- L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
I'm recently back from a road trip to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, all of which was great, though on two separate days (one was driving from Georgetown, PEI to Ingonish, Cape Breton and the other was driving from Chéticamp to Bangor, Maine) it was a bit too many hours in the car for me. However, it's almost hard to avoid it as breaking up the drives requires stopping somewhere along the way, and there is a scarcity of decent accommodations. So, it's a decision to make in planning a trip, and we obviously decided to carry on in the car.
The first day's drive was eight hours, to St. Andrew's (New Brunswick), and happily we stayed again at the New Brunswick B&B, which I wrote about (and raved about) last year. Hosts Ken and Les are exceptional, and we'll continue to stay here anytime we're in the vicinity. Like last year, we had another excellent meal at Niger Reef, and this year we were able to get a reservation at William & Water. Chef-owner Will Thornton sources a lot of local ingredients for the menu, and there are also a number of Spanish tapas, all of which are authentic and top-notch, especially the Gilda. It's clear Thornton (who has traveled to San Sebastián) knows what he's doing in the kitchen. We also had drinks at The Herring and at . We also tried the Bay of Fundy Sea Salt Caramels at McGuire Chocolate Company and highly recommend them! We felt another visit to Kingsbrae Garden was in order, and we discovered that somehow, last year, we missed The Sculpture Garden entirely. No surprise that it's equally fantastic (some photos below).
After two nights we headed for PEI, driving first through the Fundy National Park en route. Though the day was overcast, the Fundy Trail Parkway was still incredibly worthwhile and beautiful. There are great views nearly the whole way, and there are lots of lookout points, and there are four waterfalls; we really enjoyed the Walton Glen Gorge hike. Visitors who want to spend more time here can also tackle the 41-kilometer Fundy Footpath. Road signs throughout New Brunswick are in English and French, as New Brunswick is Canada's only bilingual province (French has been the only official language of Quebec since 1974).
On PEI we first stayed at Dalvay-by-the-Sea, a national historic site - the hotel is within the PEI National Park of Canada - and in 1996, Dalvay's centennial year, the hotel was commemorated with a plaque and monument noting it as a fine example of a home built in the Queen Anne Revival style. The original owner of Dalvay was Alexander McDonald, who was born in Scotland in 1833; he immigrated with his family to the U.S. and settled in Ohio, and by 1863 he was in the oil business with his brother, James. By 1892, he became the president of Standard Oil of Kentucky, and was a very wealthy man. In 1895, the family spent the summer on PEI and they decided to buy land and build a summer home (the McDonalds's home in Cincinnati was called Dalvey, though the difference in spelling is "somewhat of a mystery," according to hotel literature). Today Dalvay is operated as a summer hotel and dining room (open May to October) under a lease agreement with Parks Canada. It's a grand place, with a fantastic porch where many guests gather for cocktails in the evening. The hotel was featured in the 1987 film 'Anne of Avonlea,' and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate) attended an outdoor reception at Dalvay as part of their royal honeymoon tour in 2011. However, it's not a fancy or luxury place, and there is no elevator (there are guest rooms on the main floor but guest rooms on the second and third floors are reached by stairs). Our room was large though the bathroom was quite small, and the air conditioning unit was not up-to-date (though worked perfectly fine). We had dinner one night in the Lounge restaurant and it was very good, among the best of our trip, and there was also live music which was fun. Complimentary coffee and tea are served in the Goose Cafe until 7:30 in the morning, when breakfast service begins. Dalvay is a special place, and I think it's the best place to stay in the area, though I think guests should expect staying here to be like being invited to a casual, rambling summer home as opposed to a five-star experience.
The PEI National Park is an area of sandy beaches and warm water, which may seem surprising but the island has the warmest waters north of the Carolinas. The water on the south shore is warmer than on the north shore due to the shallow waters of the Northumberland Strait; but the beaches on the south shore tend to be less sandy, with more rock and clay. The best time apparently for the warmest waters are generally around the first two weeks of August, but I can attest that the water at Dalvay was plenty warm in early July.
After three nights at Dalvay we drove along the Points East Coastal Drive to Georgetown, where we stayed at the Georgetown Inn, a historic inn registered as one of Canada's Historic Places. The building dates from 1840 and has been wonderfully maintained by proprietors Bob and Chelsea. The inn has 8 guest rooms, a pub, and a dining room; our room was large and comfy and also had access to a shared outdoor porch. Breakfast is included, and the selections we had were quite good, as was the dinner we had one night.
