Day 1 - Arrive Montreal / Dinner at Auberge Saint-Gabriel
Upon arrival at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, you will be met by your private sedan and transfer to your Hotel.
Tonight you will dine at North America's oldest inn, Auberge Saint-Gabriel Restaurant, located inside the stone walls of Old Montreal. As a reflection of the well-known Quebec's hospitality, the welcome is warm and the service courteous. Enjoy fine cooking reuniting two continents through French and Quebec cuisine. The new glass wine cellar allows you to admire the collection before tasting your selection.
Moderate: Overnight Delta Centre-Ville
Superior: Overnight Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel - Fairmont room
Deluxe: Overnight Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel - Fairmont Gold room
Day 2 - Choice of Montreal Tour / VIA Rail to Halifax
This morning you have a choice of activities, choose between a Walking Tour of Montreal or a Guided Tram Tour of Montreal.
Walking Tour of Old Montreal (select dates: Mid June to Mid October)
Your tour begins in front of the Notre-Dame Basilica boutique in Old Montreal. A walking tour including lots of information on history and architecture, and many anecdotes revealing the secrets of Old Montreal, from yesterday to today! From Place d'Armes to Place Jacques-Cartier, including the Royal Bank, Notre-Dame Basilica, Cours Le Royer, St. Jacques, Notre-Dame and St. Paul Streets, City Hall, the Champ de Mars and the old Bonsecours Market.
Guided Montreal Tram Tour (Daily)
Experience the best of Montreal on an exciting 3 hour sightseeing tour. A complete tour of the City, taking in over 200 points of interest, including a stop at the Notre Dame Basilica, St. Joseph's Oratory (photo stop), residential and financial districts, Old Montreal (photo stop), French Quarter, outside view of Olympic Site (photo stop), McGill University and a panoramic view from an observation point on top of Mt. Royal. Discover Montreal through hundreds of places of interest with an uninterrupted commentary by a friendly, knowledgeable & bilingual guide.
The remainder of the day is at leisure. In the evening transfer (on own) to the Montreal train station, where you will board VIA Rail for your overnight journey to Halifax. Leaving Montreal in the evening, you'll travel along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, then take the Matapédia valley. Enjoy comfortable private sleeping accommodation onboard the train this evening.
In Easterly Class experience train travel with the thrill of discovery. Through the guidance and companionship of an onboard Learning Coordinator, you will learn the way to the region's past and traditions. In a setting reminiscent of the legendary transcontinental trains, the Learning Coordinator will provide the cultural backdrop to the rolling Maritimes seascapes through informative, yet entertaining presentations carefully intertwined with the passing scenery, while setting the course to create an interactive environment open and inviting to everyone. Through planned vignettes, short movie viewings, workshops and impromptu presentations, you will be guided through the history and culture of the Maritimes, helping you create your own masterpiece: memories that last a lifetime. Come celebrate this journey of discovery!
Note: VIA Rail’s Easterly Class, including meals is only available from June 15 to October 15, 2008. If travelling outside these dates, your accommodation will be in Comfort Sleeper Class and no meals or Maritime Learning Experiences are included.
Moderate: Overnight VIA Rail in a Private Bedroom
Superior: Overnight VIA Rail in a Private Bedroom
Deluxe: Overnight VIA Rail in a Private Bedroom
Day 3 - Arrive Halifax
When daylight comes you will be travelling through the province of New Brunswick, a region immersed in the history of the Acadians, a group expelled from the Maritimes by the English in 1755. The train will arrive in the port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the late afternoon. Upon arrival in Halifax, pick up your car rental (a short distance from the train station) and transfer to your Halifax hotel.
Moderate: Overnight Delta Halifax
Superior: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Standard room
Deluxe: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Premium room (includes breakfast)
Day 4 - Halifax Exploring / Halifax to Liscombe Mills
The Halifax Region is the gateway to Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia's capital city is vibrant and cosmopolitan with a rich seafaring past. Metropolitan Halifax boasts a variety of fine restaurants, exciting nightlife, museums, historic sites and shopping. This morning visit Pier 21 National Historic Site (included), Canada's last remaining immigration shed with interactive displays, 4-D film and more, and Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (included), where period-costumed soldiers re-enact British Military life in the 1800s and the thunderous boom of the noon-day cannon is heard 365 days a year.
