Wolfville & Annapolis Royal Itinerary: 4 Days in the Annapolis Valley

This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through our links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Two Passports One Planet. Read our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer for more information.

If you are ready to organise a trip to Nova Scotia, and would love to indulge in wine tasting, explore small towns, and discover unique historic sights, don’t overlook the Annapolis Valley Region.

This 80-mile valley (126km) is a patchwork of local life, and we felt it offered many of the best parts of Nova Scotia wrapped into one. Edged by the massive Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world, you’ll find the authentic towns of Wolfville, Annapolis Royal and tiny Bear River.

Here’s our 4-day itinerary which we included as part of our longer route exploring Nova Scotia and Cape Breton!

Itinerary Overview

We travelled to Nova Scotia by ferry, and explored the South Shore before Halifax, Cape Breton (Cabot Trail) and back to Annapolis via Wolfville. Our final stop was Digby where we returned to St John, New Brunswick, Canada.

If you’re flying into the capital Halifax and head north west, it’s just a couple of hours drive, so it's very easy to plan, although places to stay fill up quickly.

• Day 1: Arrive in Wolfville - wineries + tidal walk
• Day 2: Wolfville Wineries Lunch & Explore Town
• Day 3: Wolfville to Annapolis Royal - History & Town
• Day 4: Bear River Village & Wineries

Deciding how to plan your time between Wolfville, Annapolis Royal & Bear River.

Here’s a quick summary of distances and driving times between destinations. We actually came here from Cape Breton so it was a longer drive but this gives you a general idea.

We felt Wolfville needed 2 days to enjoy the wineries and countryside at a sensible pace: who wants to dash around 6 wineries+ in a day??

Similarly, Annapolis Royal is less travelled to destination compared to say Lunenburg, but it’s steeped in history, very pretty to wander around, with plenty to fill a couple of days.

Our first impressions on arriving in Wolfville was of a laid-back town, with a perfect mix of local life and activities for visitors.

You can park right on main street (there is a charge in places) or book accommodation with on-site parking. We stayed at the Wolfville Hotel, which advertised secure parking.

We discovered though that their on-site parking was minimal, so don’t assume you can park at the hotel entrance area. However, it was only 5 minutes or so of a walk from where we parked and left the car overnight to our hotel.

Once we had got our bearings, and checked-in (leaving our bags at reception), we kicked off our winery visits that afternoon.

Our planned stops were, in all honesty, based on wines we had tasted on our trip to date and loved the most.

• Lightfoot & Wolfville - with spacious outdoor seating area and uninterrupted views over rows of vines to the water, this is a perfect afternoon spot. Popular restaurant - book in advance for lunch as it was packed when we arrived around 1.30pm.

• Mercator Vineyards - smaller barn style tasting room, with quiet upstairs seating area. Enjoyable but a little less atmospheric than Lightfoot.

• Benjamin Bridge - with memories of our Lunenburg lunch still lingering, we enjoyed sampling more of these wines right in the middle of the vines. They encourage a short walk down to the river while sampling!

Tidal Water Viewing

Wolfville is also perfectly positioned to watch the Bay of Fundy tidal flows. Just next to our hotel there was a floating platform where you could climb down to sea level and see the water levels shifting in real time.

There are other viewing points, some of which are a little further north like the Fundy Discovery Site, nearer to Truro. We wanted to visit here, but the timings didn’t work - next time!

However, even without visiting specific sites, it was obvious standing on the floating dock in downtown Wolfville that these massive tides have shaped and continue to mold the landscape!

Watching an eagle perched on the banks patiently waiting for fish to flow in was a very peaceful feeling! In fact, we spotted eagles in many spots around here including at the Gaspereau Vineyard.

Do bring bug spray as we found ourselves surrounded by evening visitors at sunset. When there is a little breeze, they tend to dissipate but for an hour or so, it was a bit annoying.

Dinner Spots - Wolfville

Within Wolfville, there are a few pub style restaurants. After our wine tastings for convenience, we walked over the road and ate at The Church Brewery.

It is actually a converted church with stained glass windows and now a popular eatery in town. The menu is standard modern cuisine with a good choice of salads too.

With a sunny start to the day, we were lured back to the waterfront with our morning coffees from T.A.N Coffee on Main Street. (Most facilities are on this street fyi!)

There is an interesting memorial on the shore front in Wolfville that tells the devastating results of a huge storm called the Saxby Gale. Bring your binoculars if you want to try to spot seabirds from the shore.

Around noon, we set off for our second round of wine-tasting.

