Planning a trip to Charlottetown

Getting to Charlottetown

Coming by car from the mainland and across the Confederation Bridge, Route 1 (the Trans-Canada Hwy.) makes more or less a straight shot east into downtown Charlottetown. From the Woods Island ferry, you also take Route 1 (in fact, the route begins at the ferry dock), except you go west.

Charlottetown Airport is just north of the city center. In summer, you can get here easily from either the U.S. or Canada via several carriers. Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262) offers daily flights from Halifax, Toronto, and Montréal, and WestJet (tel. 888/937-8538) also connects Charlottetown with Toronto.

If you're coming from Montréal by VIA Rail train, debark at Moncton and take a 3-hour bus to Charlottetown. If you're coming from Halifax, there's a once-per-day bus that takes 5.5 hours and requires a change of buses in Amherst Nova Scotia. You can find info on both these options at Rome2Rio.com.

Visitor Information for Charlottetown

The city's main Visitor Information Centre (tel. 902/368-7795) is in a little historic building right beside the modern brick structure with a pavilion known as Founders' Hall. It's at the very end of Prince Street, at the entrance to Confederation Landing Park. (Brown question-mark signs also help direct you there.) This place is loaded with helpful staffers, an interactive computer kiosk, a cafe, free Internet, and an ample supply of brochures; there's also a vacancy board to let you know where rooms are currently available around town, and it's the jumping-off point for city-sponsored walking tours (for a charge). The center is open daily all year, 8am to 8pm June to August, with shorter hours in spring and fall.