Paddle, Picnic and Peggy’s Cove
A fully guided coastal day from Halifax — sea kayaking in the Prospect area, a shoreside picnic, wild granite hiking at Polly’s Cove, and a visit to Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. No previous kayaking experience required.
Peggy’s Cove is one of the most photographed places in Canada. Most visitors spend twenty minutes there, take a photo by the lighthouse, and leave. This is a different kind of day.
Starting in Halifax, your Great Earth Expeditions guide takes a small private group out to the rugged Atlantic coast southwest of the city — a landscape of sheltered coves, open granite barrens, and working fishing communities that most visitors pass through rather than actually explore. The day moves through four distinct experiences: paddling, eating well, hiking wild coastline, and finally arriving at Peggy’s Cove with enough context to understand what you’re looking at.
Every element is fully handled. Every transition is guided. This is a complete coastal day, not a self-guided drive with a kayak rental thrown in.
$395 + tax per person max 8 guests per departure
*Call for pricing and availability for smaller groups
The Day - Morning
Sea Kayaking in the Prospect Area
The day begins on the water. The Prospect area offers some of the most dramatic and varied sea kayaking on Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast — sheltered inlets, open headlands, granite islands, and the kind of quiet that only exists when you’re low on the water and well away from the road. Routes are chosen each morning based on conditions and the best overall experience available that day.
No previous kayaking experience is required. Your guide will provide a full briefing and equipment orientation before you launch, and will lead the paddle throughout. The focus is on the coastline, not on technique.
Midday
Shoreside Picnic Lunch
After the morning on the water, the day slows down for a proper lunch — prepared, shoreside, and built around the setting rather than squeezed into a parking lot. This is the natural pause between the morning’s paddle and the afternoon’s hike: a chance to eat well, take in the coast, and let the day breathe before it continues.
Afternoon
Hiking Polly’s Cove
Polly’s Cove is one of the finest coastal walks in Nova Scotia, and most visitors to the province never find it. The landscape is open granite barrens, wild ocean views, windswept headlands, and quiet coves — wilder and far less crowded than Peggy’s Cove a short distance away. The terrain is not technically demanding, but it is genuinely coastal: expect granite underfoot, natural footpaths, and exposed sections where the Atlantic makes itself heard.
Your guide will lead the hike and bring the landscape to life — its geology, its ecology, and why this particular stretch of coastline looks and feels the way it does.
Late Afternoon
Peggy’s Cove
The day finishes at the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. By this point in the day, you’ve paddled the same kind of coastline, walked the same granite, and seen the same Atlantic light from the water. The lighthouse lands differently when you’ve earned the context. Your guide frames the visit around what makes this working coastline significant — the fishing community, the weather, the light — rather than treating it as a photo stop at the end of a bus tour.
A note on kayaking routes
Kayaking routes are selected each morning based on ocean conditions, wind, and the best overall experience available that day. The Prospect area offers multiple route options, which means the paddle adapts to the conditions rather than running the same course regardless of what the ocean is doing.
At a Glance
Season | June through October; peak conditions late June to September |
Departure | Halifax pickup and drop-off included |
Experience level | No previous kayaking experience required; guests should be comfortable on uneven coastal terrain |
Activities | Guided sea kayaking (Prospect area), Polly’s Cove coastal hike, Peggy’s Cove lighthouse visit |
Food | Shoreside picnic lunch included |
Guide | Fully hosted by a Great Earth Expeditions guide throughout the day |
Includes | Transportation, guide, kayaking equipment and instruction, picnic lunch, Polly’s Cove hike, Peggy’s Cove visit |
Group size | Minimum 4 up to a maximum of 8. For smaller groups call for availability and pricing |
Small-group price | $395 + tax per person |
Best for | Couples, families, and small private groups looking for a complete guided coastal day from Halifax |
See the coast the right way.
Pick your date and we’ll take care of the details — guided stops, coastal time, and a fully hosted day along Nova Scotia’s most iconic shoreline.