Getting here is as easy as 1, 2, 3. One major highway. Two direct flights. Three Atlantic ferry journeys. We may be an Island, but we’re definitely not remote—you’ll find plenty of ways to arrive and get around Cape Breton Island by air, sea, and land.
Regular direct flight service is returning to the JA Douglas McCurdy Airport in Sydney this summer from Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax, with connections to the rest of Canada and beyond. Or travelers may opt to fly into the Halifax Stanfield International Airport where they can hop on a short connecting flight to Sydney.
Here are the details of flights into Sydney:
Your journey to Cape Breton Island will be smooth sailing. Bay Ferries offers an inter-provincial ferry service starting June 23, offering daily service from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia. Northumberland Ferries will offer daily seasonal service from Wood Islands, PEI to Caribou, Nova Scotia. NOTE: Bay Ferries will not be offering ferry service from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia for the 2021 season. From each of these ferries, Cape Breton Island is then easily reached by car, tour bus, motorcycle.
Marine Atlantic offers daily ferry service from Port-aux-Basques and Argentia, Newfoundland to North Sydney.
Cape Breton Island also offers miles of coastline. The Port of Sydney is a popular destination for many prominent cruise lines and visitors with sailboats or superyachts will find and plenty of ports of sail and marinas to dock, moor, and explore.
Driving? The North American highway system connects all major routes to Nova Scotia via the Trans-Canada Highway, which leads eastward over the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton Island.
Should you need a lift, there are also bus services and charters into the Island from various locations. This service will be accessible to all Atlantic Canadians by June 30, as Nova Scotia expects to be in its third phase of re-opening.
Although it’s easy to get around the Island, make sure to give yourself plenty of time. Time to take in all the scenic vistas. Time to get from the heart of Acadie to Sydney. Time to take in a ceilidh, watch a drum circle, and find an isolated piece of paradise tucked amongst the craggy cliffs.
There are direct flights to Sydney from Toronto and Montreal and from other North American and European cities via Halifax. If traveling by ground, the Trans-Canada Highway 104 leads to Cape Breton Island.
Getting Here and Around