St. John's or Halifax? (ferry, car, friendly)

[arctic_gardener]

What month of the summer? Halifax can actually get pretty muggy on some days in July and August. If it's nature's A/C you're in search of, St. John's wins, hands down. That Labrador Current is a massive refrigerator.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

This would Mid-July. Sounds like Halifax weather is somewhat comparable to Boston in the summer. I guess I can't go wrong with St. John's for cooling off. Funny thing is when I mention Nova Scotia to people in the office, they sense a certain familiarity, "oh yeah...heard of it, sounds nice" or been there once on a cruise sort of reaction. Then I mention Newfoundland and I get sort of a blank off the radar kind of stare. I considered Halifax as it's an easy nonstop flight from Boston, just over an hour. But after looking at some photos of Signal Hill and the East Coast Trail, the choice becomes more clear. I'm a hobby photographer, St. John's looks very impressive in photos, lots of color too! Must be a little magic over there. Will probably be worth the effort in getting to the Rock.

[joe1024]

I just did a 2.5 week road trip through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland couple weeks back in November and all I can say is it would be a crime to be so close and not go to NF.

- I did all my hotel bookings via Hotwire. The only time I paid up to $100 per night was on west coast of NF, though that hotel had rooms, where you could open the door and step out right on the shore, just 2 meters from ocean On average, I paid about $60 per night and I was in Holiday Inn, super8 and other brands, so a very good deal. Also, all hotels were much nicer than in US. The. Super8 in Truro felt like a $250 hotel for sure, though it cost just $55.

- You mentioned rugged coast. You are in for a treat ! This was for me the first time I took my Jeep off road, roughly every 10 miles the first day in NF driving over NL-1 :-). The Cabot trail is just pathetic compared to this. Now, I've seen plenty of photos on internet for sure, but this is something to be experienced, when you step out of the car, The Rock everywhere around and below you, ocean waves breaking off meter from you, and 10 seconds ago you were driving on highway. You do not need exits, you just make your own whenever you feel like it, as the traffic in November was nonexistent on majority of west coast - maybe 2-3 cars per hour.

- The fjords from top of the Gros Morne mountain are obviously magnificent. I enjoyed the added challenge of over a meter-high snow cover, though it prolonged the hike and meant I had to spend 5 hrs of hike at night. The park may be officially closed, but you cannot close the mountain.

- do not miss Cape Spear. It's right by St.john's which is a relatively short drive from Port Aux Basque. I was extremely lucky to experience the blizzard when I visited it, so the winds and breaking waves were enormous. Surprisingly, I was there twice in two days, and there was basically no one, people just sitting in cars on parking lot, so you get the Cape and coastline just for yourself. Well, probably not in summer...

- I admit I was hesitant to spend almost $400 on the Marine Atlantic ferry ( total cost back and forth, including accommodation), but if you are in NS, especially if you are around Cape Breton, do not make the mistake of not visiting NF!

[maclock]

Originally Posted by joe1024

- do not miss Cape Spear. It's right by St.john's which is a relatively short drive from Port Aux Basque. I was extremely lucky to experience the blizzard when I visited it, so the winds and breaking waves were enormous. Surprisingly, I was there twice in two days, and there was basically no one, people just sitting in cars on parking lot, so you get the Cape and coastline just for yourself. Well, probably not in summer... [Emphasis added.]

I know that I'm bringing this thread back from the dead and that might annoy some folks, but whatever.

I want only to let readers know that St. John's is, in fact, an eight-to-ten-hour drive from Port aux Basques. It isn't what anyone would consider to be a relatively short drive.

[TOkidd]

Originally Posted by Champ le monstre du lac

I've been away too long, haven't been up to Canada since 2006 (OMG 10 years!) when I did a roadtrip to Quebec City. This time I want to go somewhere I haven't been before. Of these two Eastern cities, which one would Canadians find more interesting to visit? Or even to live in for some additional perspective.

Enroute (from ABQ)this summer I'll be flying into Boston for a week, then I'll head east to one of these two cities and then probably do a layover break in Toronto on my way back to NM. I think nearby hiking (or bechcombing) outside the cities, and taking in the breezy salty air, nature's AC in a sense will be a fantastic escape from the desert heat to come this summer. And of course having fabulous food and chatting with the locals.

I know Halifax is bigger. By viewing google streemaps Halifax looks more modern and St. John's looks a little more old school. The coast near St. John's looks more rugged and challenging to hike. Would a side trip to Cape Breton be comparable for rugged coastal hiking? I think I'm leaning more towards St. John's even though Halifax seems a lot easier to get to. Fishing for some thoughts here on both cities.

While Newfoundland has some really unique offerings, including St. John’s, its culture and small coastal communities, I think that Nova Scotia packs a lot into a smaller space, with more predictable weather, for the most part. If you use Halifax as your jumping off point (and Halifax is a really cool little city), within a short distance you have Peggy’s Cove, some beautiful coastal communities like Chester, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg to the south, the picturesque farmland of the interior and the Bay of Fundy in the southwest, and the rugged, landscapes of Cape Breton extending quite a ways from the mainland, with the charming town of Sydney as an anchor. I think the Cape Breton Highlands offer great hiking opportunities and the landscape (and weather) is about as close as one can get to Newfoundland in many ways.

In my opinion, Halifax and Nova Scotia pack more into a small space. Newfoundland, while remarkable in so many ways, is more ground to cover in order to see the sites and St. John’s is quite a bit smaller than Halifax, and has less to see and do, even though it is a unique and friendly town.

