[Aka]

I'm not sure where, but the idea of the East Coast has been thrown my way, and it seems like a good idea. Perhaps over to Cape Breton...

I only have 7 days though maybe only really 6ish given that I work nighshift before leaving and when I return. So I'd require some time to turn 'round.

So my questions are...

1) What is there to do out there, how plausible is a trip there and back in <7 days, and is there anything I should know ahead of time... best places to stay overnight, cost, good bars etc...

2) Is there somewhere better?

Cheaper the better, but I don't want to sleep with cockroaches either.

Thanks

[torradan]

We were planning on a road trip out east last summer, but in the end, we realized that the 10 days (leave friday, weekend, vacation week, weekend) wasn't going to be long enough for us.

We planned on going to PEI, Bay of Fundy, Cape Breton, Halifax, and well, pretty much just drive along the entire coast of Nova Scotia.

I have a bunch of places I bookmarked.. some we were going to do, some I just randomly found and bookmarked. I think I removed all of the Quebec ones.. but here ya go:

Should keep you occupied for a while..

http://www.confederationbridge.com/index.php
http://www.peiferry.com/fares/
http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx
http://www.fishermanscove.ns.ca/
http://www.murphysonthewater.com/theodor.../Tours.php
http://www.nsls.ns.ca/beaches/lawrencetown.htm
http://www.murphysonthewater.com/peggyscove/LandL.php
http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/en-CA/HNHome.htm
http://www.ovenspark.com/index.shtml
http://www.gonovascotia.com/
http://www.peionline.com/
http://www.capenrage.com/index.php
http://www.nslps.com/
http://www.capesableisland.ca/mainmenu.html
http://www.brierislandwhalewatch.com/index.htm
http://www.lobsteronthewharf.com/
http://www.windsinc.com/info.html
http://www.sunnyislemotel.com/
http://www.halifaxbackpackers.com/
http://www.cabottrail.com/hostel/
http://www.destinationsouthwestnova.com/

[j3rt]

Look into universities or colleges in the area you are visiting. During the summer they rent dorm rooms out like a hotel, great value plus you meet lots of folks. I've done that at UofO and McGill.

You could go north also, head up to Manitoulin Island, take the ferry, see how far north you can drive (within ON, which Red Lake I believe).

[Focus man. Focus.]

If you put the hammer down you can make it to Glace Bay, NS in 20hrs non-stop. I did it. It wasn't fun, but I did it. Lets just say Caffene and stay awake pills got me there.

If your asking why, death in the family.

[CanadaSVT]

Been to Halifax area many times. 20-22 hours and that's not pushing it. 6-7 days doesn't sound long enough to me, but the east coast is the best!

[2001 ZTS]

A week is more than enough times, I've made the trip out there with alarming frequency over the years, possibly as many as 20 times between work and pleasure and as recently as a few months ago. It is possible to do in one sitting if you are nutty enough. Timing the Toronto and Montreal rush hours makes all the difference.

I tend to take rather ambitious road trips but would suggest 1-/2 days each way, day or so in Halifax, South Shore, lap of Cape Breton and a stop in PEI on the way back. NB and NS have spent a LOT of money on infrastructure, the roads (especially the Trans Can) are gorgeous compared to here.

[ANTHONYD]

It's a fantastic trip.
Key is to get through Montreal at the right time.

New Brunswick is beautiful as well.

[j3rt]

So what are the worst times to be passing through Montreal?

[2001 ZTS]

Its almost as bad as the GTA but not quite, the best route I find is 20E, 520E, 40E, 25S, 20E

I'll actually be drivin through a week from now on my way to Sorel.

[NOS2Go4Me]

I did it a number of years ago, it was a great run. Stick to Super 8s if you can - their pricing is reasonable and the rooms are normally clean. Also, the quasi-hostelling at unis and such sounds like a good idea.

I'm actually trying to see if we can get out there this year. So far, about a 40% chance of FAIL on that.

[reldridge]

j3rt,Jul 3 2008, 08:54 AM Wrote:So what are the worst times to be passing through Montreal?
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Worst times? 7:30am until 9:30am, and 3pm until 5:30pm. Typical rush hour times... Try to get as far away from the Champlain bridge as quick as possible, if you're going that way... :D

[Aka]

Super 8s website doesn't seem to be giving me any rates info, just keeps saying they're either all booked or their system is undergoing maintenance :(

Thanks for the links torradan.

How do you time it to avoid traffic in both Toronto and Montreal? what time would I need to leave Waterloo?

I figured stopping over in Quebec City would be best then continuing on, is that a bad idea?

The University residence idea is a good one. I lived in Res at Sheridan over the summer and they did the same, ended up getting some noise complaints because of it and my power turned off :rolleyes:

[ZTWsquared]

Aka,Jul 4 2008, 06:18 AM Wrote:Super 8s website doesn't seem to be giving me any rates info, just keeps saying they're either all booked or their system is undergoing maintenance :(

Thanks for the links torradan.

