Heart Of The Island Tour: Explore Bras D'Or Lake

Discover Nova Scotia’s history and wildlife on a private tour around Bras D’Or Lake. Visit Highland Village, Alexander Graham Bell Museum, and enjoy scenic photo stops.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Highland Village - At the Highland village as you go round the living history museum you will learn how the Scottish lived on the island from the late 1700s until the 1930s.
  • Baddeck - In Baddeck you will have time to explore the village which is nestled on the shores of the Bras D’Or Lake, have a light lunch, enjoy the shops or just enjoy the views. You also have the opportunity to visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum which is an excellent museum which concentrates on the Silver Dart plane, the first plane to do a controlled flight in Canada and the worlds first hydrofoil, all created by Alexander Graham Bell right in Baddeck.
  • Cape Breton Island - On the journey to the Highland Village you will travel through the Greater Sydney area and through the Cape Breton Region. There will be a couple of photo stops and your guide will explain the history of the Greater Sydney area, the present and the future plans. They will also give you information regarding the local wildlife that you may well spot. On the return journey from the Gaelic College you have a couple more photo stops and then enjoy a mini city tour OF Sydney before returning to the drop off location.
  • Gaelic College - On the journey from Baddeck to Sydney you will stop by the Gaelic College. Where you will be able to learn about the Cultural heritage of Gaelic way of life on the island and how that is being kept alive today by this active Gaelic College, maybe spot your tartan or pick up a unique souvenir
What's Included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

During the Heart Of The Island tour you will learn all about the history of the island, have a chance to hopefully spot wildlife like one of the many bald eagles which live around the lake. The lake is Bras D’Or Lake or the inland sea. As you travel on this circular tour you will mainly follow the shores of this expansive lake. With stops at the Highland Village and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum you will learn the importance and significance of the Scottish living on the island. There are numerous photo sops and Baddeck offers a great lunch stop as well as chance of picking up a unique souvenir from your caperadventure.

Location
Port of Sydney
Esplanade
In the 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
4.3
(18 Ratings)
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Mary_m
Sep 19, 2024
Very worthwhile tour - We had a wonderful day with Emmie, our guide. The 4 of us shared a very comfortable mini-van to tour the area. Our first stop was the Highland Village which was very informative. The staff work in character of the time period they represent. We also went to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum that was also interesting. We stopped for a nice lunch before heading back. We had a few photo ops along the way and the views did not disappoint.
Review provided by Viator
Traveler11739777689
Sep 17, 2024
Amazing tour and Guide in Sydney - Well absolutely loved this private tour that we took in Sydney. Nav was our tour guide for the day. From the first moment we met Nav, he was very polite, friendly and very very knowledgeable. If you like to enjoy your day touring at a very relaxed atmosphere and Tailored to your interests, I would highly recommend to take this tour. Thank you Nav for a very memorable day in Sydney.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
71sabinec
Sep 17, 2024
Very interesting tour - We really liked the tour. Despite the vain wait for fellow passengers, which led to a delayed departure, we saw everything. Our guide Kumar is absolutely competent and very friendly, he speaks very good and understandable English. His driving style is exemplary. On the way there were some photo stops with interesting background information. He also responded to our individual wishes. We can recommend the tour with Kumar in every way.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Louanne_a
Sep 13, 2024
Our first stop was the... - Our first stop was the Highland Village, which depicted life in Gaelic Scotland in the early 1770s to 1920s. The highlight for me was getting to see the the Highland Coos. Characters interacted with the visitors and told their life stories. Our SUV crossed the Little narrows on a chain driven ferry to get the next stop which was Alexander Graham Bell's Museum in Baddeck. Our final destination was the The Lobster Galley Restaurant, where you pick a lobster from ocean fed tank for lunch. Sahilpreet Chatha was our tour guide and he did not disappoint...
Review provided by Viator
Robert_p
Sep 12, 2024
A great tour of Cape Breton island. - It was a lovely drive around Cape Breton, my wife and I with a couple of other people, and the driver Arrie. Arrie was courteous, safe, professional and knew the area well. The Highland Village was very interesting and had breathtaking views of the lake. The Alexander Graham Bell museum was fascinating... I never knew the extent of his inventive mind. And we had a lovely lunch on the waterfront in Baddeck. Arrie got us back to the ship in plenty of time. Would definitely do this again.
Review provided by Viator
Starr_w
Sep 12, 2024
Great tour - We loved this tour!!! The village was awesome and our tour guide Hinay was outstanding. He told us so much about the history of Cape Breton and made our day really special! I highly recommend it .
Review provided by Viator
2happytravels2013
Sep 9, 2024
Cape Breton Island Tour - This was a great tour! Our guide, Happy, was friendly, knowledgable and considerate. He made the tour relaxing, and he accommodated our wishes. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary
Sep 8, 2024
Our first time in Sydney - Our guide Satinden was friendly, knowledgeable,helpful and kind. He made the trip fun and interesting. He brought us to a great lunch spot with delicious food and a great view. One of the people in our party had limited walking and he made the trip enjoyable for all of us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I4584hndeborahh
Sep 17, 2024
Nice Tour - Our tour driver was very friendly. However he was not a typical tour guide with a lot of info about the area. He did know a few things and was very helpful and accommodating. The vehicle was older and slightly dirty. But did the job fine. The sites we visited were very enjoyable. We really like the Highland Village..but Unfortunately there is not enough time to really see things.. the stop in Baddeck for lunch was ok.. but unfortunately did not leave much time to mosey down the main street and go in any of the shops. Alexander Graham Bell museum was extremely enjoyable. But that also was rushed. There were a few scenic pull-offs that we stopped for photos. Overall we did enjoy the tour..just not enough time to completely explore different sites that we went to. It may have been better to only go to one or two areas and not try to see so many things in a short amount of time. It was not exactly what I had expected based on the detailed tour description. And also it was more of a cab ride than a tour bus ride.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aaron_c
Sep 20, 2024
*Not* a private tour. It's a small group tour. - I hope if you want or need to book a private tour in Sydney, you read this first. For this trip to Canada, I booked 4 tours through Viator. I specifically selected private tours, not group tours, so that if accommodations needed to be made for my mother's limitations, those accommodations could be easily made without inconveniencing any other guests. For the visit to Sydney, I selected “Private Heart of the Island Tour in Nova Scotia” precisely because it was advertised – in the very name of the tour itself – to be a private tour, not a group tour. Moreover, nothing in the tour description indicates that the tour was, in fact, not a private tour, but a small group tour. However, when we arrived in Sydney port, I discovered that the ““Private Heart of the Island Tour in Nova Scotia” was, in fact, not a private tour, but a small group tour. Because it was a group tour, and, not, as advertised, a private tour, the schedule could not be altered to accommodate our request. To be clear, we were not requesting any change in the price – which I had already paid – just a change in the itinerary. We ended up finding a taxi at the terminal that was able to accommodate us for about the same price. All of this unnecessary hassle, distress and waste of money (no refund) could have been easily avoided if the tour description was accurate. I see now from the reviews, which I should have read more carefully before I booked, that this is not the first time guests have been deceived by the tour’s description. Given that the name of the tour remains the same and there is no clarification in the description, I can only conclude that the decision has been made by Viator to collude in this continued deception of customers.
Review provided by Viator
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