Chose to drive Cabot Trail in one day, which for us (not campers, not really hikers either) was perfect. Leaving Sydney at 8am we drove the trail counter-clockwise. I had read that it’s a bit nerve-wracking for drivers to go this way, but I felt extremely comfortable the entire time, there was never a time I felt nervous at all. In fact, I would recommend counter-clockwise as you get to enjoy the scenery much earlier in the trip rather that driving through noting but trees for the first 2 hours if you go clockwise. We never felt rushed, traffic was light, and we took advantage of nearly every lookout point. Some of the views are just breathtaking. Considering it took us 9 hours from start to finish, which also included a restaurant stop in Cheticamp, it was a leisurely 9 hours. It wasn’t like we were stuck in the car all day, we got out and walked around a lot. Now, if you do plan to do any hiking at all, you will definitely need more than 1 day. 1 day is fine for a drive around, but there’s so much more you can see and do if you allow yourself more time. Definitely glad we did it! I think doing that same drive but later in October when the leaves have changed colour would be spectacular.

What an experience full of beautiful scenery, terrific hiking, and east coast hospitality. The trail takes about 4.5 hours to drive without stops however, plan to be there over a couple of days so that you can enjoy the area. Take a hike (skyline is beautiful and takes a couple of hours), fit in a beach visit, and ensure you stop at the museum,bar of look out vistas to take in the amazing views.

We drove the Cabot Trail counter clockwise from our motel outside of Baddeck. I was a liitle fearful before we set out, as I thought it would be a white knuckle drive like The Amalfi Coast in Italy. My fears did not materialize, as this was not the least bit “scary” as the road was wide, there were guard rails along the coast and there was very little traffic on this warm and sunny day. We never stopped until we reached Lakey’s Point, although there were look out points before our stop. We stopped to hike Franey Trail(excellent), White Point and Skyline Trail and were on the road for a total of 11 hours. The sweeping views of the rugged coastline, green rolling hills, Atlantic Ocean on the east and Gulf of St. Lawrence on the west are stunning- but sadly, there just aren’t a lot of these views. For this reason, I was a little underwhelmed as I had been led to believe that the entire Cabot Trail was breathtaking. I am glad I was finally able to experience driving the Cabot Trail and see the breathtaking sights that I did see and would certainly recommend this drive to others. However, for those who have driven a lot of mountain/coastal roads out west or in other countries, they may be underwhelmed.