Eastern Newfoundland Adventure - Maxxim Vacations - Atlantic Canada Tours & Vacation Packages

Eastern Newfoundland Adventure

Calendar

7 Nights

Calendar

Guided

Enjoy the great outdoors on Newfoundland’s rugged east coast.

Starting at

$3,795

plus taxes

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This Experience Includes

Expert travel advice to help you get the most out of your vacation

7 nights' accommodation at select hotels, bed & breakfasts and inns

7 day escorted ground transportation (including airport transfers)

Services of an experienced naturalist guide

Select meals throughout the duration of your vacation

Admission to select museums & historic sites

Overview

Every year, the world’s largest group of migrating humpback whales visit the shores of eastern Newfoundland to play in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and show-off for their spectators.

While we can’t guarantee these giants will be willing to make an appearance during your visit, the dates in this package occur during the prime whale watching season of late June to early August.

Wildlife abounds in this part of the province, and it’s common to spot moose and caribou along hiking trails even close to St. John’s. Bird lovers will encounter murres, puffins, razor-billed auks, gannets, eagles, and more, which can all be seen at one of the world’s largest seabird reserves located in Witless Bay. For more wildlife viewing opportunities, hike the trails of Terra Nova National Park, or take a boat tour.

If the timing is right, you’ll get a three-for-one deal: whales, icebergs, and birds. Around this time of year, massive blocks of ice drift down through Iceberg Alley, speckling the shoreline and often becoming grounded in shallow waters. When you’re done snapping photographs, enjoy a night out on the city of St. John’s, North America’s oldest city and home to some of the best nightlife and dining options in Canada.

Daily Itinerary

Day One – Welcome and Orientation

Welcome to St. John’s, the New World’s first city! We greet you at St. John’s airport (YYT) and, if time allows, provide a short orientation excursion around the town. Enjoy your hotel’s ocean view and prime downtown location. Perhaps take a stroll on Water Street this evening, North America’s oldest street. In the morning after breakfast, meet your tour leader and fellow travelers. Your adventure begins!
Overnight Location: St. John’s

Day Two – Puffins and Whales

Your holiday starts with the thrill of being out on the ocean blue viewing members of the world’s largest summertime gathering of acrobatic Humpback whales! On a boat excursion out of Bay Bulls, you are on the lookout for whales, seabirds, and depending on the time of the year, icebergs! Other whale species including Fin whales, Minkes, and dolphins usually make an appearance. Become mesmerized as tens of thousands of seabirds swirl around you in the overhead sky and cry in chorus from the islands that you slowly sail alongside; camera in hand. Delight in knowing you have now experienced North America’s largest Atlantic puffin colony. Challenge yourself to find a Bald eagle and other more exotic seabirds like shearwaters, jaegers, fulmars, and thick billed murres. Be prepared for an amazing and joyful morning. Midday, savour a delicious lunch featuring local flavors before visiting one of the New World’s earliest fishing villages.
Overnight Location: St. John’s

Day Three – Seastacks and Wildlife

Today we travel southwest on the Avalon to Cape St. Mary’s along the scenic Cape Shore; stopping in along the way to Castle Hill National Historic Site in Placentia, or as the French referred to it, ‘Plaisance’. In the early seventeenth century this area became the French capital of Newfoundland and is still steeped in its history today. Vantage points along the way overlook the ocean and expanses of wild country, providing chances for moose and eagle sightings or activity on the water.

You will never forget your time at the Cape! Before modern day’s recognition by the world’s nature-loving community, our famous Cape St. Mary’s had been celebrated locally in myth and song for centuries. Roger Tory Peterson, himself, recognized it as one of our planet’s most dramatic marine wonders. Cape St. Mary’s Seabird Sanctuary, the continent’s third largest gannet nesting site, is an incredible breeding ground for tens of thousands of seabirds, including the world’s most southerly thick-billed murres. Stand only feet away from gannets, kittiwakes, and murres as they tend to their eggs and/or chicks! In season, usually mid-July, sea cliffs act as theatre seating for you to enjoy some of the world’s finest land-based whale watching, as these majestic marine mammals cavort around their northern coastal feeding grounds.

