We contacted five of our favourite hotels and resorts to see what they had planned for Nova Scotia March Break …and the results were exciting! One Dartmouth hotel is offering a rate that includes room service pizza for the whole family, while White Point Beach Resort is offering an additional March Break program the week before March Break… with plenty of rooms and cottages available.
Most hotels and resorts are being really careful in the pool area, taking pool bookings for up to 1-hour slots, with limited capacity to promote social distancing. We recommend you call the individual hotel in advance to make sure you are comfortable with their guidelines. Note that in all cases, pool availability/capacity is subject to change depending on Covid-19 restrictions.
What are your plans for the Nova Scotia March Break 2021? How will your plans be affected by the latest Nova Scotia travel restrictions? Join the conversation over on our Facebook page!
Westin Nova Scotian, Downtown Halifax
The Westin is so close to…everything!/Photo: Helen Earley
If you’re in the city, try the Westin Nova Scotian, famous for its signature Heavenly Bed. This four-star, full-service hotel is within walking distance of all the waterfront’s major attractions, and just stone’s throw from the Discovery Centre, where you can check out the new exhibition, Joy Lab. For a cool winter treat, take a stroll to Halifax’s amazing new candy and ice cream store, Fun n’ Shakes, located in the back of Flynn’s Dairy Bar and Convenience (1365 Hollis St). Back at the hotel, you can splash away the sugar rush in the hotel pool. The pool is open from 8 AM to 7 PM. One-hour slots must be booked on the day. Capacity at the time of writing was up to 15 people maximum, from different family groups.
Delta Hotels by Marriot, Dartmouth
The Delta Hotels for Marriot in Dartmouth/photo: provided
Don’t underestimate how excited kids get about Room Service! The Delta Hotel by Marriot, Dartmouth is another full-service hotel in the Halifax region with a restaurant open from 6:30am to 11 PM. The Delta is offering a March Break special: $199 + tax for 2 adults and 2 children including room service pizza and breakfast. A 3-minute drive will take you to the shops at Dartmouth Crossing, including the new Playdium by Cineplex – heaven for gamers! The Delta has an indoor pool and splash pad, where you can book 45-minute time slots. Bookings are taken beginning at 7 AM on the same day, with a maximum capacity of 25 people at a time.
The Quarterdeck Resort, Summerville
Summerville Beach is beautiful at any time of year/Photo: Helen Earley
Feel the sand between your toes and the wind in your hair at Summerville Beach, and its historic signature resort hotel, The Quarterdeck. Most of their villas are booked up for March Break, but if you act quickly, you might get a family-sized loft room, or a Shoreline room (beautiful, right on the beach…but they only sleep 2 people). The Quarterdeck has a small pool and hot tub area, which can be booked in advance of your arrival, for one-hour slots. It’s a fairly small pool area, so just one family bubble per hour. During March Break, the Quarterdeck restaurant is open every day 9 AM – 9 PM. Yes, they have a kids’ menu!
Cabot Shores, Cape Breton
Cabot Shores is fast becoming Cape Breton’s most popular wilderness resort/Photo contributed
March break is filling up quickly at what is quickly becoming Cape Breton’s best known adventure and wilderness retreat, Cabot Shores, but there are a few places left depending on the size of your family. Most availability is toward the end of the week, from the 17th to the 19th, with a few larger yurts available (but these are for two to three people for the most part). Cabot Shores has lots of fun winter activities including guided waterfall hikes, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. If your family loves downhill skiing, check out Cape Smokey (30 min. away), which is planning to be open throughout March Break, depending on conditions and Covid-19 restrictions. Skiing Cape Smokey is a must for the family travel bucket-list!
White Point Beach, near Liverpool
White Point is offering an additional March Break program the week before March Break/photo: Mike Barker
The friendly staff at White Point Beach Resort are becoming pros at having fun, social-distance style. Their Nova Scotia March Beach Break program includes games, crafts, movies, yoga, bonfires with marshmallow roasts, and live music every night. Click here for full schedule. And of course, there’s the beautiful beach itself to enjoy! During Nova Scotia March Break, White Point’s oceanfront cottages are mostly booked up, but there are some White Point rooms available. The pool must be booked either day before or day of, with 10 people total at a time (including all adults and children, on deck, or in the water). White Point staff clean the pool 30 minutes before every one-hour pool session.
But….have you ever considered celebrating March Break a week early? We’re not suggesting you take the kids out of school, but we’re not judging either… These are extraordinary times! Between February 26th and – March 7th (the week before March Break), Nova Scotian families have a second chance to enjoy March Break fun, with an identical weekly program of games, crafts, bonfires, movies and live music, nightly. This is the week that White Point usually welcomes our friends from New Brunswick, who sadly can’t come this year, but the silver lining is that there is plenty of availability for locals.
These are just a few of our favourite places to go for March Break. If you’re looking for more winter vacation suggestions, check out Tourism Nova Scotia’s website for Winter Fun in Nova Scotia. Happy local travels!
Note: post updated Feb. 27th to reference new Nova Scotia travel restrictions.
