Newfoundland & Labrador Explorer

Arrive at St. John’s International Airport, transfer independently to your centrally-located hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure to enjoy some of the local sights of Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest city. Explore this city that blends a proud Canadian Maritimes heritage with the amenities of a modern city. Perhaps you made choose to visit Signal Hill National Historic Park at the entrance to the city’s deep natural harbour, featuring preserved battlements from the earliest colonial days of Canada.

The road northward today travels through Iconic inlet villages of Clarenville and North West Brook, boasting the classic colours and architecture of the Canadian Maritimes. Take some time to stop and visit some of these towns for quick break, or perhaps a delicious lunch of local fare. Local towns and villages offer a glimpse of the island’s past, such as the weather-beaten fishing houses of the small town site of New Bonaventure. The echoes of the 19th century still ring in the steeple of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Trinity, just as the English Arts Harbour Centre celebrates crafts, traditional art and music of the island.

Today’s journey travels through Terra Nova National Park on the way to the northern shores of the island. Photo opportunities abound at this small, but spectacular park. You may wish to stop for lunch in Gander at approximately the half way point to your destination of the waterside community of Twillingate.

Embark on a two-hour narrated tour in search of icebergs and whales on a true Newfoundland cultural adventure. Explore Iceberg Alley and marvel at 12,000 year old Greenland icebergs on their epic journey from the Arctic Circle to Newfoundland and beyond. Hear the ice crack under the Newfoundland sun. Observe majestic humpback whales as they feed in Twillingate’s coastal waters and watch elegant seabirds frolic along the coastlines.

Crossing the top of the island, the road travels through small communities that live in close connection with the bountiful natural resources of the province. Perhaps plan to stop in the village of South Brook, its multicoloured houses adorning the steep hillsides. Pass through the gates of Grose Morne National Park to reach the coast and your overnight destination.

Today the road leads up the north coast of the island’s ‘finger’ peninsula where it narrows against the Labrador coast, creating the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A short ferry ride across the mouth of the bay reveals the untamed beauty of the eastward Atlantic Ocean as it continuously carves the shoreline.

The shores of Labrador are some of the most untamed, open-water shorelines in North America. Once a centre for whaling in the 19th century, the area is now a centre for historical and eco-tourism. Perhaps take a trip to Red Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that preserves some of the buildings and equipment essential to the European whaling industry at its height.

A short ferry ride across to the island begins the day before crossing the tip of the island en route to St. Anthony. An early arrival gives you a chance to explore the local amenities of this small village at the northern edge of Newfoundland.

No trip to St. Anthony is complete without an afternoon at Fishing Point Municipal Park! This coastline park is famous for iceberg watching into the early summer, its iconic square lighthouse overlooking the waters. Local restaurants serve up local fare, making it the perfect place to spend the day.

A return trip along the southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence gives you a second chance to visit the small coastal villages that populate the route. In Cow Head, take some time and lounge on Shallow Bay Beach – the white sands and clear waters inviting all visitors to spend some time under the sun.

A return trip across the heart of the island to the riverside small city of Gander – a community celebrating its rich aviation history and ideal, central location in the province. The airport museum displays the town’s relation both to the earliest days of Canadian aviation, and later its importance as a flight staging area during World War 2.

Today your Newfoundland and Labrador experience comes to an end as you drive back to St. John’s International Airport for your flight home.