Beginner’s Guide To Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

TMP 76 - Beginner's Guide To Cape Breton
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Meggan: Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. It's Meggan and joining me as always, my partner in podcasting Jenn.

Jenn: Hi,

Meggan: how are you today?

I'm good. How are you?

I'm good. And we're so happy you, the listener, are here. So we hope you enjoyed our most recent episode beginner's Guide to Mainland Nova Scotia.

And we are back this week to chat about planning your trip to Cape Breton Island. So here you have it, folks. We are going to put all of our focus on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. So, We thought we would do this and you know, obviously it's a beautiful place, but actually it's quite recognized. So in 2021 it was named the number one island in North America by readers of Conde Nast.

And it has won many accolades for its world famous golf courses. Now, we're not necessarily golfers, but obviously this is a huge deal in the golf world and we not stress enough that if you have the time on your visit to Nova Scotia, to definitely don't leave out Cape Breton. It should not be missed. But first things first. A question that is often asked, and you know, we get it, is Cape Breton, part of Nova Scotia?

So Jenn, walk us through the basics.

Jenn: Yes. So Cape Breton is in fact an island and like, no kidding, Cape Breton Island. It connected to mainland at Nova Scotia by the Canso Causeway. But the island is part of the province of Nova Scotia. Thank goodness because we love it and we are so happy to claim it as part of our beautiful province here.

Obviously we're giving it its own episode, so that's how special we think it is. And we both have special connections to Cape Breton as well. So I'm excited to dive in and talk more about Cape Breton.

Meggan: And if people want to actually go to Cape Breton, what's your advice in terms of how to get there?

Like, I know there's options, so what? What should the people know?

Jenn: All right. Yeah. Similar to mainland Nova Scotia, there are several options to get to Cape Breton. So Sydney, does have a small airport. The flying options are limited nowadays, unfortunately, in this, you know, post Covidy world and in the flying world, it is severely limited.

So you are able to fly directly into Sydney from like Toronto, Halifax. Maybe a couple of other places not.

Meggan: And make sure you pick Sydney Nova Scotia, not Australia.

Jenn: Whoops. Yep. People have made that mistake.

Meggan: Yes, that would be a big surprise.

Jenn: So you can drive from the mainland across the Canso causeway like we said.

And we do want to caution you that if you plan to rent a car in Nova Scotia this summer book ahead, book early book right now. Stop this podcast and go book it and come back.

Meggan: Go book your car!

Jenn: Supply is like not meeting demand. There are so many shortages and prices are are quite high. So shop around, look for some alternatives.

There are even some car dealerships. That are offering rentals. So check that out, not just the car rental services. Don't necessarily take the first one you see or cancel because of the high price. Like look at all of your options. We want you to come, so you could figure it out.

Meggan: We believe in you.

Jenn: Yes. And then you can also drive from Newfoundland and take the ferry that comes from Newfoundland and lands in North Sydney. Or you can arrive by cruise ship right into downtown Sydney. So that's it. Those are the options.

Meggan: I think that's a lot of options, honestly, for such a smallish place.

Jenn: Yes. So Meggan, how many days do you think people need when exploring Cape Breton?

Let's, let's break that down.

Meggan: When we talked about mainland Nova Scotia, I think we sort of set along the same ideas. It really depends on what you wanna see and how much time you have. It is important to note as well that if you are driving to Cape Breton, let's say from Halifax, because you did fly into Halifax, that it's going to take up part of your day just to get to Cape Breton. So keep that in mind. That part of your day going to and also coming from, will be taken up with that drive. So plan accordingly.

I would say, and we have done a week long trip ourselves in Cape Breton during the pandemics. But to fully explore the island, honestly, especially if you've never been before, I would say seven to nine days, you could even stretch that out a little bit more.

But I think that would be a good amount of time with several stops hitting all the main spots, including doing some hikes and whatnot. And even if you see something spontaneous, still leaving a little bit of room for that as well. Yeah, you can certainly do a visit in like two to four days, but like anywhere, you would just really have to pick what really matters, what you really wanna see.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Understanding that you are gonna miss some stuff, but really that's just more reason to come back honestly. So, yeah. Do you kind of agree with that timeline or what are your thoughts?

Jenn: Yeah,, definitely.

