Driving to Newfoundland, need ideas

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I am planning a roadtrip from Toronto to somewhere in Newfoundland for two weeks after (Canadian) thanksgiving.

I’d like suggestions as to:

neat ways to get there
neat things to see along the way
neat places to visit while there
good, inexpensive places to eat
neat ways to get back

Also, what will the weather be like out there ?

2

Take the boat when you hit water. Your care won’t make it. :smiley:

(Save some money for the slots on the boat too…if they still have them.)

I’ll have to ask my wife, (she’s a Newfie) and I’ll post again with some suggetions. :wink:

3

Argh!

“Your CAR won’t make it.”

4

Ok, talked to my wife:

1.) Magnetic Hill in NB
2.) Cross on the boat during the day. (You may see some neat things…like whales et al.)
3.) Hi Opal!
4.) Gotta visit Signal Hill when in NFLD.
5.) There’s the bird sanctuary in NFLD. (In Bay Bulls I believe.)

Once you get past Quebec, take your time. The scenery is breath taking.

(BTW: From what I hear, there are no longer any slots.)

Hope that helps!

5

In no particular order:

  1. In Fredericton, the Lord Beaverbrook Gallery has an amazing Dali, Santiago El Grande
  2. Fundy National Park is stunning. If you can afford the time, call in advance to find out when high and low tide is so that you can see the extent of the tides
  3. A little off the track, but the fossils at Joggins in Nova Scotia are cool
  4. If you’re overnighting in Halifax, there are a number of bars with live Celtic music (gives you a good taste of what to look for on George Street in St. John’s
  5. If you want to take an extra day or so to drive around the Cabot Trail before getting on the ferry, the scenery is spectacular
  6. In addition to Signal Hil NF&L, go to Cape Spear, the most Eastern point in Canada, and tell your kids that you’ve reached the “end of Canada”. Little Miss D18 got a real kick out of that!

That’s all that comes to mind right now. I’ll post more if I can think of anything else!

Have a great trip - we just got back from NF&L this summer, but have driven the Trans Canada many times to NS.

6

Gee, the scenery in Quebec is pretty nice too… :frowning:

(Percé Rock rocks!)

7

Gee, the scenery in Quebec is pretty nice too… :frowning:

(Percé Rock rocks!)

8

Man, my family and I took a trip out there a while back. It’s fantastic. I came from New York, but here’s what we saw…

Moosehead Brewery tour, St. John, New Brunswick
Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick
Grohman Knife Factory, Pictou, Nova Scotia

We then spent Saturday in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia - we’re Orthodox Jews, so no traveling for us that day. Immediately Saturday night, we drove to North Sydney, Nova Scotia to catch the ferry.

Got to Newfoundland early Sunday morning. Drove seven hours to L’Anse Aux Meadows - the Viking site.

Then drove about an hour south of that to St. Barbe, where we caught a ferry across Labrador Strait. Drove to Red Bay, where we pre-arranged for the Whaling Museum there to be open for us after-hours, but if you have more time to spend than we did, you probably won’t need the favor (I doubt you’ll ever find a bunch as nice as Labradorians). We stayed at a bed and breakfast in L’Anse-Amour…very inexpensive but very nice accommodations and very, very friendly people.

Went back to the island of Newfoundland the following morning and saw a local museum in Deer Lake and the Gulf Museum in Port Aux Basque (right near the ferry terminal) before catching the evening ferry back to Nova Scotia. In the morning, we drove a straight 18 hours back to New York.

Since your route (and possibly the amount of time you have available) is a bit different from ours, I’d also recommend seeing Montreal (Biodome, Insectarium) and Quebec City (Museum of the Bee, Montmorency Park Falls, Old Quebec). If you plan on cutting through northern New England on your way to the Maritimes, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne, VT, the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory in Waterbury, VT and the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor, ME are places we had fun visiting. Also, it’s worth making a side trip to Prince Edward Island. Our favorite thing there is the Great Island Adventure Park in Cavendish.

Enjoy!

9

I’d ask my mother, but shes is currently on the left coast. That said, the one thing she does ever time she is up there, is bring back linginberrys.

10

Oh, once you’re there, don’t forget to kiss the cod !

11

Thanks for all the great replies. Looks like I’ll be busy.

Keep 'em coming!