Disclaimer: This itinerary is subject to change. You may choose to take less or more time to get to/from the Newfoundland ferry. Also, if the weather turns bad, all bets on return time/day are off. It is winter, after all.
Notes:
- The driving times/locations assume you are coming from the NY area, and will leave after (most of ) work Thursday. Season to taste. Overall, driving times are amazingly similar to last year's James Bay Road trip, except that the NL ferry trips adds rigidity to the itinerary.
- Due to the extreme prevalence of moose, the itinerary attempts to minimize driving at night in the Cape Breton Highlands and in rural Newfoundland. Local sunrise and sunset times are listed. At 47 degrees latitude, twilight generally exists for 35 minutes beyond daylight.
- No matter what, if you want to go on the trip, you need to get to the North Sydney Ferry Terminal by 10:30pm AT on Friday . That's 9:30pm ET. For safety, give yourself some extra slack time in case of unexpected delays. Miss the boat and you'll... miss the boat. If you arrive a few hours early, you can always hit the casino in Sydney (25 min drive around Sydney ring road from terminal)
Features:
- Friday and Monday overnight ferry crossings. Ferry arrives around 7:15am local time in each direction. On the return trip, this is after sunrise.
- Kick-off road rally on the twisting streets of Port Aux Basques
- Free Saturday Night on-the-town in St. John's.
- Full day to tour St. John's and/or the Avalon Peninsula. Cape Spear sunrise, Signal Hill, road rallies in Avalon Peninsula villages (a la TARGA).
- Daytime ferry side-trip to Little Bay Islands (an offshore fishing outport). To make it happen, this will require coordination with ferry operators (we'll need our own ferry trip, given the number of vehicles). Alternative: 2 hours free time in Terra Nova National Park, or taking a charter plane up from Gander.
- Optional: Scenic extra trips to one or more of: Cabot Trail/Cape Breton Highlands NP, Confederation Bridge/PEI, Bay of Fundy tides, Fundy National Park.
| Day / Time | Start | Finish | Distance (miles) | Driving Time (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday (Feb 16) (a head start) |
Suffern, NY (41n07, 74w09) |
Bangor, ME (44n48, 68w47) |
450 | 7 |
| 17:00 ET | Rendezvous in Portsmouth, NH | |||
| ~20:00 | Dinner, near Bangor, ME | |||
| 21:00 | Finish Dinner | |||
| 23:00 | Arrive in Calais, ME. Lodging: Calais Motor Inn | |||
Friday (Feb 17) |
Bangor, ME (44n48, 68w47) |
North Sydney, NS (46n13, 60w15) |
550 | 9.5 |
| 06:30 | Sunrise | |||
| 07:30 | Breakfast | |||
| 08:30 | Leave motel, head for border | |||
| 08:45 | Arrive at Calais, ME - St. Stephen, NB border crossing. | |||
| 10:30 AT | Clear Canada Customs / Duty Free Shop (see crossing the border in the FAQ page). Clocks forward 1 hour. NB and NS use Atlantic Time (AT: UTC-4). | |||
| 12:30 | Lunch, Sussex, NB | |||
| 13:30 | Leave Sussex, NB | |||
| 16:00 | Stop for break in Truro, NS (someone picks up Ross) | |||
| 16:15 | Resume from Truro, NS | |||
| 17:45 | Sundown (~Canso Causeway to Cape Breton) | |||
| 19:15 | Dinner, Sydney, NS (via NS-104/4, not NS-105) | |||
| 20:30 | Leave Dinner. 2 hours to explore Sydney and get to ferry terminal (20 minutes away). | |||
| >21:00 | Arrive at ferry check-in, North Sydney, NS. Ferry loading begins around 21:30 | |||
| 22:10 | Latest possible departure of Sydney for North Sydney ferry docks | |||
| 22:29 | If you haven't arrived in North Sydney by this time, you will lose your cabin reservation. | |||
| 23:00 NT | Clocks forward 30 minutes. Onboard, the ferry operates on Newfoundland Time (NT: UTC-3.5). | |||
| 23:15 | Group Meeting in the Placentia Bar Lounge aboard the MV Smallwood. |
|||
| 24:00 | Ferry departs for 7-hour trip to NL at 23:30 AT, or 24:00 NT. Lodging: ferry cabin | |||
Saturday (Feb 18) |
Port-aux-Basques, NL (47n34, 59w09) |
St. John's, NL (47n34, 52w43) |
550 | 9.5 |
| 06:30 | Breakfast in the onboard Cafeteria. | |||
