Visitor Information

Visitor Information

It's well worth a toll-free call or postcard in advance of your trip to stock up on the free literature and maps that provincial authorities liberally bestow upon those considering a vacation in their province. Here's how to reach the official tourism folks who dispense these goodies:

• Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage, P.O. Box 456, Halifax, NS B3J 2R5. tel. 800/565-0000 or 902/425-5781; explore@gov.ns.ca.

• New Brunswick Department of Tourism & Parks, P.O. Box 12345, Fredericton, NB E3N 3T6. tel. 800/561-0123; info@tourismnewbrunswick.ca.

• Tourism PEI, P.O. Box 2000, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7N8. tel. 800/463-4734 or 902/368-4444; peiplay@gov.pe.ca.

• Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture & Recreation, P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, NL AJ6 4K2. tel. 800/563-6353; tourisminfo@mail.gov.nl.ca.

Information Centers

All four provinces staff helpful visitor centers at key access points, including the main roadways running into the provinces and their major cities. Expect cordial staff and exceptionally well-stocked brochure racks overflowing with maps, menus, and booklets. Staff at these centers provide a surplus of information on local attractions, and they can also fill you in on what's happening anywhere else in the province so that you can plan a few days in advance. If the staffers don't have the information you need at their fingertips, they'll often make phone calls and track it down for you.

Centers are probably most numerous in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island; New Brunswick's information centers are equally helpful, though not as numerous. Newfoundland's visitor centers -- with the exception of the modern information centers near the two main ferry terminals -- are typically less polished than in the other provinces, yet authorities have been successful in making improvements. Look in the regional chapters of this guide for addresses and phone numbers of the main visitor centers in each area.

All four provinces publish free, magazine-size travel guides crammed with routine but often essential information on hotels, inns, campgrounds, and attractions. Nova Scotia's tome sets an international standard for high-quality information (and size), but the others are excellent and unfailingly helpful as well. If you haven't obtained a guide in advance by mail, be sure to request one at the first center you see when entering a province.

Internet Resources

Information on the Web is growing at an explosive rate, with some of the data more reliable than others. Here are a few places to start your search:

• Nova Scotia: The province's official website is a great whirlwind tour of accommodations and tourism sites; you can even download a bit of local music. It can be found at www.explorens.com or www.novascotia.com.

• Nova Scotia Provincial Parks: The province's website provides basic, up-to-date information about its many excellent parks at www.parks.gov.ns.ca.

• New Brunswick: The official tourism site offers a great place to start: www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca.

• Prince Edward Island: The official PEI online tourism information center can be found at both www.gentleisland.com and www.peiplay.com.

• Newfoundland & Labrador: The province's official website can be visited on the Internet at both www.gov.nl.ca/tourism and the unwieldy (but much easier to remember) alternative address www.newfoundlandlabrador.com.

• National Parks: For information about travels in the region's national parks, a good first stop is the Parks Canada official website at www.pc.gc.ca.

Maps

Excellent road maps are available from all the provincial tourism authorities (ask at the welcome centers). These maps are free except in Newfoundland, where the province has traditionally charged for them -- though you can usually also obtain a Newfoundland map for free simply by phoning the province's tourism office in advance of your trip and requesting that a packet of visitor information about the province be mailed to you.