Our Atlantic Canada Honeymoon Itinerary

In October 2021 my husband, Colin, and I went on our Atlantic Canada honeymoon visiting Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI over three weeks. And while I’ve written about all of the individual destinations, I haven’t actually shared our entire honeymoon itinerary until now!

While the Maritimes aren’t Hawaii or Paris, I think they were the perfect destination for a honeymoon.

We got to enjoy gorgeous coastal views, delicious seafood, a road trip through fall foliage, and lots of cultural and historic sights, without the prices or crowds of more popular honeymoon destinations.

To me, the perfect honeymoon is one where you can enjoy the things you love with the person you love. For Colin and I, that’s exploring beautiful places and eating great food together. Atlantic Canada was the perfect place to do that!

Below I’m sharing our full Maritimes itinerary, plus where to stay, and why an Atlantic Canada honeymoon might be right for you! 

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Atlantic Canada honeymoon itinerary map

Atlantic Canada honeymoon itinerary

While the majority of our honeymoon was in Atlantic Canada, we actually started with three days in Montreal. However, since that isn’t technically part of Atlantic Canada, I will skip it on this itinerary.

But if you’re curious, here are some things to do in Montreal and, most importantly, what to eat in Montreal!

5 days in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Maritimes/Atlantic Canada portion of our honeymoon started off with Halifax, Nova Scotia. And it totally blew us away! In fact, Colin and I were so impressed by our time in Halifax that we started to wonder if we could live there one day (still an option!).

There is a ton to do in Halifax. We loved exploring the Halifax Citadel, walking along the waterfront, learning about Canadian history at the Pier 21 Immigration Museum, and taking in a Halifax Mooseheads hockey game.

We also enjoyed a couple of day trips from Halifax, admiring views of the famous Peggys Cove lighthouse and exploring the cute town of Lunenburg.

Read more: 22 Things to Do in Halifax and What to Eat in Halifax, Nova Scotia 

Of course, a big reason we loved this stop on our Maritimes honeymoon was all the great food we ate in Halifax. From lobster linguine at Bicycle Thief and crobster (crab + lobster) rolls at Canteen to seafood chowder eggs benedict at Elle’s Bistro and way too many late night orders of donair, we ate so well in Halifax!

Where to stay in Halifax: We stayed at Hotel Halifax and I would definitely recommend it. The room was very spacious, clean and fairly affordable at $165 CAD/night.

It was in a great location where we could easily walk to all of Halifax’s main sights. Plus there were lots of bus stations nearby if we wanted to venture our further.

1 day in Moncton, New Brunswick

After our time in Halifax, we picked up a rental car and headed out of Nova Scotia. Our goal was to get to Prince Edward Island but we decided to stop for a day in Moncton, New Brunswick on the way. And I’m glad we did!

While we didn’t have a lot of time in Moncton, it was just enough to hit the highlights. We had an amazing dinner at Tide & Boar (don’t miss the beer-amisu dessert!), watched the tidal wave come in at Bore View Park, and were amazed by the illusion at Magnetic Hill.

With a little bit more time, we could’ve headed down to Hopewell Rocks and the national park.

Where to stay in Moncton: We stayed at the Hyatt Place Moncton and really enjoyed our short stay there. The room was very modern with a nice sitting area and extremely comfy bed. We were able to walk to dinner and it’s right next to the hockey arena, if you’re in town for a game.

3 days in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

From Moncton we drove across the Confederation Bridge into Prince Edward Island. This was both of our first visit to PEI and it totally charmed up.

I loved walking around downtown Charlottetown and checking out the waterfront. I loved our day trip out to Green Gables Heritage Place and North Rustico Beach.

And I really loved the delicious food we ate in PEI: Cow’s ice cream from the birthplace of Cow’s, Green Gables chocolates, fresh fish and chips, and our first lobster dinner!

Read more: 42 Photos that Will Convince You to Visit Charlottetown, PEI

Where to stay in Charlottetown: We stayed at The Hotel on Pownal and it gets top marks from me! Upon check-in we got upgraded to a larger room with a big bed, breakfast was included with our stay and it was in a great location to easily walk around downtown Charlottetown.

Plus, during our stay the PEI government were giving out gift cards to visitors who stayed more than two days, plus our hotel was giving gift cards to guests who opted out of daily housekeeping, so we got $130 in gift cards!

6 days on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

From Charlottetown, we took the ferry back to Nova Scotia and drove up to Cape Breton Island and onto the Cabot Trail. This was the part of our Atlantic Canada honeymoon that both Colin and I were most looking forward to and it did not disappoint.

We spent six days road tripping all around Cape Breton, basing ourselves in Baddeck, Ingonish and Cheticamp.

We went on beautiful drives to admire the fall foliage (another perk of visiting the Maritimes in the fall!), stopped into a few local museums and shops, explored beaches and short hiking trails, and enjoyed some more delicious seafood.

For more on our time in Cape Breton, including my full list of hotel and restaurant recommendations, check out: 5 Day Cabot Trail Itinerary on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Want to extend your Atlantic Canada honeymoon?

While our Canadian honeymoon lasted about 3 weeks (including our time in Montreal), you could absolutely extend your time in Atlantic Canada and not run out of things to see.

Wine lovers may want to add Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley to their itinerary. We would have loved to spend more time in New Brunswick, since we only got a day there. And seeing the sand dunes in PEI would have been cool too!

Plus, we didn’t even make it to Newfoundland! We considered adding this final Atlantic Canada province to our honeymoon itinerary, but couldn’t justify the long ferry ride or adding another flight. And so, we’ll have to explore Newfoundland on another trip!

