Our Great Canadian Road trip brought us all the way across the country to the most eastern province. We were far from home, but we never felt more welcome than in Newfoundland. Avalon Peninsula is on the eastern edge of the province and is the most populated part of Newfoundland. It’s home to the province’s capital, St. John’s.
There is so much to explore on Avalon Peninsula. Within a short drive from the capital are several scenic spots that you shouldn’t miss. Below are some of our favourite day trips from St. John’s.
1. Cape Spear
The first must-see spot on a day trip from St. John’s is Cape Spear. Just 15 km east of downtown St. John’s is the most easterly point in Canada and North America. Other than Greenland, which is technically on the North American continent, Cape Spear is as far east as you can go.
The cape is a classic example of the scenes we’d come to expect in Newfoundland. Sheer cliffs, a wild Atlantic Ocean and not one, but two lighthouses make this a worthwhile trip. Built in 1836, Cape Spear Historic Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Canada. The white two-story lightkeeper’s residence wraps around a small tower topped by a red and white stripped dome. This lighthouse is no longer operational, but a new one was built just a few meters away in 1955. The new Cape Spear Lighthouse is still operational today but is automated, not staffed.
While we were visiting the cape, large storm clouds were forming in the distance making an ominous scene. A large, dark cloud overhead looked as if it would envelope the sea while an eerie light illuminated channels in the ocean. The scene that was forming behind Cape Spear Lighthouse made a phenomenal photo opportunity.
In the rough waves below the cape we saw large, curious, white figures. After a short while we realized they were massive Sunfish, floating in the large waves. These huge fish can measure 2.5 m (8 ft) from fin to fin. They have flat bodies and like to lie on their sides and drift in the current. It was an unexpected thrill.
2. Petty Harbour
After visiting Cape Spear, we recommend that you drive a few kilometers south to reach Petty Harbour. This adorable fishing village is tucked away in a tight inlet, guarded by rocky outcrops. When we came around the corner we were delighted at the view. Huddled around the small bay were many of the colourful homes that we’d fallen in love with in Eastern Canada. The small, calm harbour was filled with fishing boats. Green hills in the background provided even more colour to this lovely spot.
Newfoundlanders have many unique sayings, words and even different pronunciations than the rest of Canada and a great sense of humour. There’s a funny site in Petty Harbour. Many beach vacation spots have a coconut swinging from a string with a funny weather forecasting sign. In typical Newfoundland humour, Petty Harbour has the east coast version of that sign.
After having a laugh we walked to the other side of the bay. The views from the other side of the tight inlet provided more idyllic scenes. We decided that Petty Harbour is equally charming from any view point.
3. Bay Bulls
A little further south of Petty Harbour, and only 31 km from St. John’s, is a wonderful coastal hike to Bay Bulls Lighthouse. The 3 ½ km trail to reach the lighthouse takes you through a forest of larch, spruce, fir and most importantly, blueberry bushes. We timed it right as the bushes were bursting with ripe blueberries. They were succulent and delicious. Eating handfuls of berries at a time slowed our hiking pace considerably, but didn’t distract us from noticing the interesting rock formations beside the trail.
After emerging from the forest, you reach a large grassy meadow. The trail winds through the undulating landscape to reach the white lighthouse surrounded by boulders.
4. Portugal Cove, Pouch Cove and Flat Rock
There are a few picturesque towns east and north of St. John’s that are worth a visit. These sleepy communities have become suburbs of the capital city. Just 16 km east of the capital we found the cute town of Portugal Cove. Colourful homes climb the rocky hills beside the calm water of Conception Bay.
On the tip of Avalon peninsula, 20 km north of Portugal Cove, Pouch Cove (pronounced Pooch) has a picturesque rocky inlet.
Only 12 km north of downtown St. John’s is the town of Flat Rock. From town you can see a tall, red cliff bordering one side of the bay and a long flat rock on the other. When we were there the sun came out to shine on the red cliffs making them even brighter.
5. Conception Bay
A little further away are a number of cute fishing towns, including Brigus, on Conception Bay. There is so much to see in this part of Newfoundland, that we dedicated an entire post to it. You can read about what to see and do in our post Scenic Fishing Towns on Conception Bay.
