tidy

No idea when we will take this trip but I am thinking ahead while not able to travel because of Covid. I know that we want to travel to both Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and of course I have no idea at this time how long we will allow. What are your opinions on the best way to travel between the two (fly, ferry????) It looks like if we do Nova Scotia and include Cape Breton we would need 10 days to 2 weeks. I have not done any reading on Newfoundland yet but it looks like it is also going to need a considerable amount of time. We certainly travel for a month or so but also might consider 2 trips. Any recommendations on the two would also be appreciated.Thanks,

tlc195

You may want to consider Prince Edward Island when you visit if you have not been before. I posted a lot of information below very different then NS and NF.

Halifax and PEI


We spent 3 weeks in Newfoundland August 2018 it is beautiful place with the East and West coast being so different. It was amazing the number of gravel roads we had to drive on I am not talking about little side roads but roads with route numbers on them. We drove to Newfoundland with our suv so it was not a problem just surprised us. I had no problem on the gravel roads, just make sure your auto insurance carrier will cover your car in Canada and you have windshield coverage!!! Also locals drive the gravel roads like they are paved ie they do not slow down. I just pulled to the side and let them by.



A lot of one way roads meaning down the same road to get to a place, not many looping roads. So drive 2 hours down a road spend a few hours checking out the place and drive 2 hours back the same road you came back down. That got old after a while, BUT the views were amazing the entire time, folks very friendly so yea worth a visit.



COD you can only have so much cod it is the first 4 items on every menu which is great, but you can not have cod everyday well we did not. What cod we had was amazing.... but got old real fast. St. John’s had no problem finding OK food but venture out of St. John’s and it goes down hill fast. The food on the west coast say Port aux Basques, Deer Lake, Lobster Cove was not good. Bonavista (not on the west coast) has some nice places to dine.



Beware of moose while driving they are definitely around as well as bears. Once you get out of an area the next place not much around so if you are low on gas fill up! The weather was in the 60’s in August and it rained very often so bring layers and rain gear. Once you get out of St. John’s it get very rural very fast, lots of trees and more trees....lol



They LOVE coffee especially Tim Horton’s no matter what time of day we passed a Tim Horton’s they had a line both inside and the drive through!!!....lol Also the locals accent is sometimes hard to figure out particularly the older folks, I just kinda smiled and said yes.....Then again they probably had a hard time understanding my Jersey accent. Many locals we spoke to worked in the oil fields in Alberta and came back a few months at a time. The cod industry really never came back so many folks do what they have to get by.



ATV’s are everywhere in the rural area ie most of the island kinda like the 3 car in the family. Interesting we saw a group of about 25 stopped in a beautiful lookout, I asked a guy what they were doing...25 all in a group. They said they were traveling the island as a group and staying in B&B at night for 10 days ALL on ATV, wow long time riding an ATV....lol Apparently this is a common thing with locals as tour guide the entire time. The guy said when exploring the options you could have camped out instead of B&B.



Have fun it is a beautiful place.



Stuff we Liked

1. Bonavista

Dungeon Provincial Park

The town and fishing village

The puffins in Elliston and the root cellars

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse ( some puffins here but more in Elliston)

The Matthew Museum

1. Bell Island near St. John’s

(need to take a ferry to the island)

Iron ore mine tour ( go below into the mine very interesting)

1. Gross Morne National Park

Tablelands Trail where the earth mantle is exposed



West Brook Boat Tour would NOT recommend, they replaced the walkway through the forest with a 30’ wide gravel road 1 mile plus long to the lake. Boring boat tour of cliffs which you will see many along your travel through NB.



Green Point beautiful beach.

1. Rose Blanch

Pretty town with a granite lighthouse

1. Arches Provincial Park

1. Blow me Down Provincial Park

1. Trinity Village historic village, beautiful church and craft shops

1. St John’s

Signal Hill

Cape Spear Lighthouse

Petty Harbor ( great fish and chips at Chafe’s Landing when 2 times that good)

Pippy Park & Memorial University Botanical Garden

Downtown area including



Waterfront

Railway Coastal Museum

Anglican Cathedral

The Rooms (history museum)

Fort Amherst (Lighthouse and Fort)

Johnson Geo Center (great Titanic Exhibit)

1. Castle Hill National Historic Site ( near ferry to St John’s )
2. Salmonier Nature Park

tidy

Thanks for the info, we have been to PEI several years ago. It is beautiful but will concentrate on Newfoundland and NS this time.

tlc195

Tidy,

If you look up “jtw999” he has many posts about NS.

If you drive the ferry leaves from Sydney NS to NL one is 7 hours the other is overnight about 12 hours. We did the 7 hour ferry it was long enough, saw whales and much wildlife on the ferry.

You have to get out of St. John’s to really see NL it is like folks who go to PEI Charlottetown and think they have visited the island...lol

Enjoy

Tom

Daniel_Williams

Just a quick correction having taken both Marine Atlantic ferries from North Sydney to Newfoundland. The North Sydney-Port aux Basques route was 7 hours, the North Sydney-Argentia route (summer only) was *17* hours. Argentia is about 90 minutes from St. John’s; Port aux Basques is in western Nfld. closer to Gros Morne. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the longer ferry; I splurged for the dining room, where the meal was excellent. I also got a cabin, so the time flew as I slept for much of the ride. Met a lovely couple in the dining car who invited me to sit with them in the lounge later for the local musical entertainment. Great fun; the ride had a festive energy about it.

tlc195

Daniel

Thanks for the correction I knew it was long trip but 17 hours....wow...wife gets seasick so I knew that was not an option. We were surprised to see the ferry did not go to Saint Johns when we visited Argentia and saw the ferry unloading.

queenypearls

I'd like to immigrate to Canada, can anyone point me to a blog or website I can get good information on how to start?