“You’ll travel through fishing villages with wharves crowded with lobster boats, and diners offering seafood that’s travelled mere feet from seawater to plate.”

GAVIN CONWAY, AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST

Landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia, most tourists aim their rental rides at Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail. That’s understandable—to get a sense of what Nova Scotia’s all about, the trail is a great place to start. But there’s another, less-travelled route that will also give you a genuine flavour of this province: from Halifax to the town of Digby in the west.

It starts on the so-called Lighthouse Route, a twisting road running right up against the evocative maritime shoreline. You’ll travel through fishing villages with wharves crowded with lobster boats, and roadside diners offering seafood that’s travelled mere feet from seawater to plate. Along the way, be sure to stop in Lunenburg, a charming example of a typical Nova Scotia fishing town. Old Town Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its fabulous riot of brightly painted gothic houses reminds us it was once one of the wealthiest towns in North America.

The second part of the drive passes through dense forest, and you’ll eventually arrive on the Atlantic shore and the furthest point on the route, Digby. Once in Digby, it’s an essential ritual to sample the world-famous Digby scallops. These are reason enough to visit this hard-working fishing village.

Really, there’s no question that the best Mazda for this trip is the MX‑5 RF. The road serves up a drivers’ menu of fast, sweeping curves and tight, low-speed corners, so you’ll need the composed, balanced handling that the MX‑5 is famous for. With the top folded, you’ll get to enjoy the forest’s green, sun-speckled canopy and that evergreen smell.

Make sure you keep your camera at the ready as postcard-grade images wait around nearly every corner. This drive will leave you with a proper flavour of the Atlantic Maritimes, Nova Scotia style.