September Island Hopping to Prince Edward Island

I live for island hopping and since 2020, we’ve pretty much stuck to islands right here in New Brunswick (for obvious reasons.) But this September, we made the exciting decision to hop over to magical Prince Edward Island for one last adventure before the end of summer.

And oh em gee—it was perfect.

A lot of you were curious what a trip to PEI looks like for Dan and I. Do we eat seafood? Do I bring home copious amounts of seaglass? Do I spend a lot of time around lighthouses?

Spoiler: Prince Edward Island is the ONE place that I’ve never actually visited a seaglass beach during my travels. Might need to change that in 2022!

There might not have been seaglass, but there were lighthouses and lobster rolls a plenty!

Here’s a look at our adventure itinerary to Prince Edward Island in September!

You’re a Tourist, Embrace It

One of the best parts about going to Prince Edward Island is getting to drive across the Confederation Bridge, am I right? It’s pretty freaking cool.

We love to stop in at the Welcome Centre when arriving on the island. It’s the perfect pee stop and I love to grab a tourist guide book and a map. Sure, we already had a pretty awesome itinerary planned, but there’s something nostalgic about looking at paper maps and flipping through a tourist guide.

There are also a few great photo ops in the area like snapping one with Anne!

The Handpie Company in Albany

I almost didn’t put feelers out on Instagram for recommendations because, as I shared, we already had a lot of lobster rolls to eat and a million touristy things we wanted to do on our trip. But I’m so incredibly glad we did because I would have never known to stop in Albany (only 7 minutes from the bridge) at the famous Handpie Company.

I went for the Bacon Cheeseburger and Dan tried the PEI Pasty. We had grand plans to eat them later but as soon as we had them in our hands, we couldn’t resist eating them while they were hot and fresh. They were absolutely divine and well worth the stop!

Mermaid Tip: If you can catch them open on your way off the island, you can grab frozen handpies to go! So bring a cooler and some ice packs!

The C&B Corner Cafe in Kensington

The next stop on our PEI adventure took us to Kensington and the C&B Corner Cafe for brunch. This spot was by Dan’s request as he’d read about the cafe on Instagram and saw that they had rave reviews. Those rave reviews were right!

Let’s just say they had me at Salted Caramel Hot Choccy. Yes, they call it Hot Choccy.

Because we had just devoured handpies not even half an hour earlier, we opted for coffee (and hot choccy) and to split a house-made bagel with smoked salmon and oh em gee, it was DELISH!

We’ll definitely be back!

Bay View Antiques in Stanley Bridge

We LOVE to stop at antique shops when we travel, so when passing through Stanley Bridge, it was a swift decision to pull over and explore this sweet antique shop on the wharf.

And I snagged this copy of Treasure Island! Can you believe this pirate lover has never read Treasure Island?

Mariner’s Cove Mini Putt in Cavendish

I’ve loved mini putt since I was a little girl and some of my fondest memories of PEI vacations when I was a kid involved playing mini putt at EVERY mini golf location in Cavendish. When we cruised through a very quiet, sleepy Cavendish (what a difference traveling in September makes) we were thrilled when we saw Mariner’s Cove Mini Golf was still open.

And it took zero convincing when my husband suggested we stop and play a round.

We had a blast and it totally brought back great memories from my childhood.

Carr’s Oyster Bar in Stanley Bridge

After a fiercely competitive game—I get very serious about my mini putt—we headed back to Stanley Bridge to have a late afternoon snack at one of my oldest PEI haunts, Carr’s Oyster Bar. We saw an eagle soaring over head of the amazing views and I love being right on the water.

I ordered a caesar and we enjoyed a plate of fresh shucked local oysters, quahogs, and a dish of deep fried oysters. Nom nom for us!

The World Famous Cavendish Beach

What’s the best way to digest over a dozen oysters?

A stroll on the beach, of course! Next up, we began our coastal cruise at Cavendish Beach. The sand dunes always take my breath away, and given it was 33 degrees with the humidex at 4:30 pm, putting our feet in the ocean to cool off was a treat!

The Gulfshore Parkway, Cavendish to Covehead

My #1 activity when visiting Prince Edward Island? Driving the Gulfshore Parkway from Cavendish to North Rustico, and then following Route 6 to Brackley Beach and hopping back on the Parkway.

The coast is absolutely breathtaking, the lookout spots are on point and its the best spot to catch the sunset. More on that later.

