Ferry to Newfoundland
We could have flown from Halifax to St. John’s Newfoundland and rented a car, but since this trip has been all about the journey, a ferry each way seemed a better way to go. I started researching the ferry from North Sydney, NS to Argentia, NFLD way back in January. Good thing that I did because the day that we wanted to sail was already sold out, so I booked the ferry and then planned the rest of the trip around it.
The ferry to Argentia, which is about an hour drive from St.John’s is a 16 hour overnight trip. Passengers are not allowed to access their vehicles during the journey. There are seats throughout the ferry, as well as a reserved section with recliners, but we chose to book a cabin and try to sleep a bit through the night.
The ferry was a pleasant surprise! Apparently we were lucky enough to get on a brand new ship that had only made a few runs. There was a sit down restaurant, a coffee shop which also doubled as the bar at night and a nice lounge. The cabin was actually quite spacious with a large bathroom (including a shower). The trip was comfortable, but long. With being at the ferry 2 hours in advance (minimum required) and the loading and unloading it was about a 20-hour trip.
We also took the ferry from Channel-Port aux Basques, back to Sydney a week later which was an 8-hour trip (10+ hours of travel time). All ferries are operated by Marine Atlantic. If you are planning a ferry trip to Newfoundland, send me a note and I will share some tips.
St. John’s, Newfoundland
We spent 3 nights at an AirBnB in downtown St. John’s a block from the waterfront and on the main shopping/dining street. The unit was terrific and I highly recommend it. You can view it here. We found some very good restaurant and cocktail bars in St. John’s, which were even better than we expected for a smallish city. The highlights of our 2 full days in St. John’s included an official ‘Skreech-in Ceremony at Christian’s Pub and a half-day van tour. If you go to Newfoundland you can’t miss being Skreeched-in and we were told that Christian’s pub is the best. The ceremony did not disappoint. We kissed the cod, recited our lines and took our shot of Skreech (a strong dark rum-like spirit). Our tour was led by George who starred as Gander Mayor, Claude Elliott in the Toronto production of Come From Away. George now lives in St. John’s and operates George’s Tours. He was a fantastic, genuine guide full of information and stories.
As part of our tour we visited the most easterly part of North America at Cape Spear National Historic Site. This added to the southernmost part of the US and the westernmost part of Canada, is a growing list. We also visited Petty Harbour, a quaint fishing village still in operation and the home of Great Big Sea’s Allan Doyle. We did listen to a lot of Great Big Sea and other NFLD playlists on Spotify, including George’s.
Off to Bonavista, Gander, Twillingate, Cornerbrook and Channel Port-aux-Basque
After 3 nights in St. John’s it was road trip time again as we headed out onto the TransCanada highway to see the rest of the province.
You don’t have to be location independent to see the world. It just helps. Sometimes it is complicated and sometimes it’s not…but it is ALWAYS worth re
CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions.
If you are ever looking for trip tips or just want to chat about travel give me a call, text or message. There is nothing I like to talk about more than travel.
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