After lunch, your scenic coastal communities’ drive continues as you make your way to the Rocky River Salmon ladder. Here, learn about the efforts to introduce Atlantic salmon to this once infertile river. Your evening destination awaits you, just a few minutes away, alongside yet another salmon river. If time allows, you may opt for an evening round of golf at your resort or a hike along the river.
Overnight Location: Holyrood

Day Four – Coastal Villages

After a scrumptious breakfast, it’s off for an early morning, gentle hike through the Salmonier Nature Park for an opportunity to view up-close Newfoundland and Labrador’s native wildlife. Here you will learn about our provincial government’s programs for wildlife rehabilitation, research, and environmental monitoring.

Then, once again, we hit the road. Get ready to explore the Trinity/Bonavista region! Notice the change in terrain as you travel off the Avalon and deeper into the interior of the island of Newfoundland. Taller and varied deciduous trees and richer soils abound. Keep your eyes alert for wildlife along the way. After lunch, we are destined for beautiful sea-glass speckled beaches, sea arches, and amazing rock formations. Dramatic waterfalls, scenic vistas and a chance to stretch your legs on local hiking trails taking in woodland and coastline views are all highlights of the day.
Overnight Location: Trinity/Bonavista

Day Five – Towns, Tails, and Trails

After a night’s rest in a comfortable bed, this morning we go to sea once again, to enjoy more of the ocean’s wonders. The Trinity Bay area is alive with Bald eagles, whales, and dolphins. On one of our nature studies, Wildland Tours was the first to determine that Sperm whales are consistently found during the summer in parts of Trinity Bay. When you are rewarded with the sound of Sperm whales through an underwater microphone, as they communicate to each other with vocal ‘clicks’, it is truly a once in a life-time experience!

Your afternoon will feature more of what makes this area so special — trails, moose, osprey, songbirds, dramatic vistas, orchids, shore-birds, and numerous small museums and interpretation centres. In some ways this is an afternoon where you can explore your interests. Bird watching, icebergs, lighthouses, flower walks, beachcombing, land-based whale watching, photographing the local architecture, and a visit to the local aquarium are all possibilities. Many guests simply enjoy exploring the beautiful and historic community of Trinity. Wander through this picturesque town rich in history or take in some local theatre on your own.
Overnight Location: Trinity/Bonavista

Day Six – The Oldest City

So much to explore in the historic Bonavista/Trinity region! Earlier in the season, magnificent icebergs calved from giant chunks of 15,000 year old Greenland glaciers, meander along the shorelines. Before returning back to St. John’s for your evening, we call in at nearby coastal settlements to experience more of Newfoundland’s unique cultures and flavours. A photographer’s wonderland of wildlife, historic properties, and crashing, rolling waves upon seascapes beckons around every turn of the road.

Once back in North America’s first city, your tour leader can provide lots of suggestions of things to see and do on your Friday and Saturday nights; local theatre, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, or natural and cultural experiences. Enjoy!
Overnight Location: St. John’s

Day Seven – The Eastern Edge

Travel to Cape Spear, North America’s most easterly point, and look over the blue horizon as it reaches endlessly towards the eastern continents. Today, we can further explore the trails, museums, and attractions of historic St. John’s. Maybe you would like to visit The Rooms – the majestic provincial museum, gallery, and archives, where Newfoundland and Labrador history, heritage, and artistic expression come together; or venture through the Johnson Geo Centre – an underground geological interpretation centre. Maybe you would like to go shopping or stroll through Harbourside Park where Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed this land for England in 1583? Perhaps an additional boat tour out of the St. John’s Harbour would also be an option to top off your Newfoundland Adventure!
Overnight Location: St. John’s

Day Eight – Farewell to Sea and Sky

Enjoy leisure time in St. John’s until you head to the airport.

 

 

*2024 prices are per person based on two sharing [CDN] and subject to availability at time of booking. This price does not include: Federal and/or Provincial taxes. Trip Cancellation and Car Rental Insurance are extra.

Daily Itinerary

Day 1 & 2 – St. John’s
Day 3 – Holyrood
Day 4 & 5 – Trinity/Bonavista
Day 6 & 7 – St. John’s
Day 8 – Farewell to Sea and Sky

2024 Departure Dates:

June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
July 7, 14, 21, 28 

 

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