Newfoundland Travel Guide After Visiting for 3 Weeks! @TodayIsSomeday

A Travel Path Podcast

www.atravelpath.com

00:00 Introduction

02:30 How Long Should Someone Stay in Newfoundland?

03:15 When is the Best Time of Year to Visit Newfoundland?

04:30 What is Transportation Like in Newfoundland?

08:00 Lodging

09:15 How Are the Roads?

010:30 Activities

11:30 Nightlife

12:15 Sunrise, Sunset, and Stargazing

14:00 Nova Scotia

16:00 Cost

17:15 Cell Phone Service

19:30 Food Scene

20:15 What Are Three Things to Pack to Newfoundland?

21:15 Two Complaints About Newfoundland?

22:30 Crowds

23:00 One Thing You Can’t Leave Without Doing

It was great to have Phil and Stacy back on the podcast. Today they shared their extensive 3 week trip to Newfoundland and shared everything they learned. They also discussed a few things they would do differently to enhance their trip. Learn all about:

· How to handle internet when you travel to another country

· Saving time by taking different ferries

· Sunrise and sunset locations

And More!

3, 2, 1 Countdown Segment:

3 Things You Need to Bring to Newfoundland?

· Dietary restriction supplies (green powder, etc.)

· Medication

· Dress for all seasons no matter when you visit

2 Complaints or Things to Be Prepared For:

· Cost of fuel

· How big the island is, planning can be tricky

1 Thing You CAN’T Leave Newfoundland Without Doing:

· Whale-Watching, and the history at Cape Spear and Gander

Find Phil and Stacy At:

· https://todayissomeday.net/

· https://www.youtube.com/c/YouMetheRV

· https://www.instagram.com/todayissomeday_travel/

· https://www.facebook.com/todayissomeday

Charity:

· https://todayissomeday.net/military-charities

· https://give.ourhfotusa.org/fundraiser/3882334

Phil and Stacy’s Newfoundland Video Playlist:

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaXzEjyw7uU&list=PLmOdcNUX3OG3GITb433ZEM96MTMIclQ8z

To Do

· Gros Morne National Park: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/destinations/gros-morne

· Twillingate Icebergs: https://twillingate.com/to-see-do/iceberg-whales/

· Whale Watching: https://www.gatheralls.com/

· Cape Spear Lighthouse: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/destinations/cape-spear

· Article on Gander: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/newfoundland-labrador-9-11-anniversary

· Saint John’s: https://www.stjohns.ca/en/recreation-culture/visit-st-johns.aspx

· Checklist for Crossing Into Canada: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/checklist-aidememoire-eng.html

· Internet: https://www.starlink.com/

Nova Scotia:

· River Rafting: https://shubieriverwranglers.ca/

· Bay of Fundy: https://www.bayoffundy.com/

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/gently-comes-tomorrow License code: JNNG98EA42W634JP

#newfoundland #newfoundlandcanada

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

Transcript:

Tyler: Phil and Stacy, welcome back to the travel tips segment of the Travel Path Podcast. Thanks for having us.

Phil: Yep, pleasure to be here.

Stacy: Thank you.

Tyler: So, for those of you who missed it, we had Phil and Stacy on. They're from "Today is Someday" on YouTube. They talked about everything from checklist preparation, maintenance procedures, and more checklists, and just everything RV life. They're full-time RVers. Today, in our travel tips, we're talking about one particular destination. So, Phil and Stacy, where are we talking about today?

Stacy: We're talking about Newfoundland.

Hope: Awesome. Now, how much time have you guys spent in Newfoundland?

Phil: Not long enough. We were there for about three weeks in Newfoundland.

Hope: Okay. And why is this place so special? Why are we talking about Newfoundland today?

Stacy: We absolutely fell in love with it when we were there. It's beautiful, it's historic, it is so unique, and just the feeling you get when you're there because it's kind of untouched in many areas of the island. So, we actually loved it there.

Stacy: Yeah, we soon found that "The Rock," as the locals call it, had so much to offer. We soon realized that there was no way we were going to be able to see it in the amount of time we had allotted. And as big as Newfoundland is, there wasn't a lot of people in and around the national park and just in general. It wasn't until you got to some of the bigger cities that you started to come into contact with a lot more folks, so it was wide open, at least it felt that way at first.