Need to shorten your Atlantic Canada honeymoon?

Of course, not everyone gets 3+ weeks for their honeymoon. If you’re short on time, I think you could cut down days in Halifax, head straight to PEI from Nova Scotia without stopping in New Brunswick, and do a faster road trip through Cape Breton.

If you’re really short on time, you may want to consider cutting PEI, Cape Breton or Halifax from your itinerary, but that’s going to be a tough call!

Atlantic Canada honeymoon FAQs:

Is Nova Scotia a good honeymoon destination?

Yes, I would say Nova Scotia is a fantastic honeymoon destination! It has beautiful scenery, fun cities, great food, lots to do and lots of opportunities for a bit of romance.

Whether you go on a road trip along the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, wine tasting in the Annapolis Valley, whale watching off the coast or spend all of your time in Halifax, you can have an amazing honeymoon in Nova Scotia.

Is Canada a good honeymoon destination?

As a Canadian who has lived here most of my life, I didn’t used to think that Canada was a good honeymoon destination. But now, I’ve changed my tune! I think Canada would be an awesome place for a honeymoon.

You can go on an Atlantic Canada honeymoon like we did; hit up the big cities of Toronto and Montreal; visit North America’s honeymoon capital of Niagara Falls; road trip the rocky mountains; head to the islands off of Vancouver; visit Banff and Lake Louise; and so much more!

Want to go on the ultimate Canada honeymoon? Why not go on the ultimate cross Canada road trip? This is my dream trip!

Where is the most romantic place in Atlantic Canada?

That’s tough! In my opinion, Cape Breton Island is the most romantic place in Atlantic Canada.

Going on a road trip with your partner, watching the coastal scenery, tucking into delicious seafood and staying at adorable cabins every night sounds like a romantic time to me!

When is the best time to go on an Atlantic Canada honeymoon?

We honeymooned in Atlantic Canada in October and I thought it was a great time! We didn’t have the crowds of summer, the weather was still really pleasant, and we got to see the leaves changing colour.

However, towards the end of October, some places were closing up for the season. So I would suggest late spring or early fall for an Atlantic Canada honeymoon.

How long do you need for an Atlantic Canada honeymoon?

As much time as you can get! Our Atlantic Canada honeymoon was three weeks long and I thought that was a great amount of time for us to visit Montreal (not technically in Atlantic Canada but we had to stop there on the way from Vancouver), Halifax, a brief stop in New Brunswick, Charlottetown and the Cabot Trail.

If you only have two weeks, I think you could still explore a few stops in Atlantic Canada across 1-2 provinces. If you have three weeks, you could visit 2-3 provinces.

And if you have four or more weeks, you could even add Newfoundland to your itinerary!

Conclusion: 8 reasons why I loved our Atlantic Canada honeymoon

#1 We got to explore a new part of Canada

The first reason why I loved our Maritimes/Atlantic Canada honeymoon so much is because it allowed us to visit a part of Canada we’ve never explored before.

I had been to the Maritimes once as a kid and Colin had never been further east than Montreal. It was awesome to step foot in new areas and see more of our own country.

#2 We enjoyed the pros of domestic travel

Speaking of exploring more of our own country, this Canadian honeymoon taught us that there are so many pros to domestic travel.

It was so convenient to not have to go through customs, be able to use our regular currency, and not have to try our hand at a new language.

#3 The Maritimes are safe

We went on our Maritimes honeymoon in October 2021 when covid was still very much a concern around the world. A big reason why we chose the Maritimes was because their covid numbers were low and the activities we planned to do there allowed us to keep as safe as possible.

#4 Everyone in Atlantic Canada is so friendly

Throughout our honeymoon, we were blown away by how friendly every local we met was.

From accommodation hosts who woke up early to treat us to freshly baked local pastries to restaurant servers who took the time to chat with us, congratulate us on our nuptials, and offer advice on what we should see in the region, every Martimer we met left us with a bigger smile on our face.

#5 The food in the Maritimes was incredible

Obviously, one of the things I loved most about our Atlantic Canada honeymoon was the food! I am a huge seafood lover and all of the fish, scallops, lobster and mussels that we ate did not disappoint.

Even the non-seafood we enjoyed, like donair, chocolate and pastries, blew us away. We did some good eating on this east coast trip!

#6 Atlantic Canada is so beautiful

Atlantic Canada is one of the most beautifully scenic places in the world. From city waterfronts and sandy beaches to jagged coastlines and changing tree leaves, we were spoilt for views. There wasn’t an ugly day on the whole trip!

#7 We got to learn more about our country’s history

As Canadians, it was really special for us to learn about the history of our own country throughout this trip.

It may not sound so romantic, but I really appreciated that we spent time on our honeymoon visiting the Pier 21 Immigration Museum, Alexander Graham Bell Museum and Halifax Citadel. We learned a lot and every museum we visited was really well done.

#8 Atlantic Canada is a great place for a road trip!

Last but not least, I loved our Atlantic Canada honeymoon because we got to go on a road trip! It was so fun planning out a route and getting to see places we never would have been able to reach with public transit.

Plus, a road trip means road trip snacks and listening to podcasts together, which Colin and I always enjoy!

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Okay, have I sold you on an Atlantic Canada honeymoon? Let me know if you’ve ever visited Canada’s Maritime provinces or if you’ll add them to your bucket list after this post!

Check out these posts to plan your Atlantic Canada trip:

• 22 Things to Do in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• What to Eat in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• 5 Day Cabot Trail Itinerary on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
• 42 Photos that Will Convince You to Visit Charlottetown, PEI

 

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