Is There a Ferry From Portland, Maine to Nova Scotia?

AvatarByEric Dawson Boats & Cruises

No, there is no ferry from Portland, Maine to Nova Scotia, and there has not been one since the 2018 season closed. The CAT, the fast ferry that used to run that crossing, moved north to Bar Harbor and now sails to Yarmouth in about 3.5 hours. Portland turned down a request from Bay Ferries to revive the route in 2019, and no operator has taken the berth since. Starting from Portland today means driving to Bar Harbor for The CAT, driving further to Saint John in New Brunswick for the Bay of Fundy crossing, or waiting on a proposed service out of Portsmouth.

Why the Portland to Nova Scotia Ferry Stopped Running

The Portland to Yarmouth ferry stopped because Bay Ferries lost its lease on the waterfront property it used as a terminal in Portland, and when the lease expired at the end of the 2018 season, the company moved its Maine terminal to Bar Harbor instead. Bay Ferries had run The CAT on the Portland route for three seasons before that move, and the service did not end for lack of demand.

The 2018 Move to Bar Harbor

Relocating a fast ferry is not a matter of pointing it at a different dock. Bar Harbor needed a terminal able to handle passengers, vehicles and customs processing, and the town was not ready in time. Bay Ferries had to cancel the entire 2019 season while the port was brought up to standard. Then the COVID-19 pandemic closed the border to casual travel, and the crossing stayed dark until the spring of 2022, three years after the last sailing.

The 2019 Vote in Portland

Portland did get one more chance. In 2019 Bay Ferries made a late request to the city council for permission to run a Portland to Yarmouth service for that season after all, and the council voted it down. Sources consulted for this article do not spell out the council’s full reasoning beyond the timing of the request. What matters for a traveler is the result: the Portland berth is closed rather than merely resting, and nothing has been announced to reopen it.

How to Get from Portland to Nova Scotia Today

Three routes reach Nova Scotia from Portland today: drive to Bar Harbor for The CAT ferry to Yarmouth, drive further to Saint John, New Brunswick for the Bay of Fundy ferry to Digby, or drive the whole way around by road. Each trades road time against sea time, and each keeps a different season.

Drive to Bar Harbor and Sail on the CAT

Bar Harbor is the only Maine port with a Nova Scotia sailing. The terminal address is 121 Eden St, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, and The CAT reaches Yarmouth in roughly 3.5 hours. Walk on passengers, vehicles and bicycles are all carried. Bay Ferries lists the 2026 operating season as May 14 to October 14, which leaves the water route shut for most of the year.

Here is what a single travel day actually looks like. Departure from Bar Harbor is at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, so a 3.5 hour crossing puts the ship alongside in Yarmouth at about 6:30 PM Eastern. Nova Scotia keeps Atlantic Time, one hour ahead, so the terminal clock will read roughly 7:30 PM as you drive off. Build the rest of that day around an arrival after dinner, not before it.

Drive to Saint John and Cross the Bay of Fundy

Travelers who miss The CAT season usually end up on the Bay of Fundy instead. Bay Ferries also runs the MV Fundy Rose between Saint John, New Brunswick and Digby, Nova Scotia, a crossing of about 2 hours 15 minutes in peak season and 2 hours 30 minutes outside it. Saint John sits roughly 3.5 hours of driving beyond Bar Harbor, with a land border in between, so the trade is a longer road day for a shorter day at sea. Published schedules for that route run through March 31, 2027, which makes it the option that survives the winter.

Sailings leave Saint John at 8:00 AM and 2:15 PM Atlantic Time, and return from Digby at 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM Atlantic Time. Cars, recreational vehicles, trucks, tour buses and motorcycles are all accepted, along with walk on passengers and pets. Anyone aiming for the afternoon departure out of Saint John should read 2:15 PM Atlantic as 1:15 PM Eastern and work backwards from there, allowing for the border.

Drive the Whole Way Around

Skipping the water is a legitimate plan rather than a failure. Nova Scotia connects to the mainland by road through New Brunswick, so a driver who cannot make the season or the schedule can simply keep going. Cost here is measured in hours rather than in access. None of the sources consulted publish a driving time for the full land route, so check a mapping service before you commit to it.

The CAT Ferry Schedule and Crossing Time

The CAT makes one round trip a day: it leaves Yarmouth at 9:30 AM Atlantic Time and leaves Bar Harbor at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, a crossing of about 3.5 hours each way. That one vessel, one round trip, two time zone pattern is simpler than most ferry timetables in the region.