Hope: Very good. Now, to get that full Newfoundland experience, how long do you think someone should plan their trip for?

Phil: I think at a minimum four to six weeks. What we quickly discovered and what most people don't realize is Newfoundland is about the size of Texas, so there is a lot of land and a lot of driving to get from one side to the other of the island. So, if you want to take your time and experience everything it has to offer, I definitely would recommend at least four to six weeks. I think if we'd had another couple of weeks, we would have been able to check a lot more things off our list.

Hope: And what time of the year did you go to Newfoundland, or what time would you suggest is one of the best to go?

Stacy: We were there in the summer. But the optimal, if you're RVing, the best time to go is June through August. It's the mild climates, it's when it's nice and warm. But I gotta tell you, a lot of people go to Newfoundland in the wintertime because they have snowmobiling and a big ski season there too. So, if you want to fly in and not take the RV, that's another option for you. They get about 16 feet of snow a year.

Phil: 16 feet.

Stacy: I'm sorry, 16 feet, a lot of winter activities there as well.

Hope: Well, that's good. It's always nice when you find a destination that you can kind of go all year round because it gives you a lot of different possibilities, especially with your schedule. And also, you can go back at a different time of the year and experience something totally different.

Phil: Absolutely.

Hope: Now, you mentioned, you know, you could, of course, fly in. So, how does transportation work? You obviously took your RV in, but if someone was going to plan a trip to Newfoundland, maybe they're not RVing, how would you suggest they get there?

Stacy: So, if they're flying in, St. John's has an airport, so they can definitely fly into St. John's. And it's a great place to rent a car to see the rest of the island. And they have a ton of Airbnbs, hotels, and cabins throughout the island, so it's a great way to travel around and see all the different regions. Now, if you're taking the RV, you will need to, of course, cross the border into Canada, so you'll need a passport for that, and then take the ferry. So, definitely make sure you plan ahead for that because the ferry does fill up. And one thing to know, this is what we did wrong, so definitely learn from my mistake. There are two ferries, and they're on opposite sides of the island. So, I recommend taking one ferry into Newfoundland and taking the other ferry out of Newfoundland. One of the ferries is a little bit longer, but what that will do is that will enable you to see more and drive way less because it's going to take you two to three days to get back to your original ferry port where you can spend that time exploring and just hop on the ferry on the basically other side of the island instead.

Phil: Yeah, the highway that runs through Newfoundland, the main highway, it's not a loop. So, it's kind of out and back if you're coming in and out of the same terminal that we did. So, we went from Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques on an eight-hour ferry and then we took three weeks to drive through Newfoundland. But if we had done the research a little bit better, we would have seen that the road doesn't come all the way back around. We would have planned to take the ferry out of St. John's, and that's a 16-hour ferry, is it?

Stacy: It's at least 12. I know it's much longer. It's much longer. So, but you can get cabins on the ferry. There's cabins for pets, there's kennels, and there's cabins that are pet-friendly. So, there are a lot of options on the ferries.

Tyler: Sounds like a cruise ship.

Phil: It's pretty good size.

Stacy: It's a pretty good size. So, definitely a lot of space for and they pack them in. But you have to remember, too, those ferries are where they get a lot of their goods and services. So, all the big rigs get on there for all their shipping to come onto the island. So, the ferries are pretty large.

Phil: Yeah, so big rigs and you have a Class A motorhome, so there really was no size requirement.

Stacy: No, not at all. You pay per the size. So, however long you are is the amount that you pay for the ferry.

Hope: And once you're on that ferry, are you able to access your rig, or do you have to, like, park it and then go up?

Stacy: Yeah, once you're on and away from the parking area, you cannot go back.

Phil: Yeah, that's the only downfall.

Stacy: Yeah, you have to stay above, either in your cabin. There's a restaurant, store, there's plenty of places to hang out up there. But for safety, they don't let you back down with the vehicles.

Hope: That's good to know, though. And I think that's a really good tip about planning to take one ferry out and the other one back,

just so you don't waste that time and that gas too, just driving around the island on especially roads you've already seen.

Stacy: And the big thing is most people only make this trip once in their life. Most people don't go back and repeat this trip. So, I think making the most of your time is really important.

