Travel to P.E.I

[MoneyGuy]

We travel a lot but have never been here. We may have an opportunity to be in this beautiful (I understand) province in June. We would be touring by car and like sights, history, culture and people. I've always found this site to have some useful info when folks have asked about locales.

I'm looking for advice and comments on traveling in P.E.I. from those who have been there. Thanks.

[HalifaxDrunk]

My wife is from PEI, I think she has a word document she did for friends from Toronto, it is an overview for people going to visit PEI. I check when I'm home.

It is absolutely beautiful there, relaxing and very laid back.

[HalifaxDrunk]

Oh, the water will still be pretty chilly in June unless you are near the end of the month. The beaches on the Northumberland Strait (south) are shallower and therefore much warmer but the big beaches (I.E. Cavendish) are on the north side and quite a bit cooler waters.

[Kipper is King]

Go to a church lobster dinner! Just ask around, and the locals will tell you where good ones are! They are not preachy- everyone has faith in tasty, reasonably priced food!
Also, get yourself a Cows Ice Cream buy 9 get 1 free card. I used mine up after only 2 days on the Island.

[Sliver]

Two days is plenty. I'm not kidding, either. It's a small place and their biggest tourist attraction is Ann of Green Gables which is horribly boring. The red dirt is pretty cool and make sure you drive Confederation Bridge as it's totally amazing.

[Jimmy Stang]

We stayed at a B&B in Dunedin and the hosts were very nice. Hot tub in the back, overlooked a lake. I can dig up the info for you if you'd like.

I was surprised at how small PEI was. You can drive anywhere on pretty much any country road (there are tonnes of them) in no time. The beaches are nice. The whole area around Cavendish is a bit tacky because of all the tourists, but all is forgotten when you're walking along the beach with your sandals in your hand.

Lobster - yes! My only regret was not spending a little more time in Charlottetown, but then again, it is a small city. We drove to PEI on the Confederation Bridge and took the ferry off on the other side back to NS.

[Puppet Guy]

PEI's not the place to go if you're looking for excitement, but for relaxation there's no better place in the country. I went to university in Charlottetown and loved the city and province in my time there.

The Argyle Shore (along the Northhumberland Straight), west of Charlottetown, is a nice drive. If you're in Charlottetown on a weekend, you HAVE to go to the Olde Dublin Pub and catch some Celtic music. The boardwalk at Victoria Park along the harbour is a good stroll before or after dinner.

I second the lobster, but don't forget the PEI mussels!

[MoneyGuy]

Going to P.E.I. is actually the wife's idea and what I've read so far doesn't excite me. I can get lobster and mussels by staying in Nova Scotia where we will be anyway. Anne of Green Gables doesn't do it for me. However, the wife want to go and it wouldn't be a bad or long trip so why not. Celtic music would be nice and the scenery does sound nice.

[Superflyer]

PEI is a great place to relax as others have said. There is not a lot to it and it is very touristy as that is what they do, especially in the summer months.
One thing I can suggest is Anne of Green Gables. If you are thinking of taking in the Anne stuff you have to know there are 2 stops, one is a tourist trap and I cannot think of the name but it is more of a heritage park type of setup but themed after Anne of Green Gables. Just down the road is an actual heritage site of Lucy Maude Montgomerys house and area. This we found was much better as you can see the house, the barn, walk down the paths and other stuff from the books.

Other then that I would recommend taking the ferry one way and the bridge the other. It is good to see both routes.

[Superflyer]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Going to P.E.I. is actually the wife's idea and what I've read so far doesn't excite me. I can get lobster and mussels by staying in Nova Scotia where we will be anyway. Anne of Green Gables doesn't do it for me. However, the wife want to go and it wouldn't be a bad or long trip so why not. Celtic music would be nice and the scenery does sound nice.

For the best Celtic culture head to Cape Breton, they still embrace the Celtic culture there quite a bit.

[Jimmy Stang]

^^ If I remember correctly, Parks Canada runs/maintains the "real" Anne of Green Gables site. So if you see the brown and yellow signs you should be fine.

[Puppet Guy]

if you're a golfer, there's some supposedly fantastic courses (not being a golfer myself I can't fairly comment). A friend works at Crowbush, and I can vouch for the scenery of the course.

[HPLovecraft]

I'm from the Island. If you have any in-depth questions, feel free to PM me and I'll answer you. It's a great place to visit. Not too big, not too small. Beautiful spot to vacation in the Summer -- just bring the mosquito spray.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Superflyer

For the best Celtic culture head to Cape Breton, they still embrace the Celtic culture there quite a bit.

Yeah agreed, if your driving to PEI it would be a shame if you didn't take the time to travel the cabot trail.



Early Morning- the beautiful beach at John Cabots landing


View from Cape Smokey.


The wife and I polished off a couple bottles of wine in these chairs over looking the beach.


And this is the sunrise you get if you stay up.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by T@T

Yeah agreed, if your driving to PEI it would be a shame if you didn't take the time to travel the cabot trail.

Due to time constraints, I was never able to drive the Cabot Trail when I was on the East Coast in 2003. It remains one of my travel regrets and it will be first on my list the next time I go.