Departure Times and Season Dates

As of September 2026, The CAT leaves Yarmouth at 9:30 AM Atlantic Time and leaves Bar Harbor at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Season dates for 2026 run from May 14 to October 14. Because the two ports sit in different time zones, the published schedule mixes Atlantic and Eastern times on the same page, and reading the wrong column is an easy mistake to make.

There is a second date worth noting before anyone books far ahead. The operating contract with Bay Ferries Ltd covers the 2026 sailing season, and what happens afterwards has not been settled publicly. Travelers planning a 2027 trip should confirm the route exists before arranging flights or rooms around it.

What the Crossing Is Like Onboard

Three and a half hours is long enough to need somewhere comfortable to sit and short enough that cabins are not part of the offer. Lounges, movie rooms, board games and a children’s play area are all listed by the operator, along with a gift shop and the Sip@Sea coffee service. Food service is available in the Forchu Lounge. Live entertainment appears on summer weekends.

Green Marine certification covers the vessel’s environmental practices, a detail the operator highlights and most route roundups leave out. Reservations are strongly encouraged on every source consulted, and the booking line is 1.877.762.7245.

Ferry Routes to Nova Scotia Compared

Two ferry services currently move passengers between Maine and Nova Scotia, Bay Ferries’ The CAT from Bar Harbor and its MV Fundy Rose from Saint John, New Brunswick, while a third, Scotia Prince from Portsmouth, is only planned. The table below sets all three side by side as of September 2026.

Route Operator Crossing time Season Departures Status
Bar Harbor, ME to Yarmouth, NS Bay Ferries (The CAT) About 3.5 hours May 14 to October 14, 2026 9:30 AM from Yarmouth (Atlantic); 3:00 PM from Bar Harbor (Eastern) Running
Saint John, NB to Digby, NS Bay Ferries (MV Fundy Rose) 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes Year round, schedule posted through March 31, 2027 8:00 AM and 2:15 PM from Saint John; 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM from Digby (Atlantic) Running
Portsmouth, NH to Nova Scotia Scotia Prince Overnight May to November (planned) Not yet published Planned for May 2027

Reading down the status column gives the shape of the problem quickly. Bay Ferries is the only company currently carrying passengers between New England and Nova Scotia, and its two terminals are about 3.5 hours of driving apart, so the fallback is never close at hand.

Timing Your Trip Around the Season and the Clock

Plan around the CAT’s May 14 to October 14 season for a Maine departure, and switch to the year round Saint John to Digby route for the rest of the year, since season and time zone cause more trouble on this trip than fares do.

Traveling Between May and October

Summer is the only window in which a Maine departure works. With the 2026 season ending on October 14, a trip booked for late October or November has to move to Saint John or to the road. As of September 14, 2026 the operator was advertising 50% off passenger fares on The CAT, so late season travel had a discount attached to it. Promotions like that are not permanent, and the figure should be confirmed at the time of booking.

Getting Across in Winter

Winter removes the Maine option entirely. MV Fundy Rose keeps running out of Saint John with a schedule published through March 31, 2027, which is the reason winter travelers end up in New Brunswick rather than at Bar Harbor. Weather can still interrupt a Bay of Fundy sailing, so a winter crossing deserves a spare day in the itinerary and a phone call before the drive.

I would choose the Saint John to Digby ferry for a trip outside the summer window, even though it adds a much longer drive from Portland. A crossing that runs year round is more useful to me than a faster route that closes from mid October to mid May. I would also favor it for a 2027 plan because its schedule extends into that year, while The CAT’s operation after 2026 is not settled. The CAT remains my pick when its season and one daily departure fit cleanly.

Booking, Fares and Contact Details

Both Bay Ferries routes share a reservations line, and neither of them publishes fares in a way that can be quoted secondhand with any confidence.

How to Reserve a Crossing

Reservations are strongly encouraged on The CAT and recommended on MV Fundy Rose, and one number covers both: 1.877.762.7245. Vehicle space is the constraint on a single daily round trip, so anyone bringing a car has less room for error than a walk on passenger does. Bicycles travel on The CAT as well, which matters to riders who want to reach Nova Scotia without a vehicle at all.

Why Fares Are Hard to Quote in Advance

Neither Bay Ferries page consulted in September 2026 displays a fare table. Both point to a 2026 fares page instead of printing prices on the route page, so any dollar figure repeated here would be invented rather than sourced. What the operator did publish, as of September 14, 2026, is the 50% passenger fare promotion mentioned above. Ask about it directly when you call, and ask separately about the vehicle charge, because passenger discounts and vehicle rates are priced apart on most ferry routes.

