Authentic Newfoundland

Relax with included airport lounge access before your flight to St. John’s. This historic and vibrant city has many attractions along with a superb array of restaurants offering everything from fine dining to traditional Newfoundland fare. The city also has the highest concentration of pubs per capita on the continent, which you'll be free to visit between trips out to explore the Irish Loop, a scenic drive around the Avalon Peninsula, before you head on to pretty Bay Bulls. You will also take a cruise out around the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve to see puffins and the world’s largest concentration of humpback whales. Whilst in St. John's visit one of the most photographed places, Quidi Vidi Village just a short drive from the St. John's, try a beer brewed with iceberg water at the Quidi Vidi Brewery.

Stay: Leaside Manor Inn, St. John's (Superior)

Spend the day exploring the stunning coastline and the little villages of the Avalon Peninsula. Start your day driving to Bay Bulls for a boat excursion to see whales and the Atlantic Puffin - if you are lucky you may even spot an iceberg (May/June only). From Bay Bulls follow the Irish Loop to Ferryland, the home of the original Colony of Avalon founded by George Calvert, later Lord Baltimore, in 1621. The site of the Ferryland settlement is now being excavated, and archaeologists have uncovered over a million artefacts from the stone constructed buildings including gold rings, Portuguese ceramics, and other unusual objects. 

Stay: Leaside Manor Inn, St. John's (Superior)

Heading out along the shores of Conception Bay, you'll reach the Bonavista Peninsula, visit the Ryan Premises National Historic Site, a 19th century replica fish processing factory before visiting Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, Historic Ryan Premises, Mockbeggar Plantation and the Matthew Legacy Interpretation Centre – a full-scale replica of explorer Jon Cabot's 15th century caravel.

Next day explore the enchanting village of Trinity with its restored white clapboard houses, continue along the dramatic coastline of the Bonavista Peninsula and discover a sense of Newfoundland's history and nature.

Stay: Artisan Inn, Trinity (Superior)

Depart Trinity for the Terra Nova National Park. Here, rocky headlands provide shelter from the mighty power of the Atlantic as rugged cliffs, sheltered inlets and rolling hills provide a pristine habitat for ospreys, eagle, lynx and moose. The coastline is dotted with tiny coves and fishing villages, which you'll pass as you head for the seaside community of Twillingate. On arrival head out on the ocean with the afternoon Iceberg Watch boat tour, see icebergs, whales, sunsets and many spectacular views of the island of Twillingate.

Stay: Harbour Lights Inn, Twillingate  (Superior)

There's time this morning to explore Twillingate further before heading for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gros Morne National Park, words do not give the vistas justice, populated by small villages. bare topped mountains, with its forests home to moose and caribou.

Stay: Neddies Harbour Inn, Gros Morne National Park (Superior)

A free morning to explore the area, enjoy a boat tour of the freshwater fjord of Western Brook Pond. The landlocked fjord is a rare sight. Carved by glaciers, and home to waterfalls and wildlife, it's worth the trip alone. The rest of the day is free to explore the sites of the Gros Morne National Park.

Stay: Neddies Harbour Inn, Gros Morne National Park (Superior)

Returning to Gros Morne via the Viking Trail, you'll have a chance to take in the southern side of the national park, where the landscape is dominated by the magnificent Tablelands, whose bronze-coloured rock has provided scientists with evidence for such theories as plate tectonics. Indeed, these giant, flat-topped peaks are the reason Gros Morne was awarded its UNESCO status in 1987.

Stay: Neddies Harbour Inn, Gros Morne National Park (Superior)

Drive across the Northern Peninsula, stopping to visit Port au Choix National Historic Site and see artefacts from the Maritime Archaic people who occupied the region over 3,700 years ago. And, at L'Anse aux Meadows, you'll have the chance to explore the only authentic Viking settlement site left in North America, excavated in the 1960s. 

Stay: Grenfell Heritage Hotel & Suites, St. Anthony (Superior)

Make your way back down the peninsula to Steady Brook, the small community surrounded by mountains with the Humber River flowing through its heart, spend time exploring the Bay of Islands and Humber Valley.

Depart and continue to Deer Lake airport for your connecting flight via St. Johns or Halifax to the UK, arriving on day 15.