Finding a good meal was challenging, not only here but in Cape Breton as well. There aren't very many cafes or restaurants to begin with, and the menus tend to be nearly identical (more so in Cape Breton), with many, many fried selections and few salads or vegetables in general. FIN Folk Food at Tracadie Beach was recommended and I managed to get a salad with pieces of lobster on top. We tried to go to the Blue Mussel Cafe, which doesn't take reservations, but there was no more room on the wait list when we arrived. Tipsy Farmers in Souris has a pretty good menu, and we had lunch here one day and then stopped in again for some of its grab-n-go selections for a picnic. We had drinks one day at the Brudenell River Resort because we wanted to watch a World Cup game, and it's possible the menus there have more options. We had two great breakfasts at Tide & Tales and at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company Cafe, which is also home to the beautiful Gardens of Hope (more photos below) and the preserves are great (there are lots to choose from - I bought Raspberry & Champagne, Peach & Prosecco; Cherry & Amaretto; and Wild Blueberry; there is also an outpost in Charlottetown at 10 Lower, Great George Street). We enjoyed beer and wine at Bogside Brewery in Montague (there was also a pop-up oyster bar that day and the oysters were delicious). The Dunes was recommended by friendly guests at Dalvay but we couldn't fit it in - it's open for lunch and dinner and the menu did look to be a little different; we stopped by in the morning to see the outdoor sculpture garden which is amazing (photos below), and there is also a gallery featuring local artisans. In Georgetown, we had two good dinners, one at the Georgetown Inn and the other at The Wheelhouse.
Gardens of Hope
The Dunes
The landscape across the island looks just as L. M. Montgomery described it in Anne of Green Gables - there are fields of all shades of green, like in a box of 64 Crayola crayons, as well as blue sky, and it's basically a rural and agricultural island. I read the book many years ago so I reread it while on this trip. If you've never read it or if it's been a while since you did, I highly recommend it: it's a wonderful story, Anne is a superb character, and is perfect companion reading. The edition I like best is the hardcover curated by Barbara Heller (Chronicle Books, 2024), which has "the complete novel, featuring the characters' letters and mementos, written and folded by hand" - these last are tucked into glassine pages throughout the book. Heller also includes wonderful notes on the letters and mementos at the back of the book, which are fascinating. It's clear she really dug deep into the details, and her notes add so much to the story. Additionally, her bibliography includes images, books, manuscripts, ephemera, and online sources, many of which made me go down many rabbit holes. At any rate, visitors to PEI can't help avoiding Anne as there are references all over the island. The Montgomery birthplace and the Anne of Green Gables Museum are near each other, and while we didn't visit her childhood home, the museum, in the house where her aunt and uncle lived and where she spent a lot of time, is worthwhile (the museum is still owned and operated by family members). The self-guided tour is on two floors and it takes about a half hour to walk through all the rooms. A great surprise is that from one of the windows there is a beautiful view of the "Lake of Shining Waters." One room is devoted to Montgomery's publishing history: impressively, Anne of Green Gables has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, and she wrote 20 novels, 2 books of short stories, and 1 book of poetry.
We visited Charlottetown, the island's capital, twice. The Visitor Information Centre is inside Founders' Food Hall and Market (at 6 Prince Street) and the staff there are very helpful and friendly; the official 'Discover Charlottetown' guide to the city is quite substantive and useful (I particularly like the page 'A Renewed Vision: An Honest and Reflective Look at Charlottetown's History,' which concludes with, "Charlottetown still has important work ahead, but today the city is more openly acknowledging its past and taking steps toward reconciliation, with the goal of building a place where everyone feels seen, valued, and respected." 'Reconciliation' refers mostly to the Mi'kmaw people, the original inhabitants of PEI, and the Acadian Expulsion, which began in 1755 when the Acadians refuse to sign an oath of allegiance to Britain that would make them loyal to the Crown instead of being "French neutrals." Deportation orders were then announced, beginning le Grand Dérangement, which started at Fort Beauséjour (on the isthmus of Chignecto, at the head of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick) by the British military. In Charlottetown, the expulsion took place at Skmaqn - Port-la-Joye. All the Acadians' settlements were destroyed, and between 1755 and 1764, more than 6,000 Acadians were forcibly removed from their homes and deported to Québec, the 13 Anglo-American colonies (including Louisiana), as well as Britain and France. Many were put in jail or died at sea. Others hid with the Mi'kmaw or made their way to present-day New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Between 10,000 and 18,000 Acadians were displaced during le Grand Dérangement, and thousands more were killed. Many families who were separated during this period were never reunited.
