Grand Nova Scotia Tour and the Cabot Trail - CanaDream

Twelve nights and 2,207 kilometres in a loop from Halifax in a motorhome, linking seven of the province’s named scenic routes into one circuit.

Liverpool and Yarmouth come first down the Lighthouse Route, a shore of fishing villages, granite and lighthouses, then Annapolis Royal on the Evangeline Trail, one of the oldest European settlements in North America, and Kejimkujik inland.

Wolfville follows in the Annapolis Valley wine country, then Truro and Cape Chignecto on the Glooscap Trail, where the Bay of Fundy tides are the largest in the world and the cliffs are walked at low water. Pictou comes next on the Sunrise Trail, then Cheticamp and Cape Breton Highlands on the Cabot Trail, a 300 kilometre loop over the highlands with the Gulf of St Lawrence below it, and Baddeck with a stay day, then Sydney and Liscomb on Marine Drive.

The motorhome and the day-by-day plan come from CanaDream, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with insurance options priced at booking. Thirteen days for 2,207 kilometres is a fair pace for a province this size, with the Cabot Trail the part worth slowing for. It is steep in places with sustained grades, which is worth knowing in a motorhome. The season runs roughly June to October, and the colour on the Cabot Trail in the first half of October is the best in eastern Canada. The loop format avoids a one-way relocation fee, and the lobster season varies by district rather than running all year.