ATLANTIC CANADA Feature
ATLANTIC CANADA Must dos...
• Whale-watching: best enjoyed from June to September, with no shortage of boat tours on offer
• Lighthouses: a trip to Atlantic Canada wouldn’t be complete without visiting one!
• The extreme tides and rock formations of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick
• Road trip: try recommending Nova Scotia’s Cabot Trail or Newfoundland & Labrador’s Viking Trail
• Seafood: if visitors don’t try lobster they haven’t tasted Atlantic Canada!
• Newfoundland & Labrador’s Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Festivals: Atlantic Canada’s diverse culture is best enjoyed at one of its plethora of festivals, from music and food, to theatre and games
• The UNESCO-listed seaport of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
• Adventure activities: wide-open spaces and stunning landscapes are ideal territory for hiking, kayaking, cycling and golf
• Set out on foot or by bike on the Confederation Trail, Prince Edward Island
Atlantic Canada NOVA SCOTIA Characterised by its musical traditions, diverse population, scenic beauty and sea-faring heritage, Nova Scotia tends to feature in most Atlantic Canada itineraries, for it is also home to Halifax – the region’s largest city and principal international gateway. A waterfront boardwalk is the first
port of call for many visitors to Halifax, before taking in the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. Nova Scotia’s southwest coastline
forms one side of the Bay of Fundy, site of the world’s highest tides. Kayaking and whale-watching can both be enjoyed in the area, or visitors can discover 300- million-year-old fossils at Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nova Scotia’s other UNESCO site
LEARN MORE
www.atlanticcanadaholiday.co.uk www.tourismnewbrunswick.co.uk www.newfoundlandandlabrador.com www.novascotia.com www.tourismpei.com
16 SPRING 2011 • SELLING CANADA
is Old Town Lunenburg (pictured above), where red wooden warehouses and colourful homes line the narrow streets of this historic harbour town. For fly-drive ideas, look no further
than the Cabot Trail. It is regarded as one of the most scenic touring routes in the world as it winds its way for 300km through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, along the rugged coastline, through the Margaree River valley and beside the Bras d’Or Lakes. The province’s diverse culture is the
striking shorelines and seaside towns and villages. Among other top visitor destinations are Fogo Island and L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. The latter is the site of North America’s oldest European settlement, where Vikings landed over 1,000 years ago. It also marks the northern extreme of the 490km-long Viking Trail, a popular driving route – tackled in anything from two to ten days – that travels through wooded valleys, over mountains and along the windswept coast.
result of Mi’kmaq, Acadian, Scottish and African Nova Scotian populations, and all are celebrated today through events and exhibitions such as the Glooscap Heritage Centre, the Celtic Colours International Music Festival and the Black Culture Centre for Nova Scotia. Like its fellow Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotian cuisine is dominated by seafood, with lobster, Digby Scallops and mussels from Mahone Bay among the favourites.
– it lists some of the island’s best foodie experiences, from the Culinary Institute’s half-day Boot Camps to a series of Culinary Trail itineraries. The Island Fusion Festival promises
to get the summer off to a lively start, with highlights including the Rollo Bay Bluegrass Festival, Summerside Highland Gathering, Victoria Playhouse Gathering and Charlottetown Summerfest.
Atlantic Canada SAMPLE ITINERARIES AIR TRANSAT HOLIDAYS 020 7616 9184
www.transatholidays.co.uk Maritime Moments is a fly-drive itinerary taking in the best of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It is priced from £969pp.
Atlantic Canada PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Prince Edward Island, or PEI for short, is widely known to UK TV audiences as the home of Anne of Green Gables. It is Canada’s smallest province and lies in the Gulf of St Lawrence, between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Its gently rolling hills, red sandstone
cliffs and multitude of sandy beaches draw visitors in search of idyllic coastal hikes and strolls along the sand. The Island’s seaside coastal beauty complements the 30 golf courses that ensure PEI is consistently ranked as Canada’s top golf destination. Provincial capital Charlottetown is criss-crossed by leafy avenues lined by colourful clapboard housing and hosts an annual music and theatre festival, the highlight of which is Anne of Green Gables – The Musical. For active types, PEI’s number one
attraction is the Confederation Trail, a 350km stretch of abandoned railway line now converted into a cycle and walking path that traverses the entire island. If your client’s preference is for four wheels, then three scenic drives totalling over 1,000km cover the best of the island's sights and landscapes: the North Cape Coastal Drive, the Central Coastal Drive and the Points East Coastal Drive. PEI’s Flavours Trail is further evidence
of Atlantic Canada’s fondness for all things food. With a dedicated website that urges autumn visitors to ‘get here hungry’ – September is Culinary Month
BRIDGE & WICKERS 020 7483 6555
www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk The 18-day Beaches, Islands & Lobsters self-drive itinerary visits New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The cost is from £1,726pp.
FRONTIER CANADA 020 8776 8709
www.frontier-canada.co.uk The tour operator’s 15-day fly-drive Maritime Moments itinerary begins in Nova Scotia, before visiting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The tour is from £1,013pp.
AUDLEY TRAVEL 01993 838 000
www.audleytravel.com Audley’s 15-day Newfoundland Explored itinerary begins in St John’s, before visiting Trinity Bay, the pretty fishing port of Twillingate, the Northern Peninsula and the Gros Morne National Park. The cost is £2,700pp.
Atlantic Canada GETTING THERE Air Canada flies direct from London Heathrow to Halifax daily from April to October and four-times-weekly from November to March. It also operates a seasonal service from Heathrow direct to St. John’s, daily from the end of May through to the end of September. Air Transat/Thomas Cook flies from London Gatwick to Halifax once weekly, on Thursdays, from May through to the end of October. •
NOVA SCOTIA
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
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