Getting Here and Around

To reach Cape Breton, you can drive from mainland Nova Scotia via the Canso Causeway; take a Marine Atlantic ferry from Newfoundland; or fly into Sydney's J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport. The island itself has five convenient, camera-ready driving routes—and since these collectively cover about 710 km (440 mi), you should allow five days to explore. For an upfront blast of Caper culture, enter by way of the causeway on Highway 104. Turning left at the rotary, take Highway 19 (the Ceilidh Trail), which winds along the hillside through fields and glens for 107 km (67 mi) before meeting the west end of the fabled Cabot Trail. As a bonus, this stretch of coast facing the Gulf of St. Lawrence is famous for sandy beaches, warm water, and sublime sunsets. Alternately, from the causeway you could follow the Bras d'Or Lakes Scenic Drive, which loops along lesser known roads of central Cape Breton and around the massive lake that lent the route its name; or veer east on the linked Fleur-de-Lis/Marconi Trail, which takes you to the must-see Fortress of Louisbourg and then onward to Sydney (Cape Breton's main city). Following either of these latter options will allow you to access the Cabot Trail from the east. Note that driving in this direction also puts your vehicle on the waterside for most of the trail making it easier to pull over for photo ops.