Newfoundland road trip: 7 days on the Avalon Peninsula
Overview
The Avalon Peninsula is Newfoundland in miniature — most of the province’s iconic experiences concentrated into a peninsula about 250 km long, accessible from St. John’s, and packed with wildlife, history, and genuine cultural distinctiveness. In 7 days, you can experience the full range: puffins and humpback whales at Witless Bay, northern gannets at Cape St. Mary’s, Signal Hill and the cityscape of St. John’s, icebergs on the cliffs of the eastern shore, the remarkable food and music scene of downtown, and the Screech-In that makes you an honorary Newfoundlander.
A car is essential. The driving is on good paved roads. Distances are manageable. The Avalon requires no long driving days.
| Day | Focus | Drive from St. John’s |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | St. John’s city | — |
| 3 | Witless Bay wildlife tour | 30 km / 25 min |
| 4 | Ferryland & Irish Loop | 70 km / 1 hr |
| 5 | Cape St. Mary’s | 165 km / 2 hrs |
| 6 | Trinity Bay & Conception Bay | 90 km / 1.5 hrs |
| 7 | St. John’s — final day | — |
Best season: June is ideal — icebergs are at or near peak, puffins are established in their colonies, humpbacks are arriving, and crowds are still manageable. July-August is peak season with maximum activity options but more visitors. May for icebergs and early puffin season.
At a glance
Start/end: St. John’s Airport (YYT)
Car required: Yes
Total driving: Approximately 600 km over 7 days
Budget range: CAD $1,800–$2,800 per person excluding flights
Days 1-2: St. John’s
St. John’s is one of the most interesting and genuinely distinct cities in Canada. Its character has been shaped by 500 years of fishing, British and Irish immigration, geographic isolation, and a community that developed its own culture, dialect, and traditions largely apart from the Canadian mainstream.
Signal Hill National Historic Site
The hill that guards the entrance to St. John’s Harbour is one of the most historically layered sites in North America. Cabot Tower at the summit is where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal (from Cornwall, England) in December 1901. During the colonial era, the hill was fortified against French attack. The views from the summit — the harbour entrance below, the Atlantic beyond, the colourful row houses of downtown — are the finest in the city.
Walk the Signal Hill trail (4 km loop) for the best views and the coastal perspective on the dramatic Narrows — the 200-metre-wide harbour entrance that has been defended for centuries.
The Jellybean Row and downtown
St. John’s is famous for its colourful row houses — Victorian-era attached houses painted in vivid combinations of red, yellow, blue, and green. The Jellybean Row neighbourhood of Gower Street and surrounding streets is the classic area, but colourful houses appear throughout the historic core of downtown.
George Street, one block from Water Street, is famous for having more bars per square metre than any street in North America (a claim locals maintain with enthusiasm). The pubs are genuine — not tourist bars — and live music is a nightly feature throughout summer.
The Rooms
The Rooms is Newfoundland’s provincial museum, art gallery, and archives in a striking contemporary building on a hill above the downtown. The gallery’s collection of Newfoundland art — from historical seascape paintings to contemporary Inuit and Indigenous work — is excellent. The museum’s cultural history exhibits explain the unique character of Newfoundland society: the outport culture, the fishing economy, the 1949 Confederation vote that ended Newfoundland’s status as a separate dominion.
The Screech-In
A George Street pub on the second evening is the time for the Screech-In ceremony — the humorous rite of passage that makes you an honorary Newfoundlander. Reciting the oath (in Newfoundland dialect), drinking a shot of Screech rum, and kissing a codfish are the requirements. See our Screech-In guide for what to expect.
Browse St. John’s and Newfoundland toursEating in St. John’s
St. John’s has a surprisingly good restaurant scene. The Mallard Cottage in Quidi Vidi Village (a tiny preserved fishing settlement within the city limits) serves exceptional Newfoundland ingredients in a beautifully restored 1820s cottage. Jumping Bean Café for breakfast. Quidi Vidi Brewing Company (at the village) for local craft beer with a view over the boathouse pond. Raymond’s Restaurant for the most ambitious fine dining in the province.
Day 3: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve
Drive 30 km south from St. John’s on Route 10 to Bay Bulls — 25 minutes. Board one of the boat tours departing from Bay Bulls for the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.
The wildlife experience
Witless Bay’s four offshore islands host North America’s largest Atlantic puffin colony — over 260,000 breeding pairs. The boat tour circles the islands and gets close to nesting, resting, and flying puffins; in June and July, the air above the islands is thick with birds. On a calm day, the scale is genuinely overwhelming.
