What to do and where to go on your Newfoundland And Labrador Vacation Post COVID
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SO you have had enough of the COVID blues and NEED to get out of the house to enjoy some well deserved freedom to explore and relax!!!
AND you have chosen Newfoundland and Labrador as your playground/vacation destination. You couldn't have picked a better time to visit with COME HOME YEAR 2022 proclaimed by the Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation. Aptly named department as there will be a lot of culture, arts and entertainment to experience on your vacation to our beautiful province.
What are the highlights that you should include in your vacation? Places and destinations that are a must and some of the hidden gems to see along the way? Well the anser to this is not as straight forward as it seems. We are the 16th largest island in the world with a lot of crooks and crannies to explore plus a varied amount of wildlife to view.
In order to enjoy your time so that you cover the maximum amount of Newfoundland and Labrador time is a factor. If you have seven days as opposed to 14 you should not try to have the same itinerary! As a matter of fact if you have seven days I would suggest only touring a smaller potion of the island such as the West Coast of Newfoundland or the East Coast of Newfoundland. Besides you can always come again to do the other half of what you didn't cover on this vacation. I grew up on the island and I have travelled it extemsively. I have seen this island develop from a undeveloped fishing enterprise to a multi dimensional exotic tourism destination with culture, ocean adventures, hiking, camping as well as culinary experiences with a unique flavour.
The wildlife painiting on our Fish Shed
Our wildlife includes seals, Puffins
Whales
Northern Gannets
Orcas
Porpoises,Dolphins,
Icebergs
plus some of the most natural and unspoiled terrain in Canada. We should be on your vacation radar as we are a destination of taste, sights and sounds that is a completely enveloping absorbing vacation long and fondly remembered.
SO the questions are where to go? What to do?
Arrival in Newfoundland and Labrador
If you are flying, plan your transportation long before your arrival as rental vehicles are at a premium. If you are driving, the ferries should be booked well in advance. Ferries are usually easy to book and advance notice may not be necessary but this could be an exceptional tourism season with unforseen challenges. If you want to get out on time, book in advance as we do in most all of our travel experiences!!
Decide where you are arriving!! Which airport or ferry terminal are you coming in to? If arriving in one destination on the island pick an exit point at the far end so you don't end up travelling for a day doubling back over your path. OR pick one area of the island to do a round robin route that includes different destinations forward and back to your arrival/departure destination.
Popular ferry points are of course Port aux Basques and Argentia. One popular way to travel in one destination or terminal and exit at the other. Certainly an expeditious option as well is to arrive in one airport such as Deer Lake and exit at St. John's. Again if leaving from the same arrival and departure points vary your overnight destinations. to make it fresh on your return trip.
Where to go in Newfoundland and Labrador
Where are the places to go? Well there are the popular destinations of course West coast of Newfoundland such as Gros Morne National Park (Rocky Harbour/Cow Head), Bonavista Peninsula (Trinity,Bonavista, Elliston, Catlina, Terra Nova National Park), Avalon Peninsula (St. John's, Southern Shore, St. Vincent's. Cape Spear, Petty Harbour) and in central newfoundland places such as Kings Point, Badgers Quay and Exploits River for rafting and adventure. Labrador is a separate trip in itself deserving of its own dedicated trip including the Torngat Mountains, Battle Harbour and Red Bay historic sites with beauty and unspoiled wilderness along the way.
Of course if you are camping or an RV there are many provincial parks and private parks that accept campers and RV's so these are beautiful destinations in their own right.
What to do In Newfoundland and Labrador
Each area of the island offers unique opportunities! West coast of the island has beautiful forests, hiking in the Table Lands of Gros Morne, zip lining at Marble mountain, visiting the L'anse aux Meadows Viking site established almost 500 years before Columbus and icebergs usually when the rest of the island doesn't at places like St, Anthony.
Central has river rafting, icebergs and boat tours featuring the same. Twillingate is a poular destination and an up and coming place is Greenspond, Bonavista Bay. There are always music festivals and places to stop for a kitchen party.
Eastern Newfoundland destinations include the Bonavista Peninsula including Trinity. I would describe Trinity as the boat tour of capital of Newfoundland with the best opportunities to see icebergs, whales, puffins by zodiac, kayak and all kinds of wildlife plus plenty of culture with theater and music boat tours to boot.
The Avalon Peninsula certainly is the most travelled destination as it is usually the jump off or return point for most of the tourist populace so the popularity of George Street with its own festival and bars are an attraction to the younger travellers. Ocean Quest offers swimming with whales which is a Canadian Signature experience plus many whale watching/iceberg experiences with O'Briens, Iceberg Quest and Gatheralls to mention a few. The Iceberg Alley music festival is becoming more popular from year to year as a venue to hear tradtional Newfoundland music and artisits.
Your best source for all information for all of the island is www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/ which covers a variety of activities, regions, packages and certified vendors that are Tourism Assurance compliant meaning the operators here are certified as being compliant with the province's requirements to meet the quality, safety and WOW!!!criteria. Rest assured the Tourism Quality Assurance Program applies to our tour operators, accommodations and experiences in the province that ensures your satisfaction.
Whale Watching FAQ Planning your trip to the island man!! (When global warming truly kicks in I think we will be the next Jamaica!) Looking to see the lumbering behemoths, the gentle giants of the sea, those amazing cetaceans that inspire us, amaze us and instill that wonderful sense of natural awe? Well Newfoundland is the place to do it with the largest annually returning numbers of cetaceans (whales) in the world to feed right here! As I say to be well informed is to be well armed, so here is the information you need to have a spectacular whale tour any time of the season according to our expert, Skipper Bob Bartlett! When is the best time to see whales in Newfoundland? Whales migrate north from areas of the South North Atlantic (Oxymoron I know) like the Dominican Republic. They start to arrive in April and continue arriving through the season. Whales do not necessarily stop to feed in one place all summer but move around so like our friend Finnegan the Humpbac
"Skipper Bob do whales fart?" my young guest asked me. Of course it brought some laughter to the group I was leading at the time. Only 6 year olds can ask such straightforward questions without rebuke! Well it stumped me for a minute or two. Whales have digestive tracts like all mammals with a stomach and intestines. One of the reasons I had heard experts claim whales breached was to help to evacuate their bowels so did this mean that they did not have the gas propellant in their digestive tracts to aid in this necessary function. SO I had to look up and tell him I was not sure. I had never seen a whale have flatulence though I was pretty sure I had smelled something similiar on our excursions. The smell I always said was the whale's breath but what if it wasn't! That sulphurous odiferous smell on occasion could be exactly what it smelled like GAS! Whales make scat in the ocean all the time and I have seen it on many occasions and occasionally have swam through t
Best Whale Watching Tours in Newfoundland I just read a whale watching review by someone in Michigan today who was here and only mentioned one boat tour with the title Best Whale Watching in Newfoundland.. I thought that is a pretty limited point of view as to what we see. SO I said to myself "Hey Skipper Bob, you are an expert maybe you should throw your hat in the arena and venture some opinions." Though biased because I am a whale aficionado(self proclaimed by the way). I know of few others around who are more passionate about whales who has personally observed (and filmed) their feeding, breeding and migratory behaviour. Plus I have even caught them well... erghhh... unghhhh... well farting!!!😬😬😬😬😬😬😬 I have travelled to the south in The Dominican Republic and ventured offshore to the Silver Banks where the mothers bear the young. Seeing a newborn calf exploring its surroundings while some strange two legged creature swims around for an unknown purpose to
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