Maritimes loop 10-day itinerary: Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick
Atlantic Canada rewards the traveller who takes the time for a loop. This 10-day itinerary circles through all three Maritime provinces — Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick — with the two signature experiences of the region (the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton and the Bay of Fundy tides) and all the lighthouse and lobster moments in between. The loop starts and ends in Halifax because the international flight connections are strongest there, but you can pick it up in Moncton or Saint John too.
A rental car is essential — the Maritimes are not a train destination. Roads are well-maintained, distances are short by Canadian standards, and the driving itself is part of the pleasure.
Overview
| Day | From | To | Distance | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fly to Halifax | Halifax | - | Waterfront, Citadel, Maritime Museum |
| 2 | Halifax | Lunenburg | 100 km | Peggy’s Cove, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg |
| 3 | Lunenburg | Baddeck | 450 km | Drive to Cape Breton |
| 4 | Baddeck | Ingonish | 120 km | Cabot Trail east half |
| 5 | Ingonish | Baddeck | 180 km | Cabot Trail west half, Pleasant Bay |
| 6 | Baddeck | Charlottetown | 300 km + ferry | Ferry to PEI |
| 7 | Charlottetown | Cavendish loop | 150 km | North shore, Anne of Green Gables |
| 8 | PEI | Moncton | 170 km | Confederation Bridge, Hopewell Rocks |
| 9 | Moncton | Saint John | 190 km | Fundy National Park, Reversing Falls |
| 10 | Saint John | Halifax | 430 km | Return and fly home |
Day 1: Halifax
Fly into Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ). Direct flights from London, Frankfurt, and major US East Coast hubs. Pick up rental car at the airport or shuttle to downtown first and collect next morning (cheaper rates in the city).
Afternoon. Walk the Halifax waterfront boardwalk — 4 km of harbourside with the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (excellent Titanic exhibit — many victims are buried in Halifax cemeteries), the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, and tall ships.
Late afternoon. Citadel Hill National Historic Site — a 19th-century star fort with costumed guides and the noon gun ceremony.
Evening. Dinner in downtown Halifax — Argyle Street is the main dining strip. Try a lobster roll at The Bicycle Thief or dinner at Gio at the Prince George Hotel.
Day 2: Halifax to Lunenburg via Peggy’s Cove
Drive Highway 333 south-west from Halifax along the coast to Peggy’s Cove (45 minutes). The most photographed lighthouse in Canada — a red-and-white octagonal on wave-polished granite at the entrance to St Margaret’s Bay. Short drive through the village; watch for tide warnings on the rocks.
Continue along the South Shore via Highway 103 to Mahone Bay (45 minutes) — a crescent of three church spires on the harbour, famously photogenic. Lunch at the Biscuit Eater or Rebecca’s on the waterfront.
Arrive Lunenburg (20 minutes further) for the afternoon and overnight. UNESCO World Heritage Site — the finest surviving British colonial settlement in North America, with brightly painted 18th-century buildings stepping down to a working waterfront. Visit the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic (home port of the Bluenose II replica). Overnight at the Mariner King Inn or Lunenburg Arms Hotel.
Book Halifax and South Shore toursDay 3: Lunenburg to Baddeck
Long driving day east across Nova Scotia to Cape Breton Island (450 km, 5h 30m). Take Highway 103 back through Halifax, then Highway 102 north, then Highway 104 Trans-Canada east across the Canso Causeway (the connection to Cape Breton).
Stops. Truro midway for lunch (60 km north of Halifax on Highway 102). Pictou detour (30 minutes off the highway) if time allows — the “Birthplace of New Scotland” with the replica of the ship Hector that brought the first Scottish settlers in 1773.
Arrive Baddeck late afternoon — the gateway village to the Cabot Trail on the shore of the Bras d’Or Lake (Canada’s inland sea, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve). Visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site — Bell summered here and his museum holds his personal collection of inventions (the flying machines, the hydrofoil boat, the early telephones). Allow 1-2 hours.
