St. John's, Newfoundland

Our cruise will be in this port on Sept. 17, 2008. I'd appreciate any recommendations for must-see places/sights. I'm interested in either finding a private tour guide to see the peninsula, or suggestions on what to see if staying in port.

The one caveat is that my mother uses a walker, so we can't do any hiking, long walks, cobblestone streets, or steps. I know, quite a restriction. But travelling with my wonderful Mom is worth it. :)

We enjoy handmade crafts, good food, and of course gazing at gorgeous scenery, which I think the area has in spades!

I was in this port a few years ago. Where the ship docks is an ugly industrial area. There was a big tented area right as you got off the ship that had like a flea-market (but nicer) and all things to buy in St. John's were there (trinkets, gifts). It rained when I was there so I cannot speak to any of the excursions, except they have a pub crawl that is not worth the money since they met up with me at their 2nd place on the list and I followed (free, just pay for your drinks) People on the excursion paid something like $50 each!!!!!. One really nice thing was that as the ship was leaving this port, a bagpiper in full regalia played for us for our sail out. If you can leave the dock area, do!

The best thing about St. John's is getting into their harbour. An experience for sure.

Signal Hill gives you a great view of the area and city and of course one must go to the furthest East one can go in North America Cape Spear. However unless things have changed neither of those places is very good for those mobility challenged.

The pub crawl can best be done by just going to George St. :)

I took the city bus around the city and the local driver was a great tour guide. Outside the city along the shores are some nice wee fishing villages and I'm sure your ship would offer some sort of get out and around bus tour.

Friendly people with few cares..

Thanks for the ideas. Keep 'em coming, folks!

The tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador is to drink a shot of screech (local moonshine rum) and then to kiss a cod. Many bars offer this "screeching." I won't give it away, but there's at least one bar that supposedly replaces the cod with something else. :) Where they get a cod when there is a moratorium on them, I don't know.

George Street is famous for their bars and clubs. No need for a pub crawl, just walk up the street and you have found them.

Newfoundlanders are famous for being hospitable and while sometimes hard to understand, great people to be around. It might be one of the friendliest places in all of North America.

St. John's as one of the oldest cities in North America is steeped with history so there are many things to see. I enjoy the harbour, Water St. and Signal Hill. During the July and August they put on a military tattoo in period costumes just below Signal Hill on 4 evenings a week. St. John's also has a first class museum.

Found a lovely article about Newfoundland that I thought some people might enjoy reading. It is called Getting Real in Newfoundland from the Globe and Mail. I've linked it, for those who are interested. Might be interesting to contact the tour operator and see if he offers anything to cruise ship passengers.

We did a photography tour. Visited the reversing falls twice to see the difference in the water level. The nice thing about this tour was it was on a small bus with big windows.

We did a photography tour. Visited the reversing falls twice to see the difference in the water level. The nice thing about this tour was it was on a small bus with big windows.

This is Saint John, NB, not St. John's, Newfoundland.

I'm following this thread with great interest. We have two teenaged daughters, so we are not interested in pub crawls. lol

We're on a budget, so we'd like to avoid a pricey ship's excursion. We've always had luck with private tour guides in the Caribbean, and was wondering how to go about doing something organized on our own in St. John?

Our cruise will be in this port on Sept. 17, 2008. I'd appreciate any recommendations for must-see places/sights. I'm interested in either finding a private tour guide to see the peninsula, or suggestions on what to see if staying in port.

 

The one caveat is that my mother uses a walker, so we can't do any hiking, long walks, cobblestone streets, or steps. I know, quite a restriction. But travelling with my wonderful Mom is worth it. :)

 

We enjoy handmade crafts, good food, and of course gazing at gorgeous scenery, which I think the area has in spades!

As someone who lives in St. John's, I want to make clear that you will not see the entire Avalon peninsula in a day. However, St. John's is a unique city with lots to keep you busy.Given your mother's mobility issues, I would probably recommend the Old Town and Cape Spear tour thru NCL. You will get to see all the city highlights, including Signal Hill and Cape Spear - both of which offer truly breathtaking scenery.After the tour you could spend some time strolling along Water Street. Water Street runs parallel to the port and is our oldest street. It is level walking. There are lots of great shops there with local art and handicrafts. Check out The Downhomer for the best selection of Newfie everything! Grab some lunch. St. John's has lots of amazing restaurants. The Cellar is a little more upscale but terrific. I also like Press and Bean for it's food and atmosphere. For some local specialities - Jigg's Dinner, Fish and chips, Figgy Duff - try Velma's. All are on Water Street. The museum is one street up on Duckworth Street - it's great but might be a little challenging to walk there as it is uphill from Water St.Whatever you do, have a great day! I hope our weather cooperates for you. Our weather is notoriously unpredictable but September is usually a really nice month. Any other questions, feel free to ask.Oh, never pay for a pub crawl. Just go to George Street (right off Water Street) and choose a bar or several!!

I'm following this thread with great interest. We have two teenaged daughters, so we are not interested in pub crawls. lol

 

We're on a budget, so we'd like to avoid a pricey ship's excursion. We've always had luck with private tour guides in the Caribbean, and was wondering how to go about doing something organized on our own in St. John?

You could easily step off the ship, walk about 2 minutes to Water Street and spend the day shopping, having lunch. You could go to the next street up, Duckworth Street, and check out the museum.

