My wife and I recently returned from a 6 week trip to Newfoundland with our teardrop (well, 5 weeks in Newfoundland and a week in Cape Breton). I thought I’d share some of our experiences and some suggestions for those of you planning a trip there.
We left Massachusets on May 23rd and returned July 8th. We chose this time frame as we wanted to try our best at seeing icebergs, whales, puffins (and other birds which there were plenty) and possibly avoid running into too many touristy crowds.
Newfoundland is an island. To get there you need to take a ferry. We took the ferry from North Sydney (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia). You can go to one of either 2 ports, Port Aux Basque (kind of on the west side) or Argentia, more on the eastern side. Port Aux Basque is a 7 hour trip, Argentia a 17 hour trip. One suggestion is to make your ferry reservations as far in advance as possible. We made ours 6 months prior to our trip. Our trip there (to Port Aux Basque) was easy getting a reservation. Our trip back we took from Argentia and, if possible, you’ll want to get a cabin for sleeping. We got the last cabin available. It was a “pet friendly cabin” (we don’t have a pet but that is all that was left). If you can I’d suggest making your ferry reservations a year in advance if you want to make sure you get a cabin. You’ll want a cabin, place to sleep.
The ferry terminal allows you to arrive early, check in and get in line. We arrived the night before our departure the next day. That night there were 80 kilometer winds in the terminal parking lot. The arriving ferry was cancelled due to rough seas, so you kind of have to be prepared for delays or even cancellations. Luckily the seas calmed down and I believe we did leave on time.
So the rough seas and high winds brings me to my next suggestion. Prepare for all types of weather. From winter gear, rain gear, boots, hats, summer wear, etc.. Luckily we brought our winter coats and thermal underwear. When we arrived at Port Aux Basque there was snow on the ground and it was fairly cold (this is the end of May, mind you).
After debarking we headed for JT Cheeseman Provincial park, about 20 minutes from the terminal. For the entire trip (about 15 different campgrounds) we only stayed in Provincial Parks or Canadian National Parks. All really clean, kept up in good shape. But this brings up boondocking. You can boondock just about anywhere. We didn’t, but if I ever went back (probably won’t) I’d know that boondocking was a very viable option. Most of the parks have laundry facilities. Most parks DO NOT have potable water. You’re told to boil it before drinking it. I didn’t really like that option. I brought 2 Reliant jugs of water with us. When we started to run low we discovered there are these bonafide water filling stations with free potable water. You just have to get on a search engine and find where they are.
Our travel plans were to travel up the western side of “the rock”, all the way up to Lans aux Meadows and Saint Anthony area, the very tip of the island. On the map we could see we were not all that far from Greenland. On the way up there we stayed 5 nights in Gros Morne National Park. The landscape is just incredible. The weather was not too bad. So the 5 nights we stayed there was probably the most nights we stayed in one place. Most stays were maybe 3 nights, some 2. You figure you get into a campground at 4 or so, by the time you set up, maybe you tool around a bit. You have the next day for sights and or hikes. We did plenty of hikes. That was a big part of our adventures. So if you can’t cram it all into the next day, having that 3rd day helps. Gros Morne has a ton of hikes and other sites to travel to….so staying there 5 nights was about right for us.
As we headed up toward Pistolet Bay Provincial Park (St Anthony area) the weather was getting a bit challenging. Heavy rain, extremely windy. People who were just camping in tents were not what I’d call “happy campers”. We had a 10 x 10 foot Eureka tent which worked out great. I had made some new tent stakes out of rebar which really held our tent down. The weather was challenging but luckily we had the right clothing and weather gear.
Which brings up BUGS. Plenty of biting little bastard black flies. We had head nets. Strongly suggest having those. I noticed the campground personnel also wore netting.
Up in Lans Aux Meadows there is this historic discovery site showing viking’s settlement. Pretty cool. They were there around 1010, if my memory is correct. Only stayed a few years as they started having issues with the aboriginal tribes. This area we started seeing icebergs. Very cool.