Overnight at the Inverary Resort or the Telegraph House. Dinner with a view of the lake.
Day 4: Cabot Trail east half to Ingonish
The Cabot Trail is a 298 km loop around the northern tip of Cape Breton — Canada’s most scenic drive. Today you cover the east (Atlantic) side.
Drive counterclockwise from Baddeck — Highway 105 north briefly then follow the Cabot Trail signs east through Ingonish and up to Cape Smokey. The road climbs over Smokey Mountain (270 m rise directly from sea level) for the first of many dramatic ocean viewpoints.
Stops. Middle Head Trail at the Keltic Lodge (4 km return to a peninsula point, 1h 30m). Ingonish Beach — one of the few sandy beaches in Cape Breton, backed by a freshwater lake. Franey Trail (7 km round trip, 435 m elevation gain, 3 hours) for the classic aerial view over the Cabot Trail and Ingonish harbour.
Overnight in Ingonish at the historic Keltic Lodge (resort-style) or the Glenghorm Beach Resort.
Book Cape Breton and Cabot Trail toursDay 5: Cabot Trail west half back to Baddeck
Continue north on the Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park (park pass required — CAD 8.50 daily per adult). The road climbs over North Mountain (445 m) and MacKenzie Mountain with tundra-like highland scenery.
Stops. Skyline Trail (7 km round trip, easy gradient, 2-3 hours) — Cape Breton’s signature hike to cliff viewpoints over the Gulf of St Lawrence. Often the best spot to see pilot whales offshore late spring through early fall. Pleasant Bay — the “Whale Watching Capital of Nova Scotia” with 2-3 hour boat tours for minkes, humpbacks, and pilot whales. Chéticamp (Acadian fishing village on the west coast) for lunch and fresh seafood chowder.
Return to Baddeck via the southern Cabot Trail (total loop approximately 180 km for the day with stops). Overnight Baddeck again.
Day 6: Baddeck to Prince Edward Island
Drive west on the Trans-Canada back across Cape Breton to the mainland, then Highway 104 west to Caribou, Nova Scotia (300 km, 3h 30m). From Caribou, take the Northumberland Ferry to Wood Islands, PEI (75 minutes, CAD 85 per vehicle including passengers).
Alternative: continue to the Confederation Bridge from Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick (13 km bridge, the longest in the world over ice-covered water, CAD 51 per vehicle each way — but only charged in the direction you leave PEI). The ferry route is more scenic.
Drive from Wood Islands to Charlottetown (60 km, 45 minutes). Charlottetown is PEI’s capital and the “Birthplace of Confederation” (the 1864 conference that led to Canadian Confederation was held here).
Evening. Dinner on Victoria Row or in the Charlottetown Farmers Market area. Try Lobster on the Wharf for the namesake.
Day 7: PEI north shore and Cavendish
Drive to the PEI north shore (30 minutes from Charlottetown). The Prince Edward Island National Park runs along the north coast — red sandstone cliffs, dunes, warm Gulf Stream beaches.
Morning. Cavendish — home of Anne of Green Gables. Visit the Green Gables Heritage Place (the farm that inspired L.M. Montgomery’s 1908 novel). Allow 1-2 hours.
Midday. Cavendish Beach or Brackley Beach — long red-sand beaches backed by dunes. Swimming from July through early September (the Gulf Stream makes PEI waters among the warmest in Canada).
Afternoon. Drive the Gulf Shore Parkway east along the park through Dalvay. Dalvay-by-the-Sea Queen Anne Revival hotel is a lunch option. Lobster supper at New Glasgow Lobster Supper (full-sized lobster with unlimited sides — the PEI institution).
Return to Charlottetown evening or overnight in Cavendish.