[mooguy]

While both are great cities, for a tourist I would definatly go for St.John's. It really is a completely different culture and way of life. Outside of Quebec, it's as far from North America you can get.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Just noticed this thread got bumped. I ended up going to St. John's back in summer of 2016. It quickly became my favorite city that I've visited in Canada. I stayed for 5 nights, didn't need a car for three days and we walked all over the city. Signal Hill was close enough to walk to which felt like a rugged hiking excursion into the Newfoundland wilds right next to the city. I loved Jellybean Row and all the tightly packed multi colored homes. The city had a spirited and uncommon character and identity to it unmatched anywhere in North America. The people were very open and friendly along with witty storytellers and memorable accents.

We took a drive out of town down the coast on the one clear and sunny day we had out to Ferryland and Cape Race. The scenery had an Edge of the World to it with solid granite cliffs on the shores. I loved Newfoundland and would go back in a heartbeat. But I haven't been to PEI or seen very much of Nova Scotia, so I may just do that trip next time. The East Coast of Canada has been on my mind for a summer road trip. Was thinking of doing some biking around PEI and I might even ferry over to the Magdalen Islands for a few days. It all looks very appealing and my impression seems in Atlantic Canada as a whole its not overwhelmed by summer tourists which I really like.

[svelten]

Thanks for actually coming back and providing an update years later. In summary...Halifax to live but definitely St. John's and NL to visit as a tourist.

[TLC1957]

You definitely want to check out PEI a beautiful place. So different than NS, or NF. Been visiting PEI since the 1980’s . I have posted our favorite places here with 30K views…. If you need more info let me know.

https://www.fodors.com/community/can...d-pei-1664364/

We spent 3 weeks on NF a few years ago and liked it but still love PEI…lol…details on our trip below


We are seniors so we did not do hardcore hiking . We spent 3 weeks in Newfoundland August 2018 it is beautiful place with the East and West coast being so different.

A lot of one way roads meaning down the same road to get to a place, not many looping roads. So drive 2 hours down a road spend a few hours checking out the place and drive 2 hours back the same road you came back down. That got old after a while, BUT the views were amazing the entire time, folks very friendly so yea worth a visit.

COD you can only have so much cod it is the first 4 items on every menu which is great, but you can not have cod everyday well we did not. What cod we had was amazing.... but got old real fast. St. John’s had no problem finding OK food but venture out of St. John’s and it goes down hill fast. The food on the west coast say Port aux Basques, Deer Lake, Lobster Cove was not good. Bonavista (not on the west coast) has some nice places to dine.

Beware of moose while driving they are definitely around as well as bears. Once you get out of an area the next place not much around so if you are low on gas fill up! The weather was in the 60’s in August and it rained very often so bring layers and rain gear. Once you get out of St. John’s it get very rural very fast, lots of trees and more trees....lol

They LOVE coffee especially Tim Horton’s no matter what time of day we passed a Tim Horton’s they had a line both inside and the drive through!!!....lol Also the locals accent is sometimes hard to figure out particularly the older folks, I just kinda smiled and said yes.....Then again they probably had a hard time understanding my Jersey accent. Many locals we spoke to worked in the oil fields in Alberta and came back a few months at a time. The cod industry really never came back so many folks do what they have to get by.

ATV’s are everywhere in the rural area ie most of the island kinda like the 3 car in the family. Interesting we saw a group of about 25 stopped in a beautiful lookout, I asked a guy what they were doing...25 all in a group. They said they were traveling the island as a group and staying in B&B at night for 10 days ALL on ATV, wow long time riding an ATV....lol Apparently this is a common thing with locals as tour guide the entire time. The guy said when exploring the options you could have camped out instead of B&B.

Have fun it is a beautiful place.

Stuff we Liked

1. Bonavista

Dungeon Provincial Park
The town and fishing village
The puffins in Elliston and the root cellars
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse ( some puffins here but more in Elliston)
The Matthew Museum

2. Bell Island near St. John’s
(need to take a ferry to the island)
Iron ore mine tour ( go below into the mine very interesting)

3. Gross Morne National Park

Tablelands Trail where the earth mantle is exposed

West Brook Boat Tour would NOT recommend, they replaced the walkway through the forest with a 30’ wide gravel road 1 mile plus long to the lake. Boring boat tour of cliffs which you will see many along your travel through NB.

Green Point beautiful beach.

4. Rose Blanch
Pretty town with a granite lighthouse

5. Arches Provincial Park

6. Blow me Down Provincial Park

7. Trinity Village historic village, beautiful church and craft shops

8. St John’s

Signal Hill
Cape Spear Lighthouse
Petty Harbor ( great fish and chips at Chafe’s Landing when 2 times that good)
Pippy Park & Memorial University Botanical Garden
Downtown area including

Waterfront
Railway Coastal Museum
Anglican Cathedral
The Rooms (history museum)
Fort Amherst (Lighthouse and Fort)
Johnson Geo Center (great Titanic Exhibit)

9. Castle Hill National Historic Site ( near ferry to St John’s )

10. Salmonier Nature Park

If you drive you have the option of either a 7 hour or 15 hour ferry ride from Sydney, Nova Scotia.

[UrbanLuis]

Halifax is hands down the better city. It's a bigger city with more to see and do. it also has some great natural atractions within driving distance.