Cape Breton Island - Canada's Ocean Playground

 Cape Breton Island belongs to the province of Nova Scotia, one of the four provinces that make up Atlantic Canada: the three Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) plus Newfoundland and Labrador. Halifax is both the capital of Nova Scotia and the largest municipality in the province. From May through October, Condor offers direct flights from Frankfurt, Germany to Halifax 2 – 3 times a week. The flight only takes 6-7 hours.

 

 

 

 

All major car rentals can be found at Halifax airport. Past experience has shown that it’s normally cheaper to rent your car in advance from your home country. A 2.5-hour drive on well-mantained roads will take you from the airport to Cape Breton Island.

 

 

As you might suspect by the name, Cape Breton Island is an island. While it’s separated from the Nova Scotian mainland by the “Strait of Canso”, the island was connected to the mainland by way of a dam, the “Canso Causeway”, in the mid-1950s. As such, there’s been convenient car access to the island ever since.

Cape Breton Island is approximately 10,300 km² in size, with a population approaching 135,000.

 

If you’re looking for solitude and peace surrounded by breathtaking nature, search no more. Cape Breton Island is considered an “insider tip” among Candians, and is deservedly-known as “Canada's Ocean Playground” to many. This name stems not only from the countless sand beaches, but also the fact that Cape Breton Island offers one of the largest salt-water lakes worldwide: the “Bras d’Or Lake”, well known to sailors. Another major highlight is the “Cabot Trail”, one of the most popular scenic coastal roads worldwide, which in takes you from ocean level up to mountain heights and the national park via a series of winding serptentine roads.