Maine/New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island/Nova Scotia
On the Road: New England and the Canadian Maritimes
Program No. 19585RJ
From Portland, Maine, to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, explore unique ecosystems, maritime history, idyllic villages and world-famous cuisine with local experts.
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15 days
14 nights
35 meals
14B 13L 8D
1
Arrivals and Welcome to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
2
Old Port District Walking Field Trip
Portland, Maine
3
Maine Maritime History
Bucksport, Maine
4
Roosevelt Campobello Island International Park
Welshpool, NB
5
Kingsbrae Gardens
Moncton
6
Hopewell Rocks and Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
7
Beaconsfield Historic House, Great George Street, Scenic PEI
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
8
Hector Heritage Quay, Welcome to Nova Scotia
Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
9
The Beautiful Cabot Trail
Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
10
Alexander Graham Bell Museum
Halifax, Nova Scotia
11
Peggy's Cove, Discover Halifax
Halifax, Nova Scotia
12
Grand Pré National Historic Site, Acadian History
St. John, New Brunswick
13
Visit Saint John, New Brunswick
Bar Harbor, Maine
14
Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor, Maine
15
Departures from Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
At a Glance
On this cross-border adventure, discover the bustling cities, serene harbors and beautiful wild spaces of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes — learning about the connections between them. Experience the wild beauty of the Cabot Trail and Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia as well as the Bay of Fundy tides and fabled Hopewell Rocks. In Acadia National Park, breathe in the crisp air while taking in the lush, untainted landscape. Stay in the historic cottages at Roosevelt Campobello International Park, and learn how this island became the famed vacation home of the Roosevelt family. Discover why this corner of the world is like no other, all while enjoying unique accommodations and local delicacies such as lobster and mussels!
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Climbing a few flights of stairs, standing for up to one hour, walking on paved and unpaved surfaces up to two miles over the course of the day. Getting on and off coach.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Examine the world's highest tides with naturalists on the Bay of Fundy.
- Delve into the historic beginnings of the cities of Portland, Saint John, Charlottetown and Halifax.
- Explore the Cabot Trail, looking for vast wildlife among the dense forests that meet with the ocean coast.
General Notes
This is an On the Road program that stays at nine different hotels with many early morning starts to this program. We are traveling about 1,500 miles over fifteen days. We try our best to explore each individual area as best we can and allow for plenty of stops. Please be aware that bus time is crucial and travel may take up to a few hours at a time.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Linda Pomerleau
Linda Pomerleau is a Mainer both by birth and by choice. Since retiring from a 25-year teaching career, during which she taught Maine history and language arts to 8th graders, she has been sharing her love of Maine by leading groups in Acadia National Park and all of Mount Desert Island. Linda enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking, and snowshoeing. She also enjoys spending time looking for moose and deer with her NYC grandkids when they are in Maine, as well as fostering their love of reading.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Gerald Berlin
View biography
After thirty plus years in health care education, Gerry embarked on a path of a long held interest in hospitality. His adventures include an eight-year stint at a Bar Harbor inn where he held various positions in food service, concierge, and guest services. Gerry also worked in the cruise industry in Bar Harbor as a member of the pier team. That last job led to Gerry’s interest in leading groups so he can share beautiful Mount Desert Island, Maine and the spectacular Acadia National Park.
Sheila Moloney
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Sheila Moloney, a resident of historic Rhinebeck in the heart of the Hudson Valley, has lived in the area on and off for almost forty years. As a garden designer and garden historian, she has a deep connection to the region’s natural and cultural history. Her interests led her to complete a master’s degree focused on architecture, gardens, and art of the Hudson Valley. Sheila has extensive knowledge and experience of the region’s cultural sites and is passionate about introducing lifelong learners to its wonders.
Linda Pomerleau
View biography
Linda Pomerleau is a Mainer both by birth and by choice. Since retiring from a 25-year teaching career, during which she taught Maine history and language arts to 8th graders, she has been sharing her love of Maine by leading groups in Acadia National Park and all of Mount Desert Island. Linda enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking, and snowshoeing. She also enjoys spending time looking for moose and deer with her NYC grandkids when they are in Maine, as well as fostering their love of reading.
Jim Fitch
View biography
Jim Fitch received his degree in international business from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. After spending three years teaching entrepreneurship principles to chocolate farmers and young adults in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps volunteer, Jim joined Road Scholar. He has facilitated over 75 programs to Cuba and has since been added to Road Scholar's "Maine & Canadian Maritime" team. Jim enjoys spending time outdoors, playing piano, catching a ballgame at Fenway Park, and discovering hidden treasures around his New England playground.
Suggested Reading List
(20 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
On the Road: New England and the Canadian Maritimes
Program Number: 19585
The Atlantic Coast, A Natural History
The Atlantic Coast draws upon the best and most up-to-date science on the ecology of the region as well as the author’s lifetime experience as a resident, biologist, and naturalist.
Rivers of Ink: Literary Reflections on the Penobscot
Rivers of Ink: Literary Reflections on the Penobscot, with an insightful introduction by Sherri Mitchell Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset, an esteemed Indigenous attorney, activist, and author from the Penobscot Nation, presents a captivating journey along Maine’s vital Penobscot River. This charity anthology, weaving together the works of local writers, offers a deep dive into the river’s lasting impact and its integral role in the region’s heritage.
Jeanne Dugas of Acadia
Descended from one of the three most prominent families in Acadia, Jeanne Dugas (1731-1817) and her family lived for more than thirty years under the threat of capture and deportation by the British militia and attacks by pirates and privateers.
