Cabot Trail High Flyer: Cape Smokey Gondola Adventure

Experience the Cabot Trail High Flyer: gondola rides, scenic hikes, and breathtaking views. Discover Cape Breton’s beauty with photo stops, a city tour, and more.

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cape Smokey Provincial Park - At Destination Cape Smokey, you’ll experience a ride on the only gondola system in Atlantic Canada, taking you to the summit of Cape Smokey. Here, you’ll be treated to stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, Cabot Trail, and the Ingonish area. A short hike leads to another lookout point, and a complimentary light lunch is also included.
  • Cabot Trail - On your way to and from Destination Cape Smokey, you’ll travel along the Eastern Coast of the Cabot Trail, enjoying breathtaking views with commentary from your guide driver. There will be numerous photo stops along the route.
  • Cape Breton Highlands National Park - Enjoy a brief excursion into Cape Breton Highlands National Park, visiting sites like the Keltic Lodge, Ingonish Beach, and Freshwater Lake. You’ll see these attractions up close and have a quick opportunity to explore.
What's Included
  • Lunch
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

On the Cabot Trail High Flyer tour you will depart from Sydney and after a couple of photo stops and ride on a cable pulled ferry you will be on the World Famous Cabot Trail. You will enjoy many more photo stops and a comfort stop before arriving at Destination Cape Smokey. Upon arrival you will enjoy a ride up the only Gondola system in Atlantic Canada to the top of Cape Smokey for some amazing views. At the top you can enjoy a hike and will receive your complimentary lunch. After this its on to Cape Breton Highlands National Park to view the Keltic Lodge, Ingonish Beach and Freshwater Lake. Before returning back down the Trail with a few more photo stops along the way and learning about the fishing. On return to Sydney enjoy a mini city tour before returning to your drop off location.

Location
Port of Sydney
Esplanade
Int he private tour parking lot right beside the cruise ship.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.0
(6 Ratings)
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Naomi_w
Sep 1, 2024
Wonderful day - Amazing views! We enjoyed the variety this all day excursion included. From the mountain top, beaches, ocean and lakes, ferry, the rocky cliffs to the flat land - it was all beautiful and gave a full picture to the beautiful area.
Review provided by Viator
Sharon_v
Aug 12, 2024
our driver was excellent... - our driver was excellent in pointing out all the secret places!! would definitely take this tour again
Review provided by Viator
Tara_s
Aug 8, 2024
Best Way to See The Sights - We compared this excursion to others and this offered the opportunity to experience locations off the beaten path and on foot. Between walking on the beach and numerous stops (too small for large busses) we had a great time.
Review provided by Viator
H8429lzgeorgep
Jul 24, 2024
FANTASTIC - Rahul was an incredible tour guide. We would give him 10 stars. We took the tour from our cruise ship. He met us on time and the car was very clean. He was very friendly and informative. He took us a little of the path to make sure we saw his town as well as seeing what was on the planned tour. The lunch was great and the tram ride to the top of the mountain was spectacular. He took great care to get us back to our ship on time. We would do it again if he was our guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dennis_m
Jun 20, 2024
Spectacular View - Excellent view of the island and wonderful guide to take us out. Our lunch was delicious and overall experience was great.
Review provided by Viator
Meredith_w
Aug 21, 2024
Not what was advertised and a very awkward experience - There was so much confusion with this tour, I do not feel that I received what was advertised or what I paid for, however I did enjoy parts of the day so I'll summarize my experience so others can make an informed decision. I was traveling solo on a cruise and luckily was with only one other couple on this tour which was great and we were picked up promptly from the cruise port. However, the driver (a taxi driver, not a tour guide, who was driving his own van) was not local from the area and was clearly not overly familiar with the intended stops on the tour. It seemed as though the tour I booked and the tour that the other couple in the vehicle had booked were very different. What I booked claimed to have an included lunch at the top of the mountain after the gondola ride, however we ended up stopping at a diner at 10:30 in the morning so I could have "lunch" and there was so much confusion because the other couple did not have lunch included so they just stood around waiting for me to eat (so awkward and I felt bad) and then the driver had to call the owner several times to find out who was supposed to pay at the diner for my food (again, so incredibly awkward). Eventually I did make it to the gondola which was great, but since the other couple did not have the gondola ride included in their tour I did this part by myself which was completely fine (after a lot of back & forth about my gondola ticket), I really enjoyed the ride to the top of the mountain and the amazing views as I was fortunate to have wonderful clear weather on the day I went (early July) and then I was picked back up later. Although additional stops and a visit to the national park was advertised we did not do this and just drove right back to the cruise ship. If the owner clears up all the confusion and ensures that what is promised and advertised as part of this tour is provided then I would recommend; otherwise, it is not at all worth the high cost. The scenery and the drive was beautiful, as was the gondola ride and the top of the mountain, but the tour guide and awkwardness left a lot to be desired.
Review provided by Viator
Kellyrhody
Jul 9, 2024
You can't make this stuff up... - Yesterday (Monday, July 9, 2024) my friend and I were to have a tour with this company. We booked three months in advance and communicated with Simon about the package we purchased and he created a wonderful tour for us. Several emails back and forth confirming the reservation. This was scheduled independently of the cruise we were on. On the date of the tour, we arrived to the pick up location where other tour cars for this company were located. Tarijun was there and said we were early and to be back in that same spot for 9:30. At 915 we arrived to the location we were told to be at. It took a few calls to reach anyone when no one came to get us. Our car finally arrived at 10am. Tarijun pretended that he was waiting elsewhere-- but we stood firm that he was the one who told us where to wait-- he asmitted he qas busy. Our driver was NOT with this company. Tarijun and the driver asked us where were going. We told them we were on their tour-- not understanding yet that the driver was not a tour guide from the company but a young taxi driver new to the country and never went to the places he was giving us a tour of. The driver also did not know that we already paid $259.26 for the two of us and asked us where we were going for the tour. A short time after the drive started, we stopped at a bridge for pictures and the driver said this was where the ferry was. This was not where the ferry was, as a kind man told us. Back in the car. We drove for a bit. Got to the ferry- it was closed (no one's fault). There was supposed to be a light picnic lunch included. This ended up being a stop at a restaurant where this driver paid for our lunch with his own cash. But the time for a restaurant lunch took up precious time and we decided to end the tour rather than go to our destination which the driver said was so far-- we would miss our return to the cruise ship. We spoke with Simon... he agreed to refund us when he was back at his office. We tried many times today to confirm he processed the refund but no response. We were told we would have a car with the company name-- but this was a local taxi driver who could not give any tour information of the area we were excited to visit. We were to go on a high flyer gondola ride, etc and got nothing. Tarijun lied to us about waiting for us. The driver told us he was not waiting for us and only got asked to do the ride at 930 which is why he didn't get there until 10. He told us he was not a tour guide, but got asked to help out. He was shocked and felt bad that we booked three months in advance. Simon said there was confusion from the cruise ship. But we arrived and departed at the scheduled times. Other passengers had their tours at earlier times than us without issue-- and received actual tours. The company overbooked putting profit over people. I will update once we get our refund.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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