Travelling to the Festival

The Cabot Trail Writers Festival is presented at North River on the Cabot Trail, on Cape Breton Island. The Island is a part of the province of Nova Scotia, on the Atlantic coast of Canada.

You can get general information about getting to Cape Breton here. As our festival nears, we will add more details about venues, accommodation, and dining.

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There are three ways to get yourself to Cape Breton:

• by air
• by car
• by bus

Arriving by Air

The most direct air route to Cape Breton is into Sydney, a city located less than an hour and a half from North River, by car. The JA Douglas McCurdy Airport (recently renamed for the Canadian aviation pioneer who first flew the Silver Dart) is open year round. It is a full-service international airport with customs, immigration, and car rental facilities.

If you prefer to take in even more scenery on your way, you can also fly into the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, located on mainland Nova Scotia about 4 hours by car from North River, or the Greater Moncton International Airport in New Brunswick, about 4.5 hours out. Both airports are full-service international terminals with car rental facilities.

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Arriving by Car

There are three routes of entry to Cape Breton for drivers:

• from Newfoundland via Ferry at North Sydney, Cape Breton
• from New Brunswick (connecting with the rest of Canada, including Prince Edward Island via the Confederation Bridge, and the US at several border crossings) through mainland Nova Scotia
• from Prince Edward Island via Ferry at Caribou, through mainland Nova Scotia

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Arriving by Bus

There is no direct bus service to our venue. However, if you are able to arrange a local ride, these companies will get you to within a half hour or so, by car (20 to 50 kilometres).

• Acadian Lines operates daily service from mainland Nova Scotia (and connecting there from many other Canadian and US cities) into Baddeck and Sydney/Sydney River. Baddeck is the closer of these terminal cities, but service is often more frequent into the Sydney area.
• There are also quite a few shuttle services operating between Halifax and Sydney/Baddeck that will take you to a small drop-off area at Exit 12 (Englishtown), or to the Lobster Galley restaurant at Exit 11. Each of these is a handy place to meet a ride, offering a safe place for your friend to pull well off the highway. Note that shuttles must be reserved in advance of travel!

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