I think that people hear Island and think that it is small and it's actually pretty big. And you know, you can drive technically the Cabot Trail in like one to two days, but you wanna stretch that out over like three to four, to five to really like, Explore instead of just literally driving your car in a loop.

So yeah, and then that's just one part of the island and then there's still the rest of it. So definitely I would say a week you could do a lot.

Meggan: Yeah. No, I, I definitely agree. And in your opinion too, like what do you feel is the best time to visit Cape Breton?

Jenn: Oh, yeah, that's a hard question. So, like we said, Nova Scotia in general July in through to October is kind of the best bet for weather. And keep in mind that things start to close here after Canadian Thanksgiving. Like I learned on my trip around Cape Breton.

Meggan: No.

Jenn: Yes, there is no food. Anyway, we figured it out, but a lot of people wanna visit Cape Brenton for the fall colors and people are trying to time it. And it is, it's tricky.

Meggan: It is.

Jenn: So it really depends on if we've had like a bad hurricane season or not like in 2022, but like, generally, After around the first week of October is usually good. Sometimes one side of the Cabot trail is ready and the other side is not. Sometimes it's past prime for one side of the Cabot Trail, and the other side is perfect.

It's extremely hard to hit the sweet spot. So I think kind of try to pick around the first bit of October and you should get something

Meggan: Hope for the best. And I would say too, like if someone does for some reason come here in the winter, there's great skiing as well. So that's always an option. Especially even in mainland or in Cape Breton, there's ski options.

Jenn: Yes. But I think you just have to be prepared that there a lot of things are going to be closed. Like since like the national historic sites and that sort of thing. They just, we don't have that many tourists in the winter. So it's a good way to, to not have any crowds, but also things aren't open. So yeah, there's a balance there.

Meggan: You gotta eat some food, you know? You know.

Jenn: Alright, so, Where should people start when they, let's say that they arrive in the Sydney airport, which should,

Meggan: I mean, that's a great question. So we talked about this earlier. If you're lucky enough to find some flights that work for your vacation, your trip will begin at the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport, which is on the Glace Bay Highway between the towns of Sydney and Glace Bay.

It really is a good kicking off point, honestly, and it's an easy way to see both towns before heading out onto the rest of the island. So Sydney's the largest town in Cape Breton. Glace Bay has a lot of mining history, so you can do a mine tour. There's some really great cliffs and sea glassing there, if that's your thing.

So it is, you know somewhere you should definitely stop if you have the time. Being a bit more realistic though, you will likely drive across the Canso causeway, and this is when you need to decide to go left or right, and this decision will depend on what you wanna see on the island. So, Jenn, talk us through a little bit about, you know, what's the best way do you think, to, to drive Cape Breton if you go left?

Jenn: Right, so left or left Sort of centery.

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: Cause there's like left, right and center, so

Meggan: that is true.

Jenn: Left center will give you the options. Heading towards Baddeck. Or more sort of the middle, like Mabou area, Cheticamp up to North Sydney and to the Highlands National Park as well. And then you can kind of go to the Ingonish. So as a tourist, this is the direction that I would probably go.

Going right, takes you towards St. Peter's, up towards my mom's house.

Meggan: Oh

Jenn: along the Bra d'or Lakes into Sydney and Glace Bay. Also a really good option. St. Peter's is actually it's a small little town, but it's kind of cute.

Meggan: It's cute,

Jenn: nice shops and stuff. And so like I would go that way too, not because my mom lives there, but I would also go that way.

And all like, even though you go that direction, you still get to Sydney. You can still do Ingonish and the, the Cape Breton Highlands National Park as well. It just takes a little bit longer, but it is a good way to get Sydney in there as well.

Meggan: Yeah, no, I agree. Like we always go the St. Peter's direction because we're headed Glace Bay.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And of course, when we eventually did Cape Breton in terms of our week trip, we of course went from Grace Bay up Ingonish and around that way because we were already there.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Both directions will get you there. Again, it really just kind of depends on what you wanna do.

Jenn: Yeah. All right, so let's talk about the areas that people shouldn't miss and kind of some things to do.

We're not gonna do a super deep dive into things to do. We do have two episodes about Cape Breton. That kind of breaks it up into two parts, but let's do a little bit of an overview of things that people shouldn't miss. What is up first?

Meggan: Well, of course we're gonna talk about the Cabot Trail slash Cape Breton, Highlands National Park area.

