Newfoundland completely blew us away with its natural beauty and the friendliness of the people.
We spent 10 days in Newfoundland in August, which was:
a) The longest vacation of my life
b) A short enough time that we had to make some tough choices
But our crackerjack team (the Dear Man, his Dear Sister, and her Dear Husband, and I)… we were up to the challenge.
We prioritized:
Natural beauty, especially coastline
Whales
Puffins
Lighthouses
Hiking
History
Here’s our 10-day Newfoundland itinerary… where every place listed is a place we’d highly recommend.
Day 1: Arrival in St. John’s
Flew into St. John’s, Newfoundland (with layover in Toronto)
Picked up rental car
Walked up to Signal Hill National Historic Site
Walked into downtown St. John’s
Dinner: Yellowbelly Brewery (St. John’s)
Lodging: Hometel on Signal Hill (St. John’s)
Day 2: Day trip from St. John’s
- Snack 1: Rocket Bakery (St. John’s)
- Lunch: Chafe’s Landing (Petty Harbour)
- Cape Spear Lighthouse
- Snack 2: Tim Hortons
- Ferryland Lighthouse
- Dinner: Che’s Famous Fish & Chips (St. John’s)
- Lodging: Hometel on Signal Hill (St. John’s)
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- Life-changing cookies
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- Cape Spear
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- Petty Harbour
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- Tim Hortons!
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- Ferryland Lighthouse
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- Ches’s Fish & Chips
Day 3: Day trip from St. John's
- The Rooms (museum in St. John’s)
- Lunch: The Rooms Cafe (St. John’s)
- Captain Wayne’s whale watching tour (Bay Bulls)
- Snack: Tim Hortons
- Quidi Vidi
- Dinner: Mallard Cottage
- Lodging: Hometel on Signal Hill (St. John’s)
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- Newfoundland squared
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- Captain Wayne’s
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- Whales!
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- Quidi Vidi
Day 4: Drive from St. John's to Bonavista
Skerwink Trail (Port Rexton)
Lunch: Two Whales Coffee Shop (Port Rexton)
Dinner: The Boreal Diner (Bonavista)
Lodging: Russelltown Inn (Bonavista)
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- Skerwink Trail
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- Skerwink Trail
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- Two Whales Coffee Shop
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- Puffin!
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- Russelltown Inn
Day 5: Drive from Bonavista to Twillingate
- Lunch: Newfoundland Tea Co. (Gander, en route)
- Beothuk Interpretation Centre (Boyd’s Cove)
- Dinner: Canvas Cove Bistro (Twillingate)
- Lodging: Sunshine Inn (Twillingate)
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- Beothuk Interpretation Centre
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- Sunshine Inn
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- Sunshine Inn. Touristing is hard.
Day 6: Drive from Twillingate to Rocky Harbour / Gros Morne National Park
- Long Point Lighthouse (Twillingate)
- Salmonid Interpretation Centre (Grand Falls-Windsor)
- Dinner: Earl’s (Rocky Harbour)
- Lodging: Augustus Jane Inn (Rocky Harbour)
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- Long Point Lighthouse
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- Long Point Lighthouse. Moody fog.
Day 7: Gros Morne National Park
- Hiked the Tablelands (Gros Morne National Park)
- Lunch: Seaside Restaurant (Trout River)
- Hiked the Lookout Trail (Gros Morne National Park)
- Mattie Mitchell National Historic Site and Trail (Gros Morne National Park)
- Dinner: Java Jack’s (Rocky Harbour)
- Lodging: Augustus Jane Inn (Rocky Harbour)
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- Tablelands
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- Lookout Trail
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- Augustus Jane Inn
Day 8: Gros Morne National Park
- Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse (Gros Morne National Park)
- Lunch: Snack Shack (Sally’s Cove)
- Western Brook Pond fjord boat tour (Gros Morne National Park)
- S.S. Ethie shipwreck (Gros Morne National Park)
- Dinner: Java Jack’s (Rocky Harbour)
- Lodging: Augustus Jane Inn (Rocky Harbour)
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- Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse
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- Snack Shack
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- Western Brook Pond fjord tour
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- Wreck of the S.S. Ethie
Day 9: Drive from Rocky Harbour to L’anse Aux Meadows
- Lunch: Dark Tickle Co. (St. Lunaire-Griquet)
- L’anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site
- Dinner: Norseman (Gunners Cove)
- Lodging: Valhalla (Gunners Cove)
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- Dark Tickle Co.
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- L’Anse Aux Meadows: Leif Erikson site
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- L’Anse Aux Meadows explorers
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- Valhalla
Day 10: Drive from L’anse Aux Meadows to Gander
- Snack: Tim Hortons
- Lunch: Java Jack’s picnic (Rocky Harbour)
- Dinner: Newfoundland Tea Company (Gander)
- Lodging: hotel in Gander
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- Daisies at Java Jack’s
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- Gros Morne National Park
Day 11: Flight home
- Returned rental car to Gander airport
- Flew home from Gander, with a layover in Toronto
Newfoundland is a stunningly beautiful, consistently friendly place — and we feel fortunate to have visited before it becomes the next It Destination (which seems inevitable, given its charms).
Highly recommend.
If you’re considering a trip to Newfoundland and have any questions about our itinerary, I’d be glad to answer! Please just post your questions in the Comments.
Happy travels, all!
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