St. John's Travel Forum

Hi there,

I will be attending a meeting Ottawa in late November 2005 and am thinking of visiting St John's and Newfoundland for a few days before this meeting (I have always wanted to visit Newfoundland and this may be the chance to do it).

However, the main problem which I foresee is that the weather will be extremely cold and it may even start to snow in late November. Also, there might not be much to see and go around Newfoundland due to the coming of winter.

I would really appreciate if you can advise me whether it is worth visiting St John's and Newfoundland during this period of time of late November?

Regards
Victor

Hi Victor;

St. John's can be very unpredictable around that time. It's possible you can get some snow, but the temperatures should not be as low as you might expect. You'll find accommodations to be very affordable and available at that time.

There will be very little touristy stuff to do, however. On the positive side, the tourists aren't around either!
What kind of things would you like to do while you're there?

Hi Rob

Thanks a lot for the very useful information! Really appreciate it very much :)

Actually, my main intention of visiting Newfoundland is to experience the local culture, scenery etc. I know it is not the best time to visit in late November, but I am making full use of my chance since my business meeting will be in nearby Ottawa.

In fact, I am thinking of arriving at Halifax first, then slowly make my way to St John's in a period of about 1 week before flying off to Ottawa to attend my meeting. Do you think this is a good idea & is it easy to travel from Halifax to St John's with stop-over places along the way?

Regards
Victor

In terms of local culture and scenery November is fine for visiting. There won't be any leaves on the trees and the days are much shorter, but otherwise you'll be able to experience and enjoy the landscape. If you're driving up from Halifax you'll definitely get to experience the culture and scenery along the way.
You'll have to drive from Halifax up to North Sydney, Nova Scotia and then take the ferry across to Port aux Basques. (go here for the ferry schedule --> http://www.marine-atlantic.ca/)
From Port aux Basques it's about an 8 hour drive to St. John's. You'll be pretty tired of the landscape by the time you get there! :-)
Geographically Ottawa is no where near St. John's, but there are lots of flights out of St. John's that will get you to Ottawa pretty quickly.
Enjoy your trip!

Thanks again Rob!

By the way, are there any local coach or bus services in-between cities or towns if I am not planning to drive?

Regards
Victor

There is definitely bus service from Halifax to Sydney and from Port aux Basque to St. John's. I have never taken the bus on this route, but I expect it would be scenic (especially through Nova Scotia).

For Coachlines in Newfoundland, go here: http://www.drlgroup.com/coachlines/coachlines_new.html

And for Nova Scotia, check here: http://www.smtbus.com/en/index.asp

I'm back from Newfoundland and really enjoyed the trip! Thanks to all your help and do drop by at my VT Newfoundland pages :)

It has been a while now since my newfoundland trip and the happy memory still lingers on. I have finished building my VT newfoundland pages and hopefully they will be useful to future travellers to newfoundland :)