VIA Rail Canada Maritimes Tour
2008 Dates
Value season departures: May 22, June 5 and
October 9, 2008
Regular season departures: June 19*, 26; July
3, 10, 17*, 24, 31; August 7, 14, 21*, 28; September 4*, 11, 18, 25*;
October 2, 2008
Dates marked * offer narrations in English and
German. All other dates provide only an English narration.
Tour from $2799.00
No Increase in the Tour Price for 2008!
All Prices Are in US Dollars
Rail Travel Center® again
is delighted to offer a tour from Toronto or Montreal to Canada’s
Maritimes provinces. This series is operated in conjunction with our
ground partners at Atlantic Tours. Our program features the superb
services of VIA Rail Canada, including the high-speed Toronto to
Montreal corridor trains and the legendary Montreal-Halifax OCEAN
LIMITED. All rail travel is in First Class, featuring superb
VIA 1 service on the Toronto-Montreal Corridor (with at-seat meals
and beverages included) and luxurious “Easterly Class” sleeping car
service on the OCEAN LIMITED. Dinner, full breakfast
eastbound/continental breakfast westbound and lunch are included in
the diner on the OCEAN LIMITED. The OCEAN LIMITED is
the flagship train of eastern Canada, offering full dining car
service, comfortable lounge cars and sleepers. All train
accommodations used have a private bathroom.
Between Toronto and Montreal, participants ride on
VIA Rail’s “Lakeshore” route, closely following the north shore of
Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The OCEAN LIMITED follows the
very scenic Canadian
 National
“Inter-colonial” route to Nova Scotia. Here passengers join Atlantic
Tours’ fully escorted motorcoach tour for an in-depth visit to
Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and
Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.).
Highlights include the “Evangeline Country” of eastern Nova Scotia, and crossing to P.E.I. on the new Confederation
Bridge. On pastoral P.E.I., visits are included to “Green Gables” and
the red beaches and sandy bluffs of
Prince Edward Island National Park. In Nova Scotia, the tour
visits Cape Breton Island,
travels the legendary Cabot Trail, and tours Alexander Graham Bell
National Park and the Fortress of Louisbourg before returning to
Halifax to re-board VIA Rail. Complete details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Thursday (L for Toronto passengers, D
for all) Ride VIA Rail Canada’s “Lakeshore” and OCEAN LIMITED routes.
Participants may join the tour today either in Toronto or Montreal.
Travel on VIA Rail Canada is in First Class VIA 1 service between
Toronto and Montreal on the “Lakeshore” route, and in “Easterly Class”
sleepers departing Montreal on the
OCEAN
LIMITED. A complete luncheon with cocktails and wine is included
for Toronto passengers. The trip provides views enroute of the north
shore of Lake Ontario and the mighty St. Lawrence River. Dinner in an
elegant dining car at tables set with fine linens and china in the
classic railway manner is included leaving Montreal. Departing
Montreal, a highlight is the crossing of a mile-long bridge over the
St. Lawrence River and the final locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. New
for 2005 is the use of a vista-dome “Park” observation-lounge car on
all departures of the OCEAN LIMITED.
Note the tour includes independent travel on VIA
Rail. We pre-book and ticket all rail segments, but participants
meet the tour escort at the hotel in Halifax on Day Two. Red caps are
available at both the Toronto and Montreal stations to assist with
luggage; and Pullman porter service is provided on the trains. We
suggest checking heavy bags and carrying an overnight case for the two
total nights on the train (one night in each direction).
The Upgraded “Easterly Class” VIA Rail Canada sleeper
service is not offered on the May and June Value Season dates. On
these departures, participants travel in the same VIA Rail Canada
sleeper rooms, but the dining car menu is less extensive and the
dome-lounge car is not operating, although passengers have access to
two mid-train lounge cars, as well as the diner.
