In this land of icebergs and fjords, everything is a world apart: local lingo that can be indecipherable to outsiders, species found nowhere else on earth, only-in-Newfoundland cuisine (cod tongues, seal-flipper pie), and a far-flung location 550 km across the ocean from Nova Scotia. The province even has its own time zone.
Newfoundland (pronounced new-fun-land or new-fun-land, but never new-found-land), the island portion of the province, is home to 95% of the population and to St. John's, a modern city with a long history. The mainland, Labrador, is a massive region of subarctic and polar climates, Innu and Inuit communities, boreal forests and tundra, and coastal towns accessible only by water, air, or snowmobile.
There’s no better place in the northern hemisphere to see icebergs than Newfoundland and Labrador: they’re sometimes visible from St. John’s, but boat tours take you out to get a closer look (April–July). A number of sights lie along the scenic Viking Trail highway. At L’Anse aux Meadows, 1,000-year-old Viking ruins mark North America’s first European settlement. Nearby Gros Morne National Park is must-do for its dramatic fjords, glasslike waterways, volcanic rock outcroppings, glacial valleys, and waterfalls. Though staring agape at the scenery is a valid pursuit, you can also visit a puffin reserve; go sea-kayaking, fishing, or whale-watching; and take package tours to remote destinations like Labrador’s restored 19th-century Battle Harbour fishing village.
Stay, Dine, DoFind a hotel, restaurant or attraction.
Do you have great photos from your travels in Canada that you'd like to share with us? Submit them to the Where Canada Flickr pool and they'll show up here.