There are not many main roads in Newfoundland so to get over to the east side you kind of have to travel back down aways to reach a road that allows you to start to cut over the eastern side. This brings up another issue. For the most part the roadways are poor. There are so many potholes you really have to pay attention as you drive. You could do some serious damage to your vehicle and/or trailer if not paying attention. Rather than fix the potholes, you always come upon signs that say “warning, potholes ahead”. Thanks for that.
There are many moose and you have to be careful driving, especially at night. We didn’t see a ton of moose but we did see plenty.
We traveled over to the eastern side of the island.. Twillingate is a nice little town, a bit touristy even for the early season we were there. We saw many icebergs there. Good microbreweries along the way (Port Rexton Brewery really great). The Skirwink trail was the most incredible hike we took. You overlook these very steep cliffs, you’d think you were in Scotland. A really great hike.
On the Bonavista Peninsula there is a Puffin viewing area/breeding area. The birds are not afraid of humans and you can get fairly close, like about 4 feet. They are fascinating to watch. There are thousands of them. We went back another day to see them again.
We made our way to St. John. Imagine you’re in the wild for 4 weeks and you then come upon this big city. Panhandlers, dirt, too many cars. St. John was not my favorite part of the trip. There are some great attractions to see (the harbor, the lighthouse, the Rooms museum).
We stayed 4 nights in St John….. could of been satisfied with 3 nights.
We then headed to the ferry in Argentia to return to North Sydney. The ferry was modern and kind of like a cruise ship. Made me realize I’d never want to do one of those holiday cruises.
I’m leaving out a lot to try and just keep my story a bit brief, hit the high points and not write a book. Feel free to PM me if I can offer any specific info. We saw a ton of stuff, sights, various birds and other wildlife. If you are planning on going I can suggest just look at as many you-tube videos as you can stand. Preparation is key. If you go I’d suggest plan on at least 3 weeks there, 4 is probably better, or 5. I don’t think you’d need more than that. One week won’t cut it. The food at restaurants is not all that great. We did find a few spots that were really great (food wise and atmosphere wise). Just about everyone we met was super friendly. There is so much history and culture there it was a really great experience to explore it all.
The teardrop held up great. Oh, one other thing. Most of the island has poor (or no) internet connectivity. We had a Starlink which worked out great.
John
We left Massachusets on May 23rd and returned July 8th. We chose this time frame as we wanted to try our best at seeing icebergs, whales, puffins (and other birds which there were plenty) and possibly avoid running into too many touristy crowds.
Newfoundland is an island. To get there you need to take a ferry. We took the ferry from North Sydney (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia). You can go to one of either 2 ports, Port Aux Basque (kind of on the west side) or Argentia, more on the eastern side. Port Aux Basque is a 7 hour trip, Argentia a 17 hour trip. One suggestion is to make your ferry reservations as far in advance as possible. We made ours 6 months prior to our trip. Our trip there (to Port Aux Basque) was easy getting a reservation. Our trip back we took from Argentia and, if possible, you’ll want to get a cabin for sleeping. We got the last cabin available. It was a “pet friendly cabin” (we don’t have a pet but that is all that was left). If you can I’d suggest making your ferry reservations a year in advance if you want to make sure you get a cabin. You’ll want a cabin, place to sleep.
The ferry terminal allows you to arrive early, check in and get in line. We arrived the night before our departure the next day. That night there were 80 kilometer winds in the terminal parking lot. The arriving ferry was cancelled due to rough seas, so you kind of have to be prepared for delays or even cancellations. Luckily the seas calmed down and I believe we did leave on time.
So the rough seas and high winds brings me to my next suggestion. Prepare for all types of weather. From winter gear, rain gear, boots, hats, summer wear, etc.. Luckily we brought our winter coats and thermal underwear. When we arrived at Port Aux Basque there was snow on the ground and it was fairly cold (this is the end of May, mind you).
After debarking we headed for JT Cheeseman Provincial park, about 20 minutes from the terminal. For the entire trip (about 15 different campgrounds) we only stayed in Provincial Parks or Canadian National Parks. All really clean, kept up in good shape. But this brings up boondocking. You can boondock just about anywhere. We didn’t, but if I ever went back (probably won’t) I’d know that boondocking was a very viable option. Most of the parks have laundry facilities. Most parks DO NOT have potable water. You’re told to boil it before drinking it. I didn’t really like that option. I brought 2 Reliant jugs of water with us. When we started to run low we discovered there are these bonafide water filling stations with free potable water. You just have to get on a search engine and find where they are.