How do you time it to avoid traffic in both Toronto and Montreal? what time would I need to leave Waterloo?

I figured stopping over in Quebec City would be best then continuing on, is that a bad idea?

The University residence idea is a good one. I lived in Res at Sheridan over the summer and they did the same, ended up getting some noise complaints because of it and my power turned off :rolleyes:
[right][snapback]268152[/snapback][/right]

Don't count on finding any available room in the vicinity of Quebec City ... we were there in January and were encouraged to book for the summer then or risk being disappointed ... they're celebrating their 400 year anniversary this year and specifically this summer.

Good luck planning though - I love Halifax and the other parts of Nova Scotia that I've been to ... and I've been told that a PEI vacation is second to none - wish I could do an east-coast trip ths year.

[reldridge]

Aka,Jul 4 2008, 06:18 AM Wrote:How do you time it to avoid traffic in both Toronto and Montreal? what time would I need to leave Waterloo?

I figured stopping over in Quebec City would be best then continuing on, is that a bad idea?
[right][snapback]268152[/snapback][/right]

Leave Waterloo at 8 pm, roll into Montreal by 2 am? The bars are open until 3 am... :D

Seriously, if you timed it to come through Toronto on the tail end of morning rush hour (9:30 ish), you'd hit Montreal at the start of rush hour (3-ish). If you don't mind night driving (the 401 is BORING), you could do the leave at 6 pm, arrive in Montreal for night 1 by midnight...

If Montreal rush hour really frightens you, you could go south shore (cross river at Valleyfield, then hit the 30 and back up to the 20). You do bypass the city then almost completely. I did that all the time when I was in university heading down to Sherbrooke.

South Shore detour

Ryan

[Aka]

I'm not too worried about it, it's just it was mentioned to be heavy. And it would be nice to skip it if possible, as I drive a standard and would like to keep my left leg.

So east coast idea seems good but...

how about some other ideas... what about New York City? or Boston? anything of interest there?

[zx5power]

beautiful place and if you come we have to meet for dinner lol .... bay if fundy is awesome the hopewell rocks is neat

[Aka]

zx5power,Jul 5 2008, 09:51 AM Wrote:beautiful place and if you come we have to meet for dinner lol .... bay if fundy is awesome the hopewell rocks is neat
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haha

I remember going to the hopewell rocks when I was 14ish. They were pretty cool, didn't get very many good pictures then with my 1997 Canon PowerShot A5 Zoom with all it's 0.8 MP glory. And even if I did, we lost them all in a harddrive crash.

I was told that if I ever asked anyone where a restaurant was on the east coast, I'd be invited into their house for dinner being told that I don't want to go to a restaurant. But maybe that was Newfoundland. Was told this by an old Newfie lady I work with, she even went totally into the whole accent thing when she was saying it.

Also a comparison given between New York City and the East Coast of Canada... In New York you get mugged, on the East Coast you get hugged.

[zx5power]

yeah thats pretty much right all nice people live i nthe maritimes ... pei is beautiful and so is nova scotia but dont forget newbruncisk we have soem hidden gems ...

[NOS2Go4Me]

The East Coast really is nice, but without a decent amount of planning, most of your day is spent driving. The 101 or whatever the Bay of Fundy Nat'l Park highway is is quite the nice drive and the stop in Elma (I believe that's the town) is very picturesque.

If you go North, you can drive to Cochrane, hop the Polar Bear Express and go to Moosonee for the closest you'll get to the Arctic Ocean without flying to Iqualit or driving the Yukon Highway there from BC (or Alberta, I forget where it starts). There are lots of animals up north and it's neat to see real colonial architecture as it was originally built and put in place. Moose Factory Island is the same way - steam heating and power!

Another neat fact about Moosonee is that it's completely, uhm... "rail-locked". The only way in and out is by rail (most common), plane (businesses) or barge. They also open the "ice road" there in the winter to access the even more remote NW regions of Ontario and up through Fort Churchill and such in Manitoba.

I'll drive the Dempster Highway someday :)

Recent article about it in C&D: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...ivorces_feature

The original 1976 article that prompted the "remake" last year:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...passage_feature

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...part_ii_feature

Enjoy man and good luck, no matter where you end up!

[Aka]

Well it doesn't look like I'll be going these 7 days I have off. However thank you all for the information! I'll keep it for when I have more time off and plan more ahead!

Though, since I still have the 7 days off (12 hour Rotating continental shift), are there any neat places to go for a day or two? perhaps driving places or scenic areas where I can pull out my camera?

Edit: Maybe I could try some geohash locations using xkcd's Geohash calculator.