Hope: Yeah, absolutely. So, once you get to Newfoundland, you've taken the ferry, we've talked about the transportation. How about lodging? So, you obviously had your camper. Where'd you stay?

Phil: We stayed all over. It is very RV friendly, and as a matter of fact, if you have a smaller RV like a van or small Class B, you can pretty much pull over and park anywhere there's a spot. We read a lot about that. There's free parking lots or pull-offs or wherever you find, you can stay. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything quite big enough for our size. We're 35 feet, and all the spaces we found were for smaller sizes. But there were plenty of campgrounds for us, and we winged it most of the time because we didn't really have too many reservations. You know, we weren't really sure how long we would spend in each area. So, we were able to get last-minute spots all over the island. And we were not the biggest motorhome over there. We did see a bunch of 45-footers over there as well. So, I mean, we saw a ton of vans, a ton of truck campers because they could get a little further out into the mountains, pull off on the side of the road in those spots. So, yeah, any size rig will do perfectly.

Hope: Now, I imagine you probably parked your camper, and then throughout your day, you took your car and you went and explored. For someone that's driving, maybe like a Class C or a Class B van that doesn't have that pull-behind car, are the roads good for everyone being able to get where they need to be?

Stacy: Well, everyone can get where they need to be, but as far as the roads being good, the roads over there are a little, well, they could, let's just say, they need a little work. The island does not have a lot of money to work on the roads, frankly. And it gets really cold, and with the snow, it tears them up every year. So, we were joking that the roads were worse than the trip up to Alaska. But that being said, there's plenty of parking just about everywhere we went. We saw Class Bs, we saw people driving their RVs that didn't have a tow car. So, there definitely is space for you to make that your tow car and to explore the island.

Phil: Yeah, in fact, we saw more Class Cs and Bs up there than we did anything else, actually.

Hope: Very cool. And then as far as activities, obviously, you can drive around. There's tons of scenery, I'm sure there's beautiful hiking. You know, we know you can do some skiing in the winter. But for the time that you went, what type of activities did you do, or did you see other people doing during the day?

Stacy: There's so much, and it's so varied. So, everything from their national park, they have a unique national park, their Gros Morne National Park. You can go to Twillingate, which they're known for iceberg seeing, seeing the icebergs float by. They have, of course, a ton of historic lighthouses. And then one of Phil's favorite things was the whale watching.

Phil: Yeah, taking a boat tour out and saying, I mean, we're literally 10, 15 yards away from whales on our trip. So, for me, that was a highlight of the trip.

Stacy: Yeah, and then we also explored Gander, which is a really unique town. Gander is the town that accepted all the planes for 9/11 when they were all grounded. It was like 32, was it 32 aircraft or 36 aircraft?

Phil: Yeah, it was really cool to go through Gander and learn more about that and how they really everything they did on 9/11 to help all the passengers on those planes.

Hope: And then what about at night? What did you guys like to do once the sun went down?

Stacy: Well, honestly, most places we were at when the sun went down, the town rolled up its welcome mat, and they were all in bed. So, the only place I would say that that's not the case was Gander. That's a larger town. And then St. John's, so St. John's has a huge active bar scene and music scene. So, there's a ton of restaurants and a ton of nightlife. I say a ton, it's not a huge town, but for the island, it's one of their largest towns. So, yeah, and in fact, we didn't mind going to bed early while we were there because we got up early the next morning and we went to the coast and we caught the sunrise.

Phil: Yeah, and then, you know, early bird catches the worm. If you were there at the right time, you would also see whales passing through off the coast. So, that was pretty neat to do.

Hope: Any specific spots you saw sunrise, or just anywhere on the coast you went?

Stacy: It was at the Cape Spear Lighthouse. It's actually one of the most easterly points. So, we pretty much saw the sunrise before everyone else in not only Canada but in the US.

Tyler: Yeah, I think I've read that Cape Spear and Cadillac Mountain, like different times of the year, those two alternate from being the easternmost or where the sunlight hits first in the morning.

Stacy: Yeah, and that's pretty cool.

Hope: Yeah, so I know you said you went to Signal Hill because you woke up so early, but did you see any awesome sunsets or any really cool stargazing?