| 07:15 | Ferry arrives Port aux Basques, NL. Disembark. | |||
| 07:30 | Sunrise. Meet at Irving Big Stop in Port aux Baques for in-town road rally. | |||
| 08:00 | Rally completed. Depart Port-aux-Basques | |||
| 10:00 | Pass Corner Brook | |||
| 10:45 | Pass Deer Lake, the turn off for the Viking Trail | |||
| 12:00 | Pass near Springdale, northernmost point on our route (49n30, 56w04) | |||
| 12:30 | Lunch in Badger, NL (centre of Nfld) | |||
| 13:30 | Depart Badger | |||
| 15:30 | Pass through Terra Nova National Park | |||
| 17:30 | Sundown (~junction with road to Dildo, NL) | |||
| 18:30 | Arrive St. John's. Check into Abba Inn | |||
| 19:30 | Dinner | |||
| 20:30 | Saturday Night on the town. Maybe we'll show The Italian Job too. Lodging: Abba Inn | |||
Sunday (Feb 19) |
St. John's |
St. John's | - | - |
| All Day | Rest Day. Activities TBD. | |||
| 07:00 | Sunrise. For the early risers, daybreak at Cape Spear (easternmost point in North America) is highly recommended. | |||
| 17:30 | Sundown. Lodging: Abba Inn | |||
Monday (Feb 20) |
St. John's | Port-aux-Basques | 600 | 10.5 |
| 07:00 | Sunrise. Breakfast. | |||
| 08:00 | Check out of Abba Inn. Leave St. John's. | |||
| 13:00 | Lunch in Badger | |||
| 14:00 | Leave Badger | |||
| 15:00 | Arrive Shoal Arm. Ferry to Little Bay Islands | Alternative activities: 2 hours in Terra Nova NP, or exploring towns like Gander | ||
| 15:45 | Drive/Walk Little Bay Islands | |||
| 16:30 | Ferry to return to mainland | |||
| 17:15 | Leave Shoal Arm | |||
| 18:00 | Sundown. Watch for moose in the twilight. They can be seen as often as every couple of minutes at this time of day. | |||
| 18:45 | Dinner in Deer Lake, NL | |||
| 19:45 | Leave Deer Lake. Night Driving: Use extreme caution. | |||
| 22:30 | Arrive Port aux Basques, NL. MV Caribou will already be boarding. | |||
| 22:45 | Arrive later than this, and we'll all be sleeping in chairs. | |||
| 23:45 | Ferry departs for 7-hour trip to NS. Lodging: ferry cabin | |||
| Tuesday (Feb 21) (Direct or Scenic Return) |
North Sydney, NS | depends | depends | depends |
| 07:00 | Breakfast on MV Caribou. Last meal before the Breaking of the Fellowship. | |||
| 7:25 | Sunrise. | |||
| 7:15 AT | Ferry arrives North Sydney, NS. Clocks backward 30 minutes. Disembark. | |||
| People returning directly vs. taking the scenic extra day go their separate ways. | ||||
| Direct Return Option (NO extra day required) | ||||
| Tuesday (Feb 21) Direct Return (retrace Friday's map) |
North Sydney, NS | Suffern, NY | 1000 | 16.5 |
| end of day | Direct return to Boston, MA about 10pm, Suffern, NY at about 1:30am ET, including 2.5 hours of stops for meals, border, etc.. Clocks backward 1 hour at NB/ME border. | |||
| Scenic Return Option (extra day required) | ||||
Tuesday (Feb 21) |
North Sydney, NS | PEI, or Fundy NP, NB | 550 | 9 |
| 08:00 | Enter Cabot Trail (scenic Highlands drive) | |||
| 09:00 | Enter Cape Breton Highlands National Park, western side. | |||
| 10:30 | Arrive eastern side of park | |||
| 11:30 | Exit Park. Lunch in Cheticamp, NS | |||
| 12:30 | Leave Cheticamp | |||
| 17:45 | Cross Confederation Bridge to PEI at Sunset (world's longest single bridge, over ice) | |||
| 18:15 | Dinner in PEI | |||
| 19:30 | Cross Confederation Bridge at night | |||
| 21:30 | Arrive Fundy National Park area (known for world's highest tides). Lodging: TBD | |||
Wednesday (Feb 22) |
PEI or Fundy NP, NB | Suffern, NY | 700 | 11 |
| 07:15 | Sunrise | |||
| 07:30 | Breakfast | |||
| 08:30 | 3 hours to explore the tides of Fundy | |||
| 11:30 | Depart Fundy National Park | |||
| 13:00 | Lunch in Saint John, NB | |||
| 14:00 | Leave Saint John, NB | |||
| 15:00 | Arrive, St. Stephen - Calais border crossing | |||
| 15:00 ET | Clear US Customs / Duty Free Shop (see crossing the border in the FAQ page). Clocks backward 1 hour. | |||
| 20:00 | Dinner near Boston, MA | |||
| 21:00 | Depart Dinner | |||
| end of day | Arrive Suffern, NY, about 00:30. | |||