The Planned Portsmouth to Nova Scotia Ferry

A new operator, Scotia Prince, is targeting May 2027 for a service between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Nova Scotia, running daily through November. The crossing would be an overnight voyage rather than a daytime dash, which means a considerably longer time at sea than the 3.5 hours The CAT takes from Bar Harbor. Onboard plans described so far include an entertainment lounge, several dining options, and the capacity to carry trucks.

Backers describe the project as filling “a critical gap in cross-border travel” between New England and Atlantic Canada, and it is positioned openly as a competitor to The CAT. For Portland residents the relevant point is geography. Portsmouth is south of Portland rather than north east of it, so a 2027 launch would give southern Maine a sailing port in the opposite direction from Bar Harbor. Nothing about the service is confirmed yet, and a planned launch date is not a schedule.

If the Ferry Plan Still Does Not Work

Plans come apart on this route for four ordinary reasons: the season has closed, the sailing is sold out, the time zone was misread, or the contract for next year is unsettled. Each has a workable response.

  1. Season closed: switch to Saint John and Digby. MV Fundy Rose runs year round with departures published through March 31, 2027, at the cost of about 3.5 hours more driving beyond Bar Harbor.
  2. Sold out: call 1.877.762.7245 rather than giving up on the website. Bay Ferries handles both routes on that line and can say whether vehicle space or foot passenger space is the blockage.
  3. Time zone confusion: convert everything to one clock before you leave. A 3:00 PM Eastern departure from Bar Harbor lands in Yarmouth near 7:30 PM Atlantic, and a 2:15 PM Atlantic departure from Saint John is 1:15 PM Eastern.
  4. Next year uncertain: do not book non refundable travel around a 2027 crossing until Bay Ferries confirms the season, because the current contract covers 2026 only.
  5. No crossing that suits you: drive through New Brunswick. Access to Nova Scotia never depends on a ferry, only convenience does.

One more practical note for anyone still hoping the Portland terminal reopens. No operator has applied publicly to restart a Portland to Yarmouth service since the 2019 rejection, and the newest proposal on the table starts from Portsmouth instead. Treating Bar Harbor as the Maine ferry port is the realistic default until that changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Is the Ferry from Maine to Nova Scotia?

The CAT crosses from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth in about 3.5 hours. That is the only Maine to Nova Scotia sailing operating, and it runs once each way per day during the season. Crossings from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby are shorter, at roughly 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, but they start well outside Maine.

Does the CAT Carry Cars and Bicycles?

Yes. Walk on passengers, vehicles and bicycles are all accepted on The CAT. Vehicle space is limited on a single daily round trip, so reserving ahead matters more for drivers than for foot passengers.

Do I Need a Reservation for the Bar Harbor Ferry?

Reservations are strongly encouraged by Bay Ferries and by every other source consulted for this article. Booking is handled on 1.877.762.7245. Showing up without one is a gamble that gets worse if you are bringing a vehicle.

What Time Zone Does Yarmouth Use?

Yarmouth is on Atlantic Time, one hour ahead of Eastern Time in Maine. Bay Ferries prints Yarmouth departures in Atlantic Time and Bar Harbor departures in Eastern Time on the same schedule. Convert both to a single clock when you plan the day, or the arrival time will surprise you.

Will the CAT Run in 2027?

Nobody can say yet. The operating contract with Bay Ferries Ltd covers the 2026 sailing season, and the future of the service beyond that has not been decided publicly. Anyone planning a 2027 trip should confirm with the operator before booking flights or lodging around a crossing.

Portland lost its Nova Scotia ferry to an expired lease and a council vote, not to a lack of demand, and the practical result is a drive before a sail. Bar Harbor and The CAT cover the summer, Saint John and MV Fundy Rose cover the rest of the year, and the proposed Portsmouth service is worth watching for 2027 without being counted on. Phone 1.877.762.7245, confirm the season and the time zone, then book the vehicle space first.

What This Page Does Not Publish

  • I do not quote fares here, because ferry prices vary by sailing, vehicle and booking.
  • I do not unpack Portland’s 2019 council vote beyond its outcome.
  • I do not cover unannounced operators or water-taxi alternatives.

References

Author Profile

Eric Dawson
Eric Dawson
I'm Eric Dawson, the writer behind The Money Watch. I live in the Columbus, Ohio area and I write about the ordinary questions that turn out to be complicated: computers, shopping, food, travel, parking, small businesses, fees, rules and products. Every article starts with the official page, the maker or the agency, then the sources that check it, and I say plainly where they disagree and what I would do. More about how I work is on the About page.