Landscapes of the Canadian Maritimes - Small Group

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Choice Highlights

• Choose between three carefully selected activities
• Halifax: Halifax’s historic citadel will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. This strategic hilltop location with a  commanding view of the Halifax harbor was chosen in 1749 as the location for the fort that would protect the city. Learn the roles that the fort and its inhabitants played over time visiting this fort as it stood in its Victoria era and as it's been restored as well as enjoying sweeping views of downtown Halifax.
• Halifax: Get up close and personal with the works of one of Canada's best-known folk artists, Maud Lewis, at the Maud Lewis Gallery. View the nearly 19,000 works on display in the Permanent and Study Collections as you gain insights into Lewis’ life. From Nova Scotia, Lewis lived most of her life in a small house in Marshalltown and achieved national recognition in 1964 and 1965.
• Halifax: Halifax’s history will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. Visit Pier 21 - an ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971 - for a guided tour of the Pier 21 Story, an orientation to the Canadian Immigration Story exhibition and a viewing of the film "In Canada." You’ll gain insights into the story of immigration, discovering how nearly one million immigrants came to Canada through Pier 21. As Canada’s last surviving seaport immigration facility, Pier 21 is often compared to the immigration gateway Ellis Island.

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Top Rated Highlights

• Baddeck: Experience warm hospitality and Cape Breton-style home cooking with traditional music. Join local musicians and engage in an evening of song, dance and storytelling for a unique insight into Acadian culture.
• Halifax: Immerse yourself in Nova Scotia's rich maritime heritage at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Discover history, including the Halifax Explosion and the sinking of the Titanic through an immersive visit. History comes alive as you sit in a replica Titanic deck chair or climb aboard the CSS Acadia. Learn about Halifax’s connection to the Titanic: When ship owners in New York heard the ship hit an iceberg, they thought it would travel to Halifax. In the end, 150 of the 1518 lives lost were buried in Halifax. You’ll appreciate gaining insights into history exploring exhibits from a small craft boat building to World War Convoys, the Titanic to the Halifax Explosion, events and people who have defined Nova Scotia and its relationship with the sea.
• Halifax: Embark an exploration of this cosmopolitan, eclectic port city of Halifax with your Local Expert. Travel to the local cemetery where many of the Titanic victims were laid to rest before a visit to the Victorian-era inspired Halifax Public Gardens and bustling harbor front. Learn how the growth of this maritime hub can be attributed to its economic ties with the fishing industry, shipbuilding and trade, fostering a maritime culture that persists today. Your in-depth city tour will end at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for a docent-led tour.
• Lunenburg: The hand-picked UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lunenburg invites you to discover its storied streets. Experience one of the best surviving examples of a planned British Colonial settlement in North America before meeting a Local Expert for a walking tour. Your guided tour will make sites come alive with cultural wonders like superstitions, folklore and local facts. All will be woven together with unique personal stories as you stroll past its brightly painted houses.
• Peggy's Cove: Visit scenic Peggy's Cove, a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay southwest of downtown Halifax. Take in the breathtaking coastal scenery, including its iconic Peggy's Cove Lighthouse perched on rugged granite rocks. Embrace this area's serene beauty, fishing village and artistic community that make it one of Nova Scotia's most favorite destinations.
• Baddeck: Sail aboard the Winstar, a new double decker Catamaran, for an educational tour of the Bras d'Or Lakes. Take in unparalleled views of Baddeck and area's shoreline spotting iconic lighthouses and the historic properties along Beinn Bhreagh, including the mansion of inventor Alexander Graham. Look for a bird estuary and - surely a highlight -- bald eagles swoop down and feeding next to the boat.
• Baddeck: Satisfy your curiosity as you immerse yourself in a unique experience at The Gaelic College, devoted to the study and preservation of the Gaelic and Celtic cultures and the only institution of its kind in North America. Learn about the tradition of fabric milling and see a kilt-making demonstration in action at this educational non-profit institution, offering year-round programming in the culture, music, language, crafts, customs and traditions of the immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland. Discover the history of the college when it was founded in St. Ann’s, Nova Scotia in 1938, by community members who wanted to create a memorial for theGaelic speaking pioneers of Cape Breton.
• Cape Breton Island: The Cabot Trail, a world-famous scenic highway, offers a spectacular driving experience through the stunning landscapes of Cape Breton Island. Enjoy a relaxing drive along the Cabot Trail, keeping an eye out for moose and bald eagles. Then stretch your legs at Cheticamp fishing village where Acadian culture remains strong, and you may be able to hear Acadian language spoken by the locals. Then visit a local beach where you can dip your toes in the water.
• Baddeck: Embark on an insightful visit to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Overlooking Bras d'Or Lake, take a glimpse into the world-famous inventor's interests and inventions from airplanes and kites to deaf education and artificial respiration. From your guide's insights to a multi-media presentation featuring artifacts and photographs from their time together, you’ll appreciate this deep study into an important historical figure.
• Prince Edward Island: Discover picturesque Prince Edward Island with a Local Expert. Visit Prince Edward Island National Park with its sand dunes adorned by beach grass and red sandstone cliffs as well as the rich, red soil that produces PEI’s famous potatoes. Continue onto Cavendish to visit the Green Gable Heritage Place with the chance to see Green Gables House, the fabled home that provided inspiration for L.M. Montgomery's children's classic, "Anne of Green Gables." Take a stroll on the Haunted Wood or Balsam Hollow Trail, which begins as Lover's Lane. Feel like Anne herself as signs highlighting the inspirational sources for Montgomery's writing enhance your discovery. Re-live Anne’s youthful escapades and mishaps within the memory-filled rooms of her Victorian home - where images from the blockbuster 1908 novel blend with the real-life experiences of local author who drew inspiration from the idyllic farmstead, scenery and people.
• Prince Edward Island: The east coast conjures up notions of lighthouses and fine food and drink. Experience both today visiting a winery and two lighthouses. At Rossignol Estate Winery, tour the winery and savor a tasting of four wines produced in their pure oak barrels, along with Prince Edward Island cheese and crackers. Make your way to Wood Islands Lighthouse, built in 1876. Then visit the Point Prim Lighthouse located at the end of Point Prim on a point of land extending into the Northumberland Strait and the first lighthouse on PEI. This the ideal opportunity to snap a picture of a quintessential maritime lighthouse.
• Hopewell Cape: The Bay of Fundy is one of the seven wonders of North America. The highest tidal range on earth, the rarest whales in the world, semi-precious minerals and dinosaur fossils. Twice each day, 160 billion tons of seawater flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy - more than the combined flow of the world's freshwater rivers. Hopewell Rocks, also called "Flowerpots Rocks", are rock formations caused by tidal erosion and stand 40-70 feet tall located on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. Enjoy a visit to Hopewell Rocks with a step-on guide and, if you like, walk down to the water to walk on the ocean floor where – just hours later – the Bay of Fundy will return.
• Shediac: The life of the lobster and its ecosystem will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. Over your guided tour at the Homarus Center, discover the sights and insights including the life cycle of the lobster and other marine animals as well as the fishery. Your up close and personal encounter will find you touching a lobster and learning about its anatomy, how it grows and what it eats. When time permits, you may have the opportunity to learn about fishers' ongoing practices to keep their livelihood healthy for the future.
• New Brunswick: The Bay of Fundy’s natural, unspoiled beauty will inspire the mind of any nature-lover. Travel the Fundy Trail Parkway, which nestles you between the greens of the forest and the blues of the coast, for stunning views in every direction. You’ll witness the highest tides on the planet -- because of its shape which intensifies the gravitational pull from the moon -- and enjoy the coastal access network including scenic lookouts, beaches, waterfalls and interpretive center.
• Annapolis Royal: Victorian homes, quaint shops and oak, elm and chestnut trees dotting the lawn of the historic courthouse, it must be Annapolis Royal. Take a stroll through the National Historic District with a costumed Local Expert and discover a cultural mosaic of history. Learn how it was the colonial capital before the founding of Halifax, a center of early European colonization in North America and a pivotal player in the struggle for empire between the English and French.