The same tour regularly encounters humpback whales in the productive waters around the islands — the combination of puffins and whales on the same excursion is one of the finest wildlife watching experiences in Atlantic Canada. Leach’s storm-petrels (approximately 620,000 pairs — the world’s second-largest colony), common murre, razorbill, and black guillemot are also present.
Iceberg potential: In June, icebergs occasionally drift into the waters around Witless Bay, making a three-way combination of icebergs, puffins, and whales possible. This is not guaranteed but entirely within the realm of a good June day.
See our puffin watching guide for season timing and tips.
Afternoon: the Irish Loop begins
After the boat tour, begin the Irish Loop (Route 10) southward. The route follows the rugged eastern coast of the Avalon through small fishing communities — Witless Bay, Tors Cove, Calvert — with the Atlantic constantly visible to the left.
The cliffs between Calvert and Ferryland provide some of the best shore-based iceberg viewing on the Avalon in May-June. Icebergs drift south along this coast before entering warmer water; the headlands give clean sightlines offshore. Binoculars are useful.
Return to St. John’s via Route 10 or stay the night in the Ferryland area.
Day 4: Ferryland and the southern Irish Loop
Drive 70 km south from St. John’s to Ferryland on Route 10 — about 1 hour.
The Colony of Avalon
Ferryland was one of the earliest European settlements in North America, established as a planned colony by Sir George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) in 1621. The Colony of Avalon Archaeological Site in Ferryland has ongoing excavations that have recovered over 2 million artifacts from the 17th-century settlement — one of the richest archaeological sites in Canada.
The outdoor site allows visitors to watch archaeological work in progress and examine recovered artifacts. The interpretive centre displays the most significant finds.
The Lighthouse Picnic
One of the most distinctive dining experiences in Newfoundland: the Ferryland Lighthouse Picnic offers a prepared gourmet picnic basket (local ingredients, excellent quality) that you carry up the lighthouse path and eat on the cliff overlooking the Atlantic. Reservations required (often weeks ahead in peak season). Iceberg views are possible from the lighthouse headland in June.
Continuing the Irish Loop
Continuing south from Ferryland, Route 10 passes through the communities of Renews, Cappahayden, and St. Vincent’s before reaching St. Mary’s Bay. The scenery becomes more dramatic in the southern section — high cliffs, exposed headlands, and the constant presence of the open Atlantic.
Aquaforte and Fermeuse are small communities with Basque and Portuguese fishing heritage — evidence of the pre-colonial fishing presence on these shores that long predates the colony at Ferryland.
Day 5: Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve
Drive 165 km from St. John’s to Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve — approximately 2 hours southwest, near the tip of the Cape St. Mary’s Peninsula.
Northern gannets at Bird Rock
Cape St. Mary’s is the most accessible gannet colony in North America. Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) are large, dramatic seabirds — white with golden-yellow heads and a wingspan approaching 2 metres — that nest in dense colonies on sea stacks and coastal cliffs. At Cape St. Mary’s, Bird Rock (a sea stack just offshore) is home to approximately 24,000 breeding pairs, and a walking path from the interpretive centre brings visitors to within 10 metres of the rock.
The experience is sensory overload in the best way: the white mass of birds on the red rock, the constant noise of a gannet colony (a persistent low roar of calls), the circling birds against the sky, the smell of a dense seabird colony, and the crash of Atlantic surf against the cliff base. Allow at least 2 hours at the rock.
Puffins, murres, kittiwakes, and razorbills also nest in the cliffs around Bird Rock. In June, the gannet colony is at peak activity with active nesting, courtship displays, and chick-feeding.
Drive tip: The road to Cape St. Mary’s passes through the town of St. Bride’s — stop for fuel (limited options beyond here) and a meal at one of the local restaurants.
Book Newfoundland wildlife and nature toursDay 6: Trinity Bay and Conception Bay
A different direction from St. John’s — drive north and then east to Trinity Bay, exploring two of the Avalon’s scenic bays.
Conception Bay and Holyrood
Conception Bay, west of St. John’s, is a deep inlet flanked by dramatic hills. The Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre (near Conception Bay South) explains the remarkable geology of the area — 500-million-year-old Ediacaran fossils, some of the world’s oldest complex organisms, have been found in the river gorge here. An accessible 3-km trail follows the river through good birding habitat.
