harbour hopper tours halifax nova scotia

Harbour Hopper Tours

All aboard Halifax's most popular boat tour – the Harbour Hopper Tour - a fun, fast-paced adventure by land and sea! From your seat aboard this impressive, retrofitted military vehicle, you'll have unparalleled views of Halifax’s most noteworthy sites, beautiful landscape, and historic and modern architecture. Your knowledgeable and very entertaining guide will share historical facts and lesser-known stories about Halifax and will keep you somewhat entertained with the occasional knee-slapper. From the winding streets of Halifax, your adventure continues as you SPLASH into the Halifax Harbour. Your driver is now your Captain, and there’s more to explore so keep your camera ready for unique photo opportunities of our active harbour, Georges Island National Historic Site, the Halifax Waterfront, and more. This award-winning, fully narrated amphibious tour is one you won’t soon forget!

• Attraction Information Wheelchair Accessible

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Welcome to Halifax

P'jilita'q wla kjipuktuk.

Halifax is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. The people of the Mi’kmaw Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, and we acknowledge them as the past, present and future caretakers of this land.  Historically, a land acknowledgment is a traditional practice shared amongst Indigenous groups to recognize the Indigenous land and territory they are visiting. Today a land acknowledgement remains a way to express one’s gratitude to the Indigenous people for being stewards of the land that we live and work on.

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Harbour Hopper Tours

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Halifax Harbour Hopper Tour

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Harbour Hopper Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

The #1 Boat Tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

All aboard halifax's most popular boat tour – the harbour hopper tour - a fun, fast-paced adventure by land and sea.

Your journey begins on land where the Harbour Hopper makes its way along the hilly, winding roads of Halifax.

You'll make the trek way up to see the city from its highest traversable point - the top of Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.

Head down to the water's edge and SPLASH into the Halifax Harbour! Your driver is now your Captain and there’s more to explore and much to see!

Are you ready to experience the Harbour Hopper Tour?

Excellent tour with Chris as our guide. Super funny and very informative. Totally worth the trip!

Awesome! We had a super fun experience. Captain Rachel and Chris as part of the crew members were very kind, jovial. If you go to Halifax, you have to live this experience.

Definitely recommend! We had an amazing time! The bus/boat was great fun and out tour guide Matt was a good laugh. Highly informative as well.

Harbour Hopper Tours

Review Highlights

“ This company bought 5 of the 900 United States military vehicles built for the Vietnam War and retrofitted them as a tourist experience. ” in 2 reviews

“ See we Hawaiians on your chilly Harbour Hopper tour were paying attention (even though we didn't wave at Citadel Hill . ” in 4 reviews

“ You get a land and sea experience in the amphibious vehicle while learning about the history and hot spots of Halifax. ” in 3 reviews

Location & Hours

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5050 Salter Street

Halifax, NS B3J 1S5

Amenities and More

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About the Business

We offer a fun, guided tour of Halifax by land and sea aboard an amphibious vehicle - the Harbour Hopper! …

Recommended Reviews

• 1 star rating Not good
• 2 star rating Could’ve been better
• 3 star rating OK
• 4 star rating Good
• 5 star rating Great

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Overall rating

Not cheap but well worth the cost if you are visiting Hallifax for the first time. We took the tour on our first day here and it gave us a good overview of the city and helped us plan the rest of the trip. The tour staff were very friendly and accommodating.

Incredibly informative....had no idea about half the history of Halifax and the tour guide was amazingly social and friendly. It's a bit pricey ($28/adult) but I figured it's one of those things that I should do since I've been living in Hali for so long and never really done most of the touristy things. Also, you're on land for quite a bit - my initial expectations was around a 70/30 split for water/land - it ended up being the other way around. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Citadel Hill, Spring Garden, Barrington - Halifax is filled with historical stories about everything from oldest Victorian houses to detailed facts about the Halifax explosion. Either way, all in all, it was a great tour and a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

True story: I was working on the waterfront one summer, day in and day out. I worked right next to Lower Water Street and every few minutes (or it felt like every few minutes) the Hopper would pass by. Every host/guide would be telling the same story. and be in the same spot in that story. It got to the point where I could recite the story along with them. Like many other Haligonians, I often found the Harbour Hopper confounding. It's a boat. On the road. With wheels. And it's from the 1940s. And you actually go into the harbour? The Halifax harbour?!? Do you know what's in the Halifax harbour!?! Nevertheless, I've been on the Hopper. Twice. And paid four times. See, if you're like me and you want to make your friends' birthdays adventurous, you find something that they may be interested in but wouldn't do on their own. So I've taken two friends for birthday trips on the Hopper. And, yes, it's cheesy. And silly. And fun! (If you let yourself go a bit.) Historically accurate? Not so much. I would take most of what they say with a (large) (no, make that very large) grain of salt. But it's entertaining and enjoyable.