Stacy: Yes, as a matter of fact, especially over by the national park because it is a dark sky, so there's plenty of stargazing. And of course, it's a very unpopulated island. There are many segments of the island where you'll drive for a while before you see people or towns. So the fact that there's no smog and all that regular city stuff, it really made for a beautiful night sky.

Hope: Wow, that's awesome. Definitely somewhere we'll have to get one day, sooner rather than later. You're definitely selling it.

Phil: Definitely, we're on it. Definitely recommend it, yeah, highly recommend it. I mean, Signal Hill is where we went in St. John to catch a sunset, and we caught a sunrise from there. So, it's so crazy, the amount of history on that island, from World War I to the Vikings. They have the original Viking settlement there. So, if you're going to Newfoundland, you have to stop in Nova Scotia. We did a river rafting on the Bay of Fundy.

Phil: Yeah, it was on the Shubie River. We went out and we rode the tide in. So, literally, we're out there following the water in these rib boats, and the water was only in part of the river deep enough for the boats to get to, and everywhere was sandbars all along there. And at high noon that day, yeah, the Bay of Fundy, the tide came back in, and it was so much water coming back through that river that we caught the waves, and we were up and down. I mean, it was an amazing day. It's one of the highest tides in the world. So, it was so much fun. We actually went into Canada via Maine, into Cape Breton, then into Nova Scotia, and then over to Newfoundland. And then when we came back from Newfoundland, we went all the way through Nova Scotia, jumped on the ferry from there, and came back into Maine.

Hope: So, you can take a quick little ferry. It's much faster. It's like a three-hour ferry ride from Maine to Nova Scotia, and it wasn't that expensive. So, check it out. It might be something you're interested in doing because that also saved us like three days of driving all the way back. Just cut across.

Hope: Perfect. Very good. So, a lot of fun, lots of helpful tips. So just switching over to cost a little bit, how expensive or affordable is it to go to Newfoundland, do you think?

Stacy: I think the most expensive part really is the ferry. And that's based on the length of your RV and your tow car. And we rented a cabin and paid for the ferry. It was around $800 round trip. So, it's not too bad considering.

Hope: Oh, that was on the eight-hour trip.

Stacy: Yeah. So, it obviously, that's a big expense for some people. And the other big expense RV-wise would be the fuel costs. Fuel is a lot more expensive there because, again, they have to ship it in. You're paying in the Canadian dollar. So, I think cost-wise, those are your two biggest ones. But camping fees are pretty inexpensive. You can find some... they don't call them state parks, they call them, I forget what they call them, but their state parks and their national parks are really inexpensive, as well as some of the private campgrounds we stayed at. So, those will be your biggest two expenses. But I think overall, it was amazing. It was really worth every penny.

Hope: Perfect. Definitely sounds like it. And then how was your cell service or your internet service there?

Phil: Well, great question. So once we got across the Canadian border and we entered through Maine, our T-Mobile stopped. It's like somebody flipped a switch. So, what we relied on while we were there was our Starlink. And we used our Starlink heavily. Now, we did have to change our plan from a residential plan to... I don't even know what they call it now, it's a mobile global plan, like internal. They forced us to change our plan while we were there, but it was an easy switch online. And that's what saved us while we were there, as far as internet goes.

Stacy: Yeah. And with our cell phones, we also had to switch over to international for our cell phones. And almost everybody has it now, it's Canada and Mexico.

Hope: Absolutely. And then, how about food? Anything you enjoyed there that you want to mention?

Phil: I don't think we have anything specific. I did try a mooseburger and wasn't a fan, not a fan.

Tyler: Not a fan?

Phil: I had two because we were there, and we tried moose soup.

Phil: Yeah, Phil doesn't venture out much when it comes to foods.

Stacy: There’s a ton of seafood, like fresh-caught that morning. You're going to find it all over the island, and it is amazing. They do have some of their own specialties, and I forget the names of some of them. They had like a cod al'grian or something.

Phil: Oh, yeah.

Stacy: They do cook sometimes pretty heavy, as far as cheese and fat. So, I was... After three weeks, it was good to get more vegetables. Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of veggies over there because they have to ship everything in. So, we were definitely deficient in our veggies while we were there. But we love eating local and trying out their signature dishes. So, it was interesting while we were there.