6. Bonavista Penisula
This is only last on the list, because it’s actually a weekend trip, and not a day trip. Bonavista Peninsula has many fantastic places to visit from the charming town of Trinity, to puffins in Elliston to the lighthouse of Cape Bonavista, there is a lot to see in this part of Newfoundland. You can read about Trinity in our post The Adorable Town of Trinity, and the rest in our post Rugged Coastlines on Bonavista Peninsula.
Tips for Visiting Newfoundland
- The TransCanada Highway in Newfoundland is shaped like a horseshoe as it travels along the west, north and eastern edge of the island province. There are smaller highways leading to the various capes, but in order to get from east to west, you have to drive all around the northern edge. There are no shortcuts across the island. It will take a full day to drive from one side to the other. There are quite a few potholes across the province so drive with caution.
- Watch for moose while driving, especially between dusk and dawn. With 125,000 moose on the island there are, on average 700 moose-car collisions per year.
- If you’re planning to rent a car or RV, the best advice is to book early. Even when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic, there are not many available.
- Newfoundland Standard Time is 30 minutes ahead of Atlantic Standard Time so do don’t forget to change your watch.
- Don’t confuse St. John’s, Newfoundland’s capital city with Saint John in New Brunswick.
Where to stay and eat on Avalon Peninsula
There are many hotel and B&B options are in St. John’s and surrounding communities. Staying in or near downtown St. John’s allows you to experience the energy of this vibrant city. George Street is a popular pedestrian street in downtown with many restaurants, pubs and shops.
Getting to Newfoundland
Marine Atlantic ferries travel between Sydney, NS and western Newfoundland’s Port aux Basques (7 hrs) twice a day and to the eastern province’s Argentia a few times a week. If traveling to or from Argentia it is a long 16 hour trip, usually overnight. Another ferry travels from Blanc-Sablon, Quebec to St. Barbe on the Great Northern Peninsula. This ferry is much closer to L’Anse aux Meadows, however it is a long and difficult drive to reach the Quebec Port.
Most flights travel to St. John’s, but there are also international airports in Stephenville and Gander. Gander is famous for accepting planes from the US during 9/11.
Read more about Newfoundland in our posts – The Adorable Town of Trinity, Western Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park, Vikings in Newfoundland, Conception Bay, St. John’s, Signal Hill, and Bonavista Peninsula.
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80 responses to “Our Favourite Day Trips From St. John’s, Newfoundland”
Such a beautiful place to discover ! Great pictures ! Diana
Thank you Diana.
Viewing these photos gives me desiderium—a nostalgia for something I have not actually experienced.
Ha ha! You can see why we fell in love with it then 😊
So much beauty in this part of the rock. On our Petty Harbour Puffin cruise, they did a Screech in ceremony and made a couple of tourists honorary Newfies. They had to kiss a stuffed puffins arse and then slam a shot of Lamb’s Navy Rum. The captain also told us about the local priest who wanted to beautify his church grounds with new gate posts and used a couple of of cannons onto which he also attached statues of 2 saints. The punch line then was that they were cannon-ized saints. After the cruise, we had a look to see if this was true and blarney and right enough, they were there. That storm cloud shot is magnificent. Thanks for sharing. Allan
We didn’t hear about the church story or we would have looked for it! We got screeched-in in St. John’s- next post I
I think. Such a great province😊
Beautiful place 😍
It is, thank you for visiting our post. Maggie
Beautiful land and amazing, friendly, funny people!
So true! We love it and them 😊
I can’t get over how quaint and beautiful everything is in Newfoundland. The hike to the lighthouse looks wonderful and the photo of the storm behind Cape Spear is amazing! I also got a good chuckle out of the local vocab and the weather sign. I think maybe I saw one of those somewhere in eastern Canada once, but I don’t recall where.
I know, there are so many great spots in this province! We didn’t expect to keep finding so many places we loved. We knew of the main sites but most of it we heard about from a local or just drove by and decided to stop. The people and the scenery just continued to make us love Newfoundland. Thanks Diana, Maggie
Amazing photos. I enjoyed thoroughly your photo and section on the sunfish on Cape Spear. I never heard of such fish. Wow.
