Travel to Halifax by Car

There are a number of choices here. One can either stay on land, driving through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, or one can take advantage of ferries connecting Nova Scotia to New England.

Once you are in Nova Scotia, most major highways lead into the city.

From New Brunswick

Take the 104 (a toll highway) to Truro, then take the 102 to Halifax. Once nearing Halifax, you have two choices.
  1. Just past the airport, take the 118 to Dartmouth, then the bridge to Halifax. The bridge toll is $0.75 cdn, and some lanes provide change. Just across the bridge you will see an exit for Barrington St. Take Barrington South into downtown. If you stay on Barrington St., at its end it curves to the right and becomes Inglis. Stay on Inglis through two stop signs (but before the first traffic lights), and Saint Mary's will be on your left.
  2. Stay on the 102 until it ends, turning into Bayers Rd. Take Bayers Rd. up just past the Halifax Shopping Centre, staying in the RH lane and turn onto Connaught Ave. Turn right on Connaught Ave., and continue on until you reach Quinpool Rd. (the third traffic light). Turn left on Quinpool and drive up to Robie St. (the Holiday Inn will be on the right of this intersection). Turn right on Robie St., and drive south. Saint Mary's will be at the end of Robie St., on your left.

By Ferry

For either ferry service, reservations are required.

During the summer, Bay Ferries operates a fast ferry run from Bar Harbour, Maine, to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The trip takes approximately 2hrs 45min. The website for 'The Cat' is here. From Yarmouth, you can get to Halifax either along route 3/103 (along the Atlantic shore), or route 1/101 (along the Bay of Fundy shore). The driving time is approximately 3 hours in either case.

Another ferry service runs from Portland, Maine, to Yarmouth. The Prince of Fundy Cruises website can be found here. This is an (approximately) 11 hour ferry trip.