Bar Harbor - Canada

Hello...thinking of driving from Rockland County NY to Bar Harbor and maybe taking the 2 hour ferry(?) into Canada before taking a windy way home...will probably have a total of 6 days to use...any suggestions for route and places to visit? It will be me, wife, 10 yr old daughter and 8 yr old son...thanks

Bar Harbor - Canada

Where is Rockland County NY? Are you looking for things to do from there to Maine? Or on your windy drive back home? Where are you taking the ferry to?

Bar Harbor - Canada

Wow. Not a good idea, I%26#39;d say. It would be a very long day of driving from NY to Bar Harbor. Two days would be more reasonable. The Cat ferry, yes two to three hours depending on fog, would take you into Yarmouth, the tip of Nova Scotia. To drive home from there you would have to get around the Bay of Fundy, first through almost the entire length of Nova Scotia and then all of New Brunswick. That alone would take two days. They you would still be well north of Bar Harbor and have a two day drive home. You%26#39;d spend the entire six days in the car!!

I%26#39;d save Canada for another trip and just come on up to Bar Harbor and spend your time exploring, hiking, and touring Acadia National Park. If you want a boat ride, you could do fun things like the Lulu Lobster boat here in Bar Harbor or a sunset sail on the four-masted schooner where you get to help raise the sails. Kids and adults both love the Lulu boat. You get to see a lobster trap pulled up and all the wonderful bird and fish life hereabouts.

You don%26#39;t say ';When'; you%26#39;re coming, but Cat Ferry doesn%26#39;t begin operation until May 31st, so keep that in mind.

Ferry website lists it as a 3-hour crossing if that matters....and bear it mind, it%26#39;s a high-speed catamaran type ferry -- can be very bumpy (like an airplane in turbulence) depending on seas, wind and weather -- very unlikely you%26#39;ll get a stroll-the-decks-and-lounge-on-the-rail type ride.

Have done the drive from Bangor, Maine to Halifax, Nova Scotia straight through in my younger days when I was in college and my girlfriend was going to school in Nova Scotia -- figure it at 9 to 10 hours of straight, never-get-out-of-the-car driving time....meaning that if you really want to stop and see anything, you%26#39;ll need at least two days.... Also allow at least a couple of hours to get from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where the ferry docks, to Halifax (on the Atlantic Shore) or Wolfville (the equivalent on the Bay of Fundy side).

Nova Scotia is a great province -- spent many good times there when I was younger....but just driving through it (which is about all you%26#39;d have time to do) doesn%26#39;t do it justice.... And with the amount of total time you have, you really won%26#39;t be able to do justice to some great Maine destinations either.

Unless you%26#39;re dead set on getting to Nova Scotia this trip, I%26#39;d spend the extra days in Maine -- around Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park or somewhere else....and leave Nova Scotia to a future trip when you have more time to really enjoy some of what it has to offer.

Thanks for the feedback everyone...I probably should clarify...will be heading out in the evening of a July Saturday...my thought is to drive 4 hours north so I can arrive in Bar harbor early Sunday, I could spend Sunday, Monday, and part of Tues in and around Bar Harbor...I would then venture toward Nova Scotia, I figure the 3 hr ferry is the way to go...I could take it easy Tues night, spend Wed and Thur in and around Nova Scotia...then if it makes sense take the ferry back to bar Harbor, stay the night there or drive a few hours south...and start heading back or visit someplace south for a day or so setting up a Sunday evening return to home in Rockland ( 15 minutes from NYC)...so...thoughts on the destinations or tweaking? Add a day in Nova Scotia or a day in Maine or?

Your further explanation is much better. Be aware that The Cat ferry doesn%26#39;t always go between Bar Harbor and Nova Scotia. Some days it leaves from Bar Harbor but then returns to Portland from Nova Scotia. It cannot travel between Portland and Bar Harbor because of the law that forbids foreign-flagged ships to travel between US ports. The Cat is owned by a Canadian company.

If I had just a couple of days in Nova Scotia, I would consider doing a loop from Yarmouth to Halifax (3.5 hrs), Halifax to Digby/Annapolis Royal area (2.5 hrs) and then Digby back to Yarmouth (little over 1 hr). There would be plenty to see and do and it really depends on what interests your family.

Between Yarmouth and Halifax is Lunenburg an old fishing village. Beautiful old buildings. Fishing museum. The Bluenose II (replica of the original) sails from Lunenburg. I believe you can sail on The Bluenose. Lunenburg is a world heritage site.

Peggy%26#39;s Cove is also on the route to Halifax and is a great visit. Another small fishing village. When I was there, didn%26#39;t seem like a lot to do other than climbing on the rocks surrounding the lighthouse but it is beautiful. I love the landscape from Peggy%26#39;s Cove to Halifax. I recall it being treeless with this huge bolders left by retreating glaciers giving it an other-worldly appearance.

Annapolis Royal is another beautiful little village. AR has Fort Anne and (within a short drive) Port Royal (recreation of French fort built in the early part of the 17th century).

If you are interested in whale watching this is the area (google for Digby neck and Brier Island).