let me know about this and any other tours you took last year.

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travelbig

travelbig

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Have you considered booking a private tour to these places? We are going to Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and a short stop at the "Titanic" cemetery in the same amount of time you will take on the ship tour for the same amount of money. Here are two companys you can check out. Try to have 4-6 adults on the tour to give you the best price per person.

 

 

> www.novascotiatoursandtravel.com

 

> www.brucestours.ca

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Kimjergen

Kimjergen

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Peggy's cove is on the way to (or from) Lunenburg doing a roundtrip Halifax drive so you can visit both of these places. We are on the Maasdam 5/30 sailing and plan on renting w/Budget and driving to visit Lunenburg, Mahoney Bay, and Peggy's cove with maybe a quick stop at either Blue Rocks or Ovens Natural Park too. I know Halifax is a great town but as a family we really enjoy including do it yourself driving adventures to the smaller, historic and charming and more remote towns within striking distance of the ports we visit. We are all different in our preferences but for others like us, we'd feel cheated if we didnt take these DIY driving opportunities. Driving on twisting and turning roads in scenic areas is half the fun as you feel like you are making a discovery rather than being on a bus tour with a total set agenda, as sometimes you find something unexpectedly wonderful along the way too. We are in our 40's with good vision, physically very active and travel with our 11 & 13 year old sons and understand that this type of dyi shore excursions is not always a good fit for everyone. But every adventure is a learning adventure for all of us!

 

Here's a link to lighthouse route driving tour map of the area...

http://www.outdoorns.com/lighthouse2.htm

 

ps -lunenburg is only 57 miles from Halifax but lots of twists and turns along the way, should be amazingly beautiful.

FYI- here is a distance calclulator for Nova Scotia in case you'd like to use it...

http://novascotia.com/en/home/planatrip/distancecalculator.aspx

 

Happy travels,

Kim

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Kimjergen

Kimjergen

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ps - here are some movies that were filmed in Lunenburg that might give us a preview of the town - (found it on the Lunenburg website)

Simon Birch, Two if by sea & Dolores Claiborne

 

I also found some sample lunch menus for restuarants in Lunenburg...

The Grand Banker Restaurant

http://www.grandbanker.com/menu/documents/Winter_Lunch_Menu_mock.pdf

Old fish factory right on the harbor

http://www.oldfishfactory.com/html_docs/menu/menu2.html

 

best,

Kim

 

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