helen2003

We are planning a September trip to Newfoundland with an emphasis on Terra Nova and Gros Morne national parks. Any suggestions for how much time we need and highlights/stops driving from St. Johns to Gros Morne? Accommodation suggestions would also be welcome.

Elizabeth_S

A little more info would be helpful! How many nights are you spending in Newfoundland? Are you returning to St. John's to fly out or leaving from Deer Lake? What is your nightly budget? Is hiking your focus?

helen2003

It's looking like 9 days in total with perhaps 2 nights in St. Johns. We would be flying in and out of St Johns. Definitely want to include hiking. Nightly budget can be up to $200 per night for accommodation. Hope that helps.

Elizabeth_S

We stayed in Rocky Harbour which was a good base for all the Gros Morne activities. It's 800 kilometres from St. John's (but an easy one day drive as long as you don't mind a full day of driving).

So one possibility is you leave St. John's early the 3rd morning (spending the first two nights in St. John's which is really only one day of sightseeing) and drive straight thru. If you spend 3 nights in Gros Morne that gives you two days to explore the area.

Then drive back to Terra Nova (about a 5 hour drive) and spend 1 or 2 nights? (I'm not familiar with activities there). Then you could spend one or two nights (depending upon Terra Nova) in the Trinity area which is a lovely stop - depending upon when you're there you can see whales, puffins and icebergs, the Newfoundland trifecta. (Trinity is only about 90 minutes from Terra Nova - if it were us we'd probably stay there and do day trips to Terra Nova but we prefer to stay in one place for longer periods of time and don't mind driving)

Depending upon your flight time you could drive from Trinity to St. John's airport (we did). But you may prefer a night in St. John's before flying out.

Re accommodation - we rented efficiency units which are plentiful in Newfoundland. Spotlessly clean one bedroom units with kitchens - all were around $100 in 2014. If you click on my name you'll see a trip report of mine with names of the places where we stayed.

Is your trip this year? Do you have a rental car booked as I understand they can go quickly.

nfldbeothuk

Two days in Gros Morne is an absolute minimum. With that limitation I wouldn't consider the Gros Morne mountain trail, as it's a full day, and only for hikers in good condition. Do the Western Brook Pond boat tour for the spectacular scenery and the geological info in the narration (which should be booked ahead, if only a couple of days ahead), which involves an hour hike into the pond. And go over to the south side of the park for either the Green Gardens hike (pretty much a full day) or the Tablelands hike (spectacular barren hills like nothing else in Canada-- my favourite) and a visit to the Marine Centre in Norris Point (blue lobster! touch tank! adorably scenic small town!)

Terra Nova (and I've lived near there for 25 years) is just pretty, by comparison. The hike from Salton's Brook to Newman Sound, or up Ochre Hill, could be nice. Unlike Gros Morne, there isn't a lot of accommodation in the park itself, other than campsites. You can stay in cabins around Glovertown or Port Blandford.

I second Elizabeth S's suggestion to go to Trinity/ Bonavista. Check the "season" for whether icebergs (www.icebergfinder.com, but not likely in Sept.), puffins (June-August, might be some left at the beginning of the month), or whales are around. Trinity/Bonavista is also a great area for historic sites: the Trinity museum/cooperage/church and the theatre festival there, the lighthouse/Ryan Premises/Matthew replica/Mockbeggar property/Port Union historic area when you get to Bonavista, which is 30 minutes or so beyond Trinity.

And definitely book your rental car soon...and be aware that unlimited mileage is not standard for all companies here.

But it can be just as beautiful as the tourism ads. And September is usually a good month, weather-wise.