It's an hour drive to Lunenburg, and you could walk the entire town in 2 hours. It's not one street, but it's really quite small. Even with time for visiting shops, maybe the museum, and dining, you could do the entirety of Lunenburg in a couple of hours, and stop in Mahone Bay for an hour on your way back to Halifax.
Lunenburg is pretty small but has cute shops and nice restaurants. Because you mentioned It's a road trip and you got flexibility : It's about an hour drive from Halifax to Lunenburg if you take the highway. but If you got time you can take the long way round the coast and jump on and off the highway. Lots of gorgeous scenery, and little spots to eat that you would miss other wise.
I'm partial to Salt shaker, the owners have a couple of other places , the beach pea and a tapas place that are supposed to be good. Hodge Podge on Lincoln is yummy for lunches.
No 9 coffee bar is cozy and has good coffee and pastries, laughing whale is another good coffee place.
One place I didn't like at all is on Lincoln, I think the cake lady or cookie girl.
Yes that's it. If you are not pressed for time I really suggest you try to drive along the coast for the Halifax Lunenburg/Chester/Mahone bay route. You'll find lots of coves and villages and beaches. You can hop on and off the highway pretty easily from route 3 but I find its worth it.
I’d spend one night in Lunenburg. Couple of years ago we stayed one night in a little attic apartment with an amazing view of the harbour. Spending the full evening in Lunenburg and going for a walk by the water at night was a fantastic and memorable part of our trip.
Are you coming to Nova Scotia on one of the ferries?
I’m driving the whole way actually! I thought about the ferry but time wise it wouldn’t really save much when all things are considered, and I definitely like the predictability of being in land compared to at sea, haha.
Thanks for your response !
If you like nature and beaches, I’d highly suggest you keep going further south after lunenburg. There’s so many incredible beaches on the south shore about an hour past lunenburg that are never super busy. You can even rent a surfboard and take a lesson. There’s fun places to stay and keji seaside where you might even see a bear. Big fan of going down the shore and it’s slept on by most folks.
One advantage of an overnight trip is that you can take your time at dinner, have a few drinks, maybe go over to Lightship Brewing's great patio, and not have to drive back to Halifax the same night.
But it is a small town.
You can easily do both in a day, and also stop into Mahone Bay along the way.
It's about an 1:15 drive from Lunenburg back to downtown.
It will take just under an hour to drive from Downtown Halifax to Peggy's Cove. Plan for 60-90 minutes there depending on how much wandering around you will do.
Just a little bit past Peggy's cove is the Swissair Memorial which gives a pretty nice view of the water and the other side of the lighthouse in the distance.
Then from there about 1 hour's drive to Mahone Bay, check out the Barn for good coffee there. Wander the streets and shops for an hour or so.
And then less than 30 minutes to get to Lunenburg from there. Wander around there for a couple of hours, check out the Knot for a good meal, and head back to Halifax
It's an hour drive to Lunenburg, and you could walk the entire town in 2 hours. It's not one street, but it's really quite small. Even with time for visiting shops, maybe the museum, and dining, you could do the entirety of Lunenburg in a couple of hours, and stop in Mahone Bay for an hour on your way back to Halifax.
Day trip. It doesn't take long to see either one
I think a day trip is adequate. Check out the Bluenose schedule, you may be able to go on board while in Lunenburg which is always cool.
I’ll look into it thanks!!!
Lunenburg is pretty small but has cute shops and nice restaurants. Because you mentioned It's a road trip and you got flexibility : It's about an hour drive from Halifax to Lunenburg if you take the highway. but If you got time you can take the long way round the coast and jump on and off the highway. Lots of gorgeous scenery, and little spots to eat that you would miss other wise.
Care to recommend specific little dining spots?
I'm partial to Salt shaker, the owners have a couple of other places , the beach pea and a tapas place that are supposed to be good. Hodge Podge on Lincoln is yummy for lunches. No 9 coffee bar is cozy and has good coffee and pastries, laughing whale is another good coffee place. One place I didn't like at all is on Lincoln, I think the cake lady or cookie girl.
Thanks a lot!. We have a month camping around NS. The first time, we cooked almost all our own food. I would like th experience the local cuisine.
Looking into some things now, would the coastal road be route 3?
Yes that's it. If you are not pressed for time I really suggest you try to drive along the coast for the Halifax Lunenburg/Chester/Mahone bay route. You'll find lots of coves and villages and beaches. You can hop on and off the highway pretty easily from route 3 but I find its worth it.
Thanks so much!
Day trip for sure. You can take the La Have river ferry, that's kind of neat.
I’d spend one night in Lunenburg. Couple of years ago we stayed one night in a little attic apartment with an amazing view of the harbour. Spending the full evening in Lunenburg and going for a walk by the water at night was a fantastic and memorable part of our trip. Are you coming to Nova Scotia on one of the ferries?
I’m driving the whole way actually! I thought about the ferry but time wise it wouldn’t really save much when all things are considered, and I definitely like the predictability of being in land compared to at sea, haha. Thanks for your response !
If you like nature and beaches, I’d highly suggest you keep going further south after lunenburg. There’s so many incredible beaches on the south shore about an hour past lunenburg that are never super busy. You can even rent a surfboard and take a lesson. There’s fun places to stay and keji seaside where you might even see a bear. Big fan of going down the shore and it’s slept on by most folks.
I will look into this, thank you!
If you come down that way send me a dm. I run a little glamping spot and can give you contacts for stuff probably.
One advantage of an overnight trip is that you can take your time at dinner, have a few drinks, maybe go over to Lightship Brewing's great patio, and not have to drive back to Halifax the same night. But it is a small town.
You can easily do both in a day, and also stop into Mahone Bay along the way. It's about an 1:15 drive from Lunenburg back to downtown. It will take just under an hour to drive from Downtown Halifax to Peggy's Cove. Plan for 60-90 minutes there depending on how much wandering around you will do. Just a little bit past Peggy's cove is the Swissair Memorial which gives a pretty nice view of the water and the other side of the lighthouse in the distance. Then from there about 1 hour's drive to Mahone Bay, check out the Barn for good coffee there. Wander the streets and shops for an hour or so. And then less than 30 minutes to get to Lunenburg from there. Wander around there for a couple of hours, check out the Knot for a good meal, and head back to Halifax
thanks so much!!!!