Book PEI tours and experiencesDay 8: PEI to New Brunswick via Confederation Bridge
Drive west across PEI to the Confederation Bridge (90 minutes from Charlottetown). The bridge is 13 km long — approximately 12 minutes to cross. The toll (CAD 51 per vehicle) is charged only when leaving PEI, so you pay at the New Brunswick end.
Continue to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park on the Bay of Fundy (90 minutes from the bridge). Check the tide schedule before going — the key experience is walking the ocean floor at low tide among the “flowerpot” rock formations, then returning 6 hours later to kayak the same spot at high tide. Plan your arrival to the low-tide window.
Overnight in Moncton or Alma (the village at the entrance to Fundy National Park). Try Gaga’s Restaurant for fresh Fundy seafood if you stay in Alma.
Day 9: Fundy National Park to Saint John
Morning. If you didn’t do the low-tide walk yesterday, do it this morning. Otherwise head into Fundy National Park (park pass required, CAD 8.50 per adult per day). Point Wolfe covered bridge and a short coastal walk. Dickson Falls trail (1 km loop) through hemlock forest.
Drive west to Saint John, NB (190 km, 2h 30m). New Brunswick’s largest city, a port town with Loyalist history.
Afternoon. Reversing Falls / Reversing Rapids at the mouth of the Saint John River — the Bay of Fundy tides are so extreme that they reverse the direction of river rapids twice daily. Best viewing is at slack tide when the water is briefly calm, then accelerates in the opposite direction. Check the interpretive centre for timing.
Evening. Saint John City Market (Canada’s oldest continuously operating farmers market, opened 1876) for dinner. Uptown Saint John has good restaurants and pubs.
Day 10: Saint John to Halifax
Drive east back to Halifax (430 km, 5 hours via Highway 1 and Trans-Canada 104). Or drop your rental car at Saint John Airport or Moncton Airport for a direct flight home if airline routes work.
En route stops. Lunch at Truro or Sackville, NB (the Sackville Waterfowl Park is a surprising and beautiful 10-minute detour for bird-watching).
Arrive Halifax. Return rental car at YHZ. Fly home.
Budget estimate (per person, CAD, two sharing)
| Category | Budget | Moderate | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (9 nights) | 1,500 | 2,400 | 4,500 |
| Rental car (10 days) + fuel | 900 | 1,200 | 1,500 |
| Food and drink (lots of seafood) | 600 | 900 | 1,500 |
| Ferries, bridges, park passes, activities | 250 | 400 | 700 |
| Total per person | 3,250 | 4,900 | 8,200 |
Ferry to PEI CAD 85, Confederation Bridge CAD 51 (leaving PEI), Cape Breton Highlands park pass CAD 8.50 daily, Fundy park pass CAD 8.50 daily.
Variations
Add Newfoundland. Fly from Halifax to St. John’s for a 3-4 day add-on — Cape Spear, Signal Hill, whale watching at Bay Bulls, Gros Morne National Park if you have 5+ additional days.
Add Gaspé (Quebec). From New Brunswick, continue into the Gaspé Peninsula for 3-4 additional days. See Gaspésie 7-day loop.
Reverse the loop. Fly to Moncton instead of Halifax — start at Fundy, do PEI, then Nova Scotia Cabot Trail, end Halifax.
7-day version. Drop PEI and reduce Cape Breton to 2 days. See Atlantic Canada 7-day itinerary.
Best time to go
Mid-June through early October. The Maritimes are a short-season destination. Peak is July and August — warmest, busiest, highest prices. Late May/June — quieter, flowers and lilacs, cooler ocean. September and early October are arguably the best month: Cabot Trail fall colours peak in the first two weeks of October, lobster season (spring) closed but Hopewell Rocks and PEI beaches still warm, Halifax restaurants running full service.
Related guides
- Atlantic Canada 10-day itinerary for another routing
- Cape Breton 5-day itinerary for Cabot Trail depth
- PEI 5-day itinerary for PEI focus
- Fundy Loop 7-day itinerary for New Brunswick depth
- East Coast road trip 14 days for extended version