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Make Travel Matter

Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Centre: Enrich your journey exploring the history and culture of the Mi'kmaq people at the Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Center. You will be greeted with tea and coffee, the sound of Mi'kmaq music and art on display. A multimedia presentation provides an overview of Mi'kmaq history in their nature themed theater. Then take part in a guided tour seeing artefacts that date back 7,500 years and touching fur, porcupine quills, sweetgrass, birch bark and traditional instruments as you listen to interpreters weave stories. You’ll value learning about Mi'kmaw peoples, whose language has been recognized as Nova Scotia’s original language by 2022’s Mi'kmaw Language Act. This experience supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10: reducing inequalities within the country and Goal 11: educating our guests on the sustainability and resiliency of community, and contributing to making the destination inclusive, resilient and sustainable for generations to come.

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Authentic Dining

Halifax: Relax next to the waterfront before meeting your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a Welcome Dinner at 18:00. You’ll soon see why Halifax truly is a foodies’ town. The Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market, established in 1750, is the longest continuously operating market in North America.

Charlottetown: Delicious cuisine in a quaint seaside village. In Georgetown in eastern Prince Edward Island, you will be greeted by a local fisher who shares their experiences at sea and enlightens you about PEI’s famous lobster and mussel industry. Learn how these cultured mussels from the cool water surrounding PEI have become a popular seafood. Because they are grown in mesh stockings suspended ropes in the water and never touch the ocean bottom, they taste sweeter, more tender and are plumper, meatier and more nutritious. Then feast on a delicious lunch of Island Blue Mussel cooked by the fisher featuring fresh, locally grown produce.

Moncton: Experience a true taste of the maritimes with an Acadian lobster boil and cocktail class.

Digby: Digby, Nova Scotia, is known as "The Scallop Capitol of the World." The town is famous for the scallops harvested from the local waters and thus contributing to industries of fishing and tourism. Scallops are Nova Scotia's most valuable seafood catch and Digby is home to the world's largest inshore scallop fleet. Celebrate all things local and meet a former scallop fisherman for a culinary demonstration and Celebration Dinner par excellence, featuring these famous scallops.

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Insight Choice

Halifax: Halifax’s historic citadel will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. This strategic hilltop location with a  commanding view of the Halifax harbor was chosen in 1749 as the location for the fort that would protect the city. Learn the roles that the fort and its inhabitants played over time visiting this fort as it stood in its Victoria era and as it's been restored as well as enjoying sweeping views of downtown Halifax.

Halifax: Get up close and personal with the works of one of Canada's best-known folk artists, Maud Lewis, at the Maud Lewis Gallery. View the nearly 19,000 works on display in the Permanent and Study Collections as you gain insights into Lewis’ life. From Nova Scotia, Lewis lived most of her life in a small house in Marshalltown and achieved national recognition in 1964 and 1965.

Halifax: Halifax’s history will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. Visit Pier 21 - an ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971 - for a guided tour of the Pier 21 Story, an orientation to the Canadian Immigration Story exhibition and a viewing of the film "In Canada." You’ll gain insights into the story of immigration, discovering how nearly one million immigrants came to Canada through Pier 21. As Canada’s last surviving seaport immigration facility, Pier 21 is often compared to the immigration gateway Ellis Island.