As always a thrill to read your journeys. You have a wonderful way of saying “Wish you were here with us.” Thank you very much.
Thanks Suzette. I had heard of sunfish but never expected to see one in Canada! Thanks for coming on our trip 😊 Maggie
Always a pleasure Maggie😊
I love your two brief tales of NF lingo and the sense of humor.
Thanks! Newfies have a great sense of humour!! Maggie
“Arn?” “Narn.” —- that’s a classic!
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I love how they make fun of Newfoundland slang on 22 Minutes! I can’t wait to see Newfoundland when the eclipse happens. Btw, I am going to be leaving Canada sometime this year. Things just haven’t worked out
Oh no, I’m sad to hear that. Are you going back to the US?
No, I will explain in my next post
Such beautiful scenes and photos. I’m glad that people can still survive and thrive in these small communities.
These small villages are probably losing a lot of younger people, but I heard recently that people from other parts of the country are moving there. Homes are cheap and the views are incredible. If it wasn’t for the harsh storms, we’d consider it. Thanks for your comments 🙂 Maggie
Fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing. My grandparents were from Newfoundland, but I haven’t made it there yet. Hopefully someday. It all depends on the portability of my travel partner.
Oh you really should try to get there, we absolutely fell in love with Newfoundland. 🙂 Maggie
That shot of the lighthouse and low clouds is amazing. 😊
Thank you, we were so lucky to see it and then the storm went the other way so we didn’t even get rained on 😉 Maggie
Oh, I didn’t realize you were also Irene 🙂 Maggie
Yes, a bit confusing. Couldn’t figure out how to make a complete switch smoothly. 😊
I’m following your new blog.😊
Much appreciated. 😊
Doesn’t it have a wonderfully varied coastline? I loved that stormy lighthouse shot and then the rock formations around Bay Bulls.
We didn’t expect to continue to get such amazing coastal view as we traveled around Newfoundland. It really is spectacular and you’re right, quite varied. Thanks for reading Jo 🙂 Maggie
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Another great tale. I loved the Bay Bulls coastline.
Thanks, yes Bay Bulls was a last minute add on so was a great surprise. 😊
As always, I enjoyed traveling to these coastal towns vicariously through your beautiful photos and descriptions. The cloudy sky behind the lighthouse is indeed spectacular and learning about Sunfish floating on the water makes me realize how many things I don’t know. I also didn’t realize that moose were so common there!
Thanks Tanja, I’m so glad you’re enjoying our posts of Newfoundland. The trip to Cape Spear was very special between the crazy clouds and the sunfish, it was a uniquely Newfoundland experience. There are a lot of moose on the island. Apparently they were brought over from New Brunswick over 100 years ago and have no predators. I think they’ve managed to bring the numbers down to a manageable level now, but there are still a lot of moose-car accidents. Thanks for your comments. Maggie
Wow, you spotted a sunfish! Despite their massive size, I heard that they can be rather elusive. That weather forecast sign is hilarious!
Yes I think they’re very difficult to see but there were 3 or 4 in the water below us. I didn’t even know they would be this far north! The sign shows typical Newfie humour😊 Maggie
The way those villages are huddled inside their individual bays is so charming, so alluring. That storm-cloud hanging right over the sea looks about to burst, it looks so heavy – yet slightly amusing that somewhere called “Portugal” gave you a blue sea shot..
We couldn’t beleive that we continued to find these adorable fishing villages everywhere in the province. But also the changing weather that seemed to move from bay to bay. Thanks! Maggie
Your pictures that capture the storm coming in are gorgeous!! I remember feeling like we were going to be blown away when we visited Cape Spear. It was so windy! Some of the sayings and phrases in Newfoundland are hilarious.
Thanks it was an incredible cloud that formed before our eyes. We thought we’d get soaked, but it went out to sea and we didn’t get much rain. They have so many funny sayings and pronunciations, and they have so much fun with themselves, no wonder so many comedians come from Newfoundland. 😊
Pretty landscape. I like the picture of the lighthouse with dark approaching clouds. The one you posted on IG, as well. Looking at the “weather predictor” board, it seems the people have origin from the UK. Not sure but just a guess.
