Itinerary

Arrive in Newfoundland at Stephenville Airport. Pick up your hire car and drive north to your hotel in Rocky Harbour.
Rocky Harbour is the best base to explore countless trails and breathtaking views in Gros Morne National Park. The town itself has several attractions including the Glass Station’s local glass art and the Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse.

You could opt to buy a Discovery Parks Pass, valid for over 80 destinations including Gros Morne National Park, Terra Nova National Park, Cape Spear Lighthouse, Castle Hill, Hawthorne Cottage, L’Anse aux Meadows, Port au Choix, Red Bay, Ryan Premises and Signal Hill.

Spend the next two days exploring the spectacular fjords, mountains and waterfalls of UNESCO World Heritage Site Gros Morne National Park.

Included in your holiday is a two-hour Bontours Boat Tour of the park. Journey to the landlocked fjord of Western Brook Pond, and enjoy waterfalls and sightings of wildlife including black bears, moose, caribou and bald eagles.

Return to Rocky Harbour after a fascinating day discovering wild landscapes.

Continue to explore Gros Morne National Park. Included in your tour is the Under the Stump guided experience in which a local family share their creative talents and rich indigenous culture.

Take guided tours to explore hidden wonders of the wild Gros Morne landscape that few people get to see. Enjoy storytelling revealing the history, challenges and traditions of a family with Mi’kmaq roots. Learn their indigenous way of life as they share traditional skills of hunting, fishing and foraging.

Return to Rocky Harbour for one more night on Newfoundland’s west coast.

Head out from Rocky Harbour and drive across Newfoundland to Twillingate on the east coast.

This island town is known as Iceberg Alley and one of the best places to enjoy the unique experience of watching ancient icebergs float past its coast. These 10,000-year-old glacial giants can be seen from several viewpoints.

The unforgettable iceberg tour is included in your holiday, available May to September with peak viewing time from late May to mid-June.

Alternatively, if visiting outside iceberg season, enjoy the Wild Island Kitchen experience, using locally sourced ingredients in a gourmet outdoor ‘boil-up’. Dine on artisan dishes including freshly caught wild seafood over an open fire next to the ocean.

Overnight in Twillingate.

Drive across the archipelago this morning and take the ferry to Fogo Island.
It’s imperative to check the ferry schedule for departure times. There is no reservation system in place, and we recommend being in the line-up an hour before your scheduled departure time.

Fogo Island has become a haven for artists from around the world. Stroll among homes, stages and fishing sheds unchanged for decades.
The island is famous for the Nordic-style Fogo Island Inn, perched on stilts on the edge of the ocean. It’s one of the world’s most unique hotels, but has to be booked long in advance due to its popularity.

Included in your holiday is Al’s Walking Tour of Tilting and Oliver’s Cove, including stops at a traditional fishing stage and heritage site before taking you along the scenic Oliver’s Cove Trail. See notable landmarks including the Devil’s Rocking Chair and an ancient graveyard. The tour ends with some live music in Al’s shed.

Continue to explore Fogo Island. Included in your tour is a Museum Pass, including entrance to Fogo Island Marine Interpretation Centre, Bleak House
Museum and Marconi Wireless Interpretation Centre, where you can learn about the early communications history of Fogo Island.

An optional recommended excursion is the Lion’s Den Hiking Trail. This loop trail is 4.2km long and weaves through four communities. Wild red foxes are often seen on the trail.

Take the ferry this morning to nearby Change Island, which has a friendly community, historic buildings and rich fishing culture.

The island is home to the Newfoundland Pony Refuge. This sanctuary protects the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony breed. Take a tour of the facilities, meet the friendly ponies, and hear stories of how the Newfoundland Pony shaped local history to become the province’s first heritage animal.

Other sights include the Olde Shoppe Museum, which displays a variety of local artifacts from the early 19th and 20th century including a spinning wheel, handmade tools and furniture. Also worth a visit is the Change Islands Interpretation Centre with a geology exhibition and craft shop selling local wares.

Head south today to the town of Gander, once known as the “Crossroads of the World,” due to its perfectly positioned airport.

Once the largest airport on earth with runways big enough to land a space shuttle, it was a strategic location for refuelling and bustling centre during wartime.

In recent years, the community became a focal point for human kindness during the tragedy of September 11, 2001. More than 6,000 passengers in 38 planes stayed here for several days, relying on the generosity of locals in a town with only 500 hotel rooms.

We recommend you watch the award-winning theatre production at the Arts and Culture Centre of Come From Away, which tells the remarkable story of Gander’s role in 9/11.

Today you head south to St John’s, the capital of Newfoundland.

On the way, we recommend stopping off in Bonavista, where explorer John Cabot first sighted land in 1497 and apparently exclaimed “Oh, buono vista!”

The town is famous for its red-and-white Cape Bonavista lighthouse. Climb the tower and see the original 19th century apparatus, then gaze out over the coastline frequented by whales and puffins.

Arrive in St John’s and explore Newfoundland’s capital and North America’s easternmost city, famous for its colourful ‘jellybean’ row houses and attractive harbour.

Included in your holiday is a city tour by bus, including Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America with the oldest standing lighthouse.

Today it’s time for a highlight of your trip – a boat tour to Witless Bay Reserve to watch humpback whales and puffins.

Many species of whales inhabit this area and humpbacks are often seen breaching out of the waters, while the region is also home to North America’s largest Atlantic puffin colony.

St John’s claims to have the most pubs per square mile in North America and is renowned for its breweries, so sample the local beer in the evening, as well as some great seafood in the restaurants.

Explore more of St John’s including the bluestone and granite Basilica Cathedral and The Rooms, an art gallery and museum built on an 18th century fort.

One of the most famous sites near St John is Signal Hill where the first transatlantic radio signal was received, and the iconic Cabot Tower, which commemorates explorer John Cabot’s voyage to Newfoundland in 1497.

We recommend the Historic St John’s and Cape Spear Tour to see much of the city’s attractions, including Cabot Tower and Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi Village, Jelly Bean Row, Government House and the Roman Catholic Basilica.

A recommended alternative is to sample St John’s cuisine on a city food tour, trying specialities that may include moose meat, toutons with molasses, fish cakes and Newfoundland berries. Explore the city’s gastronomic highlights including a haunted pub that inspired a TV set and a former fruit stand built on the ashes of the Great Fire.

Drop off your hire car at St John’s Airport and take your flight home as your holiday comes to an end.