I am planning a family summer vacation to New Brunswick. So far, I am thinking that we would anchor in Moncton, with a day trip or two to the surrounding areas, perhaps either Prince Edward Island or Saint John.

May I have some advise on the itinerary please? I have on my list so far Fundy National Park and the Rocks.

Thanks,

Steve

Make sure to see the tide change at Reversing Falls.

Hey Buddy - you're talking my back yard! I live in N.B., so I will try to help you on this one. Why are you picking Moncton...just curious? Are you flying in? New Brunswick's charm lies along the water really and in the small towns and farming areas. That's what makes us different really. The major towns - Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton all have different things to offer. Moncton is bilingual so it offers the view of both the Francophone and Anglophone community. Saint John is one of the oldest incorporated cities in Canada (I think). It has a pretty intact downtown that is worth walking around - lots of cruise ships now stop at the port (which is right downtown) so there is shopping, eating, museums, etc. all within easy walking distances.
Fredericton is a very pretty small city (the capital of N.B.) and the major University. So while Saint John is really the "urban" soul of the province Fredericton is less gritty lets say - more civil servants and professors. It's spread out along the Saint John River which essentially runs through a long stretch of NB and, in fact, as I look out my picture window, there it is in all of its glory! The parks are beautiful, Grand Manaan (a short ferry ride) is a great place to go for a few nights - it's a special place with a variety of places to stay. St. Andrews is a beautiful old coastal town with mansions from days gone by and some very nice places to stay!
I love PEI and used to go there every summer so I envy you going. While Charlottetown is a great small city, I would advise (if you spend the night) to stay in a farm house or cottage to get the real feel. PEI has lots of wonderful drives and great restaurants! I can't imagine taking a day trip there but if you were to do that you would need to be very specific as to what you wanted to do. I would head right towards the north shore and get to the sand dunes and do some beaching myself! Fredericton also has a Saturday Farmer's Market downtown that is definitely worth taking a detour to! It's a fun opportunity to see local people hanging out, talking, buy and eating their way through the morning. Fredericton also has the Beaverbrook Art Gallery which is an absolutely beautiful little museum which an astonishing collection of art - including a very infamous Salvador Dali! Anyways, feel free to write back. I am not an expert because, as many people know, you often don't know about things only a few hours away from you, but at least I know the context! Good luck!

Debrah, thank you! I am so glad you responded.

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Why are you picking Moncton...just curious? Are you flying in?

I picked Moncton out of sheer ignorance I want to see the Hopewell Rocks and the Tidal Bores, and Moncton seemed like a logical place to stay for a few days. Also, with three kids, the water park and the Magnestic Hill near Moncton seem interesting too.

I am driving from Boston, taking two days through Maine. My thoughts so far are to go from Boston --> Rockland ME (staying two nights), then Rockland --> Moncton (not sure how may nights to stay here). Having read your post, I've decided to go to PEI for two nights, then on my way back, spent one night in Fredericton to break up the drive before returning to Boston.

Can you recommend a farm house to stay near North Shore of PEI? For that matter, where is the North Shore?

I had considered taking the CAT, but it seemed to me the area near Yarmouth NS is not very charming -- is that true?

Thanks!

Steve

Here's the web link for tourism http://www.peisland.com/search/. Probably for two nights I would say an inn, a motel or a cottage or a B&B. I cannot recommend anything in particular because we stayed in one place for years and years that was a huge farmhouse rented by the week. The thing you need to know that the North shore is called the Land of "Anne" - as in Anne of Green Gables - that is where the largest tourism structure is. Cavendish is the epicenter of that. I would stay away from that but maybe if you have kids, you could handle it. I like Brackley beach and my favourite is Blooming Point Beach. This website is fairly inclusive so you should be able to pick out a place. Moncton is rather a strangely laid out city - you can't really say it has a "centre", its very spread out and very complicated to drive around. I get lost every time I go there! Shediac, however, is about 1/2 hour from Moncton - it's a nice size little town, right on the water, with beaches and little cafes....it's kind of French, so you would get that vibe and I think there are a variety of places to stay. You can easily go to Magic Mountain for the day in 30 minutes. Also you could drive to Hopewell Rocks if you wanted to. Plus its easy to get to PEI from there also. If you need a shopping fix Moncton is the center of shopping in NB but none of it (barely) is downtown its all at the malls and box stores. If you want to be right near the Park and the Rocks, Alma is a lovely litte town right on the water also. I like Moncton but I don't think (personally speaking) its a good tourist destination - it's very busy with lots of traffic and if you are driving in and out all the time, it could be a hassle. Whereas if you stayed in a nice small town with amenities, it would likely be more fun and easier to navigate. This is the official website of Tourism N.B. tourismnewbrunswick.ca. On the way from Shediac to PEI, there are fabulous fish and chip cafes in
Cap Pele! You should plan your trip so that you stop at one of them going one way or the other.
Actually, I think someone who posts here is from PEI and they may have more information once they see your posting...hopefully.

