A Seaside Escape Through Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Fly into Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) and grab a cab or an Uber into the city for a simple 30-minute drive to our hotel. We’re staying at The Muir, a Luxury Collection Hotel, one of the finest addresses in Atlantic Canada that sits directly on the Queens Marque waterfront with harbor views from almost every room. Take some time to settle in and explore the waterfront at your own pace.

This evening we'll come together for welcome drinks at The Highwayman, a neighborhood bar just a short walk from where we're staying, housed in a stunning mid-Victorian building in the heart of downtown Halifax. Named after the Alfred Noyes poem, it's a moody, wood-paneled space with Spanish- inspired small plates and an excellent cocktail list. A wonderful way to ease into the city on the first evening.

For our welcome dinner, we head to The Five Fishermen, Halifax’s most beloved fine-dining institution, housed in a beautifully renovated 19th-century schoolhouse where artist Anna Leonowens once taught drawing. 

The menu pays homage to Nova Scotia’s seafood bounty: Malpeque oysters, legendary chowder, and their signature Five Fish Experience tasting plate. We’ll reserve the upper floor for the best atmosphere as we chat about what's in store for the week ahead.

After breakfast at the hotel, we make our way to the Halifax Citadel, a short 15-minute walk uphill or, for those who prefer to move with a little bit of flair, a quick ride in the hotel's complimentary Range Rover.

Here, we'll begin our private guided walking tour of the city, taking in the Citadel itself, St Paul's Anglican Church, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and the Halifax Public Gardens. A short but encompassing way to absorb the city's history and highlights in a single morning sweep.

From there, we’ll walk to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia for a private guided tour of the Maud Lewis Gallery. Maud Lewis spent 30 years painting every surface of her tiny cottage with bright, joyful scenes of rural island life, working with nothing but leftover house paint and sardine-can palettes. The Art Gallery has kept her entire painted house intact inside, exactly as she left it, and features the world’s largest collection of Maud Lewis works.

Lunch will be a casual, breezy affair at Salt + Ash Beach House, right on the waterfront. The wood-fired haddock is excellent, best accompanied by a gentle sea breeze as we sit on a patio with harbor views.

The afternoon is yours to explore the North End. Wander up to Agricola Street, teeming with independent bookshops, ceramics studios, small galleries, vintage shops, and excellent coffee at Cabin Coffee. Look for the row of painted Victorian saltbox houses near Willow Street, one of the city’s most photographed corners.

This evening, we’ll take part in Destination Discovery, a Thursday evening experience at our hotel's on-site True Colors gallery that invites us to explore the current exhibition with the hotel’s curatorial team.

Dinner tonight is at Au Liban, a stunning Lebanese restaurant offering warm hospitality, flavor-forward dishes, and a wine list that cleverly leans toward the Eastern Mediterranean. 

We have a full-day excursion in store today, making our way south along Nova Scotia’s South Shore and ending with a private sunset sail on the harbor. We'll depart Halifax at 8:30 am, stopping in Mahone Bay for coffee about 45 minutes into the drive. The town is almost absurdly picturesque, featuring three church spires reflected perfectly in the bay, the whole thing colored in soft pastels. 

We'll arrive in Lunenburg around 9:45 am, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the spiritual heart of Nova Scotia's fishing identity. We'll spend the morning at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic with a private guided tour, learning about this multi-generational part of the community from interpreters who are retired fishers and fish plant workers. Be sure to ask about Bluenose II, the famous racing schooner whose silhouette appears on the Canadian dime. If she's in port that day, a deck visit is available.

Lunch is at the Half Shell Oyster Bar, an open-air harbor-facing restaurant that earns its well-loved reputation. The seafood tower is the showpiece, overflowing with oysters on the half shell, lobster, snow crab, and scallops, but the paella and lobster roll are also well worth mentioning.

Afterward, savor a bit of free time to wander the steep, grid-patterned streets of Old Town Lunenburg, popping into independent bookshops, working art galleries, and studios where you can watch boat-builders at work.

We'll depart the town mid-afternoon, making our way to Peggy’s Cove, Canada’s most photographed lighthouse, a red-capped white tower perched on smoothed granite above the open Atlantic. The setting is genuinely dramatic: massive rounded boulders, crashing swells, and the lighthouse reflected in the rock pools. We’ll have about an hour to walk the formations and soak it all in. 

Arriving back in Halifax around 5:15 pm, there’s time to freshen up before we walk over to Cable Wharf to board a Lagoon 50’ luxury catamaran privately chartered exclusively for our group. The crew will guide us through a tasting of four Nova Scotia wines (sparkling, Tidal Bay, rosé, and a red), each paired with a locally-made charcuterie board as we sail past Georges Island and into the Northwest Arm. 

After breakfast, we'll bid farewell to Halifax as we check out of The Muir and make our way to Prince Edward Island. The first notable part of our drive is about 3 hours in, at the Confederation Bridge. Spanning 12.9 kilometers, it's the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water. Crossing it and seeing the red soil of PEI appear through the fog as the bridge curves over the Northumberland Strait is truly a breathtaking experience. 