This afternoon, depart Halifax and begin your 2.5 hour (170 km/95 mile) journey to Liscombe Lodge, you will follow the Marine Drive route through a land of pristine coastal beauty, quiet shoreline roads, romantic seaside villages, where the past is a colourful part of everyday life. You may wish to make a stop at the Memory Lane Heritage Village in Lake Charlotte, which offers a nostalgic look at life in the 1940's, and at the Fisherman's Life Museum in Jeddore, where guides in period costume recreate the simple yet powerful daily life of coastal fishing communities. Arrive at Liscombe Lodge, the nature lover's resort, situated in a tranquil riverside setting along Nova Scotia's beautiful Eastern Shore. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Nothing's more relaxing than a peaceful afternoon spent on the Liscomb River. It's your choice how you enjoy the view: a harbour tour on a 12 passenger tour boat, a quiet canoe trip up river or paddle boating out to Riley's Island. Liscombe Lodge offers a variety of walking and hiking trails that include interpretive signage along the way.
Moderate: Overnight Liscombe Lodge (includes buffet breakfast)
Superior: Overnight Liscombe Lodge(includes buffet breakfast)
Deluxe: Overnight Liscombe Lodge (includes buffet breakfast)
Day 5 - Liscombe Mills to Louisbourg / Lobster & Crab Boil Dinner
From Liscombe Mills, you will travel a short distance to Sherbrooke. Visit Sherbrooke Village Museum (included), the former picturesque lumbering and shipbuilding community which looks as it did 100 years ago, before gold mining transformed it into a boom town. From here you will travel inland through Antigonish via the Canso Causeway to St. Peter's, known as the “Gateway to the Bras d'Or Lakes" which is a full-service community situated on a narrow strip of land separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Bras d'Or Lakes. The St. Peter's Canal, a National Historic Site, connects these two great bodies of water. You will travel along the Fleur-de-lis Trail which traces the shores of beautiful Isle Madame, passing through charming Acadian Communities, then follows one of Nova Scotia's most unspoiled and beautiful stretches of Atlantic coastline. Your day ends in the historic town of Louisbourg, that has been welcoming travellers for over 250 years.
You will be staying at the Point of View Suites, perched on the edge of a 4 acre peninsula that sweeps out into the magnificent Atlantic Ocean. The Point of View offers waterfrontage and private beach for your relaxation and recreation pleasures and you are only steps from the gates of Fortress Louisbourg!
This evening enjoy a tantalizing evening of lobster and crab boils, story-telling and Linda's “Louisbourg tales" in the owners private beach house overlooking the mighty Atlantic ocean. The beach house is the perfect venue for a relaxing, flavour-filled evening. Know how to crack a lobster' If not, they'll be glad to show you. Tom steams our main courses outside just before we sit down to eat and we serve them up Cape Breton style - on newspaper! Stay after dinner for a sing song or a walk on the beach and enjoy the wonders of our salty ocean breezes and the majestic view of the 18th century Fortress.
Moderate: Overnight Point of View Suites - Non view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Superior: Overnight Point of View Suites - Ocean view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Deluxe: Overnight Point of View Suites - Ocean view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Day 6 - Fortress of Louisbourg Day Tour
After breakfast, take a scenic 5-minute drive along the northern shore of Louisbourg Harbour which leads to Lighthouse Point and the historic Louisbourg Lighthouse. Lighthouse Point is a spectacular setting with a rocky, wavecarved shore and views of the fortress across the harbour. This is the site of the first lighthouse in Canada, built in 1733. Return to Louisbourg and get ready to step back in time to 1744! Experience Louisbourg, a thriving seaport and capital of Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island). Today you will spend exploring The Fortress of Louisbourg national Historic Site, covering some 6,700 ha (16,549 acres), one of the largest national historic sites in Canada and one of the largest historic reconstructions in North America. The Fortress is a faithful re-creation of a town 250 years ago, with impressive walls and majestic gates, quaint homes and formal gardens, comfortable inns and lively taverns. Costumed animators re-create the lives and activities of Fortress residents.
