10 Things to Experience On Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island

1) Mountaintop and seaside hiking trails. The Cape Breton
Highlands National Park has both easy and rugged trails for
both the casual and ambitious hikers. You can hire a hiking
tour or just strike out on your own to enjoy the serene and
beautiful scenery of the region.

2) Sea Kayaking - hiring a tour guide can provide you with
equipment and experience to better encounter the wildlife
and rugged scenery of the coast of Cape Breton Island.
Depending on where you hire your tour, you can see bald
eagles, cormorants, guillemots, pilot whales, a minke. You
can find sea kayaking tours from Cheticamp, Cape North,
Baddeck, Ingonish, or Louisbourg and places in between.

3) Spend an afternoon in Baddeck, at the Alexander Graham
Bell Museum overlooking scenic Bras d' Or Lake. Mr. Bell
made his summer home in Baddeck, and the museum houses many
of his lesser known, but highly intriguing projects. His
hydrofoil, his fascination with tetrahedrons, and many other
intriguing things are in the world-class museum for you to
discover.

4) Dust off your kilt and don your dancing shoes. Cape
Breton is full of Celtic colors and tunes. If you're
driving through town and see home-made signs that say "Ceili
Tonight" it might be worth stopping for a spontaneous
sampling of Celtic culture. Otherwise, you can also plan
your Ceili (pronounced Kay-Lee) experience by checking local
tourist bureaus for feature events. In October, the entire
island is abuzz with the Celtic Colours International
Festival, the largest celebration of its kind in North
American, but you'll also find smaller events at other times
of the year.

5) Scuba diving around Cape Breton Island. Literally
hundreds of shipwrecks litter the ocean floor along Cape
Breton Island. In fact, since 1597, more than one thousand
shipwrecks have been recorded along Cape Breton Island's
coast. For the most rewarding diving, consider St. Ann's
Bay to St. Paul Island.

6) Descend down into a coal mine beneath the ocean floor in
an underground tour of the Ocean Deeps Colliery Your guides
for the underground excursion are retired coal miners who
will help you imagine making your daily living in dark
quarters beneath the ocean floor. Located about one mile
from downtown Glace Bay on Cape Breton Island.

7) Hit the beach and bum around. The beaches of Cape Breton
Island can be small and isolated, or large and packed with
people - or any combination in between. If you've seen on
Cape Breton beach, you have NOT seen them all. So, if
beaches are one of your interests, you may want to consider
a sampling of Cape Breton's beaches and find out which ones
suit you the best for your vacationing state of mind, and
your personal travelling style.

8) Visit the Fortress Louisbourg. Spend your time wandering
freely through a wonderfully restored centuries-old Acadian
village. Staff at the fortress are dressed in clothing from
the period, and restaurants on site serve food from the era.
It's a delightful step-back in time at North America's LIVE
largest historic reconstruction on the east coast of Cape
Breton Island.

9) Hit the road (or the mountains) on your bicycle. Cape
Breton's scenery has been embraced by bikers worldwide, and
Cape Breton Island officials have greeted them with arms
wide open. Several wonderful biking trails (cycling and
mountain biking) are available across the entire Cape Breton
Island. Local chambers of commerce should have ample
information about their specific locales trail system and
related service providers.

10) Whale watching tours from Cape Breton Island will not
only give you a chance to see the large graceful creatures,
but you'll also likely have a fair shot at seeing white
dolphins, seals, leatherback turtles, and native birds. On
portion of Cape Breton boasts a 95% success rate in whale
sightings, and some tours will give you a certificate for
another free excursion if you a whale isn't sighted (or
perhaps that's just in Tiverton). Some tours use Zodiac
boats, others use schooners, and some are via kayak. Cape
Breton has plenty of options for the aspiring whale watcher.

About the Author

C.S. Deam and his wife fell in love with Nova Scotia and
Cape Breton Island on their first vacation to the region
in 2001. Since then they've grown to be avid promoters
of the scenery and lifestyle enjoyed by Nova Scotia
residents and vacationers. Their website
http://www.Vacation-Nova-Scotia-Tourism.com"> Vacation-Nova-Scotia-Tourism.com is a visual treat.

Related articles