Looking for vacation ideas for your next trip? We’ve rounded up our favourite 5 places in Nova Scotia to help make your itinerary planning a little easier. Whether you plan on going for a long weekend or a week, I’m pretty confident you’ll find it tough to run out of things to do in one of Canada’s most beautiful provinces.
During our latest Canadian adventure, we visited Nova Scotia for 3 (ish) days. I put emphasis on the ish because we were there for labour day weekend, flying in on a Friday night and out on a Monday night. It definitely wasn’t enough to see all of the 5 places in Nova Scotia I have on this list but we got through a fair number.
We found Nova Scotia to be a pretty easy destination to drive around. While car rentals can be fairly expensive in Canada, if you do a round trip itinerary instead of from one point to another you will find better rates. We travelled from Halifax in a loop and back and found that the easiest (and cheapest) way.
Now that I have you on the edge of your seat wondering what 5 places in Nova Scotia we’re going to list, I’ll spell them out for you:
| Halifax |
Of course, you can’t visit Nova Scotia without visiting the capital city. Home to one of Canada’s best universities: Dalhousie, there are a good number of bars you can party at if you don’t mind a younger crowd between September – May. Halifax is also home to the most concentrated amount of bars in Canada. Go figure.
Although it’s not all about getting drunk in this spot. History buffs will love this city as well. Citadel Hill was one of my favourites as you really felt like you were transported back in time. We even had people walking around in outfits during our visit as if we had really been transported back in time.
Another one of our favourite spots was Pier 21. Knowing that my ancestors had crossed onto Canadian soil in that very spot was a pretty surreal moment. If Ben and I had known each other 50 year ago, that’s where he would have landed as well!
| Book your hotel in Halifax |
| Peggy’s Cove |
I had seen so many beautiful pictures of Peggy’s Cove there was no way I could miss it during my trip, and obviously there’s no way you can either! It’s a short 1 hour drive from Halifax and a really easy one. As you roll up you’ll be greeted with some pretty crazy landscapes and some of the quaintest homes you’ve ever seen in your life.
It can get fairly busy here as it’s now so popular so I would suggest timing your trip correctly. Try leaving earlier in the morning than later to really get the best views with the fewest crowds. I encourage you to walk around the area as well and have a bite to eat at one of the cute lunch spots.
| Lunenburg |
Lunenburg is by far my favourite place in Nova Scotia on this list (for now as I haven’t quite been to one of these places yet). The town is so colourful, the people are very nice and friendly and it’s slow moving, something I’m definitely not used to. We stayed at the Lunenburg Arms Hotel and the view from our room was one of the best I’ve ever had.
Whether you’re looking out onto the water and the sailboats going by, or back up at the tiny city placed atop a small hill, I guarantee you’ll be hardpressed to find a bad view. If you plan on visiting Lunenburg you absolutely must try fish and chips. I would say it rivals some of the best I’ve had in England!
You also need to stop at the Ironworks distillery. Their spirits are locally made and they’ve put together some pretty crazy fruit mixtures in their liquor. Aim to go later in the day though, taste testing spirits at 11am isn’t always the best.
| Book your hotel in Lunenburg |
| Cape Split |
This spot is completely underrated. Cape Split it one of the northern points of Nova Scotia mainland, facing New Brunswick (although we weren’t able to see the other province from atop the rock). The area has a really beautiful hiking trail that is suited for all ages and skill levels.
It takes about 3-4 hours depending on how fast or slow you want to go and is really well laid out. When you get to the top you will be greeted by some unbelievable views. The rock cliffs are like smaller versions of the Irish coast. Red stone and green on top, it’s a great spot to enjoy a picnic after a tiring hike.
| Book your hotel in Cape Split |
| Blomidon National Park |
I absolutely loved it here. The red sand that stretched as far as the eye could see was truly something unique and incredible. The drive leading up to the park was gorgeous as well, passing through the cliffside, cute little farms and lush greenery for miles.
When you walk down from the parking lot at Blomidon park, you’ll be greeted either with high moving tides or sandy beach depending on the time of day. We ventured over at around 4pm and it was perfect, the tide was out and we could just walk on the ocean floor. The cliffs along the beach were also really cool to see, moulded and recked from years of water crashing up on them.
| Book your hotel in Blomidon Park |
There you have it, our top 5 places to visit in Nova Scotia. Which ones will make your list?