Ribbit Ribbit... is what they make you yell at pedestrians while you drive by. I was once a tour operator myself, not with Harbour Hopper.. they were actually my competition. (I was on the double decker buses run by Ambassatours) But, with that being said, the ol' HH does a pretty bang up job. The amphibious vehicle takes you on a tour of Halifax showing you the great spots we have to offer. It travels on land, and sea. The tour guides are full of energy, even when the crowd is not. They tell many great stories about the history of our beautiful city. Although full of energy, I am unsure of how accurate the stores are, as I've said I've done this before and some of their events differ from mine but are similar. The HH tours are fun and are quite entertaining, ideal for a family visiting the city.

The Harbour Hopper is a sign Summer is here in Halifax. We've done the tour...twice I think? Both times Ive found the trip both entertaining and informative. The guides make it even that much more fun. If you are looking to do this in peak tourist season, be prepared to wait. This can be very busy. Luckily they run the tours on the hour in the summer I think. Great adventure for both the Haligonian and out of town guests of all ages!

An incredibly educational introduction to Halifax, at a reasonable price. The Harbour Hopper is a transformed military vehicle which functions as both as an open-deck tour bus and a boat. Yeah, driving directly into the harbour can be a little unnerving at first. The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable about historical Halifax, and they'll make you shout RIBBIT-RIBBIT at pedestrians and on-lookers. Make sure you scream it with a vengeance.

What a great way to spend an hour or so! Brittany was a wonderful tour guide and made the trip even that much better. I just wish I'd taken the tour at the beginning of my trip! I was as thrilled as the little ones on the trip when we splashed into the water. This is a tour well worth taking!

It's a fun way to get the highlights of the city while riding in a boat with wheels! The guides are very corny with the jokes and stories, but they also provide a lot if information about the city's history and landmarks. You'll get a tour of the downtown harbour area as well as a tour out on the water in the harbour itself. A great way to get oriented to the city on your first or second day out and about if you're vacationing here. Would also be good if you're a local and want something fun to do that might also give you a few things you didn't already know about your city. Rated a 4 and not a 5 as it is a little pricey, but no regrets taking the tour despite the price.

When we first moved to Halifax my fiance and I decided to take a tour on the habour hopper to learn some history about the city am I ever glad we did our tour guide (molly) was awsome and answered any questions we had this tour in on an amphibious veichle from world war 2 half hour in water half hour on land I would highly recommend it to anybody

I think every city has its own individual slew of activities that are irritating for locals and entertaining for tourists. Think about it, if you were in London- you might be inclined to ride the red double decker buses, right? And in Halifax, that annoyance for locals would be: the amphibious, green (made to look like frogs), post war Vietnam era vehicles that plummet around the city with everyone on board periodically chiming in "ribbit, ribbit." So, if this seems like your bag, then book yourself on a Harbour Hopper Tour. These vehicles do have tour guides that take you on guided tours around the city. Most locals have heard this thing rumbling around enough times to find it a tad irritating! Some of the tour guide info needs some work too- i've periodically heard the tour guides say "and this is the site of mills brothers founded in ___" Only to see a different founding date on the outside of the building...

7 other reviews that are not currently recommended

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Harbour Hopper Tours

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Halifax Harbour Hopper Tour

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Harbour Hopper Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Shore Excursions

Hop On Hop Off City Tour

Hop on one of our authentic, vintage Double Decker buses for the most fun and convenient way to explore the best of Halifax. Your Hop On Hop Off ticket* provides you with an entire day’s freedom and flexibility to take in the city sights on your own schedule. You’ll travel along our historic and ever evolving downtown, past the stunning Halifax Public Gardens, to the top of the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, and beyond. Our guides will share stories from Halifax’s rich history including tragic tales from the Halifax Explosion, our city’s involvement in the World Wars, and much more. Be sure to Hop Off at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery which is best known as the resting place for over 100 victims of the Titanic tragedy. *Check into the Tour Ticket Centre on Lower Water Street first, to obtain your Hop On Hop Off boarding sticker.

Guided Hop On Hop Off Tour

Select days in 2024. View complete schedule here .

Adult: $76.80 Youth (6-15): $63.40

There are several Hop On Hop Off Tour pick-up and drop-off points in Halifax. View all stops here .

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New N.S. tourism company that would highlight Black cultural sites faces pushback

Operator has been unable to get licence for ayomikun bus charters, but uarb hearing monday could change that.

