krisz

We will be spending one week in Newfoundland next month. We fly into Deer Lake and out of St. John. I was planning on 3 days in Gros Morne, then either driving or flying to St. John. We can afford to fly, although it seems like alot of money to save a few hours so to have a bit more time in and around St. John. Any opinions?
Thanks,
krisz

dial

We just returned from 2 wonderful weeks in NFLD. Without knowing what you like to do and whether driving 6-7 hours is pleasure/pain, I would drive for the following reasons:
- road (TCH) is great with very little traffic - pleasure to drive an open road for a change;
- drive through Terra Nova Park is nice;
- you may plan on visiting, say, Bonavista Peninsula including Trinity which is on the way;
- if you plan to see Cape St. Mary's bird sanctuary, could incoprorate it as a diversion enroute
- probably won't save a lot of time flying by the time you change rental cars, wait, etc.

However, depending on what you like to do and how important St. John's/Avalon are to you, doing both sides of NFLD is a lot in one week - as you undoubtedly know, it is a physically large province with lots to do. We enjoyed our 2 weeks but the driving adds up as we flew in/out of St. John's and went up to St. Anthony/L'Anse aux Meadows. We covered 3800 km (approx 2300 mi). Depending on what you like to do and if returning to NFLD is a future possibilityt, one option is to stay on the west coast of NFLD for this trip. Let us know what you like to do, are children involved, etc.? Would also be happy to share more details on our trip.

krisz

Thanks for the reply, dial. My husband got the idea that we would spend hours stuck behind big trucks, slow moving traffic, etc. He also thinks we'll put so many kilometers on the rental car that we'll have a hefty fee which brings the cost of flying down in a relative sense.

We like scenery, wildlife, easy hikes, and eating. We tend to move quickly and like to see alot superficially the first time we visit an area, then go back to eplore favorite places more at another time. Life is such that we never get away more than 8 days at a time and we feel lucky to be able to travel at all. No children on the trip. Thanks for any tips.
krisz

dial

Firstly, we were in NFLD June 26 - July 10, the beginning of tourist season so traffic is a little lighter ( although I doubt roads ever get clogged) and weather is cooler/foggier. The one thing we learned was the weather was unpredictable and therefore, take advantage of the good weather to do the weather sensitive excursions like Western Brook Pond, hikes to lookout points, etc.

It reads like you will be doing both Gros Morne and St. John's. The road (TCH) has intermittent passing lanes through hilly areas and light traffic, such that you rarely got stuck behind trucks and RV's. There may be more traffic later in the season. On the topic of rental car kilometres, either don't worry about it or find the best package of price/free km because a number of travellers didn't do sidetrips because of the addt'l km.

Tips for Gros Morne:
- Western Brook Pond boat tour is a must, phone ahead;
- Our family is not a "hiking family" but enjoyed Lookout Trail (5km round-trip; steady incline up) and Greed Garden (9km; shorter loop; spend time at the rocky beach). Both are rated 2 or 2.5 on 4 pt scale of difficulty. You can skip the Tablelands hike as you can see the same thing from the road unless the geology is of interest (4km; easy). All of these are in the south side which is a) where we stayed, b)its very scenic, c) less crowded than north side.
- We did not hike Gros Morne itself which is an arduous hike;
- Seaside Resturant, Trout River (south side), was one of the best meals we had on our trip. The baking is great as well as the seafood. Good lobster although season is ending very soon
- Catch a show at the Gros Morne theatre as it is very good. We saw Tempting Providence, a drama about Nurse Bennett.
- Lots of moose, esp. at dusk which also makes driving a bit more risky

St. John's tips:
- a nice moderate hike is North Head Trail at Signal Hill, moderate but very scenic.
- Bay Bulls, bird watch tour is worthwhile - we saw whales, iceberg and the birds, puffins are cute. Drive to Bay Bulls can also include Cape Spear and Petty Cove/Maddux - one of the more scenic/quaint fishing villages.

