6 days in Newfoundland

[FurnaceFace]

We had a rather spontaneous chance to book a trip to NFLD so we're going the last week of August.

For those there, or who have been, what are "must sees"? We're only going for 6 days, some of the time spent with friends in St. John's.

I'd love to go to Gros Morne and L'anse aux Meadows but don't think we have the days to do them...especially Meadows. Is gros Morne an absolute must see? Other options on our list: Trinity Bay, Bell island, Twillingate.

[Nufy]

If you have a rental vehicle, head down the Southern shore as far as Ferryland for a day trip.

Go to Cape Spear and moon the rest of North America....

Signal Hill at night with your special Someone to watch the submarine races

As I mentioned in another Thread "The Double dark & Dirty" at Trapper John's on George Street. Its a drink,,,Really.........

Whale Watching Tour out of Bay Bulls if you're into that sort of thing....

Your looking at 12 -14 hours to drive to Lanse Aux Meadows from St. John's.

I'd stay on the Avalon Pen for day trips If I were you.

Tons of History and scenery to see and enjoy.

[Da_Chief]

Not to hi-jack...would like to know same bout Montreal too. Thanks

[Misterpants]

Go get a picture in Dildo, NFLD. Eat cod tongues, go to Chess's Fish and Chips (get the fries with dressing and gravy), drink lots of pineapple crush. The drive down the Avalon peninsula was awesome. St. Pierre and Michelon are really cool and weird (Its actually France!), but I doubt you'll have enough time.

[metal_geek]

The Trip to Bay Bulls for the whale watching is a must.

Cape Spear/signal hill is a great 4 or 5 hours.

Ferryland and Placentia area is interesting.

Trinity Bay is close to my heart, so you have to drive around that See where the First Transatlantic cable came ashore in hearts content, if you need to feed your inner techno geek while you're out there :P Also when you get to Dildo, you gotta get the obligatory picture under the " DILDO --> " sign.. There's also some really amazing history around dildo, and dildo Island if you wanna research that a little too. You can often see whales, if you just park on the side of the road in there if the timing is right.

If you do goto bell island, make sure you find where the guns were mounted to sink the German subs in WWII, it's crazy to stand there and think the war was that close.

You can drive out to Bonavista and see how Dan Ryder is doing for yourself...

If you start driving across the province, The beaches around Eastport are real nice, sandy kinda beaches. Speaking of beaches, the ones around Burgeo on the south coast are awsome but that places is a LONG ways outta the way. In burgeo, the dialect is so strong even "newfies" have a hard time understanding what they're saying.

Gros Morne and L'anse aux Meadows are definalty great places to see.. Especially L'anse Aux Meadows, if you're able to put yourself "back in time" kinda thing, There's no other place close you can get the same sense of "History" and what it must have been like. Gros Morne is great if you're into hiking and stuff, it loses a little for people who see the rockys every day.

Don't be afraid to talk to people on your drive around the bays, you never know when you'll find someone who'll invite you to do something interesting, and if you see someones house decorated with an obscene amount of some decoration, stop and ask if you can take a picture of their house. Some will say Yes, some will give you a story associated to every piece.

Don't have it hyped up too much before you go, people live there like everyone else so it's not like a Vegas strip or Disney Land vacation. The true sense of the place comes from the people who live and work there everyday not the "tourist" traps. Keep your expectations in check and you'll come away in love with the place...
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Kitchen Measures

[FurnaceFace]

Thanks all for the suggestions, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by metal_geek

Don't have it hyped up too much before you go, people live there like everyone else so it's not like a Vegas strip or Disney Land vacation. The true sense of the place comes from the people who live and work there everyday not the "tourist" traps. Keep your expectations in check and you'll come away in love with the place...

No worries there, it's exactly the same as every other place and every other country I've been to. I hate just seeing the "top three" attractions and would like to be able to explore some of the hidden gems to get a true sense of the place.

Cheers.

[MoneyGuy]

In addition to what has been posted, spend some time with the locals. Newfies are the finest people I`ve ever met. They`d do anything for you. If you spend much time in St. John`s, there are some great B&Bs and I`d definitely stay in one of those because you`ll get to spend time with the locals. I could recommend a great B&B in the Goulds, which is part of St. John`s. Mary the operator was terrific. She arranged for us to tour a fish plant that her brother operated. When we were leaving the fish plant after a terrific tour, the fellow gives us two boxes of crabs to take back to Mary`s to cook for supper. We went to pay him and he wouldn`t accept our money. We had the most terrific time there. Thing is, this is typical of how they treat people. Mary`s sister-in-law (or sister, I can`t recall) hosted us for an anuthentic local lunch at her house. With B&Bs you usually have to leave after breakfast and be gone the rest of the day even if you`re staying more nights, but mary encouraged us to make full use of her house and all amenities. If you want the B&B name, send me a PM. You won`t be sorry.

There are some great wineries inland and definitely go down the shore and see some of the sights, including a fish plant. Cape SpearéSignal Hill are not to be missed. Don`t look too surprised when you attend a local event should they break out in a chorus of the Ode to Newfoundland, sort of their provincial anthem. These people - in addition to being the best folks I`ve ever met - are a proud people.

[FurnaceFace]

Any of the locals have an opinion on Twillingate? I think we're realizing with 6 days we cannot do Gros Morne justice and l'Anse is just a no go so we'll likely end up going back to do the west coast in a few years. Hence we'll concentrate on the east side and I thought Twillingate looked like a good area for a day or two in the middle of the trip.

Everything already recommended around St. John's is on the list.

Thanks again.