Richard’s Fresh Seafood, Covehead

And now, the WHOLE reason we went to PEI in the first place. Seriously, this whole overnight trip began as a plan to cross over and eat a bunch of fresh seafood before everything closed for the season. Richard’s Fresh Seafood was at the TOP of the list.

There was a bit of a wait (45 minutes) which I’m told is actually nothing compared to the sometimes two hour waits during the summer. We didn’t mind and it was absolutely worth it.

Dan said it was, quote, “The best lobster of my life” and I’d say it ranked pretty darn high on my list too. The fries were delicious (we split one bag of fries between the two of us and it was plenty) and the coleslaw was SO good!

Seriously, I’ll be dreaming about Richard’s until we meet again next summer.

Sunset at Covehead Lighthouse

Located directly across the way from Richard’s Seafood is the Covehead Lighthouse and more beautiful sand dunes. Because we could see lightning in the distance, we knew the chances of a full blown sunset were pretty slim so we walked down to the beach to catch the final moments of sun before it slipped beneath the clouds.

The cotton candy skies against the dune grasses and lighthouse was absolutely magical. We’ll be back for more sunsets at this beach in the future!

Overnight in Charlottetown at the Great George Hotel

I have heard wonderful things about the Great George Hotel over the years and it lives up to every word. After a fantastic day exploring the island, we made our way back to Charlottetown and checked in to fresh cookies. Yum!

And because we were a little too excited to call it a night from the day’s adventures, we decided to go for a moonlit stroll around downtown Charlottetown and on the waterfront. It was absolutely dreamy.

The next morning, we enjoyed the complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel, that included fresh, baked cinnamon rolls—oh em gee. We’ll definitely be staying at the Great George again!

The Dunes Studio, Gallery & Cafe, Brackley Beach

Did you even go to PEI if you didn’t stop at the Dunes Studio, Gallery & Cafe?

I can’t remember how long it’s been since I first visited the Dunes (it’s been well over 10 years) but it’s a must on any visit to the island. The only difference is that this time, we have a house to buy things for and we were very excited to come home with a new furniture piece for our living room.

You’ll just have to keep an eye on my Instagram stories to see if you spot the piece!

The Great Canadian Soap Company, Brackley Beach

If you’re in Brackley Beach, you’ve got to stop in and visit the Great Canadian Soap Company. Not only do they have a lovely retail shop of natural soap and body products, they have, you guessed it, GOATS!

And they have this cute little thing where you can buy Oats for Goats to feed them. Hook, link, sinker.

The Awesome Veggie Stand, Rustico

We love a good road side farm stand, so when we spotted the Awesome Veggie Stand on our way through Rustico on Saturday, we made a point to stop on our way back to Rustico for lunch on Sunday.

We filled the car with a bunch of fresh veggies, some pumpkins, and the most delicious island corn! If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by for all kinds of fresh treats!

Blue Mussel Cafe in North Rustico

Remember when I said Richard’s Fresh Seafood was the reason we went to Prince Edward Island in the first place? Well, Blue Mussel Cafe was a close second.

It had been years since I had visited, I can’t believe how much it’s grown! While there was over an hour wait for a table inside when we arrived, because we were open to sitting outside we snagged a table right away. It was a quintessential fall day outside, with a serious breeze, but the sun was bright and there were cozy blankets to bundle up in so it was perfect.

We started off with an order of hot steamed mussels because, when at the Blue Mussel, one must have mussels. They were amazing! And I of course, had a Shuckin’ Caesar complete with oyster on top, obviously!

Dan opted for the fresh halibut while I stayed predictable as ever and went with the lobster roll. Again, it was absolutely epic. And the homemade potato salad on the side was delicious.

Oh Hey, PEI Gift Shop, North Rustico

Last but certainly not least, another crowdsourced favorite: Oh Hey, PEI!

This cute little gift shop is located on the same wharf as Blue Mussel Cafe, so after lunch, we popped in for some fresh coffee, a delicious salted caramel latte, and fresh ginger snap cookies.

And of course, I dropped some shells on the cutest items from the shop.

Countless restaurants, lobster rolls, oysters, cookies, lighthouses, and good memories later, it was time to head back to the mainland. The two of us grinned the whole way back and were already talking about planning next September’s trip.

I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite haunts on the island? And who makes your favorite lobster roll? Leave a comment to let me know!