Just 20 minutes later, we'll make a stop that locals try to keep to themselves: Victoria-by-the-Sea, a tiny fishing village with a year-round population of fewer than 200, brought to life every summer by artisans in the form of potters, painters, jewelers, and chocolatiers. 

We’ll browse Island Chocolates (the sea salt caramels are extraordinary), watch the lobster boats land their catch at the wharf, and stop at Landmark Oyster House for lunch.

Arriving in Charlottetown in the early afternoon, we'll check into the Sydney Boutique Inn, a beautifully restored former convent in the heart of downtown, full of character and perfectly located just steps from Victoria Row and the waterfront.

Tonight’s dinner is at Water Prince Corner Shop, the island’s most celebrated lobster pound. The lobster roll is loaded with fresh Atlantic lobster, lightly dressed on a buttery toasted roll — local tourism officers consistently name it the best on the island. 

We'll make an early start after breakfast, driving just over an hour east to North Lake Harbor for our private charter with Wicked Sea Adventures. The boat is exclusively ours for the morning to go whale watching, deep-sea fishing, seal watching, watch a live lobster trap demonstration, and look out for porpoises. Captain Gerard and his crew are working lobster fishermen, making their commentary genuine and firsthand. 

After the charter, we'll stop for lunch in Souris at 21 Breakwater Restaurant, a cherished local eatery overlooking Souris Harbor and Colville Bay. Fresh local seafood, harbor views, and a warm, unpretentious atmosphere make this place feel entirely authentic.

Then we're off to Greenwich, part of Prince Edward Island National Park and home to PEI's largest dunes and a rare horseshoe-shaped parabolic dune system. We'll walk the iconic floating boardwalk over Bowley Pond before descending to a wide, pristine stretch of beach along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Almost always quieter than the Cavendish side of the park, Greenwich offers a serene sense of space and natural beauty.

Along the way, we'll pop into the Greenwich Interpretation Center, where over 20 exhibits tell the 10,000-year story of this peninsula, ranging from Mi'kmaq and Acadian heritage to the ever-shifting coastal dunes that make this place so ecologically rare. 

Back to Charlottetown, dinner tonight will be on your own or with new friends. Opt for room service if you feel like staying in, or ask your trip leader for a list of local dining recommendations.

We'll start slowly with breakfast at the hotel before heading about 30 minutes north to the coastline of PEI National Park to relish the beauty of Cavendish Beach or the quieter North Rustico Beach. Both offer white-gold sand backed by towering dunes, the impossibly blue Gulf of St. Lawrence lapping onto the shore, and red sandstone cliffs framing it all. We'll walk the beach, swim if the day is warm enough, or simply sit and watch the light dance across the water.

From there, we'll make the short drive to Avonlea Village, built around the beloved world of Anne of Green Gables. The village sits on the very land that inspired L.M. Montgomery's iconic novels, with restored heritage buildings including the original schoolhouse where Montgomery herself once taught. It's a magical place, even for those who didn't grow up reading Anne. 

We'll have lunch at the Turkey Tavern, a hotspot serving turkey-themed dinners and local PEI fare in a relaxed atmosphere. Browse the artisan shops, pick up a gift or two, and before we leave, a stop at COWS Creamery for their famous ice cream made fresh with PEI cream and served in a handmade waffle cone is absolutely non-negotiable.

The afternoon is free to explore Charlottetown further, browse the waterfront, or simply rest at the hotel. 

The day comes to a close with dinner at The Brickhouse Kitchen & Bar, practically around the corner from our hotel on Sydney Street. Three floors of warm, creative energy and local ingredients are brought to the forefront, and live music upstairs at Marc's Lounge rounds out the evening.

After six days of coastlines, fishing villages, and the open coastal road, today belongs to Charlottetown itself.

This morning, one of the Heritage Players will join us for a private guided walking tour of historic Charlottetown. Dressed in period costume and overflowing with local knowledge, these guides bring the city's extraordinary role in Canadian history to life in a way that's both entertaining and genuinely memorable. 

As we stroll along Victoria Row, take in the stunning Georgian and Gothic Revival architecture of Great George Street, explore the grounds of Province House, and walk down to Confederation Landing Park for views across the harbor.

After the tour, we'll sit down for lunch together at Leonhard's, right on Great George Street, which touts exceptional food and a warm, unhurried atmosphere. What a perfect spot to compare notes about our favorite parts of the trip while we soak up the last of the Charlottetown sunshine.

The afternoon is all yours. Browse the galleries at the Confederation Center of the Arts, find a sunny patio to sip a crisp glass of wine, or simply wander the colorful streets and boutiques. Charlottetown rewards those who have no particular plan.

This evening, we'll make the 40-minute drive west to Kensington for our farewell dinner at The Table Culinary Studio. As one of the most extraordinary dining experiences in Atlantic Canada, it's the perfect way to close out our time together.

After breakfast and check-out, we'll help you call a taxi to Charlottetown Airport (YYG) at your leisure, depending on your flight time. This marks the end of an extraordinary week on Canada's East Coast. Until we meet again!