Visiting the Maritimes - NEED ADVICE!!!

[Chroma]

Hello fellow SCs, I will be visiting the maritimes(for the first time ever!) in a couple of weeks and really need help from those SCs who live there or have been there. My husband and I will be there for about a week but we are on a very tight budget, so any advice on cheap accomodations, cheap fresh seafood (yum), and places that we need to visit. We will be in Halifax, Saint John, Charlottetown, and maybe St. John's. Thank-you in advance!

[bricon1621]

A walk along the halifax harbour on a sunny day is always nice and its free.. There are a few resturants that sell fresh seafood there too and I think most menus are posted outside so you can check prices before going in..
There is also a infomation spot there too so you can maybe find out more about things to see..

[ccmp1974]

Your not going to Cape Breton!! Sorry I am usually stuck here on the island so I am not mush help.Hope you have a great visit.

[dol09]

Have you checked out the tourism sites for NB, PEI, and NS??

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/
http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx
http://www.tourismpei.com/index.php3

Sorry I don't know that many good accommodations. My DH and I usually camp when we go anywheres.

Hope you have a great trip!!!

[mamasavesmoola]

Well WELCOME When you are in SJ, the following are all free..
.
1. Walk thru Loyalist Burial Grounds (I know, but it's very pretty), tour the City Market and have lunch at one of the many vendors.
2. Cape Spencer - google it, it's about 15 minutes from the city center, has a beautiful lookout over the ocean with a quaint lighthouse. You'll be standing at the top of the cliffs.
3. Bay Shore Beach (or Saints Rest Beach) - beautiful.
4. Irving Nature Park - great nature park, lots of wild life, trails, and ocean views.
5. Rockwood Park - the HUGE park located in the middle of the city...lots to do there, just google it.

That's it for now - all free. PM me if you need more details or have questions.

[wavebaby67]

I love it when people visit my home province of NS
For a cheap harbour cruise take the ferry that shuttles between Halifax and Dartmouth, total cost $9.....$2.25 each way x2 =$9.

The Lower Deck is a great place for inexpensive pub food and Alexander Keith's beer, right on the waterfront, great people and great times.

For $15.95 each you can take a tour of Keith's brewery, the building is amazing, the tour is 55 minutes and gives lots of great local history.

Public Gardens on Spring Garden Road is a fantastic place and it's free, great place to have a lunch wether permitting.
For places to stay you can check out the Heritage House Hostel, it's nice there, and walking distance to everything I mentioned above.
Pier 21, Canada's immigration Museum..just $8.60 each.
Point Pleasant Park the the mouth of the harbour is great with walking trails, ocean views, old fortresses.
My stuff isn't free but it's not very expensive. Enjoy the Maritimes

[hmacdona]

Many accomodations right in Halifax aren't cheap, but there are more economical options in Dartmouth. However, if you aren't picky about where you stay, the halifax hostel is a decent option. I stayed there once for about 20 bucks, but I don't know what it is now.

Admittedly I don't know the cheap places to visit, as every time we go up, it's for shopping If you're looking for a nice place to eat for dinner, I'd recommend the Wooden Monkey, but I wouldn't say it's super cheap. You can check the prices on their website.

Now, if you *do* happen to make it to Cape Breton, there's lots of cheap stuff to do, especially if you like the outdoors and hiking! The Cabot Trail is incredible, and I'd recommend following the Céilidh trail along the west coast to get to it. Tons of hikes, campgrounds, scenery, ceilidh's, whale watching, you name it. Would skip Sydney, but the Fortress of Louisbourg is a definite must-see.

[collett]

It depends on exactly when you are planning your vacation but from may-august the university residences and rented out to tourists. Probably a safer bet than a hostel.

I went to school in Charlottetown and the residences are all pretty nice. One of them (I forget which one) is actually a two bedroom apt so you could cook instead of going out for all your meals.

http://www.upei.ca/~housing/html/sum...modations.html

Also, I'm not sure where you're from, but I live in Toronto and everything in the maritimes is a lot cheaper. Especially restaurants and pubs.

[glitter99]

I've used priceline to get hotels in Halifax and got some good deals.

