Taste of the Maritimes — Self-Launched

Land at Halifax Stanfield (YHZ) and take the Halifax Transit Route 320 airport express bus into downtown (~CAD $4.25 / £2.50, ~45 min) rather than a CAD $70 taxi. Check into a downtown hostel or budget hotel near Barrington/Spring Garden Road. Spend the late afternoon walking the 3km Halifax Waterfront boardwalk, the Citadel National Historic Site hill and the Maritimes Museum area. Instead of the tour's coach meet-and-greet, join a free/small-group Halifax walking tour (tip-based, ~£8 in tips) or a hostel common-room meet-up — Halifax hostels and the local couchsurfing/meetup scene are friendly to solo travellers.

🚌Halifax Transit Route 320 airport express bus ~£2.50

🛏Downtown Halifax hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (~£45/night)

• →Halifax Waterfront boardwalk self-walk
• →Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
• →Tip-based walking tour of downtown Halifax

Pre-book a seat on the public Peggy's Cove Express / Maritime Bus coastal shuttle from Halifax (approx. CAD $30–40 one way, ~£18–24) — or join a GetYourGuide/Viator small-group Peggy's Cove + Lunenburg day trip (~£60–75) if you want it all in one vehicle. Arrive at Peggy's Cove mid-morning, walk the granite barrens to the lighthouse and grab breakfast/coffee at the Sou'Wester restaurant overlooking the light (the tour's included Peggy's Cove breakfast, self-bought, ~£12). Continue to Lunenburg (Maritime Bus or the same excursion shuttle), check into a guesthouse, and do the old town on foot — the UNESCO-listed waterfront grid is free to wander, and a 1-hour local heritage walking tour runs seasonally (~£10). In the afternoon visit the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic (~CAD $14 / £8). Evening: fish cakes and local beer at a harbour pub.

🚌Shuttle Halifax→Peggy's Cove→Lunenburg ~£30

🛏Lunenburg guesthouse/B&B private room (~£60/night, shared dorm ~£35)

• →Peggy's Cove Lighthouse
• →Lunenburg UNESCO old town walking tour
• →Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic

This is the long travel day — do it independently rather than on a coach. Take Maritime Bus from Lunenburg/Halifax to Amherst or Truro, then connect to Moncton (Maritime Bus network, ~CAD $60–75 total / £35–45, 6–7 hrs). Break the journey at Truro to detour to the Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Centre (~£8 entry), a Mi'kmaq cultural centre — reachable by local taxi from Truro (~£15) or as a scheduled stop. From Moncton, take the Maritime Bus or Trius/Maritime shuttle across the Confederation Bridge to Charlottetown (~CAD $35 / £20) — sit on the right for the bridge views. Settle into a Charlottetown hostel or budget inn near Queen Street. In the evening, check the Confederation Centre of the Arts box office for a same-day discounted theatre or ceilidh ticket (~£25–35) in place of the tour's included show.

🚌Maritime Bus Lunenburg→Moncton→Charlottetown ~£60

🛏Charlottetown hostel dorm or budget inn (~£45/night)

• →Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Centre
• →Confederation Bridge crossing
• →Confederation Centre of the Arts evening performance

Morning free in Charlottetown — join the free/self-led Confederation Players or a tip-based walking tour of Province House and Victoria Row (~£8), or just cycle the waterfront. In the afternoon, either take the public Charlottetown→Cavendish shuttle (seasonal, ~CAD $20 / £12) or rent a bike/car-share for the North Shore. Walk the red-sand dunes of Prince Edward Island National Park (day pass ~CAD $9 / £5) and visit Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place at Green Gables (~CAD $9 / £5 entry). Back in town, book a table at a traditional hall-style lobster supper — New Glasgow Lobster Supplements or the Fisherman's Wharf in North Rustico (~£35–45 for the full mussels-chowder-lobster-pie spread), the DIY version of the tour's included dinner.

🚌Cavendish/North Shore shuttle or shared taxi ~£15

🛏Charlottetown hostel dorm or budget inn (~£45/night)

• →Prince Edward Island National Park
• →Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place
• →Traditional hall-style lobster supper

Take a local taxi or the seasonal shuttle from Charlottetown to Caribou, Nova Scotia ferry terminal (~£20 shared), then sail the Northumberland Ferries crossing to Caribou/Wood Islands (~CAD $10 foot passenger / £6, 75 min) — one of the highlights the coach group sometimes misses. From Caribou, take the local bus/taxi to Truro (~£15) and connect by Maritime Bus back to Halifax (~CAD $30 / £17). Check into your Halifax bed for the night and spend the evening in the North End craft-beer bars or on the waterfront. If you'd rather skip the ferry, Maritime Bus runs Charlottetown→Halifax direct in ~4 hrs (~£30).

🚌Taxi + Northumberland Ferries + Maritime Bus ~£60

🛏Downtown Halifax hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (~£45/night)

• →Northumberland Strait ferry crossing
• →Halifax North End craft-beer evening

Breakfast at a Spring Garden Road café, then choose your own final add-on instead of the operator's paid extensions: a self-booked Bay of Fundy day trip from Halifax (GetYourGuide, ~£70–90 including Hopewell Rocks-style tides) or a Cape Breton Island excursion if you have extra days. Otherwise keep it simple — Halifax Public Gardens, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (~£8) and a last look at the harbour before taking the Route 320 express bus back to YHZ (~£2.50).

🚌Route 320 airport express bus ~£2.50

🛏—

• →Halifax Public Gardens
• →Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
• →Optional self-booked Bay of Fundy day trip