Right on the border of Maine, St. Andrews and Grand Manan Island are easy to get to for travellers coming from the US and other parts of Canada.
Below you’ll find plenty of ideas for your own trip, including:
Things To Do
St. Andrews is a great location for experiences within the Bay of Fundy. Here are some of the highlights:
Grand Manan Island
Truly, one of the highlights of our 2-month trip was the day we spent exploring Grand Manan Island. We followed the East Coast Mermaid’s one-day itinerary and it worked out perfectly! You’ll want to book your ferry rides in advance with Coastal Transport. We ate breakfast and dinner on the ferry and lunch on the island.
Whale Watching
We had done our whale watching excursion from Digby Island in Nova Scotia, but the boat drove 2-hours across the Bay of Fundy to get to waters near Grand Manan Island. If we were to do it again, I would still do the Digby Island day trip, but save the whale watching to launch from St. Andrews instead.
Walk the Downtown Core
St. Andrews is a charming coastal town with a beautiful main drag called Water Street that is really fun to stroll down. There are all sorts of cute shops to stop by. Halfway along the street, it opens into a harbour where there are activities, snacks and a bustle of activity on the docks.
Bike & Walking Trails
One of the things that is clear when you spend time in St. Andrews is that deer run the town! They are everywhere, and very tame. There are a number of paved paths and trails in the town that you can follow for some nice views, to be in nature and you are likely to come across some deer.
Marine Experiences & Aquarium
We weren’t in St. Andrews long enough to do as much as we would have liked. If we’d had one more opportunity for an outing we would have done either a marine experience or the discovery aquarium from the Huntsman Marine Sciences Centre.
Other Fun “Fundy” Stuff
St. Andrews can be a decent launching point for some parts of the Fundy Trail Parkway. Other things on our short-list that you may enjoy include seeing puffins on Machias Seal Island or visiting King’s Landing pioneer village.
Places To Eat
Trapped (on Grand Manan)
During your visit to Grand Manan Island, it is definitely worth stopping by Trapped (MG Fisheries) to sit on the patio and enjoy a drink and their delicious, famous lobster dip. Don’t be concerned when you pull up and it looks like a clothing and fishing store. Our mid-day snack break here was one of the highlights of our island day-trip!
William & Water
While in St. Andrews, we enjoyed a delicious meal at William & Water Restaurant with our friends Steve and Juliet. With more expensive prices, we wouldn’t have gone here with the kids. However, the quality of the food was worth the cost for a special “adult” dinner out.
Where We Stayed
Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping
You can’t beat the location of Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping. We had a site directly overlooking the Bay of Fundy! We spent a lot of time staring at the water, spotting seals bobbing in the ocean. I also really appreciated how we could walk to beautiful downtown St. Andrews, as well as have direct access to paved paths that were great for walking, biking and running.