Bell Island
Bell Island, accessible by a 20-minute ferry from Portugal Cove (just west of St. John’s), is a former iron ore mining island with remarkable industrial heritage: during World War II, German U-boats sank four ore carriers here — the only North American casualty of a wartime attack on home waters. The WWII shipwrecks are now a renowned diving site.
The Bell Island Community Museum and the No. 2 Mine Tour provide excellent historical context for the island’s industrial past.
Salmonier Nature Park
The Salmonier Nature Park on Route 90 (southern route back from Conception Bay) maintains a walk-through nature reserve with injured and non-releasable native wildlife — caribou, moose, red fox, bald eagle, river otter, and others. An excellent option for families.
Day 7: St. John’s final day
Johnson Geo Centre
The geology museum at Signal Hill is excellent and often overlooked. Newfoundland is one of the geologically oldest and most complex pieces of the earth’s surface — the museum explains this history through excellent exhibits, including a section on the Titanic’s seabed context (the wreck lies in the same geological area as Newfoundland’s continental shelf).
Quidi Vidi Village
The tiny preserved fishing village of Quidi Vidi sits inside the city limits of St. John’s — a remarkable survival. The boathouse, the village buildings, and the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company (producing Newfoundland craft beers with local ingredients) make for an excellent final morning.
Cape Spear
Drive 15 km east from downtown to Cape Spear National Historic Site — the easternmost point of North America. The 1836 lighthouse (the oldest surviving in Newfoundland) and the WWII gun batteries create a layered historic site. The views east from the cape — knowing there is nothing between you and Ireland — are appropriately dramatic.
Final evening
St. John’s is one of the best cities in Canada for live music. The Brixton on George Street, Shamrock City, and O’Reilly’s all feature traditional and folk music regularly through the summer. This is the most fitting way to end a Newfoundland trip.
Budget guide
| Category | Budget/person | Moderate/person |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (6 nights) | CAD $700 | CAD $1,050 |
| Food | CAD $500 | CAD $750 |
| Car rental + fuel | CAD $350 | CAD $450 |
| Boat tours (Witless Bay, optional others) | CAD $180 | CAD $280 |
| Museum entries, parks | CAD $80 | CAD $150 |
| Total (excl. flights) | ~$1,810 | ~$2,680 |
Practical tips
Book Witless Bay tours ahead: June is peak iceberg/puffin overlap season; tours fill. Book online at least a week ahead.
Ferryland Lighthouse Picnic: Must be booked in advance — often 2-3 weeks ahead in summer. Check availability at lighthousepicnics.ca.
Cape St. Mary’s distance: The return drive from St. John’s to Cape St. Mary’s is 3.5+ hours round trip; allow a full day. The reserve is worth it completely.
Iceberg tracking: For May-June visitors, check iceberg sightings at iceberg finder before each day’s excursion planning. The eastern Avalon shore is one of the most reliable viewing areas.
Moose: The Avalon Peninsula has an extremely high moose density. Drive slowly after dusk — moose-vehicle collisions are a genuine road safety hazard.
Variations
Add the Bonavista Peninsula (10 days): Drive northeast from St. John’s to the Bonavista Peninsula (add Days 8-10) — Elliston for shore-based puffin viewing, Trinity for the most preserved historic outport town in Newfoundland, and Bonavista for the Cabot memorial and iceberg boat tours.
Viking Trail extension (14 days): After the Avalon circuit, fly Deer Lake and drive the Viking Trail to Gros Morne and L’Anse aux Meadows. See our 7-day Viking Trail itinerary.
Frequently asked questions about Newfoundland road trip: 7 days on the Avalon Peninsula
When are icebergs visible from the Avalon Peninsula?
Peak Avalon iceberg season is mid-May through late June. Shore-based viewing from the cliffs between Ferryland and Calvert is most reliable in this window. July and August visitors will see few or no icebergs.
Can I see both puffins and whales on the same tour at Witless Bay?
Yes — reliably. The same productive waters support both. June-August boat tours from Bay Bulls regularly encounter humpback whales and puffins on the same excursion.
Is St. John’s a good base for the whole trip?
Yes — the Avalon Peninsula is compact enough that St. John’s works as a single base with day trips. Only the Cape St. Mary’s visit (very long day trip) or the Bonavista extension justify overnight departures from the city.
How do I get to Newfoundland?
Direct flights from Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, and London (Heathrow) serve St. John’s (YYT). Alternatively, the Marine Atlantic ferry from North Sydney, NS arrives at Argentia (near St. John’s) seasonally or Port aux Basques (western Newfoundland). See our Marine Atlantic ferry guide.