GETTING THERE

If traveling by car, there are two entry points to Cape Breton: the Canso Causeway at Port Hastings and car ferries to and from Port-aux-Basques and Argentia, Newfoundland, and the Marine Atlantic terminal in North Sydney. There is daily public bus service to and from Halifax and Sydney (the trip takes seven to eight hours) and there are flights in and out of the Sydney Airport to other Canadian cities and to U.S. cities.

CELTIC COLOURS FESTIVAL

Oct. 5-13, 2007. Tickets go on sale July 9, 2007.

Information: Phone: (888) 355-7744; E-mail: info@celtic-colours.com; www.celtic-colours.com/GeneralInfo.html. Concerts and workshops take place in venues throughout Cape Breton Island. After their performances, many players continue in impromptu sessions at the Festival Club, located in the Gaelic College in St. Ann's. (A free shuttle bus runs to and from Baddeck-area lodgings and the Gaelic College.)

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATIONS

(Prices are in Canadian dollars followed by U.S. dollars.)

Port Hood: Haus Treuburg, P.O. Box 92, Port Hood, N.S. B0E 2W0 Canada; Phone: (902) 787-2116; www.haustreuburg.com. On Cape Breton's west coast, in the middle of the Ceilidh Trail. B and B in a turn-of-the-last-century main house with three cottages. Georg and Elvi Kargoll are the proprietors. Open May 1-Dec. 31. Doubles from $95 to $135 (US $90-$127). Breakfast additional at $9.90 per person (US $9.34).

Cape Breton Highlands National Park: Keltic Lodge Resort and Spa, Middle Head Peninsula, Ingonish Beach, N.S. B0C 1L0. Phone: (902) 285-2880 or (800) 565-0444; www.signatureresorts.com/resorts.asp. One of three resorts owned by the Province of Nova Scotia. Spa, tennis courts, heated swimming pool, 18-hole golf course and other recreational facilities within a national park. Accommodations include 102 rooms in the historic lodge, a modern "inn" and cottages. Two restaurants. Open mid-May to Oct. 20. Doubles from around $350/night, including dinner and breakfast (US $330). Packages available.

Baddeck: Castle Moffett, Box 678, Baddeck, Cape Breton, N.S., Canada B0E 1B0; Phone: (902) 756-9070 or (888) 756 9070; www.castlemoffett.com. Centrally located on 200 acres overlooking Bras d'Or Lakes. The castle was built in 1992 as a private home by Desmond and Linda Moffett (who continued to run it after her husband's death in 2006). Open early May to mid-October. Suites, with fireplace and whirlpool tub, from $250/night (US $236). Packages available that include dinner and breakfast for two, from $528/night (US $498).

Port Hawkesbury: Mackenzie House B and B, 4 Tupper Ct., Port Hawkesbury, N.S. B9A 2A6; Phone: (902) 625-1026 or (800) 378-4042; www.mackenziehouse.com. Near the Canso Causeway that connects with mainland Nova Scotia. Open year-round. Doubles, $115-$125 including breakfast (US $108.50-$118). (From $85-$100 off season, with weekly rates and packages available. US $80-$94).

RECOMMENDED DINING

Port Hood: Haus Treuburg (for contact information, see above). Georg Kargoll is a superb cook. Four-course dinner, $39 (US $37).

Mabou: Red Shoe Pub, Route 19; Phone: (902) 945-2996. Open daily from June 1 to mid-October, 11:30 a.m., Mon.-Sat., and from noon on Sundays. Full menu from opening until 9:30 p.m. and a late-night menu thereafter. Soups, sandwiches, salads, Acadian tourtiere meat pie, $5-$13 (US $4.72-$12.26). Entrees, fresh fish, meat loaf, pork chops, pasta, $13-$17 (US $12.26-$16). Live entertainment nightly, sometimes with a $6 cover charge (US $5.66).

Cape Breton Highlands National Park: The Purple Thistle Room in the Keltic Lodge (for contact information, see above). Open daily in season. Dinner entrees, Atlantic salmon, lobster, deep sea scallops, haddock, chicken, pork, beef striploin, $18-$25 (US $17-$23.50).