Visit the wave-battered shores of Peggy’s Cove to photograph the iconic Peggy’s Point Lighthouse, perched on glacier-sculpted granite. Wander past weathered wharves and fishing sheds, where lobster traps and buoys add splashes of colour to the Atlantic palette.

Feel the ocean breeze, listen for the distant foghorn and scan for seabirds riding the updrafts. Artists’ studios and small cafés reflect a tight-knit community that has lived by the rhythm of the sea for generations.

Engage with Indigenous culture at the Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Centre, where interpreters share the history and traditions of the Mi’kmaq people. Explore multimedia exhibits, then handle materials like sweetgrass, birch bark and quills to understand craft and ceremony.

Hear language and lore that connect the community to the land and waters of Mi’kma’ki. Exhibits trace thousands of years of presence and living knowledge, underscoring Nova Scotia’s recognition of Mi’kmaw as the province’s original language.

Cruise the island-dotted waters of the Bras d’Or Lake aboard a spacious catamaran, gliding past lighthouses and wooded shores. Keep watch for bald eagles and seabirds as you trace the coastline of Baddeck and admire tranquil coves.

Along the way, your crew points out Beinn Bhreagh, Alexander Graham Bell’s former estate, and highlights the lake’s UNESCO Biosphere designation. Relax on deck with fresh air and open horizons framing Cape Breton’s inland sea.

Step into Cape Breton’s Celtic heritage at The Gaelic College. Watch a kilt-making demonstration, learn about the rhythmic fabric milling tradition, and see how artisans preserve weaving, piping and step-dancing through hands-on instruction.

Music, language and craft come together as instructors share the customs brought by Highland settlers. This immersive visit reveals how culture is carried—stitch by stitch, tune by tune—into contemporary island life.

Journey the Cabot Trail, where mountains meet the Gulf of St. Lawrence along the edges of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Stop at coastal lookouts for sweeping views and watch for moose and eagles in the boreal forest.

Pause in the Acadian fishing community of Chéticamp, known for hooked rugs, music and French heritage. Sandy coves offer a moment to dip your toes in the bracing Atlantic and savour the salt-tinged air.

Explore the world of invention at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, overlooking Bras d’Or Lake. Examine models, photos and artifacts that illuminate Bell’s work on telephony, tetrahedral kites, hydrofoils and innovations in sound and flight.

Guided interpretation connects the exhibits to Bell’s personal story in Baddeck, from experiments on the water to breakthroughs in communication and science. It’s a thoughtful portrait of curiosity in action.

Visit two classic sentinels of the Northumberland Strait: Point Prim Lighthouse, PEI’s oldest and Canada’s only round brick lighthouse, and Wood Islands Lighthouse (1876), guiding mariners at the island’s southeastern tip.

Clifftop views, red sandstone shores and surf-polished stones create a painterly scene. Learn how keepers once tended lamps and fog signals, and capture the geometry of tower and sea in the soft Island light.

Sample regional flavours at Rossignol Estate Winery, tucked among fields near Little Sands. Tour the vines and barrel room before you sample regional wines, from crisp table styles to inventive fruit bottlings that pair beautifully with Island fare.

Winemakers share how PEI’s coastal climate shapes acidity and aroma, while local cheeses accent the tasting. The peaceful rural setting and sea breezes set the tone for a relaxed, convivial visit.

Discover Prince Edward Island National Park, where red sandstone cliffs, dune grasses and white-capped surf frame a classic Maritime landscape. A Local Specialist shares stories of coastal ecology and Island farming.

Continue to Green Gables Heritage Place to wander rooms that inspired L. M. Montgomery’s heroine. Trails like the Haunted Wood and Lover’s Lane invite a stroll through the very scenery that sparked the pages of Anne of Green Gables.

Meet a local fisherman in the seaside village of Georgetown for tales of tides, traps and working the strait. Learn how mussels are cultivated in cold, clean waters before sitting down to a fresh, flavoursome feast.

