In Nova Scotia for 24 hours. What should I do and see?

[rufuspaul]

On Sunday I'm taking the ferry from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, NS, spending Monday in NS and taking the ferry back on Tuesday morning. Any tips from my Canadian brothers?

[RidonKs]

just stay in yarmouth, its nice there

:dancin

depends what you want and where you go. i can recommend a swimming hole called indian falls on the way from yarmouth. the fishing villages along the south shore you'll be driving are awesome; mahone bay, lunenberg, chester primarily. my ex boss from when i was washing dishes just opened up a restaurant in chester that i've heard is pretty good.

are you driving to halifax?

[rufuspaul]

just stay in yarmouth, its nice there

:dancin

depends what you want and where you go. i can recommend a swimming hole called indian falls on the way from yarmouth. the fishing villages along the south shore you'll be driving are awesome; mahone bay, lunenberg, chester primarily. my ex boss from when i was washing dishes just opened up a restaurant in chester that i've heard is pretty good.

are you driving to halifax?

Thanks man! Not driving to Halifax since I'm only there one day. Thinking of checking out the south shore and maybe backtracking and checking out Cape Forchu. Spending the night in Yarmouth since I'm catching the ferry the next morning.

[rufuspaul]

I forgot you were up here right now.


Actually I'm still in Charlotte, flying up there this evening. I'm really looking forward to a break from the heat. This summer has been hell down here.

[RidonKs]

we've had a few cool nights lately rufus, hopefully it won't be different in yarmouth

i don't know much about that end of the province tbh, furthest i would go is liverpool or digby on the other side. in terms of maximizing time, if you wanna drive through some small towns and just muck around, you might be better off going the opposite direction. digby, annapolis royal, etc


it's nice to have that ferry going again but we're paying out the asshole for upkeep and winter storage. our last government pulled the plug on it like five years ago and the next few years were harassed out of office by rural voters getting killed by slowing tourism. now it's back but because it hasn't been running the past few years, it has to patiently rebuild a clientele. meanwhile maine refuses to commit anything on their side of the deal, since they don't really give two shits who leaves their coast for fcking nova scotia, the ferry continues to lose epic amounts of money (it went through a seven year rainy day fund IN A MONTH), and nobody has the balls to be a little bit inventive or creative. offer a distinct service on the boat, combine it with whale watching tours or some shit, who knows.

bring back the cat. oh wait some koreans bought that thing...

http://newstartns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/745x340-The_cat_ferry.jpg

[rufuspaul]

we've had a few cool nights lately rufus, hopefully it won't be different in yarmouth

i don't know much about that end of the province tbh, furthest i would go is liverpool or digby on the other side. in terms of maximizing time, if you wanna drive through some small towns and just muck around, you might be better off going the opposite direction. digby, annapolis royal, etc


it's nice to have that ferry going again but we're paying out the asshole for upkeep and winter storage. our last government pulled the plug on it like five years ago and the next few years were harassed out of office by rural voters getting killed by slowing tourism. now it's back but because it hasn't been running the past few years, it has to patiently rebuild a clientele. meanwhile maine refuses to commit anything on their side of the deal, since they don't really give two shits who leaves their coast for fcking nova scotia, the ferry continues to lose epic amounts of money (it went through a seven year rainy day fund IN A MONTH), and nobody has the balls to be a little bit inventive or creative. offer a distinct service on the boat, combine it with whale watching tours or some shit, who knows.

bring back the cat. oh wait some koreans bought that thing...

http://newstartns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/745x340-The_cat_ferry.jpg


:lol Mainers don't want any more Canucks anyway.

I'll give you a review after the crossing.

[JtotheIzzo]

South Shore Nova Scotia is boring ass countryside. VERY rural if you are used to the US or a place with people.

The Maritime Provinces are like the US South economically but the people and the landscape looks like New Englanders and New England.

Might be worth taking the 2.5 hour drive to Chester/Lunenburg area.

[RidonKs]

The Maritime Provinces are like the US South economically but the people and the landscape looks like New Englanders and New England.
:lol


we need high speed rail, yarmouth to halifax to cape breton to truro, each trip 35 minutes!!

let's tax everybody else and get this thing built people

[RidonKs]

:lol Mainers don't want any more Canucks anyway.

I'll give you a review after the crossing.
that would actually be great, i'm curious about the level/quality/variety of the service

[rufuspaul]

South Shore Nova Scotia is boring ass countryside. VERY rural if you are used to the US or a place with people.

The Maritime Provinces are like the US South economically but the people and the landscape looks like New Englanders and New England.

Might be worth taking the 2.5 hour drive to Chester/Lunenburg area.


:oldlol: A day away from people sounds great atm.

[rufuspaul]

So here's my review:

Portland-Yarmouth:

The boat is very clean and the crew quite friendly and helpful. The view of Casco Bay when pulling out of Portland Harbor at sunset was breathtaking.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/IMG_2417_zpstjzbuxlk.jpg

On board we had dinner in the "fancy" restaurant. Decent food, a nice bottle of wine. Our cabin was right on the bow and watching the stars and moon over the gulf was cool. Arrived on-time in Yarmouth and disembarking was a breeze.

Nova Scotia:

Customs was the easiest I've ever experienced. Show your passport, answer a few yes/no questions and you're in. Drove to Shelburne, did some sightseeing, then on to Lunenburg for lunch and a tour of the town. Then headed back up to Digby and back down to the Cape Forchu lighthouse.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/IMG_2467_zpsroslhjxx.jpg

Back in Yarmouth in time for a spectacular sunset.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/IMG_2488_zpsrgpfmsvv.jpg

The people in the provence were all so friendly and polite that my daughter and I made it a quest to find a rude Canadian. We never did. :oldlol: Also, the current exchange rate made everything quite affordable.

Yarmouth-Portland:

Got a cabin even though it was a day trip. Glad we did since it was nice to have a private bathroom/shower and a place to take a nap. Food and service was decent. Spotted a few whales along the way and picked up some cheap booze in the duty free shop. Crossing was smooth until entering Portland Harbor where there was a big ass storm with 10 ft. swells. The boat was rolling pretty hard which made a lot of people seasick. Luckily it didn't affect us.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/IMG_2512_zpsaefd3f1p.jpg

Overall it was a good experience but you can tell that the line is struggling. It seemed to me that they were operating at about half capacity which I don't think is sustainable. Also there were only 2 semi trucks on the boat each way. I would think that they need more commercial business than that.