Seeking Advice on Atlantic Provinces Trip

[CaptainNemo]

Hi all,

We are planning a lengthy trip to the Atlantic provinces next spring and summer and are seeking some advice. Our plan is to spend the month of June in Newfoundland, hoping to see some icebergs and yes, we know it will be cold and likely wet.

After that we will head back to Halifax in time to see the tattoo, then on to other parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI. Planned stops include Annapolis Royal, Lunenburg, Louisbourg, Moncton, and St. John areas.

Mapping software has us traveling from Lunenburg to Bridgetown on Hwy 10, then heading up Hwy 101 all the way to Hwy 102 near Dartmouth before heading to Caribou for the ferry to PEI (will take the bridge when leaving).

My questions are:

• 1. Does it make sense to drive our 40' MHs with toads to these locations or should we find a central place to stay and drive to sites we want to see?
• 2. Are the roads suggested appropriate for motorhomes?
• 3. Should we plan to drive our MHs around the Gaspe peninsula or park and take toads for touring?
  
  Thanks so much for your suggestions.

[Filterman]

Little Kopit wrote:
A) https://icebergfinder.com/

B) Go to NL in mid May. Some years many of the icebergs are gone, gone, gone by early June. Other years they are going by NL all June. You never know what kind of a year it is.

BTW, lived in NL for 24.5 years retiring in 2008.

Ferries have changed since then. You can do lots of logging roads as well as paved roads. Road repairs from winter go on mostly in July.

You will want to return, especially to do at least 2 weeks in Labrador.

Quebec, check on when the construction workers holiday 2 weeks is. Often it is 1st 2 weeks in August. Other years it is last week of July and 1st week of August. All construction workers are on holiday those 2 weeks.

New Brunswick and Maine. One can drive to Campobello Island. There is a ferry from there to Deer Island, then to Grand Mannan Island. I've done Campobello and Grand Mannan. & used to own land near Lubec, ME.

The Maritimes is NB, NS, & PEI. Atlantic Canada is those 3 plus NL.

Take Ferry to PEI and bridge from. You pay when you leave. The ferry costs a lot more than the bridge.

Have you checked the tourism sites for each province?

More if you want it.

:B

[dcason]

Not sure if you are into boon docking or strictly staying in campgrounds?
The provincial parks in NL are nice and some offer LAUNDRY!!! We found that in June we didn't need any reservations.
We mostly boondocked the two time we were there with a few provincial parks thrown in for dumping/water if potable (that was also interesting) and Laundry!!
We also boondocked/free camped around Nova Scotia...just finding out of the way roads to spend a quick overnight or the day/overnight...it was May.
NL is a boondockers paradise by the way!
Donna

We have plans to return when our pup is better able to handle the ferry ride (or is it me not wanting to leave her down there...)

[harley4275]

"Mapping software has us traveling from Lunenburg to Bridgetown on Hwy 10, then heading up Hwy 101 all the way to Hwy 102 near Dartmouth"

Dont take the 101 from Yarmouth to Digby...take 1 ...nice road that lets you see the actual shorelline and quaint towns...

[dcason]

We also had difficulute getting propane the two times we were there for onboard propane tank. St. John's had it. Exit 17 on the TCH1 also has it (I think there was a billboard advertising this) AND the guy will come out to fill you if he is closed...just call the phone number on the door.
Donna in NY

[Little_Kopit]

Once upon a time a preparing to come up trucker camper told me ha had written to the municipalities he had in mind to visit. & that he had found that effort worth while.


😛

[CaptainNemo]

Thanks everyone for the insights you've shared so far. I really appreciate all your input and if you have other advice to share, it's welcome!

[Little_Kopit]

NL and PEI have propane at various gas stations, especially truck stops.



:C

[armadillo_17]

Watch your propane closely. We had difficulty getting on board tank filled, in New Bunswick Sept 2016. Plenty places had bottles, very few bulk stations.

[spud1957]

lonnie4801 wrote:
Have camped in all Providences in Canada

It's Provinces.

[lonnie4801]

We made the trip to Newfoundland in 2007, stayed 9 weeks. Then went back to Newfoundland via Labrador in 2015, stayed 6 weeks. Both time in the same 40' motorhome.

Answer to #1 - In our opinion it is always best to have the motorhome for comfort, but we also park in one place and take the toad when more practical.

Answer to #2 - We have never has a problem with the roads, but then we don't mind driving on gravel roads. Example: the 380 miles of gravel highway in Labrador.

