Russell Graves Photo Group

Welcome to Nova Scotia!

Hi Russell, 

It is great to hear that you and the Hackberry Farm Photo School are coming to visit Nova Scotia and Sable Island for the first time. We are excited to host you and your guests to showcase why we love living here along the northeastern edge of North America.

As per what we chatted about the other day,  we can put together a pair of custom, guided road trips for just you and your group of guys that keep you moving and engaged and not just stuck in a big bus all day.

Below is a sample of itineraries and pricing per person based on the maximum group size of 4-6 guests for your visit in September. This itinerary is very flexible and can be reworked as needed. We could add local food-tasting tours, sailing adventures in Halifax Harbour, and more.

Arrival Day

Everybody arrives and we welcome you to beautiful Nova Scotia with an introductory team dinner with an evening photo walk along our historic waterfront.

Sunday, September 8th

• 13:00 – Airport pickup
• 14:00 – Free time
• 18:00 – Introduction dinner (Bicycle Thief)
• 19:30 – Halifax Harbourfront walking tour 📷

7.5 hours – 38 km

Peggy’s Cove & Lunenburg

An adventure to the most photographed lighthouse in North America with a visit to the colourful UNESCO village of Lunenburg.

Monday, September 9th

• 07:00 – Depart for Peggy’s Cove
• 08:00 – Arrive at lighthouse 📷
• 09:30 – Breakfast (Sou’Wester)
• 10:30 – Explore fishing village 📷
• 11:30 – Polly’s Cove hike 📷
• 12:30 – Depart for Lunenburg
• 13:30 – Arrive in Lunenburg
• 14:00 – Lunenburg Walking Tour 📷
• 15:30 – Explore the waterfront, Dory Shop, Ironworks rum-tasting 📷
• 17:00 – Dinner (Half-Shell, Beach Pea or Lincoln Street)
• 18:30 – Depart for Halifax
• 20:00 – Arrive back in Halifax

13 hours – 288 km round trip

Sable Island

Today is the big day to explore one of the most wild and untamed places left on earth with wild horses, thousands of seals and centuries-old shipwrecks in the dunes.

Tuesday, September 10th

Sable Island or ½ day Halifax city tour in the afternoon (see 9/11/24)

• 07:00 – Depart Halifax pickup for airport
• 07:30 – Arrive at the Halifax Heliport hangar
• 07:40 – Introductions, load helicopter, bathroom break, safety briefing
• 08:15 – Helicopter departs
• 09:30 – Land on Sable Island at Main Station 📷
• 09:45 – Safety orientation with Parks Canada
• 10:15 – Hike west towards West Light from Main Station 📷
• 12:00 – Turn east and hike along the South Beach 📷
• 13:30 – Arrive at Main Station for a snack & break
• 14:00 – Hike east along the north beach 📷
• 14:30 – Head west back to Main Station through the dunes 📷
• 15:30 – Arrive at Main Station and load the helicopter
• 16:45 – Helicopter departs 📷
• 18:30 – Arrive at the heliport
• 19:00 – Unload helicopter, goodbyes and depart for drop-offs in Halifax
• 19:30 – Arrive in Halifax at accommodation
• 20:00 – Dinner

12.5 hours – 230 km round trip

Sable Island (Back-Up Date)

Spend a half-day photographing the vibrant art, architecture and historic sites of Atlantic Canada’s biggest city!

Wednesday, September 11th

The backup date has the same itinerary as above, or we will have a morning break with a half-day tour to explore downtown Halifax.

• 09:00 – Breakfast
• 10:00 – Free time
• 11:00 – Citadel Hill Noon Gun Ceremony 📷
• 12:30 – Ferry to George’s Island in Halifax Harbour 📷
• 15:00 – Africville Seaview Museum 📷
• 16:30 – Halifax Central Library 📷
• 18:00 – Free time
• 20:00 – Dinner

9 hours – 8 km round trip

Annapolis Valley

Journey across the province to experience the world’s highest tides at the Bay of Fundy and learn about the emerging award-winning wineries of this region.

Thursday, September 12th

• 07:00 – Breakfast
• 07:30 – Depart for Annapolis Valley
• 08:30 – Just Us Coffee
• 09:00 – Grand Pre National Historic Site 📷
• 11:00 – Blomiden Look Off vantage point 📷
• 11:30 – Halls Harbour low tide (12:35 pm) 📷
• 13:30 – Lunch (Le Caveau)
• 15:00 – Benjamin Bridge wine tasting 📷
• 17:00 – Depart for Halifax
• 18:15 – Arrive at accommodation
• 19:30 – Dinner

12.5 hours – 260 km round trip

Eastern Shore

The Eastern Shore is an underexplored gem of working fishing villages and we will take an elevated hike through the changing fall foliage and traverse the rugged coastline home to burgeoning surf culture in the North Atlantic.

Friday, September 13th

We travel north and east along the coast from Halifax to photograph the beaches, surfing, fall foliage and more. There are great opportunities to work on long-exposure imagery, sports photography, landscape and drone photos.