Hope: Awesome. Well, it sounds great. Just bring your green powder with you.

Stacy: Yes, because you can't cross the border with all your fresh veggies. They don't allow you to. So, just kind of keep that in the back of your mind.

Phil: Yeah. They have an extensive checklist online when you're crossing into Canada. So, make sure you don't get caught with those because you won't have them very long, that's for sure.

Phil: Yeah. You won't.

Hope: That's good. And we'll have to link that checklist down below in the show notes. So, just anyone crossing the border in general has that information.

Stacy: That's perfect.

Tyler: Great. Well, we'll transition to the 3-2-1 countdown, the final three questions of the podcast. So, when you're going to Newfoundland or Newfoundland, however the locals pronounce it, what are three things you're packing?

Stacy: All right. So, definitely, if you have any special dietary needs, you need to bring those. And hopefully, your dietary needs can cross the border because items they have to choose from at most of the grocery stores are going to be mom and pop. So, it's going to be hard to get what you normally eat. And then, of course, your medications, depending on how long you're going to be there, because if you run out, you won't be able to just have them called in and pick up. So, those are the two biggest things. And then, I think the last thing would be definitely dress for all climates, all seasons while you're there. Even though we were there for the summer, there were days where the weather would change and it was wet and it was freezing. So, make sure you're not just prepared for summer. You have all the layers and everything you need while you're there.

Tyler: Good points. As far as two complaints or things people wish they prepared more for, what would those be?

Phil: I think fuel.

Stacy: Fuel, yeah. I would say...

Phil: And it's surprisingly how much that is because, again, they have to ship it over there, and you have to do fuzzy math while you're at the pump. We deal in gallons; they deal in liters. So, if you're trying to stay within a budget and do the math and the comparison, it could be there for days trying to figure that out. And another thing with the fuel is make sure if you're passing a station, you fill up because gas stations, especially for diesel, were few and far between. So, you definitely don't want to get stuck in a situation where you need gas and there's nothing close by.

Stacy: Yeah. And then, the last thing, I think, is just people. We kind of mentioned it earlier that people don't realize how big it is. So, when you're planning to make sure you realize how big the island is. I mean, it would be like trying to visit all of Texas, going from Dallas to Galveston to Big Bend, Austin, and trying to plan all that in just a couple of weeks. It's near impossible to do all that. So, just kind of keep that in mind.

Tyler: Great. How are the crowds? I know you went in the summertime; that's probably peak season. But you were able to get campgrounds last minute?

Stacy: We never really felt like it was crowded anywhere. Obviously, St. John is their biggest city. But even that, we got right into one of their really nice, big campgrounds without a problem. So, I never felt like it was crowded. And there were... I mean, there were crowds doing the sightseeing stuff, the tours, the whale watching. There were quite a few boats out. But that was again centered around the big city. And we got into all of those. There was never a time where we wanted to do something and we couldn't because it was all booked up.

Tyler: Great. Yeah, perfect. Okay, our last question, guys. You talked about a lot of things to do today. But what is one thing you cannot leave Newfoundland without doing?

Phil: For me, it was whale watching by far. Getting on that whale watching tour, seeing the different birds and the puffins. They're low-flying to the water, and they were everywhere out there. But not only seeing one type of whale, but we saw two or three different species of whales while we were out there. And the one came up really close to the boat with her calf. For me, that was the highlight.

Stacy: Yeah, it was really great. I think more for me, it would be more the historic stuff. The lighthouses... I know Phil hates history, so Signal Hill, learning about Gander. So, all the history stuff that we were able to hit up, I really loved all of that.

Tyler: Perfect. Well, sounds like there's a little bit for everything in Newfoundland. So, thank you for sharing. I think this definitely provided a lot of people their itinerary, some tips and tricks for visiting. A lot of helpful tips with cost and traveling. So, yeah, thank you guys again for coming on. And if you haven't listened to part one, again, we talked about how they got started in their full-time adventures. They talked about everything from their checklist, everything they do to travel safely and securely. And one more time, Phil and Stacy, where can our audience find out more about you guys?

Stacy: On our YouTube channel today issome todayisSunday and also our website and blog todayissunday.net.

Tyler: Perfect all right Phil and Stacy thanks again.

Phil: Thank you so much this was fun.