Welcome! Your arrival in Halifax marks the start of your settling in process.

From the airport, you can take Metro Transit Express bus #320 for $4.25. You will likely have to connect to another bus to get you to the place where you will spend your first night (at least).

If you have a lot of baggage, it might be best to take a cab for approximately $85 to get to your final destination in the city. Some cab companies in Halifax are:

  • Yellow Cab: (902) 420-0000
  • Casino Taxi: (902) 429-6666
  • A-Cab Taxi : (902) 445-8888
  • Bob’s Taxi : (902) 463-2222

Other transportation options:

Note: all the links in the above text go to the external websites.

Halifax

Halifax is the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the finest harbours in the world. It is closer to Europe than any other east coast port of call, while Toronto and New York are just two hours away from Halifax.

Halifax has a number of art galleries, theatres and museums. It also hosts a wide variety of festivals such as The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, The Atlantic Film Festival, The Halifax Busker Festival, In the Dead of Winter Music Festival, and Halifax Pop Explosion among others. With a low cost of living and being a seaside city, there are a lot of activities, like whale watching and surfing, within the province.

Fun fact: Halifax is listed #4 in the world for Destinations on the Rise via TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award.

Note: all the links in the above text go to the external websites.

Getting around Halifax

The city is served by Halifax Metro Transit, which operates standard bus routes as well as Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry Service.

Food is often associated with comfort and nostalgia, and eating familiar dishes from one’s home culture can help alleviate feelings of homesickness for some people. Finding local grocery stores or restaurants that serve similar food and dishes can also help create a sense of community and belonging in a new environment.

Note: all the links in the above text go to the external websites.

Weather

The weather in Halifax may be less severe than you expect! There is a little bit of everything from a warm, sunny summer to a cold, snowy winter. Average temperatures in Nova Scotia are:

  • Fall/Autumn:15 °C
  • Winter: -10 °C
  • Spring: 10 °C
  • Summer: 25 °C

Summers in Halifax are pleasantly warm with the best summer weather experienced mid and late summer (July to August). The warmest month on average is July and the coolest is January. Snow, rain and ice mixes are common in the winter.

Fun fact: Halifax is the one of the warmest cities in Canada. For updates on the weather, please visit Environment Canada’s page for Halifax, NS (the link goes to the external website).

City Life

Halifax has a vibrant city life. There are a lot of things you can do to de-stress studying. Interesting things are always going on every night of the week in Downtown Halifax. Halifax has the highest concentration of restaurants, pubs, bars and coffee shops in Canada where you can hang out with friends. For fresh air and beautiful scenery, Point Pleasant Park, Halifax Waterfront and Halifax Public Gardens are a few places you can visit in the city. For more information on events and things to do, please visit Discover Halifax. The links in the text go to the external website.

Other popular student activities within Nova Scotia are:

  • Skiing and snowboarding
  • Go karting
  • Whale watching
  • Fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and other sports activities
  • Camping and hiking (all seasons)
  • Fruit picking: apples, pumpkin, blueberries, strawberries, etc.
  • Haunted houses and corn mazes (seasonal)
  • Winter and summer surfing
  • Zip lining and amusement parks (seasonal)

Sightseeing trips in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is a small province, with many beautiful places to visit on day trips! Check out

You can adventure a little further for a weekend trip to Cape Breton as well!

Note: all the links in the above text go to the external websites.