Answer to #3 - By all means, if you just want to take a day trip around Gaspe then take the toad. We took the motorhome because we made it a 4 day trip. Was very enjoyable. You miss so much by just running around it in one day.

Go and enjoy. We are going back to PEI for the summer. Will be our 5th trip there. In 2012 we spent 9 weeks, the other trips were just short 2 to 3 week stops. It is our second most favorite place, behind Alaska. Is a toss-up with Newfoundland.

[Veebyes]

We did NL in 2015 with the icebergs as the main attraction.

Nothing much is getting open before the beginning of June. We went across at the very end of May. Made ferry reservations a few days before but the boat was not even half full. No reservations at CGs anywhere except St John's, & it was 3rd week of June by that point. Return ferry ride was about 2/3rd full.

Wonderful trip. The people could not be nicer, even if you can't hardly understand their version of English. The dialect is tougher than the back hills of TN.

Would we go back? Don't know. It does have that northern remote feeling like the Yukon & it does get dark in June. NL is not that far north. Only about same latitude as Calgary. If you listen to the warnings you would think that moose on the roads are as common as jaywalkers in NY. We saw very few.

They DO have potholes that will rival anything seen anywhere else. Big enough to swallow a full sized SUV. We were very careful yet managed to break two spring leaves which led to Newfie helpfulness of equally epic proportions to get replacements & repairs made.

Enjoy the trip. Enjoy the tattoo. There is also a huge music festival in Canso first week of July if you like sitting out in rain, drizzle, fog & wind in 40 something degree weather.

[Tripalot]

Little Kopit has offered some good advice.
We have visited the Maritimes & Newfoundland & Labrador several times.
The first few times we had our Lance truck camper so parking and getting around were not a problem.
On our last trip we had our M.H. and towed with us. We were exploring the Gaspe and two places of interest were inaccessible to us because of our length and parking facilities. One spot was a museum of particular interest and after realizing we could not enter the parking area, we decided to turn around and go back and check parking on the far side of the museum. Well 20 miles later, we were still looking for a place to turn around - so we never did get to the museum. It did not make sense to go to the c.g. and then backtrack in the towed. Only you can decide on whether to day trip in only the towed or not.

We now have a B+ unit that is really convenient for touring. Depending on the trip and purpose, we don't always take a towed. It sure is nice to have, but certainly not a necessity with driving a short unit.

You will enjoy the Maritimes - good to see you have alotted lots of time for your trip - you won't regret it.

[Little_Kopit]

A) https://icebergfinder.com/

B) Go to NL in mid May. Some years many of the icebergs are gone, gone, gone by early June. Other years they are going by NL all June. You never know what kind of a year it is.

BTW, lived in NL for 24.5 years retiring in 2008.

Ferries have changed since then. You can do lots of logging roads as well as paved roads. Road repairs from winter go on mostly in July.

You will want to return, especially to do at least 2 weeks in Labrador.

Quebec, check on when the construction workers holiday 2 weeks is. Often it is 1st 2 weeks in August. Other years it is last week of July and 1st week of August. All construction workers are on holiday those 2 weeks.

New Brunswick and Maine. One can drive to Campobello Island. There is a ferry from there to Deer Island, then to Grand Mannan Island. I've done Campobello and Grand Mannan. & used to own land near Lubec, ME.

The Maritimes is NB, NS, & PEI. Atlantic Canada is those 3 plus NL.

Take Ferry to PEI and bridge from. You pay when you leave. The ferry costs a lot more than the bridge.

Have you checked the tourism sites for each province?

More if you want it.

:B

[MDKMDK]

Was out to the Maritimes in October 2017 in a 27' Sunstar pulling a Wrangler. There were some places where the roads were a little tight, but we never got stuck anywhere. I would say the 10X highways are typically big enough for larger motorhomes and toweds.
A word of caution about Walmart parking in Gaspe - the ones we used to park in for supplies and overnight parking are now signed "RV Parking from 23:00 to 06:00 only". So the relentless use of them like public or commercial campgrounds over the years has finally drawn the ire of the municipalities and probably the Walmart management, too. You can park there outside of those times, but you may be challenged, or asked to move on if you drop the motorhome and detach your towed.
We were surprised and amused when we saw the signage, but completely understand the motivation leading up to it. We saw BBQs, folding chairs, slides and awnings fully deployed, propane firepits, TVs set up outside, you name it, someone was doing it in the Walmart parking lot. Years of abuse of privilege have led to prohibition.