How to spend four days in St. John’s, Newfoundland

When most backpackers think of Canada, it’s the big cities that spring to mind: Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal. Or the very Instagrammable lakes of the Rocky Mountains. While it might make sense to start somewhere big and go from there, the most logical path to me when planning my big trip to Canada, was to start at one coast and head towards the other. After all, Newfoundland is closer to Ireland than it is to Vancouver. St. John’s being the provincial capital, this is where most flights come in.

Unfortunately, due to both time and budget restraints, I couldn’t make it to the wilder, more rugged western side of the island. However, St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula have more than enough to keep you occupied for a few days. So whether you’re taking a short break from Europe, or starting out on a big Canadian roadtrip, St. John’s and Newfoundland make the perfect starting point.

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, St. John’s has a lot of records going for it. For example:

• it is North America’s easternmost city
• it’s unofficially the continent’s oldest European settlement, dating to the 16th century; unofficially because while it started as a summer fishing station then, the fisherman were forbidden from making it a permanent settlement until the 1630s
• it has the site of the first transatlantic wireless message
• it’s even the location from which the first transatlantic flight took off (which then landed in Ireland)
• the St. John’s Regatta is the oldest continuous sporting event in North America
• George Street has the most bars and clubs per square foot than anywhere else on the continent; it’s two blocks of nothing but pubs and restaurants.

With that much history, how could you not want to visit? Here’s how I spent four days in St. John’s. I hope you enjoy your time there as much as I did!

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Day 1 – explore St. John’s

Take this time to get your bearings. There’s not a massive amount to do in the city, so you can spend some time wandering Jellybean Row – not any one particular street, but the entire residential area of the city. The houses are all immaculately painted, each one a completely different colour to its neighbours. You’ll soon realise why St. John’s is frequently called one of the most colourful places in the world.

I wonder if each street’s rainbow was planned, or did the occupants just pick colours at random?

Worth visiting are the city’s old churches. There are quite a few, but I only stopped in at the Anglican Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist at the end of Gower Street, dating from 1849. But if the others are anywhere as beautiful inside, then they would definitely be worth a look. Opposite this cathedral is a Masonic Temple, which is oddly impressive. Anytime I see a Freemason temple or lodge, I always imagine what nefarious deeds are going on inside, which demonstrates either incredible insight or incredible ignorance on my part! Who knows.

And of course there are the museums, starting with The Rooms, located in an unfortunately ugly building overlooking the city. There’s also the Railway Coastal Museum, the Newfoundland Museum, and the Johnson Geo Centre on the way to Signal Hill. You need to be prepared for any weather in Newfoundland, even in summer it can turn in seconds! At least there are plenty of things to do if the rain starts pouring down.

Day 2 – Signal Hill & Quidi Vidi

Today is the day to get your heart racing and your legs pumping. Setting off from downtown, head towards the Battery neighbourhood. From here you can either take the easier and quicker trail up to the top of Signal Hill, or head to the end of the neighbourhood and do the North Head trail. Bear in mind this trail ends with a ridiculous set of steps up to Cabot Tower, so if you want to avoid that, then you should do the trail in the other direction, heading back to St. John’s. Signal Hill, as I mentioned above, gets its name from the site of the first transatlantic wireless message, received all the way from Cornwall, England. The views from here are stunning, and there are several historic features to explore, including batteries, cannons and even the site of an ancient gallows. Stare out in one direction and you can see the whole of St. John’s and its harbour, turn the other way and the Atlantic beckons. You almost feel like if you stare hard enough you just might see the coastline of Ireland.

If you’re there at the right time of year (I wasn’t), i.e. summer, Signal Hill makes the perfect spot to look for whales surfacing, puffins wheeling overhead and even icebergs of all shapes and sizes floating past from the Arctic to the north.

From Signal Hill you can head straight back to St. John’s, but I highly recommend taking the trail to the gorgeous little village of Quidi Vidi instead. Not even the locals know where the unique name comes from. Here you’ll find ramshackle wooden huts nestled around a sheltered cove, seafood galore and a lovely communal crafts market where local artisans sell and create their wares right in front of you. For beer lovers, Quidi Vidi even has its own brewery, which is impressive for such a small place.

Mallard Cottage is a lovely restaurant set in the oldest building in town, but be warned: its a busy place, so unless you’re happy to sit at the bar, you’ll need a reservation. Once you’ve had your fill of Quidi Vidi, stroll back into St. John’s along the lake.

Day 3 – Irish Loop to Mistaken Point

There was no way I was going to visit Newfoundland and not see some of the wild countryside. Unfortunately, I could only afford to hire a car for one day. If you’re in the same boat as me, don’t worry, even one day will give you plenty of beautiful Atlantic scenery to gawk at.

Once you’ve picked up your hire car from the airport, head south to the Irish Loop (yes, the Irish love here is real and everywhere). Following the coastline will take you through beautiful town after beautiful town, but I’m actually going to recommend you don’t stop just yet. Continue all the way down to the southern point of the Avalon Peninsula, to the village of Portugal Cove South. Here you will find the Edge of Avalon Interpretive Centre, the starting point of your day’s adventure.

Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its 565 million-year old fossils, the oldest known in the world. You can only see them through a (pre-booked by email) guided tour. First, you follow your guide by car into the reserve, then they take you on a 3km, one hour guided walk along the cliffs of the peninsula, pointing out the flora and geological aspects of the area. Finally, you arrive at the fossil beds, where you remove your shoes and put on (weirdly comfortable) soft booties to protect the surface, because you actually walk on top of the fossils! It’s an amazing feeling to reach down and touch something that lived so long ago it’s impossible to wrap your head around it. You might even see some scientists working in the area.

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Once your tour is over (it normally takes 3-4 hours total), head back up the Irish Loop to St. John’s. Because it’s now late afternoon/early evening, the light is beautifully golden. This is why I said to wait until now to stop! There are plenty of roadside/ocean view restaurants to have an early dinner or snack in along the way. In particular, I would definitely recommend stopping at the Ferryland Lighthouse. Situated at the end of a narrow peninsula, it’s about a 15-minute walk through a small forest from the parking spaces to the lighthouse. And believe me, it’s worth the walk! Views to die for is one way of putting it (although please don’t make that literal; be careful on the cliff edges – there are no barriers!).

Day 4 – Cape Spear, Fort Amherst

If, like me, you hired a car for the day yesterday, make sure not to return it until the next morning. This way, you can drag yourself out of bed before dawn and drive out to Cape Spear. As it’s the most easterly point in all of North America, you will be one of the first people on the whole continent to see the sun rise above the ocean. Together with the oh-so-picturesque lighthouse, it’s a truly beautiful sight. I, unfortunately, managed to oversleep, awaking to see daylight already coming in through the window. I did manage to get there just as the sun had risen, but I missed the stunning colours on the clouds I had glimpsed on the drive there. It was still pretty unforgettable.

There’s no public transport out to Cape Spear, though it’s only 20 minutes from the city, unless you pay for a taxi. Which is why I recommend keeping your rental car overnight. This is one sight you really don’t want to miss.

When driving, keep an eye on the road for passing wildlife. I was told you might see moose, foxes, even wolves that early in the morning. Keep both you and the wildlife safe by paying attention!

On the way back to St. John’s, detour out to Fort Amherst instead of driving straight back into town. Directly across the Narrows from Signal Hill, this old fort from the World Wars is now a crumbling concrete ruin. Park in the designated area and walk the last few hundred metres to the cute lighthouse above the fort. Technically, the fort is off-limits, with a wire fence surrounding it, but it’s apparently well-known by locals that they really don’t mind you having a look around. There’s a convenient hole in the fence behind the lighthouse where you can easily access the fort. The fort itself is crumbling so keep an eye on where you put your feet while admiring the colourful graffiti adorning the walls. I was the only one there at that hour of the morning, and to be honest the place gave me the creeps, so I didn’t explore the whole place. I did get a good look at the old rusting guns though, which haven’t escaped the artists’ paint. Look over at Signal Hill and admire the tower and trails from a different angle.

Disclaimer: if you decide to hop the fence at Fort Amherst, you do so at your own risk. I take no responsibility for injuries or if you get into trouble!

On your way back to downtown, take a few minutes to admire the fishing boats lined up along the harbour edge. They’re just as colourful as the houses of Jellybean Row, and are a real reminder of the roots of this lovely city.

Practical Information:

• St John’s is an easy 5-hour direct flight from Dublin with Westjet, and is surprisingly affordable. See www.westjet.com. There are also domestic flights from other places in Canada with Westjet, Air Canada and Porter Airlines. I recommend checking WayAway for the best flight deals!
• For budget accommodation, there’s only one place to stay: City Hostel on Gower Street. I highly recommend this place as the staff are lovely, the rooms nice, the free breakfast is yum (fresh-baked muffins, waffles, pancakes, etc.), and it’s right on the edge of the downtown area. For other accommodation, I saw plenty of guesthouses and hotels as I walked around, so there are many options to choose from.
• Getting from the airport to St. John’s is either by taxi (about CA$25), or by public bus. Annoyingly, there’s no direct bus. You have two choices: get the 14 to the University, then switch to any of the buses heading downtown; or take the 14 to Torbay Road and switch to the number 3 bus there. The 14/3 will get you there quicker, but if you’re unsure of which stop to get off at, either ask the driver, or go via the university instead.
• The only car rental agencies are out at the airport, and don’t offer a shuttle service to the city, which is a slight hassle, but during the quiet season they might drop you back into town after returning the car if their driver is free.
• On a final note, if you miss sunrise at Cape Spear, I definitely recommend hiking up Signal Hill before dawn. It’s just as beautiful, and it’s likely there will be less people there than at the Cape. It’s about a half-hour walk from downtown, so leave enough time to get there before the sun reaches the horizon!

Have you ever been to Newfoundland? Would you like to see St. Johns’s, one of the most colourful places in the world? Tell me below!

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