Your day will start with a 7-minute bus ride from the Visitors Centre to the Fortress. You will be met by your Tour Guide and embark on a private 1 hour tour of the fortress. After your tour, enjoy an 18th century cuisine at L'Epee Royale for lunch. If you were an 18th century sea captain or a prosperous merchant who just arrived in port, you'd look for a quality inn once your ship had dropped anchor. The recommended choice might well be the Auberge L'Epee Royale, then operated by Jean Seigneur. Today's inn reflects the color and charm of it's original era. Enjoy fine dining with an Old World ambiance. After lunch, you will be able to continue to explore at your leisure. Meet soldiers, musicians, merchants, street vendors, bakers, servants and fishermen. Demonstrations of dance, music, cooking, gardening , cannon firings and more will fill your day. Visit the homes, stroll the ramparts and walk the streets of a bygone era.
This evening enjoy dinner at the Point of View Suites Restaurant. Choose from market lobster, snow crab, halibut or half roasted chicken, served with home-made potato salad and coleslaw, vegetable garnishes, freshly baked rolls and piping hot tea and coffee. After dinner, you may wish to visit the Louisbourg Playhouse for live theatre and Cape Breton music in a 17th century style theatre. One of the most unique entertainment venues in Nova Scotia.
Moderate: Overnight Point of View Suites - Non view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Superior: Overnight Point of View Suites - Ocean view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Deluxe: Overnight Point of View Suites - Ocean view Suite (breakfast & dinner included)
Day 7 - Louisbourg to Ingonish
Today you will travel to the northern region of the Island, home to the famous Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park, one of Canada's most stunning and diverse national parks. Stop in Glace Bay where you can experience life in a coal mine first-hand at the Miner's Museum, one of the region's most popular attractions or visit the Marconi National Historic Site which marks the place from which Guglielmo Marconi and his team of engineers and scientists sent the first wireless transatlantic signal in 1902. Your day ends in the resort town of Ingonish at the renowned Keltic Lodge.
Moderate: Overnight Keltic Lodge
Superior: Overnight Keltic Lodge - Ocean view room
Deluxe: Overnight Keltic Lodge - Ocean view room
Day 8 - Cabot Trail Exploring
Spend today exploring the world famous Cabot Trail - a coastal highway described as one of the most spectacular drives in North America. The Cabot Trail winds through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a 950 km² (366 sq. mi.) wilderness area that is home to a variety of wildlife and landscape. Some places of interest to stop at today include: Cheticamp, a busy fishing village with a thriving Acadian culture, where you will often hear the lively sounds of Acadian French being spoken and in the restaurants, you can sample typical Acadian food Pleasant Bay, a working fishing village where you find the fascinating Pleasant Bay Whale Interpretive Centre Ingonish, a popular resort destination where visitors can enjoy outdoor recreational activities that include hiking, deep-sea fishing, whale watching, bicycling and sea-kayaking St. Ann's, home of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, the only one of its kind in North America. In the evening return to the town of Ingonish.
Moderate: Overnight Keltic Lodge
Superior: Overnight Keltic Lodge - Ocean view room
Deluxe: Overnight Keltic Lodge - Ocean view room
Day 9 - Ingonish to Halifax / Alexander Keith Brewery Tour
Today you will depart Ingonish Beach and travel back to Halifax. Your journey will take approximately 5.5 hours and enroute, you may want to visit the Antigonish Heritage Museum with exhibits depicting their cultural heritage. Also, take a short detour to Hector Heritage Quay in Pictou. The Interpretation Centre retells the story of 18th-century Scottish migration to the New World and the role of Ship Hector. Explore the full size replica of the Ship Hector, at dockside. Arrive back in Halifax in the late afternoon.
