2025 was another successful season for private tours with wonderful weather (although the lack of rain made it a challenging year for farmers). As usual most of my travelers chose the “Secret Seanic” Peggy’s Cove tour, with Halifax City tours following close behind. People from all over the U.S. visited Halifax, with California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, the Pacific Northwest and New England well represented among my bookings. A growing clientele of Canadians are booking my tours, and I even had a few folks from Down Under and one family from Switzerland!
Occasionally I’ll get requests for a bespoke tour. Two memorable standouts this year were a couple from the D.C. area who wanted to see the famous tidal bore at Maitland, and a group from Pittsburgh who asked to see Oak Island (due to the TV show). Mission accomplished in both cases. I appreciate these special requests that enable me to expand my offerings beyond the standard itineraries.
Despite three solid months of glorious storm-free days, there were still a few weather-related glitches. In April I lost two bookings on board a cruise ship that skipped a stop at Halifax. The reason–believe it or not–was icebergs! (How appropriate considering Halifax’s connection to the Titanic disaster.) Norwegian Prima’s next scheduled port of call was Reykjavik, Iceland, and apparently the captain decided he didn’t want to sail anywhere near “iceberg alley” off the Newfoundland coast. Instead, the ship departed New York City, sailed directly across to the English Channel, headed up over the north of Scotland and eventually, after seven days at sea, made Iceland!
The other cancellations were thankfully few in number and far more predictable. Since 2003 when Cat 2 hurricane Juan ravaged Halifax, we pretty much expect at least one nasty named storm to hit our shores. We were spared a direct hit last year, but hurricane Melissa at the end of October still disrupted schedules of vessels cruising in Nova Scotia waters. Unfortunately, a few of those ships held passengers who booked one of my tours.
In the grand scheme of things, these were minor complications. Considering all that’s going on in the world right now, it’s gratifying to know that Nova Scotia remains a popular travel destination. We’re a bit off the beaten track, and I suppose that’s part of our appeal. My aim is always to give visitors the best possible tour experience in the grand tradition of Bluenose hospitality. Thank you for your patronage and looking forward to another banner year in 2026.
Jay White
January 2026