Never been to St. John's

Old Dec 3rd, 2000, 09:16 AM
  #1  
cathy
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Never been to St. John's

We are planning a trip to Newfoundland in July 2001. We are flying in to St. John's and staying for a week. Do we need to rent a car? Looking for a reasonable place to stay in the downtown area. Any restaurant recommendations. How do we get from the airport to downtown? Are there shuttles? Is the city easy to get around?
 
Old Dec 4th, 2000, 10:06 AM
  #2  
Thor
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cathy: St John's core is compact and can easily be walked, although there is a fair bit of up and down. If you are more energetic, you can walk to the top of Signal Hill, and get a terrific view of the harbour and the open Atlantic, including views of icebergs if you don't go too late in the summer. There are some interesting communities on the Avalon Peninsula, which you would need a car to reach. I would recommend picking up an accomodation guide for Newfoundland from the provincial Tourism office. Unless you really like fancy hotels, I would recommend Bed and Breakfasts. You will receive a warm welcome, a good, hearty breakfast, and some expert local tourist advice. It's been too long since I've been there to recommend restaurants, but I would order any fish dish, as, of course, that's what the province is known for culinarily. Access to the downtown from the airport is by taxi or shuttle bus
 
Old Dec 6th, 2000, 09:31 AM
  #3  
Joe
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St. Johns is compact and to tour it, you would not need a car. However, with a week to spend, there are some great locations within easy driving distance you would miss without one. A good day trip would take you along the Coast to Fundy National Park with a return via Highway 1 through some of the most beautiful farm country you will ever see. Along the way you could stop at St. Martins, an old ship building village with many original houses and covered bridges still standing; Alma, another quaint little village on the Coast where we stopped at The Parkview Hotel (very casual) for lunch (great lobster roll); The Rocks or "Flowerpot" where the amazing tides have erroded stands of rock with trees and folliage on top, giving the aooearence at low tide of giant flowepots (at low tide, walk among the "Pots"; Moncton where you can actually see the tides push the river back upstream, a sight to see; and then back over Highway 1 through the aformentioned farm country. This Highway 1 trip is acknowleged by most Canadian Tourist Agencies as one of the most beautiful rides in Canada. You will travel seaside, through meadows, through forests and, again, through beautiful rolling hills in the farm country.

Another great day trip would be to take the ferry to Digby, Nova Scotia. Have a scallop lunch or dinner at the restaurant attached to the Irving Gas Station at the arriving ferry slip (assuming it is still there). You cannot believe the flavor and quality of Digby Scallops served at this little restaurant. Always packed. Drive along the Nova Scotia Coast to Port Royal and tour the old Fort which is in a great state of restoration and then, perhaps, cross the inlet to tour the old, restored French Fort which is also in excellent condition and will give you a real glimpse at how they lived.

Back to Digby to take the ferry back to St. Johns. A long, but very beautiful day. You can buy all your ferry tickets the evening before and line up early to get on the ferry (we were there at 8:30 for a 9:00 departure because we didn't want to miss the home-made goodies at the B&B).

We stayed at a B&B called 5 Chimneys. Not exactly downtown, but not far away. Reasonable, nice old world decore, very pleasant owner with good breakfasts (many home-made items). Love this part of the world.

We ate at Grammers Fish Restaurant at Market Square and Incredible Eatables in a Victorian near the Waterfront. First one casual, good, reasonable. Second one "nice casual", very good, a bit more. Good luck.
 
Old Dec 6th, 2000, 06:42 PM
  #4  
Lee
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Hi Joe. I think Cathy is planning a trip to St. John's, Neewfoundland.
Although your advise is great, I think you are confusing Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Sain John, NB is a great place for another visit.

Cathy.... You may need a car to see the outlying areas, but there is a lot you can see in St. John's on foot. You can walk up to Signal Hill and explore all the downtown are. However I would suggest you take some toures to Cape Spear and also to Whitless Bay for a boat trip. You might want to think about getting a car for a couple of days jsut to drive around some of the coastal villages north of St. John's.
Hope you have a great time.....oh and I too recommend B&B's.
 
Old Dec 7th, 2000, 10:58 AM
  #5  
Island Girl
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Cathy, try www.gov.nf.ca for more tourism info. If they will send you a tourist guide, you will probably be able to book your accommodations before you get there (if that's how you like to travel).
 
Old Dec 12th, 2000, 09:35 AM
  #6  
Joe
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Ooooops! Newfoundland sure looked like New Brunswick to me. Oh well, maybe another time.
 
Old Mar 20th, 2001, 07:56 AM
  #7  
Christy
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I'm sure you'll love St. John's in July! The downtown core is easily walkable and there is lots to see in that area. The Hungry Fisherman is a great seafood restaurant downtown, and The Cellar also has awesome food. These are somewhat pricey but are worth the money for sure. For a little taste of what we absentee Nfld'ers miss the most, definitely head to Ches's for the best fish 'n chips this side of the Atlantic!!!

I would rent a car for at least a couple of days and head up to Cape Spear, where you can stand on the easternmost tip of land in North America. There are some awesome boat tours that leave from Bay Bulls and Witless Bay (about an hour away from the city - easy to get directions at any tourist info). You'll see whales and icebergs like you've never seen before!

For a coastal view not far from the city, you can head northeast to my little hometown of Torbay, only about 20 minutes from downtown St. John's. You'll have a beautiful view of the ocean from Middle Cove or Torbay beach. If you keep driving another 20 minutes along the main road, you'll hit Pouch Cove, another even smaller scenic coastal town. It's also lovely.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me! Enjoy your visit!!!
 

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