It's definitely not your run of the mill brewery tour, it is a fun and interactive look at the oldest working brewery in North America, that will provide the perfect blend of fact and fiction for a true Nova Scotia good time. Guided by actors dressed in period costumes, you will learn about the beer, the brewery and life in Halifax in 1863. After an informative tour through the brewery you are lead to the Stag's Head Tavern where you will listen to toe tapping music, play games and of course sample Keith's fine ale. (non alcoholic beverages available) It's the perfect tour for people of all ages who want a real taste of Nova Scotian hospitality. The brewery is located across from the downtown waterfront, so after your tour you can make your way to one of the many great restaurants for dinner.
Moderate: Overnight Delta Halifax
Superior: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Standard room
Deluxe: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Premium room (includes breakfast)
Day 10 - Peggy's Cove & Lunenburg Exploring / Evening Dinner Cruise
Today's journey will take you along the Lighthouse Route with your first stop at Peggy's Cove, one of the most photographed places in Canada. The graceful lighthouse sitting high upon the smooth wave-worn granite of the coast now does duty as a Canada's only post office in a lighthouse. The Lighthouse Route journeys through a landscape of coastal beauty and historic charm. Follow shoreline roads past rugged wave-carved headlands and tranquil island-studded bays where legends of the sea come alive in historic towns and weathered fishing villages. From Peggy's Cove, drive to Lunenburg, where the colourful waterfront, narrow streets and captivating architecture radiate the flavour of the towns' seafaring heritage. Lunenburg is home to Nova Scotia's famous racing schooner, Bluenose, the ship on the Canadian ten-cent piece. Old Town Lunenburg was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. The breath-taking Lunenburg waterfront is the home of the world-class Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. The Museum commemorates the fishing heritage of the Atlantic coast of Canada. Housed in brightly painted red buildings, with floating vessels at wharfside, the Museum offers a host of attractions.
This evening you will dine aboard the Harbour Queen, a Mississippi style sternwheeler that takes you on a tour of the waters of Halifax Harbour while you enjoy a delicious buffet dinner. The lower deck of the Harbour Queen is fully enclosed and heated for your comfort.
Note: The Harbour Dinner Cruise operates from June 15 to September 15. If travelling outside this time period, your dinner cruise will be substituted with a dinner voucher for Murphy's on the Water Restaurant.
Moderate: Overnight Delta Halifax
Superior: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Standard room
Deluxe: Overnight Westin Nova Scotian - Premium room (includes breakfast)
Day 11 - Depart Halifax
Today transfer to the Halifax International Airport to drop off your car rental in time for your onward or homeward flight.
PACKAGE INCLUDES:
- 9 nights hotel accommodation, room tax & mandatory service charges
- 1 night bedroom accommodation and meals aboard VIA Rail's Ocean between Montreal & Halifax in Easterly Class (NOTE: VIA Rail’s Easterly Class, including meals is only available from June 15 to October 15, 2008. If travelling outside these dates, your accommodation will be in Comfort Sleeper Class and no meals or Maritime Learning Experiences are included.)
- 8 day Full size rental car including unlimited mileage LDW, GST, personal accident insurance, personal effects coverage, provincial tax, PVRT, additional authorized operator fee
- Choice of Old Montreal Walking Tour OR Montreal Guided Tram Tour
- 3 course Dinner at Auberge Saint Gabriel including gratuities
- Breakfast Daily at the Point of View Suites in Louisbourg
- Lobster & Crab Bake Daily at the Point of View Suites in Louisbourg
- Pier 21 Historical site
- Sherbrooke Village Museum
- Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
- Fortress of Louisbourg admission, 1 hour Guided Tour & 3 course lunch including gratuities
- Alexander Keith Brewery Tour
- Fisheries of the Atlantic Museum admission
- Private sedan transfer between Montreal Airport & hotel including gratuities
- Dinner Cruise in Halifax Harbour including gratuities (SUBSTITUTION: If dinner cruise is not operating, it will be substituted with a dinner voucher for Murphy's on the Water Restaurant)
- Personalized documentation package
PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
- Car Rental: refueling service charge, parking, gas, ferry & highway tolls, baby seats, additional driver taxes and credit card security deposit
- Meals on listed as included
- Activities not listed as included
- Transfers not listed as included
- Gratuities not listed as included
- Goods and Services tax (GST)
- Trip Cancellation Insurance (Insurance can be purchased from your Vacation Specialist, ask for more details)