So of course there's great hikes with epic views, including Skyline Trail Hike. We will have some pictures, I'm sure on our social media for you to look at when the episode comes out. The Cabot trail loop is actually a loop. You mentioned this earlier with some really great scenery if you do the entire thing. And this kind of blew my mind, which I didn't realize. It's 298 kilometers.

Jenn: Wow.

Meggan: That's not short.

Jenn: It is not short. No,

Meggan: no, no. So you can do some of it. That's the great thing. Or you can do all of it. If you have time, you do get to pick and choose. And as you sort of go along, you will pass, of course, amazing views, great small businesses, beautiful golf courses, and sort of wee communities as well to like stop and visit.

It's part of the fun, honestly. There's of course options for hiking, camping and food. It is world famous for a reason and honestly well worth the time. And there are events that happen throughout the summer and fall, so be sure to check and see if your trip coincides with some of those. And as you do travel along the trail, there are some sharp turns. There's of course wildlife. Lots of motorcycles out on the road, especially in the summer. The roads can get really busy with a variety of things. So really just drive with care would be a word of caution, I would say as well.

Jenn: Yeah, definitely like pull over safely in spots that are designated for pulling over for photos because there are parts that are a little bit windy and narrow and you don't wanna be in the way.

Meggan: You don't wanna be a statistic on your summer vacation?

Jenn: No. All right. Meggan, talk to me about the Ingonish area because it's actually one of my favorite areas in Cape Breton and I feel like people don't spend enough time there.

Meggan: I completely agree. We definitely spent some time there during our Cape Breton trip, and it was, it was the, probably the highlight.

There's of course the world famous Celtic Lodge. It's along the Cabot Trail, sort of sits a top, a beautiful strip of land that overlooks Ingonish and the beautiful beach there. You can of course golf there. You can eat there, stay, enjoy their spa facilities when we did stay there in 2021.

Our room was nice and it did overlook the ocean as well. The food was very good and it felt a little bit resort ish, a little bit dirty, dancing ish in terms of like the resort itself. So that was what I was able to picture in my mind. But that's just a child of the eighties for you right there. It is historic and it's a centerpiece of the area, and I would also recommend hiking to the end of the point behind the lodge. We did it right before checkout, so we had to stop like three quarters of the way, unfortunately, just to get back in time to checkout. So give yourself enough time.

Jenn: Yeah,

Meggan: a little, a little bit challenging in some areas, but even the views we saw were well worth it and I'm sure it's lovely once you get to the end. Have you ever happened to do that hike?

Jenn: I haven't actually, so yeah. I'd like to spend a bit more time in the Ingonish area. We haven't actually like stayed there, we just drove through. So yeah, I'm definitely gonna, I'll put that on my list.

Meggan: Definitely. And across, not the street necessarily, but in very near the Celtic Lodge is also the Atlantic Gondola.

So it takes you up Cape Smokey for some amazing views of the Cabot Trail. Plus great hiking and there's a mountaintop snack shop up there. We love a snack shop.

Jenn: We do love a snack shop!

Meggan: I know opening day for 2023 is actually on July 1st. I did look up some prices because we didn't get a chance to take it. It wasn't open yet when we were there. Adults do pay $49.99 children 5 to 11 $26. 99 and more info of course can be found on their website. And Cape Smokey as well as a great spot for skiing in the winter. And it's a popular de destination really all year round now because of the gondola itself.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: And then I would say before you leave the area, and I've already referenced it visit Ingonish Beach it's located very near Celtic Lodge. It's a great stretch of sand and ocean. It's not huge, but the views are so amazing. There's so many rocks you can sit on. We went in the evening after all the visitors had left and it was pretty much deserted and honestly so relaxing and beautiful.

And we do wanna caution as well when you do visit Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a Park pass is required upon entry so that you can actually stop and enjoy the beaches and all the facilities. So there are park rangers. You don't wanna be caught without a park pass. So that's just something to keep in mind where you see it. Don't blow by the booth. Make sure you get a park pass for your time there.

Jenn: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. It is really easy to like accidentally drive by the booths.

Meggan: mm-hmm. Yes, accidentally.

Jenn: Um, Accidentally, yes, yes, yes. Just purchase the park pass. It does help keep our parks amazing and kept up and have facilities.

Meggan: So definitely. Where else can we go, Jenn?

