Travelling to Newfoundland, Canada and other Atlantic Provinces

Hi folks
It may be a moot point but being fairly new to the site and after having read numerous threads on these areas I can only give one word of advice' Research'. Newfoundland in particular is huge. It has 29,000 miles of coastline and is the 7th largest island in the world. The people are warm and friendly and eager to give directions or a helping hand but realize that you are in a foreign land and you will not hear a lot of " Valley Girl " or ' Kardashian Speak'. The accents are very thick( Of Irish and English descent) and the speed of speech a little puzzling to many so be patient , speak slowly and don't be afraid to ask someone to repeat themselves. If you plan on driving in the 70 + MPH range as I have read on some posts, forget it. There is a lot of fairly decent 2 lane with a fair amount of passing lanes but you will not be travelling on interstates. Try it and you will be in a ditch or ticketed by the local police forces.  This bears taking note of: The vast majority of campgrounds ( Provincially managed)open May 24th week-end and close Labour Day week-end, first week of September. Again, do your homework. As for statements about not needing to make reservations on the gulf ferry crossings or campgrounds, that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Why someone would be willing to jeopardize their vacation by not calling ahead, I'll never know. These people are not waiting in awe for you and only you to show up, the same as any business operating anywhere in the world. As I said, wonderful people but ? There's a lot more to find out about this beautiful province with a rugged beauty you'll be hard to find anywhere else so please do that, do your homework ! One other thing, be very ,very cautious if you have to drive at dawn or dusk . Moose like to travel after dark, know no boundaries, can reach 1800 lbs and stand 7 feet at the shoulder. You will see long distance truckers with 'Moose Catchers' welded on their bumpers to try and alleviate the damage of hitting such large animals at highway speeds. This is especially important if you disembark a ferry in the dark. Travel during the day to protect you and yours. God bless and have a good one, probably next year for most but , again, plan ahead!

Always good advice! Thanks for posting.

Good post. We spent a month in Newfoundland in 2013 and plan to go back in a few years.
We have pets and choose to make both crossing on the "short" ferry to Channel Port aux Basques. We made reservations a few weeks in advance for each crossing. Turns out we couldn't have taken the Argentia ferry anyway as it was cancelled for while due to one of the ferry boat being in an accident in Port aux Basque. To get the most capacity they ran both remaining ferries to Port aux Basque.

We also made all key location campground reservations ahead of time. As there we at least 4 caravans on the island at the time we were there. By making reservations we found out when a caravan was taking all the CG spots and could adjust our schedule. BTW the people there also love to camp and you'll get a chance to meet many in the campgrounds and at the local events. Several helped us out by suggesting places to visit.

We enjoyed the island and the people. One "side" trip we made from Twillingate that isn't on the caravan schedule was to take the jeep on the ferry out to Fogo Island. We had a great time there and enjoyed a great lunch at Fogo Island Inn.

ken

I've always considered 'Planning' to be one of the most beneficial words in the English language. Travelling and camping is a wonderful adventure , especially when you take time to travel to different parts of North America and experience local customs. Newfoundland and Labrador is that kind of place. That it has always been the destination of travellers is evidenced by the ancient Viking settlement at L'anse Aux Meadows on the Northern peninsula of the island and a more recently discovered site on the west coast. The Vikings were there 1000 years ago, long before Columbus. As well, there is much evidence that an Irish monk, St.Brendan, sailed to the island  In 1976 and 1977, the adventurer Tim Severin demonstrated that such a voyage was possible by building the Brendan, a replica of a Curragh, an Irish boat covered in skins and tar,  and sailing it to Newfoundland. If Irish monks did voyage across the Atlantic and back, then their achievement was historically very significant, for Ireland was the target of Viking raids before the end of the eighth century, and it is perhaps through the Irish that the Norsemen learned about other lands further to the west. Good luck and a safe journey to all who travel to this land.

We travelled to Newfoundland last summer. Magnificent. Absolutely make ferry reservations. It was full both going and returning to Nova Scotia. Don't miss Gros Morne Park. We never saw moose. But they say that they are a danger. The towns tend to be tiny. Nothing open late. People totally friendly. We encountered nothing dangerous at all. But if you need accommodations beyond your own rv, reservations are hard to come by.

Yes, by all means make reservations for the ferry crossing.  HOWEVER you don't need to make them 3 months in advance. 

We visited NB, NS & NL in 2008 and did not have a set schedule.  When we felt we NEEDED to make reservations we made then a week or two before we planned on being there. 

For the ferry crossings, for the long 14 hour (actually took 18 hours) ferry to Argentia we called about 2 week in advance.  For the return trip we took the short ferry and called about 3 days in advance.  Each time they gave us 3 or 4 options spread out over a 2-3 day period. 

If you are going to NL, be sure you dry camp, or learn how to dry camp or boondock.  There are lots of boondocking places so you don't always have to depend on RV parks and compete with caravans for the RV parks. 

We spent 7 weeks in NL and loved it.