Sailing, Boating, Driving or Flying to the Bras d’Or Lakes
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
Located at the Eastern tip of Nova Scotia in Canada, Cape Breton Island offers many travel options to get to this ultimate destination. Whether you sail, cruise, drive or fly to Cape Breton, you are sure to be thrilled by the beautiful landscape and breathtaking shorelines of the Bras d’Or Lakes.
Sailing, Boating or Cruising to Cape Breton
The Bras d’Or Lakes are known as one of the finest sailing and boating destinations in the world. For sailors coming from the south coast of Nova Scotia or the Eastern Seaboard, you can enter the Lakes on the south coast of Cape Breton through the St. Peter’s Canal. For sailors coming from Newfoundland or Europe, you can enter the Lakes through the Great Bras d’Or Channel. For sailors coming from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, you can sail around the northern tip of Cape Breton to the Great Bras d’Or Channel or sail through the Strait of Canso Canal and around to the St. Peter’s Canal.
Here’s a Bras d’Or Lakes Cruising Guide
Drive to Cape Breton
Major highways from all points in the United States and across Canada connect to the Trans Canada Highway in New Brunswick, which leads to Nova Scotia and directly on to Cape Breton Island via the Canso Causeway.
Those coming from Newfoundland can travel to Cape Breton Island by Marine Atlantic with regular departures from Port-aux-Basques and Argentia to North Sydney.
If beginning your Cape Breton vacation in Prince Edward Island, Northumberland Ferries offers a ferry service that departs from Wood Islands, PEI and arrives in Caribou, Nova Scotia. Caribou is only an hour and half drive from Cape Breton Island.
Fly to Cape Breton
Air Canada offers travellers regular flights from Toronto, Montreal and Halifax (with connections from many global destinations) to Cape Breton’s J. A. Douglas McCurdy Airport located in Sydney. WestJet offers travellers direct flights from Toronto (with connections from many global destinations) to Sydney. Another option is to fly into Halifax, the hub airport in the region, and drive to Cape Breton. Estimated driving time from the Halifax Airport to the start of the Bras d’Or Lakes is 3 hours.
Car rentals are available at both Sydney and Halifax airports. For more flight information, visit www.sydneyairportauthority.com or www.flyhalifax.com.
Accommodations
A full listing of accommodations is available through Destination Cape Breton.
Places to Eat
A full listing of places to eat around the Bras d’Or Lakes is available at NovaScotia.com.