[miss_jolie]

Halifax: Halifax has a market every Saturday morning at the keiths brury which is along the water front. It doesn't cost anything to get in and there is lots to see and eat. The market is an absolute must if you are in town. The market is rich with music and culture. There is a little restaurant/cafe called The Good Food Emporium on Gottigen st, my friend cooks there on wed/thus/fri. He makes authentic Korean/Thai food, it is really Halifax's hidden gem. It's also a big hang out for Halifax's artist and musicians. There is a good pub around Spring Garden road, called Bearly's, it's my favorite pub in Halifax, it has beautiful live music and it a really fun atmosphere. Phil's Fish n Chips is located on Quinnpool rd, and it has the best fish and chips in town. As far as cheap places to stay, hemmm that may be hard. I would expect to pay at least 100/night. You can try priceline.com.

Charlottetown: You can see everything in a day in Pei, the island is really small and the people are really friendly. There are lots of beaches you can walk for free, there is also a Saturday market in Charlottetown. They also have a beautiful waterfront, with a lovely view. I also went horse back riding (but not right in Charlottetown) for around 15 bucks and we really enjoyed it. I think you should go so Green gables if you are there. I've heard that there is a fun Irish pub that is fun to visit while there too. You can search this link for places to stay in your price range: http://vacations.kijiji.ca/f-Canada-...-W0QQCatIdZ360

[Zonny]

I second Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. It's about 100 acres, used to be a lot more trees before the hurricane, but still a wonderful place! Bring a picnic lunch and have a nice walk through the woods. Bring some peanuts for cheap entertainment - the squirrels and birds will eat out of your hand.

Staying downtown will probably cost you, but if you go outside of there, you'll probably get a better deal. Try Future Inns in Bayers Lake, Econo Lodge on the Bedford Highway. Both are accessible by public transit if you don't have wheels here.

If you end up with a place with a kitchenette, you can cook your own darned lobster! In Bayers Lake (Future Inn is near there), there's often lobster being sold off a truck for about $5 a pound or so on the weekends - I bought some today for $5.65 a pound.

If you're renting a car, I'd recommend Enterprise. There's a location in Bayers Lake, you can generally get a three day weekend for about $100 if you rent a little bit in advance (not the day you need it). That does not include insurance though. Check your home car insurance and credit card if you won't have a car here, sometimes that will cover the insurance portion. We have a credit card that covers it since we are car-free.

Outside of hotels, there are B&Bs, but I don't know the price.

Halifax: Halifax has a market every Saturday morning at the keiths brury which is along the water front. It doesn't cost anything to get in and there is lots to see and eat. The market is an absolute must if you are in town. The market is rich with music and culture. There is a little restaurant/cafe called The Good Food Emporium on Gottigen st, my friend cooks there on wed/thus/fri. He makes authentic Korean/Thai food, it is really Halifax's hidden gem. It's also a big hang out for Halifax's artist and musicians. There is a good pub around Spring Garden road, called Bearly's, it's my favorite pub in Halifax, it has beautiful live music and it a really fun atmosphere. Phil's Fish n Chips is located on Quinnpool rd, and it has the best fish and chips in town. As far as cheap places to stay, hemmm that may be hard. I would expect to pay at least 100/night. You can try priceline.com.

Charlottetown: You can see everything in a day in Pei, the island is really small and the people are really friendly. There are lots of beaches you can walk for free, there is also a Saturday market in Charlottetown.

Free beaches? If they're part of the provincial park system, costs $10 to go for the day. We go to PEI several times a year, haven't seen too many free ones. There's one outside of Charlottetown called Tea Hill, that's a good one. Go when the tide is out, especially if you have kids.

[alajen]

I use this site when traveling for work.

http://www.lunchonline.ca/index.htm

They also hold a draw online - you can fill out a ballot when you see the "Win Online" symbol on a restaurant description. If you win, they send you a discount card for that restaurant. Won once - coupon came in handy on my trip to Charlottetown.

[Chroma]

Thank-you everyone for such awesome suggestions!!! I'm now even more excited for my trip!!! BTW, I'm definitely going to squeeze in cape breton as well.

[hogama]

Would skip Sydney, .....

I couldn't agree more!!! That just made me laugh a little too loud!

[Poirot]

Have a look at http://www.tripadvisor.com