“We are traveling to Newfoundland, for five days, what do you recommend” was the question an acquaintance asked me? They were leaving in a few days and had made reservations to fly into Deer Lake and return from St John’s. This was their first trip to Newfoundland.
My wife and I were born on the island and I had visited most areas of the province. We had moved to the Ottawa area, for eight years, so our view of home was a little different because of this. Also, I had spent many years as a travel consultant so I knew the questions to ask.
They had already booked their accommodations and as they told me what their plans were I knew that they were going to be rushed. This was not a holiday but a marathon.
Their itinerary was as follows.
Day 1: Arrive in Deer Lake in the afternoon. Over-night
Day 2: Visit the Corner Brook area and then drive to L’anse aux meadows. Over-night in St Anthony.
Day 3: St. Anthony to Gander with an over-night in Gander
Day 4: Gander to St John’s
Day 5: Leave St John’s, in the afternoon, to fly home
I looked at the schedule and quickly figured that they would be driving and or sleeping most of the time with very little time for sight seeing. They wanted to see icebergs and the best place to see them, this time of year, would be Twillingate. My suggestion to them would be to see if they could change their itinerary and eliminate l’anse aux meadow until their next visit. They were planning another five day trip for the following year.
By making this one change, they would have time to visit Twillingate and spend an extra day in the St John’s area. I suggested a few short side trips and the main attractions that they could visit.
I didn’t speak to them, after their return but our friends said that they had a really good holiday and were looking forward to returning to Newfoundland next year to visit the west coast, l’anse aux meadows and Gros Morne national Park. They told them to thank me for my suggestions.
We hope you have an enjoyable and memorable time here, whatever your reason for visiting our province.
Photo taken during a cod fishing trip.
