I asked myself this same question when I started planning my trip to Newfoundland. This province is rugged and beautiful, hard to get around, and pretty much untouched compared to the rest of Canada. So how on earth do you properly plan a trip to Newfoundland?
Newfoundland and Labrador's beautiful remote nature makes it even more difficult to navigate when you’ve never been there before. I spent countless hours researching, studying, and trying to find the coolest places to go, the most off-the-beaten-track towns. Travel to Newfoundland and Labrador is something I think everyone should do at least once in their life - the geography, unique nature, and small towns frozen in time is something you can't find anywhere else. That being said, all those things make travelling around Newfoundland a little harder than travelling in other places - you've got mountains and oceans to combat, towns that are boat access only, and literal "Caribou Highways" that may involve stopping your travel to let a pack of caribou by. Having done all the research for travel in Newfoundland for you, I can honestly say the easiest tool to plan your trip is staring you right in the face. Like most people travelling, I had places I wanted to go in mind - Gros Morne UNESCO Heritage site, St. John’s, and I wanted to head off the main highway and check out Burgeo, Ramea, and Francois. I always start my research by google searching, looking up distance and transportation routes, and bookmarking interesting things. What I should have started with was just researching Newfoundland and Labrador and heading straight to the government’s website.
Photo credits to: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador have put a ton of energy and resources into their tourism website, and it is honestly the place to go for information about the province. On their home page in the top left corner, you’ll see three icons - "Map", "Itinerary" and "Get inspired". This is where I spent the most time. On “Map”, you can check boxes that you’re interested in (Accommodation, Events, and Attractions are just a few I can list off the top of my head) and all the relevant things listed in the province will show as little bubbles on the map. If, unlike me, you’re not sure where you want to go yet, then “Itinerary” might be your preferred space. They’ve got offered packages with length and cost, or you can “Explore” and customize a package based on interest and time available to you. It’s a really cool tool to plan a quick trip somewhere you probably wouldn’t have thought of before.
Now, is this tool perfect? Of course not. It can be slow to load at times, and not every attraction will be listed on it (it’s up to individual towns to ensure they’re listed on the website - all the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador can do is encourage them too). To really get off the beaten path, you might have to go even further than the Map’s reach. But to get some footing on planning your trip and getting around, this is your place to go.
If you want to check it out, here’s a link to the website in question - get planning, travellers!
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