Touring the Maritimes provinces..with no reservation?

[Laserman51]

My wife and I are planning a tour of the Maritime provinces this next August 2016. Would like to do it stressless, no reservations anywhere. Is this possible during the peak season? We plan to travel from 9 Am till 2 PM each day. Are we bound to have difficulties finding an RV site (a small class B, 25') at that time of the year?

[roddiemacdonald]

Being from the Maritimes, if you are coming in August, the only weekend you really have to worry about is the first weekend. That is the holiday. Other then that you can plan a few days in advance.

Once you get here, I guarantee you'll find spots in each province you'll want to stay longer and a few shorter. In Nova Scotia, there are 3 must see spots, Annapolis Valley, then Lunenburg, then Cape Breton. PEI it's Cavandish. NB it's Shediac and the Fundy coast area.

You'll love it,

See ya when you get here

[happycamper1942]

We spent a week or more in every maritime province and never made one reservation ahead of time. On only one occasion we pulled into a campground and it was full, but we got into another about 1 mile away. This is our usual way to travel,then we don't have to keep to a schedule.

[Canadian_Camper]

Crowe wrote:
I'm a planner-to the nth degree. I don't like surprises and I agree with accsys. I also don't mind planning my activities around where we are going to be. That said, you can always book in advance based on how liberal the campground cancellation policy is and then change if your plans change. My experience in the Maritimes is that peak season ends about mid-August, with the exception of Labor Day weekend. If you aren't picky and since you have a smaller unit, then go for it. It's whatever works for you-if having to be somewhere at a prescribed time stresses you out more than having to hunt for a place to stay, then don't book anything and just ride the wind wherever it takes you.

I'm usually a planner to the nth degree like you Crowe and we're heading to Gaspe and Newfoundland this summer. I've done all my reading and research, but since we've just retired, hubby wants to take our time and do the trip with no reservations and no set time frame for here or there. I have mixed feelings about this. We'll see how it works out!

[Little_Kopit]

Fuel prices can be checked. They are regulated in all of Atlantic Canada.

NB: http://www.nbeub.ca/
NS: https://nsuarb.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/gas/gasprice.pdf?1440902992968
PEI: http://www.irac.pe.ca/document.aspx?file=petrol/currentprices.asp

:C

[Chiefelectusn]

There are several reliable reports already posted that Canadian campground reservations both east and west
are at a record pace. Canada Parks reservations has been in high gear since the 1st of January an not much if any spots are left open in the Canadian Rockies during the peak months.

Fuel prices are low, C$ at record lows!
So, make reservations and relax or don't make them and be prepared to stay where you might not really like.
I've got our reservations made in Jasper and Banff in very early January.
I think that this will be a record year for travel far exceeding anything before. So be prepared!

[Little_Kopit]

I rarely make reservations. I have a truck camper and I know how to park when cgs have their emergency space taken up. & I travel with dogs.

New Brunswick and PEI are better for such boondocking than Nova Scotia, but it can be done there too. The more a place is set up for the big rigs the harder it is to get into.

BTW in '95 when I tested out the Cabot Trail, I found that private cgs outside of the park were more spacious than the park cgs. Those cgs had divided single sites into 2 sites. It just confirmed my opinion of that park that it ain't what it's talked up to be. Meat Cove and the cg near Fortress Louisbourg are better layed out. Whycogamagh is also. I had to have a reservation on Grand Manan Is. the year I went, but a friend camped on Grand Manan's west coast boondocking in a campervan the year they went.

Just go do. & tell us what kinds of things you like to do and we can pass on things we like.

:B

[Veebyes]

We are doing the Maritimes more or less reservation free this year but we will be early in the season. Most all of May. Only making reservations for the May 24th weekend. I hear that every Canadian who has a sleeping bag or better comes out that weekend.

Done it before but that was late in the season. September early October. No reservations then either.

For the region I'd be inclined to make reservations for Friday & Saturday, when the locals come out, but wing it Sunday through Thursday.

[Crowe]

I'm a planner-to the nth degree. I don't like surprises and I agree with accsys. I also don't mind planning my activities around where we are going to be. That said, you can always book in advance based on how liberal the campground cancellation policy is and then change if your plans change. My experience in the Maritimes is that peak season ends about mid-August, with the exception of Labor Day weekend. If you aren't picky and since you have a smaller unit, then go for it. It's whatever works for you-if having to be somewhere at a prescribed time stresses you out more than having to hunt for a place to stay, then don't book anything and just ride the wind wherever it takes you.

[lizzie]

There is a huge difference between the west coast of Florida and the Canadian Maritimes. One is a highly overused family vacation destination for the entire eastern USA, the other is a relatively laid back touring area for folks looking for a quieter more laid-back environment. We spent the summer of 2014 circling the Gaspe', exploring New Brunswick, and chilling out in Nova Scotia. We did not make any reservation more than one day ahead of time. When we had a Class B, we were even less likely to need reservations. We were back in NC by mid-August but we didn't see the CG's filling up as we left. That said, we are not picky about CG's: clean and safe is good enough for us. lizzie

[1492]

Moved from Forum Technical Support

[Laserman51]

Yeah...that seems to confirm my fears.As a relatively new RV'er, we experienced a similar situation when we travelled the West Coast of Florida early this year.We ended up in less than acceptable RV sites.

[accsys]

To us the stress is taken out when we know ee have a place to stop that night because we reserved it ahead of time. When we went to Atlantic Canada in 2010, there were a couple of times we were not able to get our first choice of campgrounds. Good parks are not that plentiful and you should be prepared to accept lesser ones if you don't make reservations.