We slowed down our pace a little from Day 1, deciding to have lunch at Grand Pre winery.

• Luckett Vineyards - who expects a red British phone box in the middle of a vineyard? Well, that’s part of the scenery here. Impressive outdoor tasting area, shop, and again you’re free to wander through the grape growing areas.

• Gaspereau Winery - friendly staff and very laid back outdoor tasting area, next to rows of vines. Highlight (apart from the wine) were the soaring eagles.

• Grand Pre - the outdoor dining area is tree lined, so shaded from the sun. We had delicious seafood and salads. It’s extremely popular so either book ahead or come at lunch opening time. Do a tasting, or just enjoy a glass with your meal.

The wineries here vary by size, facilities and wines, although most produce a wine called ‘Tidal Bay’. During our second day we started to wonder why?

We learned that back in 2011 grape growers decided to create a regional blend. The concept is similar, we understand, to say Chardonnay (originally from a specific region of France). Each wine is a little different but from the same grape varietals.

If you have room for dinner on Day 2, the Blomidon Inn is highly rated, for their dining and accommodation.

We voted to skip dinner and have a favourite treat from Ice Cream on Elm. A day of indulgence and it was great fun!

The drive down to Annapolis Royal from Wolfville is around 67 miles, and is straightforward. Allow for 1.5 hours.

This town was fought over by the French, British and Scots, so has a unique culture to explore. Today there are also local markets, many restaurants and walks through town to enjoy.

Our terrific bed and breakfast called Grand Oak Manor was just across the causeway at Granville Ferry - it took us 5 minutes to drive into Annapolis Royal, the first capital of Nova Scotia.

We loved staying here; it was quiet, and the grounds of Grand Oak Manor were perfect for kicking back in the afternoon, reading for an hour with a pre-dinner refreshment.

This is also a historic building and the story of the horse hoof in the breakfast room wooden floor is only one fascinating tale of past happenings.

Here’s what we enjoyed the most during our 2 days and what we recommend making time for:

Annapolis Royal Farmers Market

Don’t miss this community gathering if you’re here over a weekend. Saturday is market day and we spent a couple of hours immersed in the never-ending stalls of local goods, from bread, local coffee, honey to plants, candles and much more.

Self-Guided Walking Tour

Pick up a map (see the photo below) and transport yourself back in time as you walk through centuries of historic buildings from private homes, to town halls, banks and even a lighthouse.

A major draw is the Fort Anne Historic Site, which is part of this walk, and right off the shoreline. We spent around an hour walking around the external fort mounds, and then enjoyed around 30 minutes inside, where you can learn more about the people who lived here, guarded it right up to the current day.

During this walk we passed by the entrance to Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens which we didn’t visit, but they looked fabulous for anyone with green fingers, and an interest in horticulture.

Port-Royal Habitation

Don’t confuse this with the Fort Anne in town, although do stop and walk around this also.

Part of the Canada Parks system, this is a full reconstruction of a typical settlement from the 17th century. You can tour through multiple rooms from the Bake Shop, to the Cannon Platform, and Chapel.

When we visited, craftspeople were demonstrating skills from leather book binding to boat construction. The site takes around an hour to tour, and we’d highly recommend it.

You can either take an afternoon and visit from Granville Ferry/Annapolis Royal, or stop enroute to the ferry at Digby depending on your schedule and preferences.

This tiny town is famous for its stilt structured buildings, designed to withstand the giant tidal daily flows. It was low tide when we visited but it was interesting to see them, and explore the coffee shop and art galleries that are housed within them.

We visited Bear River vineyards after our stroll around Main Street - it’s about a 5-minute drive.

On arrival we got a short explanation of their process, met Sue - the chief wine-maker - and enjoyed a glass with our final sweeping views over rows of vines to the distant hills.

By now, we had as much wine as we could possibly fit into our luggage!

We found some fun dining options in the Annapolis areas, especially:

• The Crow’s Nest - eclectic decor, friendly & lots of seafood; (a little drive from town but worth it)
• Bistro East - on Main Street, good service and quality seafood.
• Mad Hatter Wine Bar - we came here during the day to their inside store and the atmosphere was quirky & fun. The outdoor patio faces the waterfront.

Digby & Return Ferry to St John, Canada

If you plan to continue on to Digby and catch the ferry, our Nova Scotia Itinerary has more information on the ferry logistics.

FAQs

You Might Also Enjoy

Nova Scotia Road Trip: A Relaxed 10-11 Day Itinerary

The full self-drive route this valley trip fits into

More North America Destinations

Explore all our North America travel guides