Our travel plans were to travel up the western side of “the rock”, all the way up to Lans aux Meadows and Saint Anthony area, the very tip of the island. On the map we could see we were not all that far from Greenland. On the way up there we stayed 5 nights in Gros Morne National Park. The landscape is just incredible. The weather was not too bad. So the 5 nights we stayed there was probably the most nights we stayed in one place. Most stays were maybe 3 nights, some 2. You figure you get into a campground at 4 or so, by the time you set up, maybe you tool around a bit. You have the next day for sights and or hikes. We did plenty of hikes. That was a big part of our adventures. So if you can’t cram it all into the next day, having that 3rd day helps. Gros Morne has a ton of hikes and other sites to travel to….so staying there 5 nights was about right for us.
As we headed up toward Pistolet Bay Provincial Park (St Anthony area) the weather was getting a bit challenging. Heavy rain, extremely windy. People who were just camping in tents were not what I’d call “happy campers”. We had a 10 x 10 foot Eureka tent which worked out great. I had made some new tent stakes out of rebar which really held our tent down. The weather was challenging but luckily we had the right clothing and weather gear.
Which brings up BUGS. Plenty of biting little bastard black flies. We had head nets. Strongly suggest having those. I noticed the campground personnel also wore netting.
Up in Lans Aux Meadows there is this historic discovery site showing viking’s settlement. Pretty cool. They were there around 1010, if my memory is correct. Only stayed a few years as they started having issues with the aboriginal tribes. This area we started seeing icebergs. Very cool.
There are not many main roads in Newfoundland so to get over to the east side you kind of have to travel back down aways to reach a road that allows you to start to cut over the eastern side. This brings up another issue. For the most part the roadways are poor. There are so many potholes you really have to pay attention as you drive. You could do some serious damage to your vehicle and/or trailer if not paying attention. Rather than fix the potholes, you always come upon signs that say “warning, potholes ahead”. Thanks for that.
There are many moose and you have to be careful driving, especially at night. We didn’t see a ton of moose but we did see plenty.
We traveled over to the eastern side of the island.. Twillingate is a nice little town, a bit touristy even for the early season we were there. We saw many icebergs there. Good microbreweries along the way (Port Rexton Brewery really great). The Skirwink trail was the most incredible hike we took. You overlook these very steep cliffs, you’d think you were in Scotland. A really great hike.
On the Bonavista Peninsula there is a Puffin viewing area/breeding area. The birds are not afraid of humans and you can get fairly close, like about 4 feet. They are fascinating to watch. There are thousands of them. We went back another day to see them again.
We made our way to St. John. Imagine you’re in the wild for 4 weeks and you then come upon this big city. Panhandlers, dirt, too many cars. St. John was not my favorite part of the trip. There are some great attractions to see (the harbor, the lighthouse, the Rooms museum).
We stayed 4 nights in St John….. could of been satisfied with 3 nights.
We then headed to the ferry in Argentia to return to North Sydney. The ferry was modern and kind of like a cruise ship. Made me realize I’d never want to do one of those holiday cruises.
I’m leaving out a lot to try and just keep my story a bit brief, hit the high points and not write a book. Feel free to PM me if I can offer any specific info. We saw a ton of stuff, sights, various birds and other wildlife. If you are planning on going I can suggest just look at as many you-tube videos as you can stand. Preparation is key. If you go I’d suggest plan on at least 3 weeks there, 4 is probably better, or 5. I don’t think you’d need more than that. One week won’t cut it. The food at restaurants is not all that great. We did find a few spots that were really great (food wise and atmosphere wise). Just about everyone we met was super friendly. There is so much history and culture there it was a really great experience to explore it all.
The teardrop held up great. Oh, one other thing. Most of the island has poor (or no) internet connectivity. We had a Starlink which worked out great.
John