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A new tourism company that wants to offer tours of Black heritage sites around Nova Scotia is facing pushback from competitors who say the market is already saturated.

Kevin Brooks started Ayomikun Bus Charters with two friends, Peter Field and Dalton Cain, last December. Their goal is to make Black history more accessible in the region by offering bus tours to locations like Birchtown and Shelburne.

Brooks, who previously worked at the provincial Department of Justice and for several years in the tourism sector, is a seventh-generation African Nova Scotian. He said his passion for history inspired him to start the company.

"I want to promote, not only the history, but the culture, the art, the music and [if] we have this tourism company, we can showcase a lot of talent in Nova Scotia," he said.

In January, Brooks applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board for a Motor Carrier Licence, which allows companies to operate vehicles that hold nine or more people.

But Brooks said his application wasn't granted by the review board after three local tour companies objected. The UARB allows other operators to weigh in on the issue by submitting a letter.

If the UARB acknowledges the objection, the person applying for the licence must provide evidence to support their position, while those opposed must provide evidence to the contrary.

The UARB can decide to go ahead with a preliminary hearing and then a formal hearing.

Other tour companies object

Brooks's preliminary hearing happened on March 1 . Two of the three companies that submitted objection letters were in attendance. 

Titanic Historical Tours and Anchor Tours said they opposed the new company because there's no market for African Nova Scotian cultural tours, and they're worried Brooks's company could use the licence to move into their service areas if it doesn't work out.

One local company, Aberdeen Bus Tours, does offer tours of Black cultural sites , while the three opposing companies do not.

"I'm not opposing him doing just the Black tours — I have no issue with that whatsoever — I'm worried about the 'charter' part of it, and the company name does have 'charter' in there," Paul McNeil with Titanic Historical Tours said at the hearing.

"If this whole thing doesn't fly, then what's he planning on doing with the van — open-ended charters?"

• Harbour Hopper tours updated to reflect Mi'kmaw, Black Nova Scotian history
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Jeff Babineau with Anchor Tours also spoke out during the hearing.

"I think it's a very worthwhile endeavour that they're attempting to do, as with other cultural groups within the province," Babineau said.

"I do have some concerns here and I would say this with anyone looking to set up niche market tours, regardless of what the content is in itself … I have legitimate concerns in terms of overcapacity within the industry for existing operators."

Formal hearing happening Monday

CBC News contacted Titanic Historical Tours and Anchors Tours about interviews, but was denied by both companies. Prestige Limousine, the third company who submitted an objection letter, did not respond to requests. 

Following the preliminary hearing, the UARB decided to go ahead with a formal hearing, which is set for Monday.

While Brooks has received nearly a dozen letters of support from the Black Cultural Centre and people like Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs Twila Grosse and Halifax Coun. Trish Purdy, who represents Cole Harbour Westphal-Lake Loon Cherrybrook, he's said the situation has been upsetting.

"I thought it was a simple process," he said. "We go ahead, we incorporate, spent thousands of dollars and then we go and apply for the licence and we would get the licence and we'd meet all the requirements.

"So when we applied for the licence, then the UARB puts it up for anybody who opposes, like, why would you do that? That's the process, but it's not right."

Darlene Grant Fiander, the president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia, said this isn't the first time her organization has heard complaints about the UARB's process.

She said the tourism industry association has given feedback to the review board about improving the process.

Grant Fiander said while some of the information Brooks wants to share during his tour is already being done by others, there's always room for more.

"We know people are interested in places that have a good sense of themselves," Grant Fiander said. 

"We need to help develop our cultural tourism product in many different areas, and so that's what we're hearing out there. And we believe that's critically important."

Peter Mombourquette, a professor with the business and tourism and hospitality management department at Mount Saint Vincent University, also takes issue with the UARB's process. 

'Market should dictate whether someone's successful'

He said it's a free market and allowing competitors to oppose is over-regulation.

"I don't think [other operators] should get to dictate or influence who's a competitor in that market, in particular a market that's trying to be served by a visible minority to promote his heritage and promote his culture," Mombourquette said.

"These are not essential services and ultimately the market should dictate whether someone's successful or not."

CBC News contacted the UARB for an interview, but was denied since the matter is ongoing.

Brooks said he remains optimistic. He said he's hopeful he'll be granted the licence and has already started talking with community groups to brainstorm touring ideas.

Following the hearing on Monday, Brooks said he was told it could take one to three months to find out if he will receive the licence.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.  You can read more stories here .

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Feleshia Chandler is a journalist based in Halifax. She loves helping people tell their stories and has interests in issues surrounding LGBTQ+ people as well as Black, Indigenous and people of colour. You can reach her at [email protected].

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