In addition to being the capital and the island's largest city, Charlottetown is the Birthplace of Confederation, when the leaders of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada formed the Dominion of Canada on 1 July, 1867 (Canada Day is the 1st of July). Before Confederation, British North American also included Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, the Northwestern Territory, and lands that were the private domain of the Hudson's Bay Company. At its creation in 1867, the Dominion of Canada included four provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. Between then and 1999, six more provinces and three territories joined Confederation.
We joined an excellent, 75-minute walking tour, 'Historic Great George Tour,' offered by Confederation Centre of the Arts. Guides for the tours offered dress in period costume, which might sound trite in the worst way but it's actually a nice touch. Our guide was superb, and near the end of our walk a few other costumed people walked by and stopped in front of our group - they were all part of it, and they bantered with our guide for a few minutes before continuing on down Great George Street. Again, it sounds clichéd, and I'm not doing it justice, but it was really well done.
We had dinner one night at Water Prince Corner Shop; a good lunch at Sea Rocket; drinks at Claddagh Oyster House and at JC's Tiki Bar, where you can sit on swings (fun!); and we also bought some great provisions at the Kent Street Market.
Our outdoor activities on the island included Singing Sands Beach at Basin Head Provincial Park (the reason it's called Singing Sands is because the action of gently gliding your feet on top of the sand creates a squeaking sound - more than a sing-song sound - due to high silicon content in the sand); Mooney's Pond hike; Panmure Island (though it was raining the day we went); Cardigan trails; Greenwich Dunes Trail, which is fantastic with the floating boardwalk, not to be missed (photos below); and Barrachois Beach, which we were tipped off to by our friendly waitress at Tide & Tales. She explained that it wouldn't be found on navigation apps, but it's not hard to find: take the road across the street from Gallants Country Food Market/Irving gas station (on Route 243, in Rustico). Stay on this residential road until you see a dirt road to the right - up to this point it takes about 10-15 minutes. Turn off here and follow the dirt road around to the left and you'll see a few parked cars and a roped-off area. You'll see the beach and the water to your right. Park and walk down the steps to the path that leads to the beach. The walk takes about 15-20 minutes and is mostly on sand. There will not be many people at the beach, and they will all be locals except for you.
We took the Northumberland Ferry from Wood Islands to Nova Scotia, where we've been previously (though only to the southeastern part of the island south of Halifax). This time our destination was Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which occupies a large portion of the northern tip of Nova Scotia. En route to our first stop (Ingonish), we stopped at the Whistleberry Market & Eatery, which is good to know about as it's a pretty good place to pick up provisions (this was the best market we found for the remainder of the trip) or to get a sandwich to eat there or eat later. It was here that we discovered Picard's Chip Nuts, a somewhat healthy snack that is a peanut coated in a potato chip crust. That may not sound so appealing but we found the snack incredibly good. Chip Nuts come in a variety of flavors, and on this initial stop we bought a bag of "original" and another of sriracha; on our drive home we stopped and bought about 10 more bags. I don't want to oversell them, but I definitely encourage trying them.
In Ingonish we stayed three nights at Salty Rose's, a cute apartment above the Periwinkle Cafe, a great place for coffee drinks, baked goods, and sandwiches. We stayed in 'Rose's Apartment' which has a double bed, small kitchen, and bathroom; the 'Lily' and 'Dandelion' rooms share a bathroom. The cafe, which is excellent, opens at 9:00 a.m. and Salty Rose guests receive a complimentary coffee drink and one selection from its baked goods. We really enjoyed our stay here and a great plus about it is that it's next door to the Groovy Goat Farm, where visitors can buy a small bucket of food to feed the goats, sheep, and donkey (not the horse). The shop has a selection of goat's milk soaps (Rose's Apartment has bars of 'Romantic Rose' in the bathroom), and it's one of many on the Cape Breton Artisan Trail. Also, there's gelato.
We had a good dinner at Main Street Restaurant, where the French fries were truly crispy on the outside (to my mind, the only fries worth eating). Another night we ate at Seagull Restaurant, where our exceptionally friendly waitress told us to go to Dingwall, South Harbour, and Neil's Harbour; we did, and it was a picturesque and nice drive. We also hiked the Lake Warren Trail, which was a good hike, mostly flat around the lake but there are a lot of tree roots so you have to step carefully. The beach at the Broad Cove Campground is big, sandy, and pretty (the campground is signposted and is 11 km. from the eastern entrance of the Park; drive to the end of the road and park, and there is a short trail down to the beach). As you can see from the photos below, there was no one there, in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful day. After a while, four people from Ontario walked by.
