Nova Scotia - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**NitemareHippieGirl** · 02-06-2006, 08:00 AM

Hi! I'm travelling to Nova Scotia with a few friends in July. We're probably going to be there about two weeks.

I was hoping someone might know how easy it is to travel around Nova Scotia, are there trains or bus lines? Are there any hostels worth staying in, and where would be good places to camp?

Also, does anyone know how much money we might be able to get by on. We were planning on doing a lot of camping, and only staying in a hostel a couple of nights. But we'll probably hit a few pubs while we're there (yay, for under 21 drinking age!)

And... what is a must see in Nova Scotia?

Thanks for any help you can give!

**blinkchick2134** · 02-06-2006, 08:34 AM

I've never been but last year I was planning to go. I was going to work at a hostel at the north end of NS. I know in order to get there I had to have the hostel owner pick me up from the train station or airport because it was a 2 hour ride with no available public trans. That's all the planning I got through before I had to cancel the plans.

I'm sure one of our awesome Canadian members knows a tad more than me though!

**NitemareHippieGirl** · 02-06-2006, 09:04 AM

Yeah, I've been having trouble finding out how to get around in Canada. So far the cheapest way of getting from Louisville, Ky to Canada has been a Greyhound to Montreal. But after that I have no idea how to get to Nova Scotia easily. But, I'm not very good at finding deals.

**blinkchick2134** · 02-06-2006, 11:29 AM

I don't get off work until 9 but I'll look around for you then. I know when I was looking the cheapest was Amtrak to Montreal and then a bus to NS. I'll let you know later.

**d_fresh** · 02-07-2006, 05:44 AM

I lived in halifax for a year and half.
might be just as cheap to fly than train (train is really unrealistic for travelling in canada, imo).

as for what to see and do, check out this site
http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx

Spartan · 03-03-2006, 01:22 AM

Hey, I'm from Halifax, but I now live in France. If you plan on starting in Halifax, to get there for Montreal the easiest way would be to fly. Check out "low cost" as in cheaper than Air Canada airlines like Westjet, Canjet, etc. If you dont fly I believe there is a train from Quebec city you could take. Other than that I would say take a bus, it's a long ride, but it will get you there.

Once your in Nova scotia you can take a bus to most places that arent too obscure, your best bet to see everything you want though is to rent a car depending on how much money you can spend I dunno if this is an option or not but at least check out prices, if you plan to camp at all there are a lot of places in the summer. I'm not too sure about hostels but I know there are a lot of B&Bs and discount hotels around.

Some places you might want to check out include Halifax, Peggy's Cove, The south shore area which includes Lunenburg and Shelburne. If you want to see some whales go to Digby on the Bay of Fundy and also the Cape Breton Highlands are a cool place like Baddeck. The highway routes in NS are pretty good for the most part if you have a car.

Check out the tourism website posted above for more info too...

When you're in Halifax some good places to drink are for Irish pubs - Old Triangle, Lower Deck, Pogue Fado and the Split Crow. Other bars that are good are Pacifico (kinda trendy), The Dome (meat market) but not too bad and open till 4am. The Palace (dance club), Alehouse and the Argyle. They are all within 10 min of each other in the Downtown section so they arent hard to find. Everyone usually starts at some bar then ends after 2 at either the Palace or Dome because they are the only 2 open late.

I'd definitly recommend going to the South Shore, check out the tourism website for more info. And if you have time check out Prince Edward's Island if you can get there. There is a ferry from NS and a bridge from New Brunswick. The beaches are incredible. most popular are Cavendish and Brackley Beach.

Whatever you do, Im sure you'll have a good time. If you change the timing of your trip for any reason I believe there is a tall ship festival sometime (not sure exactly when) and in August there is the Busker (street performers from all over the world) for 2 weeks, they are pretty cool to see.

If you have any questions, fire away