Comments on 12 Days in Nfld
 

We have 12 days to spend in Newfoundland in July. We have never been to this area. Tentatively we are looking at the following itinerary:

4 nights - arrive on ferry at Argentia @ 10 am drive to St. John's

3 nights - Bonavista

4 nights - Rocky harbor

1 night - somewhere within one hour of ferry to NS. We have an 8 am ferry departure from Port aux Basques which sounded pretty dreary so wondering if there might be a better place to spend the night?

We prefer to limit the number of places we stay and do day trips from each area. Any comments on this plan? Thanks

Hi, Glad you decided to go to Newfoundland! The itinerary you listed will give you a flavor of the Island. Most likely when the trip is over you will say that 12 days was too short and start planning your return trip. That has happened to so many of us :) The only issue I have with your proposed itinerary is that I hate the thought of you losing a day driving across the island. It is a long drive and in mho not very interesting. You may want to consider doing just one half of the island. If you chose to do the east half, since you like to hike, I would increase St. John's area to 5 days and then 3 nights in Bonavista and then head up to Fogo and Change Islands. They are very quiet places, but great places to chill out, walk around and meet people. About your Port aux Basques question, since it is an 8:00 ferry, I would spend the night in PAB. It stays light late, so you could take a detour from RH to PAB. Some suggestions are The Boot out on the Port au Port Pennisula, Rose Blanche and Isle aux Morts on the south coast, or the Codroy Valley. If I remember right, you need to line-up two hours ahead. You could see one of those places and then just be minutes from the ferry when you wake up.

Fogo and Change Islands, Yes! A unique experience, and so very relaxing. I agree also that the drive across Nfld. is quite boring , but I prefer it to taking the overnight ferry from Argentia. Not much different in terms of time and cost, as I recall.

Near St. John's I recommend the whale and puffin watching at Witless Bay, and Ferryland historic site and nearby the charming picinic lunch on the cliffs beside the lighthouse.

If you are going to return via Port aux Basques, Barachois Pond Provincial park has some great hiking up to a high lookout, and also a small beach. You could spend a good part of the day there and then get to PAB for dinner.

Hate the thought of driving across also, but really do want to see both sides. I would not want to pass on Gros Marne.

Thanks for the ideas!

I have a question re the roads. I now the Trans Canada highway is there and that is fine, but what about other roads? R they ok for driving a normal vehicle? We may drive a sports car up which is a bit lower to the ground than a sedan. Will be ok with that?

1) Barachois is a nice spot, but I see you end up in Port aux Basques. That would be my suggestion--there are some pretty spots in the area, but nowhere to stay that would make it worth getting up earlier and driving to the ferry.
2) Ferryland and Bay Bulls (for whale watching) make a great day trip from St. John's
3) The secondary roads are narrower, and don't have paved shoulders, but there are plenty of people driving "normal vehicles" in Newfoundland.

Truthfully Gros MOrne is worth the drive; we summer in Woody Point and the beauty of it never gets old; Overall the roads seem to be good. The worst roads I have seen are in Corner Brook - very uneven rutted with pot holes. And of course you'd stay away from gravel ones. With a sports car you wouldn't have to worry about moose; you could drive right between its legs.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, it was pot holes or rutted roads I was concerned about. Some TRs I have read on other travel sites have made many of the secondary roads sound like they could be bad and more suitable for four wheel drive vehicles. Funny idea re the moose!

Oops, I think it was Bay Bulls, not Witless Bay, where we did the whale and puffin watching tour. I remembered it was an odd name--but what isn't in Newfoundland? ;-)