The largest tidal ranges in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. You can experience these tides on the Society’s lighthouse tour of Grand Manan Island and St. John, New Brunswick as well as Downeast Maine. Witness the amazing 50 foot vertical tides as well as the phenomenon known as the “tidal bore” where out flowing rivers flow back upstream as the tide comes in. Our tour begins in Bangor, Maine, but immediately heads into Canada to catch the ferry from Blacks Harbour to Grand Manan Island where we will be welcomed into the harbor by the Swallowtail lighthouse. Once the largest supplier of smoked herring in the world, Grand Manan was voted by Reader’s Digest as one of the “World’s 7 Best Small Islands.” Three nights on the island will provide us an opportunity to visit the land based lighthouses as well as offshore lights on Gannet Rock and Machias Seal Island. Returning to the mainland, our next destination is Saint John, NB, where we will spend three days exploring the local lights including Partridge Island, the site of the first quarantine station in Canada. We have created a special cruise out of Saint John to view lighthouses along the river, and day trip follows the coastline out of Saint John ro St Martin where the tide races and rages around the scenic Quaco Head Lighthouse. Heading back to the U.S. the tour will conclude by visiting the two “Quoddy” lighthouses: West and East (Harbour Head) before returning to our starting point in Bangor. While the lighthouses are the reason for the tour, the addition of Saint John and the Fundy tides phenomena, makes this tour twice as attractive!