Is cruise better than driving for Canada/New England?

[Yadaking]

I always wanted to drive from Toronto to Quebec, then to Nova Scotia. Seems like the drive would be very scenic.

 

How is the cruise compared to the drive? Would you sacrifice all the stuff you get to see on the way to the destination by driving?

 

Thanks for the info and comment.

[trophy_23]

I posted on your New England board post.

[mowb07]

It might be more time consuming BUT you get to spend as much time as you want in any place you like.

 

Others may disagree, but I have always seen cruising as a "taste test" so to speak when it comes to the ports themselves - please understand I am not commenting on the cruise ship or the experience of being on the water when I say this.

 

I recently took a 7 day cruise from ny to halifax and back and it was great because u got to cover a ton of distance is a short amt of time - something that would be too exhausting to do on a drive in a similar time frame. I do not regret the vacation, it was great! But if I had say, 2 weeks, I would have driven from ny to boston, cape cod, bar harbor maine and maybe portland as well, spent more time in new brunswick exploring the bay of fundy and gone on to spend a couple of days in halifax, sydney ns, then pei and also maybe one city in quebec.

 

This involves more planning and depending on where you stay, how long you spend and what time of yr you go, could be more costly, but like I said, you'll get more time in towns of your choosing.

 

I will probably do the road trip described above at some point in time, and having been to some of those places on the cruise, it reaffirmed the thought that I would like them and want to return.

 

Last point - the drive from toronto to quebec is known as one of the most dangerous in canada in small part due to its monotony, so if you've never driven on the 401 east of toronto, be prepared for that - I cannot attest to the drive beyond montreal though.

 

Sorry for the essay - just my two cents :)

 

Have fun whatever you decide! :)

[LindaKE]

We enjoyed our cruise, but, if we want to go back, it would probably be a driving tour. You heve to get inland to see the most spectacular colors.

[maryann ns]

Driving is way better. You need more time than what a cruise allows for most places. Nova Scotia's famous Cabot Trail is pretty well impossible from a cruise. You also cannot easily go to many other scenic or historic places (Annapolis Royal, Advocate Harbour, etc. etc.). Then the is whale watching from Briar Island.

 

I have driven from Toronto to Montreal and on to Nova Scotia many times without a problem. We do prefer to take Route 40 on the north side of the river. Whatever you do, plan for several days in Quebec City.

 

A cruise will give you a tiny idea of what is out there. That is the case for just about anywhere you cruise. It is a good way to help you know whether you want to go back. Last fall I learned that I want to go back to Turkey. Our six days there on our cruise were wonderful and it is a friendly place and easy to do on your own.

[Earl Rosebery]

I always wanted to drive from Toronto to Quebec, then to Nova Scotia. Seems like the drive would be very scenic.

 

How is the cruise compared to the drive? Would you sacrifice all the stuff you get to see on the way to the destination by driving?

 

Thanks for the info and comment.

 

Do you have lots of time? It's almost 1000 miles from Toronto to Halifax and the roads are not all that you might expect.

 

If you stick to the expessway from Toronto to Montreal, it isn't scenic at all. From Montreal to Quebec city is scenic on the north shore but not the south. From Quebec City to Saint Simeon is truly beautiful but you need to take time to stop at several towns along the way. Then there is a ferry across the river (10 miles wide at this point) to Riviere du Loup. From there to Fredericton is a long haul. Once in Nova Scotia or PEI things look up a lot but there are still long distances to cover. For example it is a long drive to Cape Breton (summer home of Alexander Graham Bell) and around the Cabot trail or to Louisbourg. I would take the cruise or break up my driving into much smaller bites.

[Yadaking]

I am just allocating 1 week time for the vacation since that is how long the cruise will be. We've been to Caribbean cruise and absolutely loved it. But I don't know about New England / Canada since you can drive between most of the towns. We would like to see foliage so planning the trip for late Oct (hopefully it's not too late).

 

If vacationing by car, will drive 1 way from Toronto out and flying back home from Boston or something.

 

So, is 1 week time better by car / cruise?

 

Thanks again.

[MonaCD]

I am just allocating 1 week time for the vacation since that is how long the cruise will be. We've been to Caribbean cruise and absolutely loved it. But I don't know about New England / Canada since you can drive between most of the towns. We would like to see foliage so planning the trip for late Oct (hopefully it's not too late).

 

If vacationing by car, will drive 1 way from Toronto out and flying back home from Boston or something.

 

So, is 1 week time better by car / cruise?

 

Thanks again.

If you only have one week, do the cruise. Yes you can drive between all of the towns but you'll be spending all of your time driving. If you really want to drive, fly in to Halifax or Moncton, you could see one province, maybe two in a week.

 

It's a 20 hour drive from Toronto to Halifax at minimum, and 11 hours to Boston so you've lost 2 or 3 days right there. And late October might be too late to see the Fall foliage at it's best. The colours are starting to come out this week, I see them getting brighter every day.

[maryann ns]

Yes indeed, one week is not enough. You may as well do the cruise. One week in Nova Scotia, without counting getting there and back, is not enough. Just go to tripadvisor and read the posts there.

[LeftcoastBC]

Never done it myself but have friends who now say. Drive to Montreal and then fly to the coast.

