Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Travel Answers

Check out the Marine Atlantic website for fares. That should help you figure out the cost. marine-atlantic.ca/en/index....

Car Rentals in Newfoundland tend to be quite high, but it would depend on how long you plan on being there and how many miles you drive. Last I knew the car rentals had a maximum miles per day so it could get high if you plan on a lot of travel. I am quite sure your minivan will go on the Ferry at the lowest rate which would be about340 Cnd.(return w/2 people) I would think a car rental would be more that double that. Of course it also depends if you are going the shortest route from N. Sydney to Port aux Basques.

I rented a compact (ended up with a mid-size) out of Avis' Downtown St. John's location for about CA$250 for a week with unlimited mileage, and returning at St. John's Airport. That was tough to find though. A mini-van would be charged the same rate as a normal passenger car on the ferry.

Of course you can bring your minivan, or any vehicle along on the ferries. They are very large vehicle ferries. The question of whether it would be cheaper than renting a car is most likely yes. Although you didn't give any important details such as how long you will be staying on Newfoundland, where you will be visiting, and even the time of year it likely will be much cheaper due to Newfoundland car rental rates. The most important question is how long you will be staying in Newfoundland. For a trip of a week or more the car rental would be more than two ferry trips. Car rental in Newfoundland is apparently very expensive. A search on Enterprise resulted in a one week rental cost of762 for a Hyundai Sonata/Ford Fusion in July. Another minivan like you drive would be much more. These costs depend on when you are renting a car but you didn't specify when you were planning on making the trip. Unless you are going to NL for only 2-3 days you should just bring your minivan. While the ferry may seem expensive car rental in Newfoundland is much worse. At about100 a day for car rental you would only save money if you stayed less than four days. And if you stayed less than four days it would hardly be worth two 17 hour ferry trips. As well many car rental companies actually have minimum rental periods in the summer of four or five days so the shortest car rental you could get would cost more than two Argentia ferry trips for your minivan. The second most important question is where in Newfoundland you are visiting ? The shorter ferry ride to the west coast at Port aux Basques is half the price of the longer one to the Avalon peninsula. The 2011 vehicle rates are Port aux Basques, N. L. - North Sydney, N. S. (One Way)97.38 Argentia, N. L. - North Sydney, N. S. (One Way)199.83 If you are visiting both coasts of Newfoundland, as many people do, then one of the ferries would be much cheaper. You would only pay less than300 return other than400 if taking the long Argentia ferry both ways. Also if you wish to visit both coasts a rental car would be a problem as you would have to drive across the island twice to return it to where you picked it up. This would take up an extra non-interesting day of your vacation time. If you brought your vehicle with you you would only need to drive across the island once and then leave by the other ferry. If you do plan on visiting both coasts of Newfoundland just bring your minivan. Also there is also the realization that in order to visit both coasts you will need at least a week so the rental fee itself of700+ would be more than double the300 cost for the two ferries. There is also the question of what you will do with your minivan if you don't take it with you on the ferry. You will need to arrange long term parking which will take money and effort. It is not unusual for tourists to take Halifax rental cars to and from Newfoundland on the ferries due to NL car rental costs and difficulties. Not only is it very expensive NL car rental has to be reserved well in advance to even get a car. I redid the same Enterprise search for the same standard car class Sonata/Fusion but in Halifax for the same week in July and it came to414 as opposed to762 in St. John's. The same car, the same week in July costs348 more for a one week rental in St. John's than in Halifax. This itself is more than the costs of the two different ferries if visiting both coasts. You can see why for 2-3 week trips people fly to Halifax, rent a car there, and then do a NS/NL tour by taking the Halifax rental cars on the ferry and saving hundreds of dollars. Just take your minivan on the ferry and be grateful you don't have to rent a car in Newfoundland.