Getting Here & Around

Getting Here

By Air

Cape Breton has a full-service airport—the JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport—with direct flights from Toronto and numerous connections via the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. In addition, Celtic Air Services, a full service FBO at the Port Hawkesbury Airport, provides another fly-in option when visiting Cape Breton by air. Bonus: Nova Scotia is located two hours closer to Europe than any other North American destination, and Halifax is closer to Boston and New York than any other Canadian city.

By Sea

Bay Ferries offers high-speed ferry service from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on board THE CAT.  Bay Ferries also offers a ferry from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia and Northumberland Ferries operates a ferry from Wood Islands, PEI to Caribou, Nova Scotia. From each of these ferries, Cape Breton Island is then reached by car.

Ferries sail from Port-aux-Basques and Argentia, Newfoundland into North Sydney via Marine Atlantic.

Visitors with sailboats or super yachts will find miles of coastline, and access to the magnificent Bras d’Or Lake. For more information on boating in Cape Breton, click here.

By Land

Driving? The North American highway system connects to the Trans-Canada Highway, which leads into Nova Scotia and eastward over the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton Island.

There are also bus services and charters into Cape Breton from various locations.

Getting Around

If you fly into Sydney, car rentals are plentiful. You can also hire a taxi, or take a shuttle or bus tour. Driving in from mainland Nova Scotia, the Trans-Canada 105 will get you from the Canso Causeway to Sydney in approximately two hours. Other routes loop around various sections of the Island and it’s easy to get from one region to another. Secondary roads crisscross to and fro and are full of back road surprises.

Although it’s easy to get around the Island, give yourself plenty of time. Otherwise it’s like trying to gulp a giant feast in mere seconds. Cape Breton is a smorgasbord for the senses. Don’t short-change yourself. Slow down. Breathe deeply. Give yourself time to experience the wonder and magic of it all.