Jenn: Okay, so this is one of my personal favorite areas and Cape Breton and which is the fortress of Louisbourg and the town of Louisbourg itself. So the Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site. Gives you a chance to explore a reconstructed 18th century French colonial town.

It is really cool to kind of wander around, get the bread, they bake homemade bread and

Meggan: I missed the bread. It, it like haunts me to this day.

Jenn: Oh, it's so good. Meggan.

Meggan: I know, I've heard

Jenn: I gotta get back there. Outside the fortress walls in, in the town, there are hiking trails. There's a lighthouse. And there is the famous Louisbourg Playhouse as well. So if there's a performance going on while you're there, you should check that out too. It is just a really great area and super interesting if you're into history and, and that sort of stuff as well.

Meggan: Definitely. All right, what else you got?

Jenn: All right, so next is Baddeck and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. So it's another area steeped in history. Alexander Graham Bell inventor of the telephone.

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Jenn: We love him. Lived many years, right right there in Baddeck you can explore , his inventions at a museum. He didn't just invent the telephone actually. So there is a museum, which is the national historic site, and Baddeck is a cute town to wander through. And I want to special mention the Bean There Cafe, because I love a cafe.

Meggan: Yes. Adorable. Adorable. And I think too, before we finish off, in terms of some things you should see, we have to mention much like mainland Nova Scotia. You'd think we're a drinking crowd here.

Jenn: Oh, we're a drinking crowd.

Meggan: It would be true if that's what you think.

So much like mainland on the province, there's obviously breweries and distilleries you can visit. Quick mention to Breton Brewing company, they're actually located in sydney, we went there ourselves. You can actually bring your own snacks, have the beer. It's quite an enjoyable atmosphere.

There's big Spruce Brewing near Baddeck, which is I think Nyanza actually, and we spent some time there as well, lovely. And then an Inverness, there's Route 19 and then the distillery most of note there is the Glenora distillery in Mabou, so something else you can check out if you're into the spirits.

Jenn: Yeah, if you're into cider. I really like Island folks cider Company, which is in Sydney as

Meggan: Oh, nice.

Jenn: Yeah. And there's a Quebec major junior hockey team in Cape Breton too. So if you're into some hockey, if you're there during hockey season go check out the Eagles at the center 200 in Sydney. And I like one of the things I wanted to mention to you, like we said in the Nova Scotia mainland episode is talking to the locals.

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Jenn: And I think that is especially true in Cape Breton. Like Cape Bretoners are very proud to be from Cape Breton and they do love sharing the history of the area. You know, a lot of people would say, I'm a Cape Bretoner, not a I'm Nova Scotian, right? Like it's,

Meggan: yeah,

Jenn: very much a regional pride and people are extremely friendly. So yeah, definitely if you're grabbing a drink at one of those places, you can you know, hang out with the locals, chat with them, and they'd be happy to share. You know, some stories about, about growing up in Cape Breton, I'm sure cuz every, every Cape Bretoner I've talked to loves to talk.

Meggan: Yes, definitely. And I think you're exactly right. I, I also think that Cape Breton has a unique culture as well that goes back to sort of, some people still speak Gaelic there's oftentimes, you know, Fiddle in groups and like step dancing. A close friend I went to travel school with Helen and her sister Dawn, they both still do the traditional fiddling as well as step dancing.

So you may even come across an event like that and if you do, don't miss it. Like that kind of thing is what Cape Breton is about. So, you know, really do get immersed in the culture. If, if you come across those types of events, you won't forget it. You honestly won't.

Jenn: Yeah, no, it is, it's an amazing area and it definitely. I love spending time there, not just because both of my parents are born in Cape Breon and my mom lives there again now. But it does have a special place in my heart and it is a really fun place to visit with some unique experiences as well.

Meggan: Definitely.

Jenn: All right. Well that is it for this week's episode.

So we hope you have fun planning your Cape Breton adventure. Don't forget to go back through our catalog of episodes. We have some specific Cape Breton content released late no late October, early November, 2020. Oh my gosh.

Meggan: Oh, I know.

Jenn: Forever ago now. But we'll help you do a little bit more of a deep dive of things to do around Cape Breton and some things to see.

So if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Buy us a coffee you'll get some extra content. And find us on social media at Travel Mug podcasts. And on our website, travel mug podcast.com. We're also on YouTube. We're everywhere. You can come hang out with us and we'll chat with you again soon.

Bye!

Meggan: Bye.