Another tip - If you plan to visit other Canadian nat'l parks and/or nat'l historic sites in the next year, consider buying an annual national pass. Knowledgeable staff can help you with options. We bought a combined pass as many of NFLD's sites are nat'l sites (ie run by Parks Canada) including Gros Morne, Signal Hill, Cape Spear, Signal Hill, L'Anse aux meadows.

Have you already booked accomodation? If not, preferences and price range? Unless you are happy-go-lucky and don't care about the type of accomodation, we strongly recommend booking in advance as accomodations are limited outside of St. John's.

Have fun!!

davidess

Hi, Dial--sounds like a great trip. My wife and I are driving Pt-aux-Basques--St. John's (and then Argentia to the ferry) in mid-September, doing Gros Morne, L'Anse aux Meadows and a number of departures (Twillingate, Trinity, etc) from the TCH along the way. Any suggestions re accommodations would be gratefully received. We're working out of the Nfld and Labrador tourist guide, but apart from that are flying blind. Thanks for any comments.

DES

Retired_teacher

Attention davidless: When we were in Newfoundland during the summer of 2000, I booked all of our accommodations on the net. Try www.gov.nf.ca/tourism/mainmenu and from there go to the accommodations site. I would strongly recommend booking your accommodations for L'Anse aux Meadows soon as there are a limited number of rooms up on that penninsula. Also be sure to take an iceberg/whale watching cruise while in Twillingate.

Attention krisz: From our experience in 2000, I would advise you to drive and absorb the scenery. I would also suggest spending at least a night up in the Twillingate area. St. John is lovely, but it is a big city. To me Newfoundland is the backcountry. Rent an SUV, take some gravel logging roads for lots of moose sightings and beautiful scenery.

davidess

ttt

dial

Davidess...Nfld Accomodations:
- The Guidebook and related website are very good and we found the ratings to be consistent although sometimes it is hard to tell between, say 2.5 and 3/3.5 rated places.
- Here is where we stayed. Keep in mind we had children aged 12 and 14; tried to keep accomodation costs reasonable (eg looked for places with rooms with 2 beds)which they are; and a lot of the nicer/higher rated places were booked for the dates we wanted (we were booking in April/May for late June/early July); we would recommend all of the places we stayed at

St. John's - Fairmont Hotel Newfoundland - splurged but well worth it. Check for weekend rates. Sunday brunch was very enjoyable.

Woody Point (Gros Morne South) - Victorian Manor - we were in 2 bdrm efficiency; better than its 2.5 rating; has been renovated so its like new; good kitchen; bdrms are fine but not luxurious; nice to have kitchen if you don't always want to eat out; nice staff. Owners also own Seaside Restaurant in Trout River

Cow Head (Gros Morne north) - J&J Hospitality B&B - Rooms are fine; Elizabeth is great - cooks a great breakfast and is a pleasure to speak with. Has been doing it since approx 1985.

L'Anse aux Meadows (Hay Cove)- Viking Village B&B - rooms are fine; ask for room on the east side as they have small deck and look out onto the ocean; has a huge projection TV; quite a few rooms so you meet lots of travellers but less intimate; they will do dinner if requested which we did both nights - RECOMMENDED as dinner was execllent both nights (moose and salmon and codfish cakes), very reasonable and restuarants are limited. Another recommendation is Marilyn's which is next door - other travellers enjoyed Marilyn and her great cooking; she is also good friends with J&J's Elizabeth.

Trinity area - Rolling Hills B&B in Dunfield (5km from Trinity);opinions are always highly personal but this was probably our accomodations highlght (excluding Fairmont in St John's) and one of our fond memories of NFLD; restored 1903 house; comfortable rooms; good bkfst served on china; Ed and Margaret were great - it was like we were visiting with them rather than staying at a B&B.

Hope this helps.

davidess

Dial (and retired teacher), can't thank you enough for the recommendations. I apologize for the delay in acknowledging your replies--been away at a softball tournament in Allentown PA--definitely not tourist country!

I will surely pursue your leads re Gros Morne and L'Anse aux Meadows and, of course, Trinity. Thanks again. Made my day (we lost horribly in A-town).

DES