Go to:  

    I'm surprised that Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or any of the Maritimes are not on the BeenThere list. They definitely should be, in my mind. Eastern Canada gets no love, imho.

    Nova Scotia is beautiful. Drive through it to Sydney and then take the ferry to Newfoundland. From there, you can explore this (deceptively large) island via car, dodging snowstorms and trying to not run into moose.

    But it will all be worth it if you drive all the way to the very Northern tip of Newfoundland. Not only can you sit there and stare across the water at Labrador, contemplating how far North you are, but you can also revel in the knowledge that you are standing at a UNESCO World Heritage site - L'Anse aux Meadows. Get in touch with your heritage, at this, the "first and only known site established by Vikings in North America and the earliest evidence of European settlement in the New World" (from UNESCO).

    Seriously, pretty awesome to drive to an 11th century Viking settlement in the New World.

    www.ruba.com - Create and share personal travel guides!

    0%

    agreed

    0

    people

    I agreeI disagree

    Updates
    Fly into St Anthony from St Johns (but beware: the airport as about as far from the town as it could be and still use its name) or better still fly into Cedar Lake and drive up the length of the Northern Peninsula through the Gros Morne National Park (with its fresh water fjords) to stay over the bay from L'Anse aux Meadows at Onion Bay. In almost the most northerly spot on the island of Newfoundland stay at the Tickle Inn for a new definition of a family hotel. Take the dinner bed and breakfast option and eat with all the other guests and the Adams family who have returned to restore their childhood home. Walk around the local headlands, visit the local cemetries with their Union Jacks (the provicial flag until very recently)and generally relax. There is a 'pay for what you take' bar (well a hamper full of different bottles) in the living room, and if you hang around during the day watching the icebergs out the front window you might find a plate of cheese and biscuits set out for you just to keep you going until supper. The Viking site is about 30 miles away by road, but it matters not as there are now all-weather roads and no traffic. Just watch out for moose that seem to think they own the highway as well as the forest. On a fine day you can see the Labrador coast from the hill behind the inn, if it isn't obscured by all the bergs coming up into the St Lawrence. Wonderful - we've been twice and will return.
    Posted by MtRainier  26 September 2009