[LiftLockCouple]

I have done this drive at least a 80 times over the past 35 years, My advice, do the cruise. A week is not nearly enough for such a drive. You will just be exhausted from the driving, disappointed you couldn't stop in more places and wishing you had gone on the cruise. Unfortunately late October is to late. the leaves will have for the most part fallen from the trees. Right now is the best time for the colors. Late October is still a decent time to visit the region but not for the fall colors.

You would need at least 2 weeks for this trip and then would want to come back to see what you skipped the first time. This happens every year with tourists to the Canadian East coast. Probably true of visitors to the various regions of our respective countries.

[Earl Rosebery]

Never done it myself but have friends who now say. Drive to Montreal and then fly to the coast.

 

Which coast? Seriously, why drive from TO to MTL. It's a lousy drive.

[FreshOffTheBoat]

It might be more time consuming BUT you get to spend as much time as you want in any place you like.

 

Others may disagree, but I have always seen cruising as a "taste test" so to speak when it comes to the ports themselves - please understand I am not commenting on the cruise ship or the experience of being on the water when I say this.

 

I recently took a 7 day cruise from ny to halifax and back and it was great because u got to cover a ton of distance is a short amt of time - something that would be too exhausting to do on a drive in a similar time frame. I do not regret the vacation, it was great! But if I had say, 2 weeks, I would have driven from ny to boston, cape cod, bar harbor maine and maybe portland as well, spent more time in new brunswick exploring the bay of fundy and gone on to spend a couple of days in halifax, sydney ns, then pei and also maybe one city in quebec.

 

This involves more planning and depending on where you stay, how long you spend and what time of yr you go, could be more costly, but like I said, you'll get more time in towns of your choosing.

 

I will probably do the road trip described above at some point in time, and having been to some of those places on the cruise, it reaffirmed the thought that I would like them and want to return.

 

Last point - the drive from toronto to quebec is known as one of the most dangerous in canada in small part due to its monotony, so if you've never driven on the 401 east of toronto, be prepared for that - I cannot attest to the drive beyond montreal though.

 

Sorry for the essay - just my two cents :)

 

Have fun whatever you decide! :)

 

Really the drive on the 401 is no different than any other highways. Your kind of making it seem like it is such a dangerous drive. Its not at all, its like any other highway in North America.

 

Although I would definiately take the cruise, over driving.

[Princess422]

It might be more time consuming BUT you get to spend as much time as you want in any place you like.

 

Others may disagree, but I have always seen cruising as a "taste test" so to speak when it comes to the ports themselves - please understand I am not commenting on the cruise ship or the experience of being on the water when I say this.

 

I sort of agree with this. Cruising is my favorite way to travel, but sometimes you really love some of the ports and want the freedom to spend more time there. I'm glad I discovered St. Thomas on a cruise, because I will probably stay at the Emerald Beach resort someday. As for NE & Canada, I'm doing that for the first time in two weeks, but no doubt I'll want to go back and spend more time at some of the ports. My mother did the cruise and loved it, but also wants to a driving trip to Newport to spend more time there, and already visted Bar Harbor for several days. The bottom line is, cruise ship experience is great, but you don't get to spend much time at the ports, so if that's important to you, then driving is better.

[bcscot]

We recently drove from Montreal to Quebec City on Highway 40, on the north of the Saint Lawrence, which was fast, but boring. We returned on the Highway 138, which runs beside the 40, is slower but is MUCH nicer. It follows much of the historical old highway of New France with nice scenery, lovely old villages & views of the river. There is no comparison between the two routes.

 

Taking the fast highways are fine if you just need to get somewhere, but if you want to see something, take the time to drive on the older & slower roads.

 

I find that cruising & driving are complementary. I like to combine a bit of each if possible. Cruising really is the best way to travel; no long uncomfortable car journeys, no packing & unpacking every day, you can dine, go to a show or sleep while you are travelling the big distances, decent food & comfortable accommodation, entertainment & lots of variety, that special feeling of being on a ship etc etc. What's to beat it?

 

The world is a huge place & most of us will only see a fraction of it. A cruise allows you to see little bits of lots of places, including places that you would never get to otherwise. Cruise again to the good places & pick a few places to see in greater detail on a land based trip. Spend time in A, cruise from A to B & spend some time there too. Get the best of both worlds & if you don't have enough time, driving takes a lot of time so go on a cruise! ;) :)

[mowb07]

Really the drive on the 401 is no different than any other highways. Your kind of making it seem like it is such a dangerous drive. Its not at all, its like any other highway in North America.

 

Although I would definiately take the cruise, over driving.

 

I certainly don't want to get into an argument with you over this, but that stretch of road IS dangerous because it is very well travelled and there are crashes - yes, like any other highway in North America. But the truth is, the OP was looking for a scenic drive and that is a very boring drive - and it is so monotonous/boring it does lead to crashes. I didn't realize I had to qualify everything I posted, but please note I am in no way saying every crash on that stretch of road is caused by sleepy/zoned out/unfocused drivers, but it IS something a person unfamiliar w/ the area should consider.

 

Because the OP is not fromthe area I am just trying to give him/her all of the information I think they might want to consider based on their question. It would really be up to an individual - an adult, presumably, to make up their own mind after considering all factors, advice, and risks involved so my advice wasn't a scare tactic or an attempt to mislead the OP it was simply one small afterthought I included based on what I have read/seen/heard/and experienced.

 

Safe travels to all :)