Debrah, great information. Shediac looks great! I also looked into St. Andrews and saw that it was near the US border, which begs the question: if I go to St. Andrews from Rockland, ME, is there a short cut route where should I can cross the border?

Steve

If you go to PEI, you might want to book tickets to the "Anne of Green Gables" musical if it is on while you are there. Kids generally enjoy it (as will you).

If your kids make the age cut, you can whitewater raft the tidal bore in Schubenacadie, NS. Remember to arrive on time!

Thanks for the musical suggestion. The Confederation Center sells tickets on-line and lets me pick seats. With five months to go, I see that I can have any seats I want in the theater.

I've managed to book a two-bedroom cottage in Shediac and a kids' suite in Holiday Inn in Charlottetown -- it's going to be quite a trip. Thanks for all your help!

Steve

Hi - you would cross the border at Calais Maine - which you get to from Bangor on Route 9 I think it is. If you have a map, you can double check, it's only one of a few roads...You cross the border into St. Stephen N.B. and it's just a hop, skip and a jump to St. Andrews from there.

I live in Bangor, Maine and take Rt. 9 at least once a month to go to meetings in Calais. It's about 2 hours from Bangor to Calais, and it's a very interesting and pretty drive--generally unpoulated, rolling hills, interesting geology. the Calais-St. Stephen crossing is one of the major U.s.-Canadian border crossing areas, believe it or not. Another travel option, depending on where in NB you are heading, is to continue up I95 to Houlton, ME and cut over from there to cross at Woodstock, NB.

If you have kids, another interesting place to go in N.B. might be King's Landing, a historic reconstruction settlement comparable to what you might experience in Sturbridge Village, MA or Williamsburg, VA. It's located on the road between Woodstock and Fredricton. http://www.kingslanding.nb.ca/english/

Thanks again everyone.

While we are on this topic, may I have some restaurant tips for Shediac and Chalottetown?

Thanks,

Steve

Buddy, we drove up from Boston last June to visit the rocks, the parks, etc in NB and Nova Scotia for a week or so. Its a wicked long drive! We went without kids, spent a night in Portland, Maine, then hit the road to St John then on through New B then to Nova Scotia around that area and down to Yarmouthport. We did take the CAT ferry with our car back to Maine and are VERY glad we did! The boat ride was very easy (kids would love it!) and worth the expense compared to time and other travel expenses. We did spend the night in Maine before heading home. The Bay of Fundy is terrific, the parks in general are wonderful and you will probably spot moose in the parks. We took our bikes and did alot of biking but be aware of the hills in the parks- they are very long and steep. All in all, this is a very quiet kind of vacation, focus is on the outdoors and farm scenery. LIttle to no nightlife but that's probably ok with you. The Canadian drivers are so polite its almost scary- compared to us crazed Bostonians!

Karrie -- thanks for the tip on CAT. I've been going back and forth on this. Since we're not going to Nova Scotia, one of my biggest concerns is that if I can do the two ferries (St. John to Digby, drive to Yarmouth, then Yarmouth to Portland) all in one day? I had thought about staying a night in Digby, but that area just doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

Thanks,

Steve

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Buddy, we did stay for two nights on the Digby peninsula and I would recommend it for a couple of reasons- its very pretty, you see a real working man's island in action, you can take whale watching trips from the island (second one out, I forget the name now), they have very cute tiny ferries between the mainland and the islands (thinking of the kids here)and its a great walking island. Its also VERY small, there is ONE place to stay (very decent large motel with very decent restaurnat, I forget the name but you can google it) and NO place to eat any other meals except for the deli store in the tiny town where they make great sandwiches. We never looked at the ferry schedules elswhere except between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor I think it was, not Portland for our trip so I can't help you there BUT we did have to Q-up pretty far in advance to get our car on the ferry in Yarmouth so I doubt you can just zip on over to the ferry and drive your car on at the last minute. We got to Yarmouth maybe 2 hours before the departure time back to Maine but we're glad we did, it was a cute town, great little lunch places, very New Englandy with a touch of Scotland and France. I'm going to guess that doing all that ferry hopping in one day won't be worth it or even do-able. Remember, that its very farmy up there, no congestion, but long, long stretches of pretty but store/activity free roads,so if you have hyper kids or spouse, they/he/she may get antsy. We're happy we went but if we go again, we'll fly to maybe the Cabot Trail areas on Cape Breton and rent a car. Brutal amounts of driving all together, particularly if you're like me and don't like to have to sit in a car for long stretches. But the sweetness of the Canadians made the trip nice.

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you can take whale watching trips from the island (second one out, I forget the name now)

Brier Island

My family just returned from our vacation to New Brunswick and P.E.I. I would like to thank everyone who helped me plan this trip -- it was a great vacation!

I uploaded some trip photos to my album. Here's the link to P.E.I. and New Brunswick

I hope to communicate how much I loved the Maritime provinces through these photos.

Steve