• 07:00 – Breakfast
• 08:00 – Depart Halifax
• 08:30 – Eastern Passage fishing village 📷
• 10:00 – Lawrencetown Beach surfing photos 📷
• 12:00 – Lunch at Rose & Rooster Cafe
• 13:30 – Musquodobit Trail hiking route 📷
• 16:00 – Martinique Beach 📷
• 17:00 – Return to Halifax
• 18:15 – Arrive at accommodation
• 19:00 – Dinner

12.0 hours – 160 km round trip

Departure Day

Our last day together before wrapping up this incredible week-long adventure with a morning photo shoot and transport to the airport. 

Saturday, September 14th 

• 7:00 – Morning photo opportunity (Dingle or Seaview Park) 📷
• 8:00 – Last group breakfast
• 11:00 – Hotel check out
• 13:00 – Airport drop-off

6 hours – 40 km round trip

Accommodation Suggestions

Beautiful and historic mid-range hotel options downtown that are open to group discounts: 

• The Westin Nova Scotian by Marriott
• Lord Nelson Hotel Halifax

Current pricing for the 9/8 to 9/14 period can be between CAD $250-$400 + tax.

Pricing

All prices are CAD and the local HST tax rate is 15%. This tour is contingent on having a minimum 4 and a maximum of 6 paying guests. Flights to Halifax, NS are not included.   

Picture Perfect Tours:

Picture Perfect Tours’ base price for a full-day tour is $150 / hr for 4-6 people. For the itinerary above there is a total of 72.5 hours, so let’s round down to 70 hours total. Our job is to be the host on the ground to bring you and your guests to stunning and historic places to photograph here in Nova Scotia while being with you all day throughout the adventure to help with what you need, make sure the guests have a memorable travel experience, and troubleshoot any issues that may arise. Our services will include:

• Custom designed photo specific tour and itinerary
• Licensed transport in our 12-passenger Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
• Experienced host who is a local professional photographer
• Nationally certified tour director and tour guide
• Class 4 driver with $2,000,000 liability insurance
• All museum and park entry fees
• Complimentary beverages and snacks (bottled water, pop, juice, granola bars, apples, etc.)
• Custom gift pack from Picture Perfect Tours

$1750 (70 hours x $150 = $10,500 / 4-6 guests)

Exclusions:

• Meals (unless option pre-purchased)
• Alcoholic beverages
• 50% gratuities (sharted between Rusell Graves & Geordie Mott)

Helicopter Rates:

Reaching Sable Island by helicopter is the most reliable way to travel from Halifax. We have a 2-day window to reach Sable Island and if we are unable to depart from Halifax for weather or logistical reasons, then we will not be charged for the helicopter charter or the Parks Canada landing and visitor fees.

• $14,575 – Helicopter charter
• $750 – Parks Canada fees
• $250 – Group lunch

$2595 ($15,575 / 6 guests)

Accommodation Rates:

The itinerary has been constructed to stay overnight at one location to keep our daytime activities flexible. If we have to change locations it will be harder to pivot activities if our Sable trip is cancelled.  Current pricing for the 9/8 to 9/14 period can be between CAD $250-$400 + tax. Taking an average of that price we can look at a nightly rate of $325 for a single-occupant hotel room.

$1950 ($325 x 6 nights)

Totals Per Guest For Maximum 6 Guests:

$1750 – Picture Perfect Tours

+ $2595 – Sable Island helicopter charter

+ $1950 – Halifax accommodation

= $6295

x 15% HST

= $7239 CAD per person, or $5308 USD, without your markup

*Food Option:

We did not include food in this pricing package (except for the Sable Island trip), but if you wanted to build in a food component I would suggest a budget of $50 for food and drinks at each meal for 3 meals a day per person. This does not include alcoholic beverages.

$900 ($150 per day, per person for 6 full days)

Cancelations & Timeline

Introductory thoughts on how to make this adventure a success.

A minimum of 4 guests, to a maximum of 6 guests, are needed to complete the tour. If there are 4 guests with your group and 2 spots are available, Picture Perfect Tours will fill the remaining two seats for the entire adventure or just for the Sable Island trip. These two seats will compensate Picture Perfect Tours for our benefit only.

A non-refundable deposit of CAD $5000 + HST is to be paid to Picture Perfect Tours by credit card no later than 100 days before the start of the tour date on Saturday, June 1st 2024. This is to cover the cost of a helicopter charter cancellation 90 days or less before the start of the Sable Island tour date. The remaining amounts based on the number of guests you have will be invoiced 60 days before the tour begins and will be due 30 days before the start of the tour on Friday, August 8th 2024.

Please read through our 2024 Sable Island Terms & Conditions to learn about the physical requirements for guests visiting Sable Island, the importance of guests acquiring their own CFAR travel insurance (Cancel For Any Reason), the frequency number of weather cancellations that ground helicopter flights to Sable Island, our Sable Island general liability waiver, and more.

Final Thoughts

This is just a sample itinerary that is very flexible and open-ended based on what we discussed. But with private excursions, we can customize the days in any way and we have lots of time to do so. We can add days or change locations depending on your guests’ needs. If you have any questions comments, concerns or requests just let me know.

All the best, 

Geordie Mott – Owner | Tour Director

info@pictureperfecttours.ca

+1 (902) 292-6688

Get To Know Geordie

Geordie Mott is the owner and tour director for Picture Perfect Tours and has led hundreds of tours to Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg since 2015. Whether it’s been for smaller teams, large bus groups or even virtual tours – he always finds it exciting to showcase what makes the lighthouse, village and area around the South Shore so captivating.