Watch pots steam and savour Island blue mussels cooked simply to showcase their sweetness. This hosted lunch blends coastal storytelling with regional produce for a delicious window into daily Maritime life.

Take a guided visit at the Homarus Centre to uncover the lifecycle of the Atlantic lobster—from larva to harvest. Examine anatomy up close and learn how sustainable practices protect stocks in the Northumberland Strait.

At the touch tank, engage with native species—sea stars, oysters, mussels and more—while educators explain their role in a balanced coastal ecosystem. It’s hands-on science with a conservation lens.

Visit Hopewell Rocks, where the world’s highest tides carve Flowerpot Rocks from towering cliffs. With a local guide, learn how lunar gravity shapes the Bay of Fundy’s dramatic rise and fall.

If conditions allow, descend to the shoreline and walk on the ocean floor among seaweed-fringed pillars, returning hours later to find the bay replenished. This geological theatre invites awe, photos and quiet reflection.

Travel the Fundy Trail Parkway, a ribbon of roadway between forested hills and cobalt bays. Pullouts reveal scenic lookouts, waterfalls tumbling to pocket beaches and headlands sculpted by relentless tides.

Interpretive signage shares stories of log drives, shipbuilding and resilient communities along this once-remote coast. Fresh sea air and cliff-top vistas make this a photographer’s favourite stretch of the Maritimes.

Join a costumed interpreter for a stroll through the National Historic District of Annapolis Royal. Victorian homes, gracious trees and waterfront views belie a past shaped by French and British ambitions.

Hear tales of early colonists, privateers and nearby Fort Anne as you pass court buildings and merchants’ houses. The tour interweaves architecture and anecdote to reveal the town’s layered role in North American history.

In Digby, meet a former scallop fisherman for a culinary demonstration that traces the journey from bay to pan. Learn shucking techniques and what makes Digby scallops renowned for their delicate, buttery texture.

Then savour a seafood dinner that showcases the day’s lesson, paired with local sides. Stories of tides, boats and the inshore fleet season the evening with authentic flavour.

Experience a traditional ceilidh, Cape Breton’s spirited gathering of music, dance and storytelling. Tap your toes to fiddle tunes, hear Gaelic songs and watch lively step-dancing that brings island heritage to life.

Local hosts share the meaning behind melodies and the warm social spirit of a community night. It’s an evening of Acadian hospitality and Celtic culture that lingers long after the last set.

Visit the star-shaped Halifax Citadel to walk the ramparts and explore Victorian-era barracks. Meet costumed interpreters from the 78th Highlanders and hear the boom of the daily Noon Gun echo across the harbour.

This optional visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour. It offers sweeping city views and insights into the fort that guarded Halifax from 1749 through centuries of conflict and peace.

Get close to the joyful world of folk artist Maud Lewis at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. See her tiny, hand-painted home—every surface alive with bright floral motifs and country scenes—and explore works that capture Nova Scotia’s humble beauty.

This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Curators share context about Lewis’s life, technique and enduring influence on Canadian art.

Explore the nation’s immigrant gateway on a guided visit to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Trace arrivals through archival photos, artifacts and the poignant Pier 21 Story, then view the film In Canada.

This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Guides weave personal accounts and oral histories into a national narrative, illuminating how nearly a million newcomers entered Canada here between 1928 and 1971.

Explore Halifax with a Local Specialist on a citywide orientation that takes in the harbourfront, historic warehouses and the serene Halifax Public Gardens. Stroll past wrought-iron gates and Victorian flowerbeds, then continue to Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where rows of modest granite markers honour Titanic victims and the city’s role in the 1912 recovery effort.

Hear how shipbuilding, convoys and immigration shaped this Atlantic port. Your guide points out vantage points above the waterfront and shares stories that connect Halifax’s maritime heritage to the vibrant, modern city you see today.

