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Canada Maritime Birding Tour:
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island
On this tour we will visit the Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Visiting Newfoundland is an optional extension to the main tour. Newfoundland is not a maritime province but is a part of Labrador.
Highlights:
1) Bay of Fundy, where the highest tides in the world can reach a height of 53 feet.
2) Visiting Atlantic Puffin colonies off the north coast of Nova Scotia
3) Birding the forests and coastline of Cape Breton
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Travel Dates: June 6 - 18, 2025
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Group Size: 6 people, spots left = 3
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Trip Length: 13 days
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Rates: Rate per person = $4,750 (double occupancy), $1,200 extra for single
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Rates include: Lodging, breakfast, lunch, dinner, scheduled group tours, park entrance fees and basic travel insurance.
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Not included: International airfare, customs & immigration fees and visas, alcohol, trip cancellation insurance.
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Adventure level: Easy, please check the “Welcome” page for definition
Day 0: Arrival day
Book your flight for arrival at the Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) on June 5th. You will be responsible for booking and paying for your hotel room on day "0". There are several hotels next to the airport that have free shuttles from the airport to the airport hotel. The Holiday Inn Express ($150) and the Hilton Garden Inn ($175) are recommended hotels. You are welcome to book a hotel in Halifax as well. The tour will start on "Day 1"
Day 1: Halifax
Morning start for a full day exploring the parks and historic sites of Halifax. Lodging will be at the Lord Nelson Hotel for 2-nights
Day 2: Halifax
Halifax is surrounded by numerous parks and coastal areas for great birding, including Frog Pond, Long Lake Provincial Park, and Hemlock Ravine Park.
Day 3: Baddeck, Nova Scotia
From Halifax, it is a 4-hour drive to our next place of lodging at the St. Ann's Motel along Cabot Trail, Baddeck, Nova Scotia. We will stay here for 2-nights. Along the way there are many places to stop for birding. Depending on time, we will visit Victoria Park, Beaver Mountain Provincial Park, and Whycocomagh Provincial Park. We will also stop at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Besides the museum, the surrounding park and waterfront area of Baddeck is a good birding spot.
Day 4: Baddeck, Nova Scotia
Our lodging at St. Anne's is an excellent location for birding the surrounding area. In the morning, we will take a boat out to a Atlantic Puffin colony. In the afternoon we will be birding St. Ann's Provincial Park, located right behind our lodging location.
Day 5: Cape Breton Highlands
From our motel at St. Ann's, it is a 1-hour drive to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. This beautiful park has many roadside stops and short trails for birding. We will be traveling along the east coast and northern edges of this amazing park. Our lodging at The Mountain View Motel for 1-night is located at the northwest corner of the national park in a small village called Pleasant Bay. This is an excellent location for birding and wonderful walks. Cape Breton Highlands National Park consists of 234,000 acres, so this is a big area for birding.
Day 6: Port Hastings, Nova Scotia
From Pleasant Bay we will travel the west coast of Cape Breton all the way down to the Port Hastings area. Total drive time is about 2.5 hours. We will spend most of the day birding the Cheticamp area, with also a few roadside stops as well. Our lodging for the next 2-nights is located along the Strait of Canso, across from Port Hastings at the Cove Motel.
Day 7: Port Hastings, Nova Scotia
A full day birding locations along the Strait of Canso. There are bays, inlets, and forest edges for great birding.
Day 8: Hopewell, New Brunswick
From our lodging along the Strait of Canso, it is a 3-hour drive to the Amherst and Sackville areas of New Brunswick. Here we will spend time birding the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary and the Sackville waterfowl park. From Sackville, it is a 1-hour drive to our lodging in Hopewell where we will spend 2-nights at the Shepody Bay Inn.
Day 9: Hopewell, New Brunswick
A short drive down the coast from our lodging, is the Shepody Bay National Wildlife area, where will spend the morning birding. Later we will head to Fundy National Park. Besides great birding, Fundy Bay is where you will experience the largest tides in the world. Depending on the time of year and the moon phase, the tides can reach 53 feet. We will spend most of the day at the Fundy National Park.
Day 10: Prince Edward Island
In the morning we will stop at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park for a morning bird walk. From Hopewell Rocks, it is a 3-hour drive to our lodging on Prince Edward Island. We will be staying at the Forest and Lake B&B. This wonderful B&B is located in a beautiful 20-acre forest with a small lake. There is good birding from the porch and nice trails for walking.
Day 11: Prince Edward Island
We will spend the day birding the eastern side of Prince Edward Island. Stops include Panmure Island Provincial Park, Harvey Moore Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape Bear Lighthouse, and Marconi Station.
Day 12: Stanfield International Airport
We will be taking a morning ferry from Prince Edward Island and travel across the Northumberland Strait to Caribou, New Brunswick. It is a 75-minute ferry crossing with opportunities to see some pelagic birds. In the afternoon we will have time to visit a few birding locations on our way to our hotel located close to the Halifax Stanfield Airport. Stops include Bezansons Falls and Brookfield Wetlands.
Day 13: Fly Home
There will be a shuttle to the airport for flights home.
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