Day Two, Friday (B,L)OCEAN
LIMITED across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
A relaxing day is spent on the OCEAN LIMITED as
the train crosses New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Highlights include
the Bay of Chaleur, sweeping views to distant mountains on the Gaspe
Peninsula, the headwaters of the Bay of Fundy, and crossing the
mountainous Nova Scotia interior. Breakfast and luncheon are included
in the diner enroute to Halifax. In late afternoon, the train arrives
in Halifax. Participants have a quick taxi transfer to the centrally
located contemporary Citadel Hotel to join our tartan-clad tour
escort. The Citadel is our hotel for two nights.
Dawn on the Ocean along the Matapedia
Halifax Citadel by Mary Rock
Day
Three, Saturday Tour Halifax. Participants explore
Halifax, the great port of
Maritime Canada, this morning. Visits include the beautiful flowers in
the Public Gardens, the restored “Historic Properties” neighborhood,
and the mighty
Citadel.
The afternoon is at leisure. The superb
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
is located a short walk from the hotel. It has remarkable exhibits
about the sinking of the R.M.S. TITANIC and the extremely tragic
Halifax
Explosion in World War I.
Day Four, Sunday (B,D) Tour Peggy’s Cove;
Lunenburg; Annapolis Valley: We drive along the south coast
this morning to explore the exquisite fishing village of
Peggy’s Cove. The lighthouse dominating the
 rocky
entrance to the harbor is the most photographed in Canada. We continue
to the lovely fishing port of Lunenburg, where you have a choice of
admission to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic (homeport to the
legendary schooner "Bluenose") or a walking tour of the historic
district. Travel across the island to the shores of the Bay of Fundy
to visit Champlain's Habitation, Canada's oldest settlement. We
overnight in Digby at the legendary Digby Pines Resort (tour of July 5
may stay at the Old Orchard Inn).
Day Five, Monday (B,D) Grande Pre, "Land of
Evangeline", Moncton: We motor east through the lush
Annapolis Valley to the Acadian historic site at Grand Pre, where we
learn about the real tragedy that inspired Longfellow's great poem
"Evangeline". We continue across the headwaters of the Bay of Fundy
into New Brunswick to overnight at Moncton at the Delta Brunswick
Hotel or similar.
Day Six, Tuesday (B,D) Fundy National Park;
Hopewell Rocks; Confederation Bridge to P.E.I.
We drive through scenic
Fundy
National Park and visit the remarkable rock formations at Hopewell
Rocks. Here at low tide, it is possible to actually walk on the ocean
floor! We continue across the soaring new
Confederation Bridge, the longest multi-span crossing in the
world, to explore lovely Prince
Edward Island. We enjoy a festive lobster dinner this evening
(non-seafood/vegetarian dishes available). We stay two nights
at the landmark former Canadian National Railway
Charlottetown Hotel.
Day Seven, Wednesday (B) Tour Charlottetown;
Green Gables; P.E.I. National Park; evening show.
We explore
Charlottetown this morning, where the 1867 Confederation of Canada
was formulated. Later we drive past red beaches and sandy bluffs
through P.E.I. National Park, visiting the locales immortalized in
Lucy Maude Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” books. We also tour the
Green Gables
home. On most June, July, August and September departures a special
treat is included this evening: the musical production of “Anne of
Green Gables” at the Confederation Centre for the Arts. On dates when
the show is not performed, a special “Mariners Feast” dinner and
Maritimes folkloric show are included.
 Day Eight, Thursday (B,D) Ferry to Nova Scotia;
Alexander Graham Bell National Park; visit lovely Baddeck.
We ride the Pictou ferry from P.E.I. back to Nova Scotia and cross the
Canso Causeway onto wildly beautiful
Cape Breton Island. The
balance of the day is spent along the shores of Bras D’Or Lake. We
have an exceptional tour at
Alexander Graham Bell National Park, learning about the many
inventions of the creator of the telephone (including one of the first
successful hydrofoil boats). The Bell family lived nearby on the lake;
and the
Inverary Inn Resort, our hotel for two nights, overlooks the lake
as well. Weather permitting, a short eagle-watching cruise is an added
treat.