Discover Nova Scotia’s seafaring story on a docent-led tour of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Examine artifacts from the Halifax Explosion of 1917, study ship models, and pause at moving displays revealing the city’s connection to the Titanic, including poignant personal mementos.

Step aboard the 1913 hydrographic ship CSS Acadia (seasonal) and picture life on the working waterfront. Engaging exhibits and expert interpretation bring centuries of navigation, trade and rescue at sea vividly to life.

Walk the colourful streets of Old Town Lunenburg (UNESCO) with a Local Specialist. Admire perfectly aligned blocks of wooden homes, bold facades and waterfront shipyards that showcase a rare, intact British colonial town plan.

At the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, learn how schooners, including the famed Bluenose legacy, anchored the local economy. Hear stories of fishers, merchants and wooden shipwrights, and see how maritime know-how continues to shape Lunenburg’s identity.

Insight Vacations

• 4 Dinner (D)
• 11 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Lunch (L)

• Deluxe coach travel
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• Premium regional accommodation

• Halifax: Relax next to the waterfront before meeting your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a dinner at 18:00. You’ll soon see why Halifax truly is a foodies’ town. The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, established in 1750, is the longest continuously operating market in North America.
• Charlottetown: Delicious cuisine in a quaint seaside village. In Georgetown in eastern Prince Edward Island, you will be greeted by a local fisherman who shares their experiences at sea and enlightens you about PEI’s famous lobster and mussel industry. Learn how these cultured mussels from the cool water surrounding PEI have become a popular seafood. Because they are grown in mesh stockings suspended ropes in the water and never touch the ocean bottom, they taste sweeter, more tender and are plumper, meatier and more nutritious. Then feast on a delicious lunch of Island Blue Mussel cooked by the fisher featuring fresh, locally grown produce.
• Moncton: Prepare and eat lobster the Acadian way—head to tail—guided by local hosts who’ll demonstrate traditional shelling techniques passed through generations. Learn the practical skills locals use at home and on the shore, and hear how these mealtime customs reflect Acadian culture. Then, take part in a hands-on mixology class and craft a summer cocktail using seasonal herbs and citrus.
• Digby: Digby, Nova Scotia, is known as “The Scallop Capitol of the World.” The town is famous for the scallops harvested from the local waters and thus contributing to industries of fishing and tourism. Scallops are Nova Scotia’s most valuable seafood catch and Digby is home to the world’s largest inshore scallop fleet. Celebrate all things local and meet a former scallop fisherman for a culinary demonstration and dinner par excellence, featuring these famous scallops.

• Halifax: Halifax’s historic citadel will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. This strategic hilltop location with a  commanding view of the Halifax harbor was chosen in 1749 as the location for the fort that would protect the city. Learn the roles that the fort and its inhabitants played over time visiting this fort as it stood in its Victoria era and as it’s been restored as well as enjoying sweeping views of downtown Halifax.
• Halifax: Get up close and personal with the works of one of Canada’s best-known folk artists, Maud Lewis, at the Maud Lewis Gallery. View the nearly 19,000 works on display in the Permanent and Study Collections as you gain insights into Lewis’ life. From Nova Scotia, Lewis lived most of her life in a small house in Marshalltown and achieved national recognition in 1964 and 1965. 
• Halifax: Halifax’s history will inspire the mind of any curious traveler. Visit Pier 21 – an ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971 – for a guided tour of the Pier 21 Story, an orientation to the Canadian Immigration Story exhibition and a viewing of the film “In Canada.” You’ll gain insights into the story of immigration, discovering how nearly one million immigrants came to Canada through Pier 21. As Canada’s last surviving seaport immigration facility, Pier 21 is often compared to the immigration gateway Ellis Island.

• Baddeck: Cape Breton Island’s music and traditions of its Gaelic settlers has been preserved and shared since the early 1800’s. Become part of the story as you explore the Celtic Heart of North America with an authentic Ceilidh night of Acadian hospitality and entertainment. You’ll be tapping your toes to the fiddle and bagpipe’s Celtic music.