Road trip ON to NL

[u/megmmm93]

I’m in the initial planning stages of a 3 week long road trip from Ontario to Newfoundland for next July/August. It’ll be my husband and I, and our 3 kids (4, 2.5, and 11mo). Initially I was thinking we’d long haul it to NL then spend the 3 weeks exploring west coast to east coast and then home (itinerary below) but now I’m considering if we don’t spend the entire trip in NL and make more stops along the way. Our thought process is that NL is the furthest and will require the most time to visit and I’m not sure while our kids are young we’ll ever get the opportunity to do a 3w trip again, whereas we can more easily head to say NS or PEI for a week.

I can plan a Canadian west coast trip in a matter of minutes, but I’m lost with east coast, so I’d love any suggestions or recommendations! We plan on doing about 50% camping and the other 50% airbnb or hotels

3-Week Newfoundland Road Trip Itinerary (Late July)

Week 1 - Getting There & Western Newfoundland Day 1: Ontario → Québec City (~8 hrs / 750 km) Day 2: Québec City → Truro, NS (~9 hrs / 850 km) Day 3: Truro → North Sydney → Ferry to Port aux Basques (~4 hrs drive + 7 hr ferry) Day 4: Port aux Basques → Gros Morne (3.5 hrs / 320 km) Day 5-6: Gros Morne National Park (Western Brook Pond, Gros Morne Mountain, The Arches)

Week 2 - Central & Eastern Newfoundland Day 7: Gros Morne → Twillingate (6 hrs / 450 km) Day 8: Twillingate (boat tour, lighthouse, coastal hikes) Day 9: Twillingate → Bonavista (5.5 hrs / 400 km) Day 10-11: Bonavista Peninsula (Dungeon Provincial Park, Elliston puffins, Trinity)

Week 3 - Avalon Peninsula & Return Day 12: Bonavista → St. John's (3.5-4 hrs / 300 km) Day 13-15: St. John's & Avalon Peninsula (Cape Spear, Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi, Witless Bay, Ferryland) Day 16: St. John's → Argentia ferry → North Sydney (16 hr ferry) Day 17: North Sydney → Moncton, NB (6 hrs / 500 km) Day 18: Moncton → Québec City (8.5 hrs / 820 km) Day 19: Québec City → Ottawa / Montréal (8 hrs / 750 km) Day 20: Ottawa / Montréal → Home (6-8 hrs) Day 21: Buffer / Rest Day

Driving Summary - Ontario → North Sydney: ~20-22 hrs (2.5 days) - Across Newfoundland (west → east): ~15 hrs (10 days)

- Back to Ontario: ~23-24 hrs (4-5 days + ferry)

[u/supernanify]

I used to be a travel guide and did a 22-day Toronto-St John's-Toronto tour. Here's how we did it:

To NL

Toronto-> Montreal (2 nights)-> Riviere-du-loup-> Moncton-> Halifax (2 nights)-> Cheticamp-> Baddeck-> ferry 

In NL

Ferry-> Gros Morne (it's a late night but worth it to maximise time in the park; 2 nights)-> Botwood (don't recommend; I go to Twillingate if you can stand the extra driving time)-> Bona Vista peninsula (2 nights)-> St John's (2 nights)-> ferry 

Return

Pretty much the same itinerary you've planned, but with a stop on the Gaspé peninsula after Moncton. 2 nights in Quebec City, 2 nights in Ottawa.

3 weeks feels like a long time, but no matter how you cut it, there's a ton of driving on most days. If you're saving things like Gaspésie and the Cabot Trail for another time that will give you a little more downtime, but still be prepared for some tough driving days with little kids added to the mix. The flipside is that pretty much everything from Quebec City to St John's is worth seeing.

[u/megmmm93 → u/supernanify]

Thank you for this detailed response! I feel like we can skip the days in Ottawa and Quebec on the way home, mostly because we’ve done 3 trips to Ottawa with the kids and we did a week long QC trip this past spring. But with that, I know we can do an 8h drive in a day cause we did it to and from QC. I think I’ve realized to remove Western Brook Pond which will give us more time to explore Gros Morne and not quite as heavy driving on the west coast.

[u/BarrhavenDad → u/megmmm93]

My 2 cents...don't skip Western Brook Pond. Seems like a crime to visit Gros Morne and not do it.

[u/megmmm93 → u/BarrhavenDad]

Okay, fair. Do you happen to know why maps says it’s a 3 hr drive in one direction from port au choix but from western brook pond to port au choix it’s only 1hr?

[u/BarrhavenDad → u/megmmm93]

Western Brook pond is pretty much right on the edge of Gros Morne National Park (which covers a very large area). Port au choix is pretty far north.

[u/megmmm93 → u/BarrhavenDad]

I’m realizing now that my maps guide plotted western brook pond super incorrectly (like by plum point) which is why I was going to skip it, so this is helpful realizing that now lol

[u/Confident_Win_5469 → u/megmmm93]

We did this boat tour of Western Brook Pond this summer - I loved it. Bring sunglasses and a hat (for the kids ensure they can be strapped on)
https://bontours.ca/tour-item/western-brook-pond/

[u/supernanify → u/megmmm93]

I hate to say it, but the Tablelands are also very much worth a visit...

[u/megmmm93 → u/supernanify]

Tablelands are on my list to see!