The 12th Cape Breton Fall Colors Photo tour around

Start: Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, 7:30pm at the Inverary Resort in Baddeck, NS

End: Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, ~4:30pm at the Inverary Resort

Cost: $1195 shared rooms, $1395 private rooms

# of guests: Only 4 guests on the tour!

Lead by: Brian Merry

What's included:

• 3 nights of accommodation
• 5 meals (Fri-Sat - B, L, S, Sun - B, L)
• group transportation
• field instruction/photography guiding/as needed tutoring
• 2 evening presentations
• Parks Canada visitor passes

Transportation: Group transportation is included. Traveling in your own vehicle behind the tour van is >>not permitted<< during the tour for safety reasons and insurance restrictions. Besides, traveling together in the same vehicle helps to create a fun and social environment. See special note on COVID-19 below.

ILPA Discount: Members of the International landscape Photographers' association will receive a $100 refund on their registration. Contact me after registering and I'll refund you $100 after confirming your membership to ILPA. The ILPA Discount needs to be claimed before October 1, 2022.

Let me show you my home where I grew up and where my extended family still lives.

*** Never forget who you are, and never forget where you come from! ***

Tour Details:

Have you ever wanted to photograph the beautiful mountains around the famous Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island during the peak of the beautiful Fall colors? This is your chance to do just that on an all inclusive, personable and small group size landscape photography tour!

Join established photographer and photo tour operator, Brian Merry, as he shows you some of the most photogenic landscapes that Cape Breton Island has to offer. Sit back, enjoy the scenery and pull out your camera to enjoy the beautiful locations that we’ll visit during our tour around the Cabot Trail. The timing of the Fall colors are not guaranteed, but around the 3rd week of October is the usual peak of the colors on the maple trees around The Cabot Trail in Northwestern Cape Breton Island.

This is a traveling landscape photography tour. We'll stay the First night of the tour at the Inverary Resort located in Baddeck, the traditional start and end of the Cabot Trail. Then, on the Second night of the tour we'll stay at the cozy Chanterelle Inn and Cottages. On the third night of the tour we'll stay on the West side of the Island at The Cheticamp Motel. Finally, on the last day of the tour we'll end off where we started, at The Inverary Resort.

You can reach me at brian@bmerryphotography.com, or on my phone at 1-(403)-763-1114, if you'd like to talk with me more about the tour.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022

We’ll meet at the Inverary Resort in Baddeck, NS at 7:30 pm. Please check in to the hotel earlier to allow yourself enough time to settle in and prepare for the evening presentation. During the 1.5 hour introductory presentation I'll present the details of what you can expect during the tour and deliver the first part of the presentation series.

Day 2: Friday, Oct. 21, 2022

We’ll drive North photographing our way to our Home for the for the night, Chanterelle Inn and Cottages. We'll be photographing the Sunset at a nearby location.

Day 3: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

We’ll start our day photographing the sunrise close to our Inn followed by breakfast in the stylish restaurant on site. After breakfast we’ll set off touring up Atlantic Ocean side of the Cabot Trail stopping for photographs along the way. As we drive counter clockwise around the Cabot Trail. We'll be photographing beautiful waterfalls, mountains, the coastline, and of course, the brilliant Fall colors that Cabot Breton is Famous for! We’ll be photographing the classic landscape locations locations of Cape Breton Island throughout the day as we round our way around the Northwestern Part of the Island. Some of the best locations on the trail are only known by locals, and I'm going to take you to some of them. I know of them because I spent much of my teenage years here growing up and exploring Northwestern Cape Breton in the Summer.

Saturday evening will be a special evening as you get to meet the proprietors of The Cheticamp Motel and my parents, Ethel and Franklin Merry! This night we're going to keep the tour "All in the Family!" We'll go to shoot the Sunset nearby after checking in into the Motel for the evening. Then, we'll head back for dinner and the last presentation which is designed to help you to perceive the World in a new light!

Day 4: Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022

We’ll start the day early with tea/coffee/juice and muffins before heading out for our last Sunrise photography session close by. After Sunrise we’ll head back to the motel for breakfast.

Then, after breakfast we'll check out and continue on the remainder of our journey around the Cabot Trail. We'll be photographing the picturesque Acadian shoreline and the famous Margaree River Valley. Late in the afternoon we'll return back to our starting point and your vehicles in Baddeck. This will complete our journey around the Cabot Trail.

I love Cape Breton Island and you're going to see its intimate side from the perspective of a professional outdoor photographer with decades of experience in the area.

* The itinerary is weather dependent and may change due to weather conditions and/or other extraneous conditions that may arise. This flexibility is needed to ensure that I deliver the best tour possible to you given my experience in the area and the present weather/industry conditions. Venues listed for overnight accommodations may vary dependent on seasonal variations of their operating hours.

** COVID-19 Note: If the corona virus continues to impact travel and social distancing measures are still an issue by September 1, 2022, then the tour will be cancelled and 100% of your registration fee will be returned to you. If the tour is not cancelled then the registration fee is not refundable for any other reason.

*** The itinerary is weather dependent and may change due to weather conditions and/or other extraneous conditions that may arise. This flexibility is needed to ensure that I host the best tour possible for you given my experience in the area and the weather/industry conditions during the tour. Venues listed for overnight accommodations may vary depending on varying industry/venue specific conditions.

How to Find the Start of the Tour:

If traveling from away, I recommend that you fly into Halifax International Airport and rent a car that you reserved ahead of time. Baddeck is a 3.5 hour drive from the airport through the spectacular countryside of Nova Scotia on major highways. Consider adding a bit extra time to photograph along the way to Baddeck.

From the Halifax International Airport exit the airport and drive to highway 102. Turn right onto highway 102 and travel north to Truro, NS. When highway 102 ends 4 kms past Truro turn right, heading East, onto highway 104 and drive to Cape Breton Island. Once across the causeway and onto Cape Breton Island in Port Hastings, continue on Trans Canada Highway 105 North Towards Sydney, NS. About 50 minutes after driving onto Cape Breton you'll be at the start of the Cabot Trail. Drive 10 more Kilometers to the Inverary Resort in beautiful little town of Baddeck. You'll leave your vehicle at the Inverary Resort during the tour during the tour.

Extending your trip:

If you are traveling from outside of Atlantic Canada you may want to arrive a few days earlier to photograph some of the beautiful landscapes on the mainland of Nova Scotia while basing yourself out of Halifax. Many spectacular landscapes may be found within an hour drive of the city.

Some of the beautiful landscapes around Halifax include the world famous Peggy's Cove lighthouse, which is a mere 30 minute drive from Halifax. And, you can park 100 meters from the lighthouse. I recommend being there for a sunrise while you're visiting Halifax.

You may also want to visit the Minas Basin, Annapolis Valley, the Eastern Shore, Prospect Cove and photograph around the Shubenacadie River Valley. The abundant maple trees around Halifax start to turn into their Fall colors about a week before they do on NW Cape Breton Island where the Cabot Trail is located. If you're going to extend your trip to explore around Halifax then you should plan your stay there before the tour starts as opposed to after the tour to coincide with the Fall colors around Halifax.