Nova Scotia coast

The Cabot Trail at peak colour, fishing villages after the season, and the world’s highest tides.

Coast
Food
Wildlife
City

Best in June · September–October

About this place

Nova Scotia is 7,000 km of coastline and nowhere is more than an hour from the sea. September is warmer than June, the water is at its warmest, and the Cabot Trail turns red in the first half of October while the Celtic Colours festival fills Cape Breton’s halls with fiddle music.

Things to do

The Cabot Trail
A 300 km loop around northern Cape Breton through the highlands national park. Drive it clockwise for the ocean on your side; walk the Skyline Trail at sunset for the moose and the view.
Celtic Colours
Nine days of concerts in community halls across Cape Breton in the second week of October, timed to the foliage. Book the concerts and the inns together; both sell out.
Lunenburg and the South Shore
A UNESCO-listed shipbuilding town an hour from Halifax, with sea kayaking at Blue Rocks and Mahone Bay next door. Peggy’s Cove is on the way; go at dawn.
Bay of Fundy
The highest tides on earth, 16 m at the head of the bay. Rafting the tidal bore on the Shubenacadie runs May to October; Brier Island boats see humpbacks from June to October.
Wolfville wine
The Annapolis Valley’s Tidal Bay appellation, Benjamin Bridge sparkling, and the Gaspereau valley an hour from Halifax. Harvest runs September into October with vineyard events most weekends.
Halifax
The waterfront boardwalk, Pier 21 immigration museum, the Seaport farmers’ market and a donair at 2 am. The Titanic graves are in Fairview Lawn Cemetery.

When to go

September
The warmest sea of the year on the Northumberland Strait beaches, everything still open, and the summer visitors gone after Labour Day.
Late September to mid-October
Foliage on the Cabot Trail and in the Annapolis Valley, Celtic Colours, and the wine harvest. Post-tropical storms are possible; travel insurance is sensible.
June
Lupins on the roadsides, 16 hours of daylight and whale season opening. Cooler than September but before school holidays.
Late November
The South Shore lobster season opens on the last Monday of November. Many Cabot Trail businesses close from mid-October to May, so winter is a Halifax-and-South-Shore trip.

How to get there

Fly to Halifax (YHZ)
Year-round nonstop from London Heathrow, seasonal flights from Dublin and Frankfurt, and connections through Toronto and Montreal all day.
A car is essential
Cape Breton is four hours from Halifax; Lunenburg is one. There is no useful rail or bus coverage of the coast. Book rentals early for October.
By sea
Ferries from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby year-round, and from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth from May to October.

Trips here

Filter the full directory without leaving the page.

6 packages

Featured
Nova Scotia coast6 nights
Cabot Trail Fall Colours Drive
Six nights looping the Cabot Trail at peak foliage, with inns in Baddeck, Chéticamp and Ingonish and a Celtic Colours concert ticket.
- Self drive
- Culture
- Food
From $1,890 per person
approx. £1,004 / €1,172
Nova Scotia coast3 nights
Halifax–Wolfville Wine Harvest Break
Three nights between Halifax and Wolfville with an Annapolis Valley harvest tour, a vineyard dinner and a city market morning.
- Culture
- Food
From $690 per person
approx. £367 / €428
Nova Scotia coast3 nights
Halifax & South Shore Seafood Weekend
Three nights in Halifax and Lunenburg built around late-season lobster, oysters and a chef-led market walk.
- Food
- Culture
- Guided
From $740 per person
approx. £393 / €459
Nova Scotia coast4 nights
Burntcoat Head & Shubenacadie Tidal Bore Weekend
Four nights on Nova Scotia’s Fundy shore, walking the ocean floor at Burntcoat Head and rafting the Shubenacadie tidal bore.
- Wildlife
- Guided
- Food
From $1,150 per person
approx. £611 / €713
Nova Scotia coast5 nights
Lunenburg & Blue Rocks Kayak Long Weekend
Five nights on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, paddling the coves at Blue Rocks and walking Lunenburg’s harbour and old town.
- Wildlife
- Self drive
- Food
From $1,620 per person
approx. £861 / €1,004
Nova Scotia coast7 nights
Brier Island Whales & Fundy Shore Week
Seven nights tracing the Fundy shore from Burntcoat Head to Brier Island, with a whale cruise and a day on the Shubenacadie.
- Adventure
- Guided
From $2,350 per person
approx. £1,249 / €1,457