<p>We’re longtime vacationers in the Maritimes, went 22 of 24 years, but haven’t been since the year before they built the Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to NB. Longtime campers, and fell in love with the area around Cavendish, and I kick myself for not buying property.</p>
<p>In 10 days, to hit PEI, NS and Newfoundland is too little time to do anything justice. </p>
<p>Bar Harbor in itself is gorgeous, you could spend 10 days there.</p>
<p>All three provinces have designated scenic routes, concentrating on specific historic, geographic areas or regions. Travel on the TransCan was always a breeze, especially if you’re used to driving metro NYC/Boston/Washington corridor. Two issues you may encounter: summer road work, as roads take a beating in winter, and they are in constant maintenance. The delays and tie ups will be nowhere close to what you’re used to here however. Check with your insurance company if you’re driving, you’ll probably need a Canadian interprovince insurance card, which verifies your coverage. If you’re in an accident, even a minor one, you’ll be detained until you can produce proof of coverage. Just call your agent/broker, and they’ll send one before you leave.</p>
<p>If this is your first time, you cannot honestly do all three in 7-10 days. A synopsis:</p>
<p>Nfndlnd: Craggy, rocky scenery. Lots of fog. 2 metro centers. Most roads follow the coast, not much inland. Unless you enjoy peace and quiet and have a vast love of amazing views, or just want to soak in history and culture, I think the kids will be bored stiff. Don’t think there are alot of attractions for teens/preteens. They will be bored with fishing villages very quickly. I’d save it for you and the spouse. The ferry ride is an overnite, unless they’ve gone high speed.</p>
<p>PEI: for beaches and golf and windsurfing, it’s a major vacation spot for alot of Canadians, particularly Dalvay/Cavendish areas around the Nat’l Park. It may be tough getting accomodations, but you are at the tail end of the season. Farming, fishing, and tourism are the main draws. Landscape is almost flat, with gently rolling hills, a good portion of the land under cultivation. Eastern/werstern tips of the island are tuna fishing hotspots, but you can charter a fishing trip virtually anywhere for cod, mackerel, smaller stuff. Canoe rentals in a couple of places throughout the island. No real navigatible rivers/lakes however that I recall. Powerboat, jetski rentals around Cavendish, and the south shore as well. Woodleigh Replicas should not be missed, and there are a couple of great gardens open to the public. Plenty of attractions around Cavendish, and I’m sure the entire island has changed since we were last there. The fish is superb, as is the produce, particularly the local potatoes. Plenty of local fresh fish spots, with right off the boat freshness. Malpeque oysters can’t be beat. A couple of places offer lobster suppers for a reasonable cost… New Glasgow, St. Anne’s, others. Anne of Green Gables house is in the Nat’l Park in Cavendish. Dalvay was some magnate’s summer residence. The ferry ride from Wood Island can be very backed up in the summer; we rarely had issues crossing from Cape Tormentine NB to Borden PEI before the bridge.</p>
<p>NS: is large. Really. Yarmouth, eastern shore up to and above Halifax is craggy coast, fishing village. Halifax is a major city, nightlife, fancy eateries, museums, the Citadel. The Cape Breton area is really a seperate island, connected by the Canso causeway. Magnificent scenery in the Nat’l Park and if you do the Cape Breton Highway, run it east to west. Most of the name attractions are in the Ingonish area, with great beach, charters, golf. Lodge is magnificent. Take a run to Meat Cove if you do the highway, worth the trip for the road and the artist’s community if nothing else. Got fresh swordfish at Neil’s Harbor one summer. The beast was just landed, on ice on the dock, and they would slice off steaks at $1.25/lb Canadian. We ate it breakfast and dinner for two days. That same trip, we had a moose walk through our campsite, and saw the aurora (fairly uncommon at that latitude) one night. The temperature can range drastically, from mid 30’s at night to 90’s during the day. Dress for layers, ad throw in a three season jacket or a heavy sweater.</p>
<p>The Moncton area on the western shore has a number of tourist attractions, some centered around the Fundy tides. The western shore is alot of farm land, and reverts to fishing villages as you approach Yarmouth.</p>
<p>The brochures were always well done and chock full of info; I’d imagine the provincial websites at least if not more informative. </p>
<p>Again, my restaurant/attraction list is way out of date, but the generalities are accurate. We would drive from 14-17 hours, I’d stop overnite in Moncton (would call for reservations when I hit NB depending on how I felt, and always got a room in a decent chain), and continue on to PEI. We were either tent or trailer camping, so we normally did not use any hotel/motel/lodge other than a one night stay). We would normally do between 2-3 weeks at a time in the NP, sometimes staying on PEI, sometimes in Cape Breton or occasionally splitting the time equally with Fundy NP in NB.</p>
<p>If you come across specific names of attractions, areas, restaurants, feel free to PM me.</p>