Founder/Occasional Driver

Sometimes writer and most-times entrepreneur, Sam is the founder of Alternative Routes. She spends her off time travelling the globe and her workdays exploring Atlantic Canada with small groups of near-strangers — which, it turns out, is a pretty great way to make a living.

She started Alternative Routes in 2016 with one van and a simple idea: visitors wanted to explore beyond the cities, but had no easy way to get there. What began as a practical solution has grown into a community-led travel company connecting travellers with rural Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and beyond.

Sam’s long-term hope is that one day, travelling across the Atlantic provinces will be as easy as buying a single pass. She still plans to write the Great American — ahem — Canadian novel, but is happily occupying herself in the meantime with dark, witty plays and telling elaborate bedtime stories to her two 60-pound bulldogs, Lola and Rigby.

Driver Guide

Originally from the west coast, Ian went against all better judgment (and traffic patterns) and moved east to Halifax, where he promptly fell in with the wrong crowd and was pressured into trying stand-up comedy.

It worked out.

Ian has since been voted Halifax’s Funniest and has become a favourite across the Maritimes, opening for the likes of Bob Saget, Tig Notaro, and Doug Stanhope. On the road, he brings that same sharp wit and easy warmth — the kind that puts people at ease quickly and keeps the ride lively without ever feeling “on.”

He’s also the proud parent of one of the cutest kids on the planet (this is the official Alternative Routes position, though Ian would probably agree). We’re as lucky as our guests are to have him back behind the wheel again this season.

Driver Guide

Despite having reached a stage of life best described as “older than dirt,” Laurie refuses to slow down or surrender to respectability.

A former corporate professional who escaped just in time, Laurie now describes himself as a middling musician, an enthusiastic sailor, a teller of tales, and a devoted admirer of fine ales. When he manages to slip the lines from shore, he indulges in the fantasy that he could sail anywhere the wind might carry him — and honestly, we wouldn’t put it past him.

As a driver-guide, Laurie invites guests along on what he calls a minor adventure around a slice of his adopted home in Nova Scotia. Minor in scale, perhaps — but often memorable in all the ways that matter.