We then drove to the other side of Cape Breton to Chéticamp, stopping at the North Highlands Community Museum, which has some interesting, well-presented displays about the history and life in the area and friendly and knowledgeable staff. The museum is also a good attraction on a rainy day, and it would be wise to expect some rain no matter when you visit. Road signs in this part of the park - and in other parts of Nova Scotia - are in English and French or English and Scottish Gaelic, honoring both historic traditions.
Chéticamp is on the Cabot Trail and is a gateway to the National Park, established in 1936. The name Chéticamp comes from the Mi'kmaq, who frequented this area during hunting trips. As early as 1752, Charles Robin of Jersey Island operated a fishing post on the southern trip of Chéticamp Island, and Acadian fishermen who escaped the 1755 deportation eventually settled here on a seasonal basis. Families began establishing permanent roots in Chéticamp in 1790, and by 1820 the village had 784 residents. Some views of the town, taken from Chemin du Phare on Chéticamp Island, are below.
Fishing has long been the region's primary industry - a plaque on the Middle Head hiking trail (which is fantastic; photos just below) reads, "Every summer, in the early 1900s, we'd fish by day and clean cod, mackerel, salmon or haddock in the evening. Over a half dozen families had fish shacks here. We still fish lobster May to July but in the 1980s the salmon berths and fish traps went. Now the cod are scarce. We are fishing communities. Without fish we don't exist. Our children, our homes, our music, our culture depend on catching fish in the ocean."
A unique weather phenomenon that occurs only on the northern coast of Cape Breton is Les Suêtes, which happens when a low pressure system presses down on the winds that flow over the highland plateau coming from the east or southeast. The wind is trapped between the plateau and the low pressure causing a squeezing action that produces the wind effect, similar to someone blowing through a straw. As the wind flows off the plateau, it can gain speeds up to and over 200 kilometers an hour. A wind storm usually lasts less than 12 hours, and it can happen weekly in the fall, winter, and spring months (less frequently during the summer). A beautiful sunny day usually precedes Les Suêtes, and it's said that locals can hear the mountains "groaning" when the winds are on the way. Travelers who may be in Chéticamp when Les Suêtes are forecast should know that high sided vehicles or those pulling a trailer can be blown off the road or flipped over. Be careful opening car doors as the strength of the wind can overpower you, especially young children. And if you see the shutters are closed on houses, you'll know Les Suêtes are coming. Time to hunker down!
We stayed on Chéticamp Island at LaPointe Chalets, a very cool, contemporary collection of five, cube-shaped chalets (we stayed at Chalet Aucoin) that has only been open since the fall of 2025. Floor to ceiling windows are featured throughout; there's a small kitchen area, living area, large bedroom and bathroom; and a porch with a picnic table and two deck chairs. Thoughtful touches are the binoculars, walking stick, extra toothbrush and toothpaste, razor and shaving cream, robes, a bottle of local wine, a small box of delicious chocolates from Rousseau in Halifax, and a handwritten card featuring the watercolor artwork of Faith MacKinnon, one of the partners in the LaPointe Chalets team (a selection of her cheery watercolors depicting local vistas are framed hung in all the rooms). The entire experience is peaceful and lovely. The LaPointe team is adding Bistro Fiset to the compound, as well as a museum, marina, and beach. The prix-fixe, Table Doucet restaurant is also within the LaPointe portfolio.
Faith MacKinnon watercolor
We had drinks and heard some live (country) music at Le Gabriel though The Doryman features live Acadian and Celtic music seven days a week from late June to mid-October. Café Les Suêtes has some good and different sandwiches, salads, coffee drinks, and sweets as well as 'Friday Night Take-Out' options. We had delicious mussels at Harbour Restaurant & Bar and two good breakfasts at Marguerite Boutique & Provisions, with properly flaky croissants and other baked goods as well as books, culinary items and condiments, and lots of items crafted by local artisans. Though we didn't get to La Boulangerie Aucoin we think there is a good chance it's turning out quality baked goods. Our best meal was at L'Abri, which offers an elevated menu with more variety; we went for dinner on our last night, and if it hadn't been fully booked the other two nights I would have gone more than once. We also bought a rotisserie chicken and other provisions one day at the local coop and enjoyed lunch at the chalet.
Without doubt, the absolute highlight on this side of the park is the Skyline Trail (photos below). Note that advance reservations for a parking space are required. We also hiked the Salmon Pools trail which is a pretty, level trail along the Chéticamp River.
- L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
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