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visit cabot trail : flying to Halifax or directly to sydney, NS

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  • Feb 29th, 2020 2:21 pm
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Feb 17th, 2020 10:30 am
talmcgill [OP]
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Dec 1, 2016
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mississauga

Feb 17th, 2020 10:30 am

visit cabot trail : flying to Halifax or directly to sydney, NS

I am planning to visit Cape breton and Cabot trail solo in early Sept, flying from Toronto.
intend to have 5 day including the flying time back and forth? Thingking of two options:
-flying directly to Sydney, fly ticket 400$ RT, but the car rental at the airport is 70$/day. fairly expensive.
-flying to halifax, ticket 230$ RT, then drive 5 hour (???) to get to the cabot park. the car rental is much cheaper, i would say 25-30$/day.
So I would thing flying to halifax will save about more than 200$ for all trip , considering the gas for halifax to cape breton, but waste 10 hours of driving, so lat say 1 day .
is the time is enough to explore the park? and what do you recommend, flying to Halifax or Sydney?
another question, i will bring my personal tent&sleeping bag, can i rental camp site during the night at that time?
6 replies
Feb 17th, 2020 10:50 am
baillieul
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Oct 8, 2007
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Bedford

Feb 17th, 2020 10:50 am

Interesting question.

I am from Sydney originally but live in Halifax. The value add from flying into Halifax is the opportunity to visit some of the nice spots nearby Halifax. Peggy's Cove, Halifax Waterfront and Citadel Hill come to mind.

The Cabot trail isn't really 5 hrs from Halifax. You just drive to the Canso Causway, turn north to Port Hood, and you are at the foot of the Cabot Trail. Really closer to 4 hrs to be on the trail, and maybe 3.5 hrs from the airport.

We shot a wedding in Margaree Forks ( beginning of the trail ) last summer and it was a blast.

Oh, Oct may be a touch cool for tent camping .
+2
Feb 17th, 2020 11:33 am
13inches
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Jul 14, 2006
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Feb 17th, 2020 11:33 am

Fly to Sydney, enjoy your time on the trail. With a 5-day agenda, spending that much time getting to-from Halifax doesn't make a lot of sense. Dedicate this trip to the trail and don't worry about a couple hundred dollars considering the extra time you get to enjoy the park.

If a visit to Halifax is desired wait for a seat-sale, they come up often for $300 or less from Toronto (or like $3.50 if one wants to roll the dice on Swoop)
Feb 17th, 2020 2:15 pm
Kiraly
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Jan 9, 2011
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Vancouver

Feb 17th, 2020 2:15 pm

Why not fly to Sydney, 10 minute taxi ride into downtown, pick up car there? I'm seeing $40/day at Budget, much cheaper than at Sydney airport.
Enjoy the Cabot Trail, I was there in 1994, loved every minute of it.
+3
Feb 21st, 2020 2:13 am
fogetmylogin
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Nov 13, 2013
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Ottawa

Feb 21st, 2020 2:13 am

baillieul wrote: ↑ Interesting question.

I am from Sydney originally but live in Halifax. The value add from flying into Halifax is the opportunity to visit some of the nice spots nearby Halifax. Peggy's Cove, Halifax Waterfront and Citadel Hill come to mind.

The Cabot trail isn't really 5 hrs from Halifax. You just drive to the Canso Causway, turn north to Port Hood, and you are at the foot of the Cabot Trail. Really closer to 4 hrs to be on the trail, and maybe 3.5 hrs from the airport.

We shot a wedding in Margaree Forks ( beginning of the trail ) last summer and it was a blast.

Oh, Oct may be a touch cool for tent camping .
Exactly and the driving is nice once you get to Cape Breton anyway. Especially Whycocomagh to the trail. It's less than 3 hours to there from YHZ. Sydney airport is also not on the trail and on the other side of Sydney. Probably 45 minutes.

Also keep in mind Sydney is a small airport so flight delay more likely.
Feb 23rd, 2020 6:56 am
sokolov
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Dec 7, 2011
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Whitehorse

Feb 23rd, 2020 6:56 am

Kiraly wrote: ↑ Why not fly to Sydney, 10 minute taxi ride into downtown, pick up car there? I'm seeing $40/day at Budget, much cheaper than at Sydney airport.
That's what I did, and the local Budget station allowed me to return the car at the airport (couldn't book it like that at the same price).

Use Autoslash.com for a good rate.

Make sure you go to the top of Cape Breton, North of the Cabot Trail. Cpt. Oshan in Bay St. Lawrence does great whale watching tours (unless it's lobster fishing season or somesuch, call ahead). Don't do the tours from Pleasant Bay.

Also call ahead for Restaurants or almost any business you need, for that matter. Many a business is very seasonal. Angie's Family Restaurant is probably your best bet on the Northern stretch, but I'm not sure how long their season is.

If you arrive late or depart early from Sydney so you don't want to stay far away from the airport, I highly recommend Bubble's Bay B&B. Book over the phone.

Enjoy!
Feb 29th, 2020 2:21 pm
StephenM90745
Newbie
Feb 28, 2020
1 posts

Feb 29th, 2020 2:21 pm

From Sydney and lived in Halifax. There are A few things to consider when you are thinking about time savings.
Yes Halifax Airport is probably 3.5-4 hours from the trail, but where do you plan on staying the day you arrive and how late will your flight be getting in? This may make the drive shorter if you aren't staying on the trail the first night.
Sydney had a few of their flights nixed lately, so unless you are flying direct toronto to halifax then you also need to factor in how long your layover in Halifax would be before the flight to Sydney.
Sydney airport is probably 1-1.5 hours from baddeck if you were starting there.

So if you look at a 4 hour drive from halifax it may actually be the quicker of the 2 options. 2 hour layover + 1 hour flight + 1.5 hour drive from Sydney and you are at 4.5 hours.

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