Canadian Maritimes July, August 2016
 

I am planning to travel around the Canadian Maritimes during July and August.

I will be shipping my bike in from the UK and want to visit Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Labrador. My current plan is to stay on the tarmac, but I will ride gravel roads if I have to, but prefer not to due to recent hand surgery.

Even if its only meeting up for part of the trip please get in touch.

A suggestion for you:

Drop Labrador from your itinerary. It is a very sparsely settled area, and there is, basically, only one paved road there. The geography and culture of southern Labrador (the only area that you would be likely to visit) is very similar to that of the northern peninsula of Newfoundland, and the northern peninsula of Newfoundland has far more facilities for tourism than the south coast of Labrador has.

You could easily spend two whole months riding in PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland without running out of things to do or see.

I suggest you plan the Newfoundland portion of your tour such that you take the ferry from North Sydney to Port aux Basques, then ride north all the way up the Great Northern Peninsula to St. Anthony or L'Anse aux Meadows. At that point you turn back and head south. If you still have the urge to visit Labrador, you can always take the ferry across to Blanc Sablon as you head back down the road. But, my guess is that you will probably have seen enough just on the island itself.

Once you reach Deer Falls, you can then proceed east to St. John's, and ultimately to the Burin peninsula, where you can then catch the ferry at Argentia and head back to Nova Scotia.

Be aware that Newfoundland is an awfully big island, it will take you at least 10 to 15 days to tour it if you are actually 'touring' rather than just transiting (riding all day). Try to structure your trip so that you do Newfoundland in July - it can get pretty cold in Northern Newfoundland at night in late August. The weather in Nova Scotia and PEI is much milder in late August than the weather in NF.

Also, be aware that Newfoundland is a very expensive place - just about everything except moose and trees needs to be imported, and the VAT in Newfoundland is the highest in Canada. So, budget about 30% higher for everything than you would for mainland Canada.

Lastly, the ferry crossing to Port aux Basques is pretty tame, the waters are reasonably sheltered, but the ferry crossing from Argentia takes you right out into the open Atlantic ocean, and can be quite rough.

Hope this information helps you plan.

Michael

Thanks for that Michael. I am planning on spending 2-3 months.

Our VAT rate is 20% and am use to 25% in the rest of Europe and our gas was until recently $9 a gallon so I am use to high expenses. As for the ferry, I took it last year from Denmark to Iceland, 2 days in the Atlantic and yes it rolled!

Don't miss Labrador
 

i spent last summer in Lab. & Nl. Rode up the Labrador hwy, its now tarmac up to Goose bay, then 470kms of good gravel road. It's an amazing ride don't miss it. The ferry takes only 1 1/2 hrs from Blanc-Sablon to Anchor point ($12.65) bike & rider. Then short drive north. ( Was the coldest July on recorded history. Day time highs of 12 - 14c )

I live in Halifax Nova Scotia and am very familiar with the province. The Cabot trail in Cape Breton is a must as well as peggys cove and annapolis vallley for a bit of history. Drop me an email if you want a riding partner for some of the nova scotia area. I have a warm garage with tons of tools and a lift. In fact if you end up flying into halifax with your bike I can give you a hand getting it ready for your trip and you could even store anything you didnt want to take.
good luck

Hello, we live near Halifax and are around to meet up for coffee, or come on over for a meal if you want some home-cooking. :)