PEI or Nova Scotia......for 1 week trip

Hello great white northerners. I'm planning a trip to either Nova Scotia or PEI. I will be travelling from Maine and only have 1 week. I was wondering which would be the better trip. Discuss.....

Thanks in advance.

-Derek

The Province of PEI is fairly small in size. It is a little expensive, and there isn't that much to see. I have been going there every year for a motorcycle rally for a weekend just the same. I show up at a Harley like rally on a XR400 just for fun. There is a $$ charge to cross the bridge, I forget what for a bike, I'm thinking $19 but could be wrong. The people on the island of PEI are really friendly and helpful.

There is supposed to be a new ferry service from Maine to Yarmouth N.S. starting this year. That maybe worth a look see. Lots of others here will chime in this is a common subject on here. Have a good visit to the area.

I guess the first question would be, "What kind of riding are you doing?" and the second "What do you want to see?" Give us that info and we can all start giving some better advice. Nova Scotia in a week isn't really practical - and if you want to go to PEI, as beautiful as it is - your choices range from Theme Parks to Beaches.

Soooo... whaddya wanna do?

In my mind there is no question, Nova Scotia and the Cabot Trail regardless of what you're riding.. PEI is quaint but the trail is spectacular; Camp at the top...Meat Cove, you won't be dissapointed!!

PD

Stained makes good points and there are several ways to skin this cat. I'll throw one out there via all pavement.

Take the ferry to Yarmouth
ride the south east coast thru Lunenburg and Peggys Cove into Halifax
Halifax to Dartmouth thru Lawerancetown up the East coast till you turn inwards into Antigonish
Enter Cape Breton and around the Cabot counter clockwise
Return to the mainland NS and get to Parsborough
Take the Wood Island ferry to PEI
Play around PEI for a day then take the Confederation Bridge into NB

Hope this helps, good luck

If you're coming from maine do both. You can ride most of PEI in one day and 3 -4 days will cover most of NS. The cost last year of the bridge for a bike was 27.00 and change, I think the ferry is the same. You only pay to get off the island. That's a lot of money to visit one big tourist trap but there are some neat areas. The ferry is in a different location than the bridge so you can take the bridge from NB and get the ferry to Pictou NS.

Do you like fresh oysters??? If so PEI for some Malpeques on the dock. Bring Tabasco and fresh lemons.

Darn...been a long time. Maybe next summer????

Maggot's plan is a good suggestion, but I think he meant to say Pictou instead of Parrsboro (sp). You may want to check out dualsport.ca for some ideas and local intel, and also check out some of Kelsow's excellent reports both there and here on ADV.

Correct Pictou. Been away from NS for 5 years now, I think with every bottle of NF Screech I drink since being away, I forget more about it.

To the op, for each leg mentioned, most can be done in a half day along with eating some seafood, taking some pics and having a brew.

I'm planning a Father/Son trip to Nova Scotia for July of this year. We'll be trucking from TN up to Stowe VT and riding from there across NH and into Maine avoiding asphalt as much as possible. After spending one night in Maine we ride to St. Andrews or St. John and spend the night, then we are riding the Fundy trail, see the tide, Hopewell Rocks and stuff. Then onto Nova Scotia along the Northcumberland Shore and then onto Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail.
We'll be on DR650s. Looking forward to scenic rides and lots of seafood and beer. I'd also like to take a zodiac whale watching trip. I'm taking two weeks vacation to do this.
Any suggestions on routes from locals appreciated.

Thanks everyone. I wasn't getting any updates to this thread so I didn't think anyone responded. Silly me.

As for what I am looking for. I will be riding a KLR with a friend that will be on a Tiger. So, mostly pavement but no issues with getting off the beaten path and hit some dirt, but won't be doing anything too rough.

We are looking for scenery for the most part. Good camping. Not interested in tourist traps or lounging on the beach. Pretty much want to have good riding and sights to see.

I know a week isn't very long for NS, but maybe consolidate the best routes and sights and fit in as much as we can. I have done a 900 mile trip on the coast of Maine on a bicycle in just over a week so I have seen all that so we will cruise pretty quick to NB. So we could probably have 4-5 days to explore Nova Scotia or PEI.

Looks like the new Ferry from Portland will be expensive. Could be close to $400 round trip with a vehicle. So, I'd rather lose some time and ride.

I'm going in Aug. but if you want suggestions on Vt/NH/Maine roads or need a stop over in the midcoast area of Maine, let me know!

I'm from PEI, a lifetime ago. i agree with a couple others here to do the bridge-ferry route. i use this site for route ideas http://www.motowhere.com/
it has gps tracks and google earth tours. highway conditions, traffic etc.

have fun and safe travels

To see the Rocks you need to know the tide times. It is good if you could see them at high tide and than at low tide to appreciate the tides differences. If you could see the Rocks close to night time, sleep and come back in the morning that would save a little time waiting around. If you need tires Moncton has some of the lowest cost in the area. You can get a good map from MapArt Publishing called Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas. It is basically county maps made small. It is possible to go on backroads and logging roads from Saint John to Fundy Park entrance. Fundy Park/Alma is a nice little area, there isn't much at the Rocks site area. Hillsbrough is the nearest town or Moncton.

I think you have a good plan.

The island of PEI is a tourist trap in my humble opinion. It's main business is tourists and of course potatoes, fields and fields of potatoes. You of course could take the loop that has been discussed above, wouldn't add a lot of time to your trip. For a motor biker there isn't a lot to see on the island.

Regards to the ferry cost, you would only take it one way. You would come back by road. It gives you a chance to see a part of NS that you would otherwise not see.

Thanks! Good idea about the Ferry, one way. Could be a good option.

I would recommend Nova Scotia over PEI for sure.
A week riding around the back roads would not disappoint, and with a whole week to explore - well, I'm jealous.

No need to skip PEI though, on the way back from CB get the one way ferry to the island, spend a day playing around then cross the bridge the next day. Very little time would be lost as one is still travelling in the right direction. He'll get to see some of PEI, while having an opportunity of crossing the bridge.

The bridge is impressive in a way but while on the bridge you can see nothing. Like being on a highway. I think your 300 feet in the air but you wouldn't know it from what you see on the bridge. I guess you can see a little but not much, see a bit of water etc. It is a remarkable engineering feet though.

I think a day cruising around PEI could be arranged. I don't know anything about this bridge you speak of, but sounds intriguing. I think I will plan on most of the time on NS and a day to tour PEI. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. If anyone has specifics on where to go and what to see...I'm all ears.

Thanks,

Derek