You are on the road to somewhere. Where will you go? What navigation tools will help you make your decision on your next adventure? If you are looking for a unique and memorable travel experience where colourful people, magnificent landscapes, cultural heritage, natural history, scenic views and vast open spaces abound, then a small island lying at the edge of the North American continent calls your name! It is a new found land that its people call “Newfunland”. Small in population but big in area and character, Newfoundland calls out to people like a beating heart. For a truly flavourful taste of places to visit in Newfoundland, come visit both the urban and rural parts of this great province.
Known as one of the top ten friendliest cultures in the world, Newfoundland has so many communities nestled in bays and coves along 29,000kms of coastline. When choosing the places to visit in Newfoundland , it is difficult to do justice to all the communities. You must leave the TransCanada Highway and go in search of the rural parts of Newfoundland to really get a taste of what the province has to offer. Focusing on a few towns/communities in select areas of Newfoundland, I hope you might get a sense of what makes Newfoundland special to the people who live here and to those who come to visit.
Come on a stroll through Newfoundland with me and let’s investigate the tourist attractions available to both young and old! If you arrive in Newfoundland by way of the Marine Atlantic ferry from Nova Scotia to Port Aux Basques, you will have made the grand entrance into the Western region of the province. Disembarking from the ferry, you will pass by the Long Range Mountains and the well-known Wreckhouse area. If there is a wind warning, don’t bother to stop at Wreckhouse as you will be blown away by winds that often measure up to 150 km per hour. After a two hour drive you will arrive in beautiful Corner Brook and the spectacular Marble Mountain area. As a tourist here in this region, you will not find the typical amusement parks but you will find attractions such as hiking trails, spectacular scenery, zip lining adventures, skiing in winter, and tourist attractions such as museums, shopping, fishing. Of course just one hour away is the beautiful Gros Morne National Park.
We will continue on the TransCanada Highway and make our way to another great place to visit in Newfoundland – the Central Region of the province. With numerous places to visit in this region, one of the great tourist attractions here is, in fact, an island. Check out Fogo Island and you will have the ultimate geo-tourism experience. Fogo Island is a forty-five minute ferry ride from the mainland at a place called Farewell. Again you will not find tourist attractions such as extravagant shopping; but you will find the thing most tourists want – the friendliest people on earth. If you want a laidback, relaxing, and interesting back to nature place to visit, you have come to the right place. Visit places with colourful names such as Joe Batts Arm, Seldom and Tilting. Take in the five star Fogo Island Inn which is the talk of the town in the Canadian Tourism Industry. For a truly great experience and taste for what rural Newfoundland was like, take the five km drive from Joe Batts Arm and go to the National Heritage Landscape and Provincial Heritage District Community of Tilting! With its Irish ancestry, chat to the locals and taste the flavour of their Irish dialect. Get a taste of the history of the town, by visiting three historical tourist attractions- The Lane House Museum which is actually the oldest house in Tilting, the Dwyer Premises which is typical of the fishing property of the fishermen of most of rural Newfoundland and the Old Post Office which dates back to around 1908. If you visit in summer, you have an opportune time to see icebergs in abundance and whales aplenty!
Jump in your car now and make your way to the Eastern Region of Newfoundland where you can bask in the beauty of the many historic, charming and unique communities such as Bonavista, Sweet Bay, Port Union and Trinity. Tourist attractions such as scenic hiking trails, theatre festivals, provincial parks, boat tours, opportunities to see the vast and varied wildlife of Newfoundland, museums and craft shops form part of the fabric of Newfoundland.
From this part of Newfoundland we will travel to the oldest city in North America – St. John’s. Found on the Avalon Peninsula, this city of over 500,000 is definitely one of the places to visit in Newfoundland. Sitting on the Atlantic Ocean, St. John’s is home to the quaint villages of The Battery and Quidi Vidi. Visit those colourful, picturesque villages with their narrow, twisty streets; have something to eat and visit some of the craft shops where you can chat to some of the local artists. Take a visit to Cabot Tower which sits atop of Signal Hill where the first transatlantic wireless communication was received. Look out over the vast Atlantic Ocean and imagine those first European explorers coming to Newfoundland. Interested in geological landscapes? Ensure you take the time to visit the Johnson Geo Centre which will take you back in time as you visit the downstairs exhibit area with walls made of natural 550 million year old exposed rock! For an evening of fun and relaxation, visit the famous George Street where you can get something to eat and a drink to quench your thirst. While in the downtown area, the Rooms is a recommended tourist attraction where you can immerse yourself in Newfoundland culture. Want to take a hike? The East Coast Trail provides access to stunning coastline as it weaves itself through and/or near as many as 32 communities on the Avalon Peninsula.
Colorful, quaint, stunning, full of character, picturesque, geo-tourism, natural are some of the words one can use to describe some of the places to visit in Newfoundland! If you are looking to find a new place to visit, try New-Found-Land!