Good guess. Their ancestors are from a England and Ireland and they seem to hold that heritage closer to their hearts than we do in Western Canada. The storm cloud was very ominous and seemed to develop just at the right time for a picture. It went off into the ocean after and we barely had any rain. Thanks for your comments Arv, Maggie
Thanks for that info, Maggie. It is good to know that the residents are keeping their roots alive. 🙂
What a lovely area to explore – I love the ominous clouds over the lighthouse shot. I’d love to visit Newfoundland, I know it’s Canadian – but it’s climate, sayings and coastline look almost English
Reblogged this on Indian Travel + Life.
OMG just say amazing blogger you are, very informative, pics are awesome. thanks for sharing such a great article.
Thank you 🙂
My Pleasure.
We definitely are thinking about an Atlantic Canada road trip this summer! Your blogs have inspired us to visit a different part of our own country. I love the weather information board hahaha…too funny! I am wondering how long you actually spent in Newfoundland. It’s a lot larger than I realized. I agree with some of the other comments…that picture of the Cape Spear Lighthouse with the storm clouds is fantastic!
Our entire trip was 6 weeks, but obviously we drove the entire way. We were in Newfoundland for 10 days plus a day on either side for the ferry. It was pretty rushed. There’s a lot more to see and do on the eastern side but we loved the places we visited in the west too so I’d hate to say don’t bother with it. If you can go end of spring/ early summer you may get to see icebergs and more puffins. We were there end of Aug to early Sep. If you drive, book the ferries early, and if you fly book a rental car early. Ask me any time if you have more questions. Maggie
ohhhhh so good to know! I knew the cross-Canada part took a loooong time but wasn’t sure about Newfoundland itself. I can see how you could spend a fair amount of time there. I was thinking around 8 or 9 days so not too far off. Thanks for the tips…will definitely be in touch if we need more details. Have a great day!
It’s been a very long time since I was in Newfoundland! Thank you for bringing me back.
Love the sun fish. You say a lot.
Saw not say…lol sorry
Haha! Yes we were very lucky in this visit to Cape Spear. Thanks for your comments Kelly! Maggie
Absolutely, I agree that those dark clouds, the ocean and lighthouse is picture perfect! And how pretty is Petty Harbour (it could have been “Pretty Harbour”) 😄. Love all those little villages tucked away between the rocks – the one as pretty as the next one!
Yes it should be Pretty Harbour! It’s very close to the capital city and yest us so quaint. The storm at the lighthouse was such an ominous scene. I’m glad Richard captured it so well (he’s the photographer) Maggie
Oh wow a Mola! I always thought they were living further down south, don’t ask me why. My old Newfoundland colleagues only told me of cod, whales, whales, and perhaps more whales.
Those cloud formations are amazing. Looks like the scene from Independence Day when the alien ship arrives over NYC…
Thanks Fabricio, We were very surprised to see the sunfish. Later we read that they do come to Newfoundland in the summer. We only saw a few whales from very far away, since we were too late in the season for whales. The cloud really felt ominous and too perfect to be real. The world could have ended that day and I wouldn’t have been surprised 🙂 Maggie
It is not easy to take good pictures with such a grey sky and lack of sunshine, but this is indeed the prevailing climate in this region. At Cape Spears I couldn’t even see the sea though I heard it crashing against the cliff.
We were lucky that we had the dramatic sky without the actual storm.
[…] We imagined them yelling “Arn?” “Narn” to each other as they passed. Click here for that […]
looks to be another beautiful, yet lonely spot on the map
You captured an excellent picture of the Cape Spear Lighthouse with the eerie cloud in the backdrop And it must really exciting to see the sunfish. 🙂 O that is a great fun to learn the Newfoundlanders vocabulary.
Thanks! I was sure that storm cloud would blow us off the cliff, but luckily it quickly moved away from us. The sunfish was really unexpected and quite exciting. Our trip was full of great surprises! Thanks for your comments, Maggie
Stunning photographs, I really love the first one, the mood in the sky and the striking contrast against lighthouse ✨
It was a spectacular sky and we’re so glad it came out so well in the picture 🙂 Maggie
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