Shannon O'Brien Travel Itineraries

The best destinations

Photo of Newfoundland and Labrador
Photo of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Best of Newfoundland and Labrador

#65 best destination in the world

Map view

L'Anse aux Meadows Trail

Photo of L'Anse aux Meadows

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Archaeological site first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago
  • L'Anse aux Meadows is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact of Europeans with the Americas outside of Greenland
  • It is notable as evidence of the Norse presence in North America and for its possible connection with Leif Erikson as mentioned in the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, which were written down in the 13th century
  • Archaeological evidence found at the site indicates that L’Anse aux Meadows may have served as a base camp for Norse exploration of North America, including regions to the south

Tablelands Trail, Gros Morne National Park Of Canada

Photo of Gros Morne National Park Of Canada

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Second largest national park in Atlantic Canada after Torngat Mountains National Park, located on the west coast of Newfoundland, opened in 2005
  • The park takes its name from Newfoundland's second-highest mountain peak located within the park
  • Gros Morne is the eroded remnants of a mountain range formed 1.2 billion years ago
  • Through the process of continental drift, deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth's mantle lie exposed in the park

Signal Hill via North Head Trail, St. John's

Photo of St. John's

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Hill which overlooks the city of St. John's, largely located underground
  • In 1901, the first transatlantic wireless transmission was received by Guglielmo Marconi, to its abandoned fever hospital
  • Due to its strategic placement overlooking the Narrows, the only entrance to the harbour, fortifications date back to the mid 17th century
  • The final battle of the Seven Years' War in North America was fought in 1762 at the Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John's to a British force

Torngat Mountains National Park

Photo of Torngat Mountains National Park

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • The Torngat Mountains National Park, established in 2008, was created to honor the relationship that Inuit of Labrador and Nunavik have with the land
  • The subarctic mountains are part of the greater Inuit homeland, known as Inuit Nunangat
  • Indigenous cultures are deeply connected to and dependent on caribou for their food resources and cultures
  • The park is accessible via charter air flight, cruise ship, or snowmobile
  • -It offers wilderness-oriented recreational activities such as hiking and kayaking

The Rooms

Photo of The Rooms

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Cultural facility opened in 2005, that houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • The building's name, as well as its architecture, is a reference to the simple gable-roofed sheds (called "fishing rooms") that were once so common at the waterline in Newfoundland fishing villages
  • The Provincial Museum focuses on the natural and cultural history of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Exhibits include dioramas of the animal and plant life of the tundra and bog, mounted bird displays, and the aboriginal people who lived in the area

Terra Nova Coastal Trail, Terra Nova National Park

Photo of Terra Nova National Park

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Terra Nova National Park is located on the east coast of Newfoundland, where the coastline varies from cliffs and exposed headlands to sheltered inlets and coves
  • Terra Nova also protects an area containing remnants of the Beothuk Nation, as well as many of the early pioneer European settlements in the region.
  • Established in 1957, it was the first National Park in Newfoundland and Labrador

Silver Mine Head Path, East Coast Trail

Photo of East Coast Trail

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Long-distance coastal footpath developed trail over 336 kilometres (209 mi) long
  • The trail's creation began in 1994, and it is made up of 25 linked wilderness paths and it is extended yearly
  • The trail follows the east coast of Newfoundland along the Atlantic Ocean
  • There are seasonal views of icebergs, birds, whales, other marine and plant life, and eight historic lighthouses along the path

Blackhead Path, Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site

Photo of Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site

Walk difficulty: Moderate

Best time to visit: July-Aug

Cost: $

  • Headland located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland
  • Cape Spear is the trailhead/trail end for two components of the East Coast Trail
  • A lighthouse has operated at Cape Spear since 1836
  • The original Cape Spear lighthouse was the second lighthouse built in Newfoundland
  • The light was first lit by oil, then acetylene, and finally electricity in 1930