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[ftmyerscobra]

Im planing a trip this June from Laconia to Nova Scotia. Want to ride Cabot Trail see Cape Breton. Looking for best routes, places to stay any help at all. Not sure where im gona stay, can I just wing it or do I need to make reservation in advance?

[ftmyerscobra]

Help please.

[Boatman]

We took the "Cat Ferry" from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2009..
We took 103 from Yarmouth to Halifax staying in the seaside village of Lunenburg for the night.
On that route you will visit Peggy's Cove and the PanAm flight memorial.  The locals said Blue Rock maybe called BlackRock was worth seeing but we didn't see it.
Took 102 north to Truro and then east on 104 to Anigonish and Port Hawkesberry.  Then took 105 to the Cabot trail and went counterclockwise around Cape Breton (always on the seaside)..
Took 105 west back to Pictou and took the ferry to PEI..  Went thru Charlottetown and back to the mainland on the 7 mile Federation Bridge.  Regarding PEI, you only pay to get off the island rather by ferry or bridge.  Then to Moncton and down 114 to Hopewell Cape where you walk on the ocean floor when the tide is out.  Continued on 114 to Alma and thru Fundy National Park.  Then west on 2 to Saint John and saw the "reversing falls".  Then back to the U.S.  thru St Stephen-Calais.  Acadia National Park at Bangor is a most see as well as the Maine coast on rte 1..  Went back across Vermont/New hampshire doing Mt Washington auto road and the ferry across Lake Champlain to upstate New York mountains.  We didn't have reservations the whole trip.  Once in Canada, there were welcome centers that would help you find lodging for the night.  Know this is a lot.  Hope some of it helps.  Some towns may be mispelled because of memory.   

[j f go]

No more Ferry rides to Canada out of Bar Harbor. I think the only place to get a Ferry ride now is out of Portland. Maybe someone from the Portland,ME . area can give you better info on that. Sounds like a good trip. Have fun and ride safe.

[BMQ]

The new boat to Nova Scotia is the Nova Star, out of Portland.  The boat trip is 11 hours and gets you to the southern tip of NS.  When you factor in the time getting on, getting off, then the 1 & 1/2 hour ride from south NS to north NS to the entrance to Cape Breton, it really is the same as riding over land to get to the same point.
So it boils down to how much time you have & what you wanna do on the way there.  If you are good with 12 hours of seat time per day for a bunch of days in a row, ride.  If you want an "easy" trip & like the casinos, dinners, etc, take the ferry.

[spada84]

Agree with what all of the previous posters said.  My Father-in-Law has a summer home on Isle Madame, about 30 minutes past Port Hawkesbury.  We have ridden up there about 4 times from VA.  We took the Cat also, but swore to never again.  Too expensive for no gain in time.  Other than traveling on vacation there, I have spent many weeks working in Moncton, and have lots of friends there.

We took a harbor tour in Norfolk, VA about a year and 1/2 ago.  The Cat (also known as the Vomit Comet) was in a shipyard there being refitted for who knows what.

The only place I have ever had an issue finding a hotel in Canada was in Quebec, east of Levis.  That's a real no-mans land, but came away with an interesting story.

A few opinions and notes:
Clockwise is the best direction on the Cabot Trail
On Cape Breton, do NOT exceed the speed limit thru the 1st Nations Reservation.
We have had to gear up for cold in every month of the year heading north out of New Brunswick.
Have cash for the toll east of Amherst on the Trans-Canada.
Find a way to go to Charlene's Bayside Cafe | 9657 Hwy 105 | WHYCOCOCMAGH, NOVA SCOTIA.  Best seafood chowder that will ever pass your lips.
Don't eat at Mother Webbs in Antigonish.
Be careful of the weather when crossing the Canso Causeway.
In Moncton, visit Magnetic Hill - kitschy, but fun.
After visiting Hopewell Rocks/Fundy park, go somewhere local for the tiny, tasty scallops.
Yes, I'm all about the food.
A good location for "fast food" seafood is Deluxe Fries in Moncton, or various other towns.  They started in Moncton, but are spreading.
Twice, we have taken NB4 out of Fredericton into Maine.  This is a remote back road, a bit rough in places, but the kind of roads that we love to travel on.  The border crossing is a little brick building with 2 or 3 agents.  Kinda fun to cross there.  If you go that way, in Lee, ME there is a road-side seafood stand called the "Harris Family Take Out".  Best Lobster Roll I have ever had.  And split a meal, the servings are huge.
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.359892,-68.285311,3a,37.5y,194.52h,86.57t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sz9WYPnkOm4YYT89m8brUkg!2e0

Hope you have a great trip.