atlantic canada Nova Scotia etc

[User7777]

We are gutted, as we have to cancel our flight to canada on Monday. We are both covid positive and don't want to take the risk with either flying while symptomatic or testing positive on the random arrival tests.

I'm not entirely sure if the insurance will pay out, as technically we could probably fly, and I do have an option to change my flights instead of going through insurance so I'm exploring possibilities. I wonder if we can make the best out of a bad situation here.

So first, let me say we have to take holidays in the school holidays, and if we were to change flights we would have to fly before March.

I'm considering the Atlantic side of Canada for 1 week in October (not ideal, I'd like longer, but longer isn't possible with our constraints). The east coast (Nova Scotia) looks amazing. My son has said he wants 'cold weather, wildlife and mountains'. I know the first two will be there, but how about mountains? Anyone been to Nova Scotia on holiday and can recommend anything?

Commiserations OP, I just had a cancel a trip for similar reasons.

Are you sure you have to decide right now? Could you wait until Sunday, or even Monday to decide (don’t know when your symptoms began).

Also, re: needing to travel before March. Do you have BA tickets, and if so, when did you buy them? Depending on when you purchased them, you may be eligible for flight vouchers which have a longer shelf life and are good until end of September 2023.

Definitely have to take the holiday by march, I spoke to the airline.
I just don't think it's worth the risk to fly on Monday, if we get an arrival test we will have to quarantine. I'd much prefer to change flights and know we'll be safe (we'll be able to have a recovery certificate so no tests).

Bummer. Ok, in that case I would say that the Cape Breton area should be nice in October - Autumn colours galore! The highlands are stunning. There are mountains in Nova Scotia, but they are more low-lying.

Canadian Thanksgiving falls on October 10th, so factor that in.

Good luck!

If you’re flying Air Canada I’d be reluctant to fly through Toronto or Montreal. The latter is likely to be your connection to Sydney, NS. Both airports are pretty chaotic at the moment with cancelled flights, delays and baggage issues. Will it improve by October? Who knows.

Early October it will be cold but not necessarily below zero.

Consider flying into Calgary. The Rockies are an hour away - there might be a little snow, there’s definitely wildlife (we’ve seen a black bear with two cubs and lots of
elk today). And more mountains than you could ever need.

Thanks.
Doesn't have to be nova scotia, but I'm reluctant to go too far west due to the time difference and only having a week there. I've done new york in school holidays before and that time difference felt doable
From doing a bit more research, Quebec area also looks interesting....

Air Canada fly direct to Halifax. Hire a car to get around the province, there will be loads to do! Halifax is worth a couple of days, drive up to Cape Breton, amazing hikes and views. You could even take the ferry to Prince Edward Island and have a day or two exploring in a different province. Peggy's Cove, Chester, Lunenburg along the south shore also worth a visit. In the summer there are plenty of bike/boat/watersports hire places, not sure what this would look like in October. It won't be super cold.

I went to Newfoundland for a week (I had friends working out there for a few years) and that was fascinating. It was June though, not sure I'd been keen to visit in the winter. Super easy flight to St John's - it was direct with Air Canada from London although I'm not sure if post-Covid the direct flights have restarted. People are super-friendly but hard to understand the accent (omg!!).

Hi. There’s not really an easy answer. Nova Scotia is probably your best bet in October. One week on the west coast would be ok but truncated in terms of what you can see. Bears are not seen so much in late October. Salmon run has ended and they are heading to their dens. You might also be too late for whale watching trips. The Nova Scotia web site has useful info on wildlife.

It’s such a pity you have lost your planned holiday.