Évangéline: The Many Identities of a Literary Icon
A thorough exploration of the role of Longfellow's literary icon Évangéline and her role in the North American cultural landscape, available for the first time in English.
Pier 21: A History
A definitive history of Halifax’s immigration gateway by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 researchers Jan Raska and Steven Schwinghamer.
Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings
From Montgomery’s apparently idyllic childhood in Prince Edward Island to her passion-filled adolescence and young adulthood, to her legal fights as world-famous author, to her shattering experiences with motherhood and as wife to a deeply troubled man, this fascinating, intimate narrative of her life will engage and delight.
Night of the Living Rez
Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
Mabel Bell: Alexander's Silent Partner
An intimate biography told from family letters and papers. Alexander Graham Bell took for his lifelong mate a woman of great strength and courage. Undeterred by her deafness since the age of five, Mabel Hubbard Bell raised their family, ran the household, and conceived of, financed, and nurtured the Aerial Experiment Association that resulted in the first manned flight in Canada.
Maine in the World: Stories from Some of Those from Here Who Went Away
From its earliest beginnings, the land that became Maine produced adventurous inhabitants who went outside its boundaries to do interesting things that sometimes made them famous or even infamous. In Maine in the World: Stories of Some of Those From Here Who Went Away the following individuals are profiled: poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Pulitzer Prize winner Edna St. Vincent Millay, opera singer Lillian Nordica, Hollywood movie director John Ford, and Samantha Smith young "US ambassador for peace" during the Cold War.
Moondoggle: Franklin Roosevelt and the Fight for Tidal-Electric Power at Passamaquoddy Bay
For 25 years, Franklin Roosevelt tried to build the world’s first tidal-electric power plant - by harnessing the Bay of Fundy’s giant tides. The enormous project would have dammed-up 110 square miles of coastal Maine and Canada. Moondoggle is a dramatic tale about the appeal of tidal power, the difficulties in realizing its potential, and the engineers and three U.S. Presidents who tried to make clean and renewable tidal power a reality. Now on the 100th anniversary of the “Passamaquoddy Project’s” conception, Moondoggle - the only book on the project - explores what almost was, and what could be.
Daughters of Long Reach
Drawn to its rich maritime history, Ellie and Ty Malone purchase a grand home in Bath, Maine, and discover the story of a prominent shipbuilding family who lived there in the 1800s. Daughters of Long Reach explores love and loss through the lens of multiple families who are separated by time but connected by the rolling tides of the Kennebec River.
A Sea of Spectres
On the choppy coastline of Prince Edward Island, an ocean-phobic detective evades the deadly lure of a phantom ship by delving into her family's history and harnessing her matrilineal powers of premonition.
Catherine's Cadeau: A Novel
When Monique LeBlanc disappears from Nova Scotia, her cousin Michelle is panic-stricken. Their summer vacation has taken an ominous turn, and a search begins. At the site of Monique's disappearance in Grand-Pre Historic Park, police find a picture of her mother, Catherine, who passed away years ago, near Evangeline's statue. Michelle knows that Monique is visiting the park to honor the dream she shared with her mother of visiting their Canadian homeland. What she doesn't know is that Monique has gone back in time to her ancestors' exile, actually living through the horrific deportation of thousands of Acadians to Louisiana in 1755.
Down East, A Maritime History of Maine
Maine's maritime history, from the coastal travel of Native Americans to the Basque fishing industry to the pleasure boating of today, incorporating ecology, culture and art into its well-researched history.
Island: The Complete Stories
The sixteen exquisitely crafted stories in Island prove Alistair MacLeod to be a master. Quietly, precisely, he has created a body of work that is among the greatest to appear in English in the last fifty years.
Saint John: 1877-1980
Saint John: 1877-1980 highlights the many changes the city has seen over the years, through photographs of its neighbourhoods, play places, tourist attractions, and residents.
Historic Acadia National Park, The Stories Behind One of America's Great Treasures
If parks could speak, what would they say? Historic Acadia National Park is a vibrant collection of true stories that share different aspects of Acadia National Park’s history. From its glacial origins, to its rising peaks near the tourist-town Bar Harbor, Acadia has a unique and fascinating history for Down Easters and tourists alike. Many of the tales focus on some of Maine's most famous land formations including Pulpit Rock, Sargent Mountain Pond, Mount Desert Rock, Otter Creek, and even the Trenton Bridge. Learn about the people who first walked these woods and how Acadia National Park evolved into the national treasure it is today.
This Lark of Stolen Time
Lauder Jones and Mountcastle, two Halifax families both alike in dignity, linked by love and circumstance. Douglas Lauder Jones, obscure story writer, calls it "Life and No Escape." His lovelorn son John thinks it's the end of happiness. Neuroscientist Ursula Lauder Jones sees it as sink-or-swim parenting. Whatever it is, her daughter Merin, new owner of a movie house on Barrington Street, wants to sit through it twice. Her sister Anya, summer student working at Mountcastle Framing on Spring Garden Road, relishes life's richly varied fabric. And the youngest, Cary, budding writer, recognizes it as apt material for the many stories stitching this novel's intriguing brocade.
When the World Fell Silent
A novel of the 1917 Halifax explosion.
Midden
Utilizing a wide range of poetic styles - epistolary poems to ghosts, persona poems, erasure poems, interior poems, interviews and instructions, poems framed both in the past and in the present - Midden delves into the vital connections between land, identity, and narrative and asks how we can heal the generations and legacies of damage that result when all three of these are deliberately taken in an attempt to rob people of their very humanity.