Day
Nine, Friday (B, picnic L,D) Cape Breton Highlands National Park;
Cabot Trail. A drive on the most scenic highway in eastern Canada,
the legendary Cabot Trail, fills the day. We also explore
Cape
Breton Highlands National Park enroute. The road takes us on steep
climbs over rocky headlands. At one point, we travel on the crest of a
razor-ridge, with cliffs dropping away to the sea and the even wilder
mountains of the interior in view. In the quiet valleys, evidence
remains of the lonely lives of Scottish crofters (sheepherders) who
settled the region after the tragic “Highland Clearances” of the late
18th and early 19th centuries. A unique stop is made at “The Lone
Shelaigh”, a recreated crofter’s cottage. We have a festive “Farewell
Dinner” this evening at the Inverary.
Cape Breton Highlands
Day Ten, Saturday (B) Tour Fortress of Louisbourg;
drive to Halifax. This morning we visit the
“Williamsburg of Canada”, the amazing
Fortress of Louisbourg
National Historic Park. King Louis XV once complained so much of
the royal purse was disappearing into the construction costs for
Louisbourg that he expected to see the walls of the Canadian city rise
over the gates of Paris! This was the great “invincible” bastion of
18th century French Canada, yet the mighty fortress fell twice to
English sieges. After 1758, the British spent two years totally
destroying the walls and homes of Louisbourg. In the 1950s, Parks
Canada historians found the original plans for the city in the French
National Archives and began an extraordinary reconstruction. We enjoy
a fascinating tour here, seeing the houses, bastions and storerooms of
this re-created 18th century city.
This afternoon we drive back to Halifax for a final
night at the Citadel Hotel. The fully escorted tour ends with the
return to Halifax. Participants travel independently back to Montreal
or Toronto on the train.
Day Eleven, Sunday (L,D) Free morning in Halifax;
afternoon departure on OCEAN LIMITED. Enjoy a final free morning
for more explorations in Halifax, then take a short taxi ride to the
Canadian National depot to re-board the OCEAN LIMITED.
Lunch and dinner in
the diner and overnight accommodations in “Easterly Class” sleepers
are included.
Day Twelve, Monday (B for all, L for Toronto
passengers) VIA Rail OCEAN LIMITED to Montreal; “Lakeshore” route to
Toronto. The OCEAN LIMITED arrives in
Montreal just after
this morning’s included breakfast, where the tour ends for Montreal
passengers. Toronto passengers change to a mid-day “Lakeshore” route
service for Toronto, enjoying VIA 1 First Class service with lunch,
including cocktails and wine. Their tour ends upon arrival at Toronto.
TOUR PRICES
include First
Class independent rail travel on VIA
Rail Canada from your choice of either Toronto or Montreal round-trip
to Halifax, hotels, sightseeing and meals noted as included above, all
coach and ferry fares, and escort service and luggage handling on Days Three to Ten.
During the independent VIA Rail portion of the trip, Red cap service
is available at the Toronto and Montreal stations, with free luggage
carts available in Halifax. Participants also can check bags on the
train. Not included are items of a personal nature such as souvenirs.
Prices include private sleeper space on VIA Rail with private toilets.
All hotel rooms have full private bathrooms.
ALL PRICES ARE IN US DOLLARS.
2007 and 2008 Departures
TORONTO DEPARTURES
Value Season
$2999.00 per person, double occupancy
$3649.00 single occupancy
Regular Season
$3099.00 per person, double occupancy
$3849.00 single occupancy
MONTREAL DEPARTURES
Value Season
$2799.00 per person, double occupancy
$3449.00 single occupancy
Regular Season
$2899.00 per person, double occupancy
$3649.00 single occupancy
Canadian Maritimes
Harmonized Sales Tax
6.1% HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) must be added to all prices.
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print) |
