Sydney
Puffin Tours -- Thirty minutes west of Sydney (just off the Trans-Canada Hwy. en route to St. Ann's or Baddeck) is the home port of Bird Island Boat Tours (tel. 800/661-6680 or 902/674-2384; www.birdisland.net). On a 2 1/2-hour narrated cruise you'll head out to the Bird Islands, home to a colony of around 300 nesting puffins. You'll get within about 18m (59 ft.) of the colorful birds (they nest in grassy burrows above rocky cliffs), and you may also see razorbills, guillemots, and the occasional bald eagle. Three tours are offered daily from mid-May through mid-September; the fare is about C$32 (US$29/£16) adults, C$15 (US$14/£7.50) children 6 to 12; free for children under 5. Reservations are suggested. The outfit also maintains rental cottages in the area.
An Underground Tour -- Northeast of Sydney is the town of Glace Bay, a former coal-mining center. The mines have slipped into a long economic twilight of late, but the province has made lemonade from lemons by inaugurating the surprisingly intriguing Cape Breton Miners' Museum, 42 Birkley St. (tel. 902/849-4522; www.minersmuseum.com). The museum provides some background on the geology of the area and offers insight into the region's sometimes-rough labor history.
The highlight of the trip is the 20-minute descent into the mine itself, with damp walls and cool temperatures (it's always around 50°F/10°C down there). Retired miners, who can tell you what it was like to work these mines better than anyone else could hope to do, lead the tours. One Frommer's reader reported her two teenage sons were all groans and eye rolls when she announced their destination -- but then the two came away in awe of the place afterward. Plan to spend at least an hour here.
Admission is C$5 (US$4.50/£2.50) adults, C$4 (US$3.60/£2) children for the museum, and then an additional C$5 (US$4.50/£2.50) adults or C$4 (US$3.60/£2) children if you want to take the mine tour; there is no combined ticket for both. The museum is open daily in summer from 10am to 6pm (Tues until 7pm), and open weekdays only in winter from 9am to 4pm.