That said, I'm not sure how interesting two teenaged girls would find this. Another possibility is to do a boat tour. The Scademia leaves from the harbour. O'Briens tours (whale watching and puffins) is a little further away. I know they offer a shuttle to area hotels. I'm sure if you emailed they could easily pick you up at the port. The two websites are below.

http://www.netfx.ca/scademia/attractions.php

http://www.obriensboattours.com/services.php

Some other websites for more info and possible independent shore excursions are:

http://www.stjohns.ca/visitors/cruise/desthighlights.jsp

http://www.foundlocally.com/stjohns/Travel/Attr-Tours.htm

http://www.transcanadahighway.com/newfoundland/StJohns-Tours.htm

This is Saint John, NB, not St. John's, Newfoundland.

NFTD . funny how that happens eh?

thks for those other sites. Too bad they can't make the "Regatta" !! :p

Thanks to NewfieTravelDiva and Ephraim for the info. Great stuff. After reading the Globe & Mail artcle that Ephraim posted a link to, I went to the caperace.com site. I think it's filled with terrific reading. I found this page quite fun: http://www.caperace.com/facts.html.

NewfieTravelDiva, Mom and I will be on Jewel of the Seas, so not sure what NCL tour you refer to. Doesn't matter though, because all of our ship's tours for St. John's are "moderate" activity rating, and just not suitable for my Mom.

Cheers to all!

I have been living in St. John's since September, and it is a beautiful part of the country! "The Rooms" consists of the provincial museum, art gallery, and archives. Entrance fee is reasonable ($5 adults) and is a wonderful place to spend part of a day (or an entire day!). It would be accessible for your mother.

The view of the harbour, city, and ocean is breathtaking from Signal Hill - there are paved walkways that your mother could negotiate with a walker. I don't think that the "tower" on top of Signal Hill would be accessible, but you would certainly appreciate the view from outside anyways!

There are beautiful handcrafts in the shops along Water Street and Duckworth Street.

Have a wonderful trip!

I have been living in St. John's since September, and it is a beautiful part of the country! "The Rooms" consists of the provincial museum, art gallery, and archives. Entrance fee is reasonable ($5 adults) and is a wonderful place to spend part of a day (or an entire day!). It would be accessible for your mother.

 

The view of the harbour, city, and ocean is breathtaking from Signal Hill - there are paved walkways that your mother could negotiate with a walker. I don't think that the "tower" on top of Signal Hill would be accessible, but you would certainly appreciate the view from outside anyways!

 

There are beautiful handcrafts in the shops along Water Street and Duckworth Street.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks very much!

There are lots of options for things to do in St. John's. Other than the tour buses arranged as official shore excursions there will be a variety of taxis and other tour operators meeting the ship. The operators and taxi drivers will take you anywhere you want to go and are full of local information and stories.

Signal Hill National Historic Site is a must see for anyone. The top of signal hill has a board walked trail along the top that is fully accessible. Cabot Tower has a great deal of narrow stairs and would not be appropriate for someone with mobility issues. However the visitor centre was just redone last year and is fully accessible and has a great 20 minute film about the history of Signal Hill.

The Rooms, as someone already mentioned, is also a great spot to visit. There the exhibits, a gift shop and a cafe with the best view in town. Its fully accessible.

There are a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs in the downtown core to visit. Some great ones for visitors include NONIA and The Downhome Shop on Water Street.

For the person with the teenagers, I suggest getting a taxi to the Ocean Sciences Centre (about a 15 minute ride from the boat). There are 2 tanks with seals that people love. And its free.

There are lots of options for things to do in St. John's. Other than the tour buses arranged as official shore excursions there will be a variety of taxis and other tour operators meeting the ship. The operators and taxi drivers will take you anywhere you want to go and are full of local information and stories.

Signal Hill National Historic Site is a must see for anyone. The top of signal hill has a board walked trail along the top that is fully accessible. Cabot Tower has a great deal of narrow stairs and would not be appropriate for someone with mobility issues. However the visitor centre was just redone last year and is fully accessible and has a great 20 minute film about the history of Signal Hill.

The Rooms, as someone already mentioned, is also a great spot to visit. There the exhibits, a gift shop and a cafe with the best view in town. Its fully accessible.

There are a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs in the downtown core to visit. Some great ones for visitors include NONIA and The Downhome Shop on Water Street.

For the person with the teenagers, I suggest getting a taxi to the Ocean Sciences Centre (about a 15 minute ride from the boat). There are 2 tanks with seals that people love. And its free.

There are lots of options for things to do in St. John's. Other than the tour buses arranged as official shore excursions there will be a variety of taxis and other tour operators meeting the ship. The operators and taxi drivers will take you anywhere you want to go and are full of local information and stories.

Signal Hill National Historic Site is a must see for anyone. The top of signal hill has a board walked trail along the top that is fully accessible. Cabot Tower has a great deal of narrow stairs and would not be appropriate for someone with mobility issues. However the visitor centre was just redone last year and is fully accessible and has a great 20 minute film about the history of Signal Hill.

The Rooms, as someone already mentioned, is also a great spot to visit. There the exhibits, a gift shop and a cafe with the best view in town. Its fully accessible.

There are a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs in the downtown core to visit. Some great ones for visitors include NONIA and The Downhome Shop on Water Street.

For the person with the teenagers, I suggest getting a taxi to the Ocean Sciences Centre (about a 15 minute ride from the boat). There are 2 tanks with seals that people love. And its free.

Since I started this thread I thought I'd let all the generous people who gave advice know what we ended up doing. I booked a private tour with 12 other people from my roll call. We're going with Heritage Tours. Another tour company whom we liked very much had a very poor cancellation policy. If the ship had to skip the port, they would keep a sizable amount of deposit. That was a no-go for the folks on my sailing who wanted the private tour. Heritage Tours has a much more cruise-friendly cancellation policy.

Thanks again for all the tips!

Visit Signal Hill, preferably when the Tattoo is performing but Sept will be too late in the season. On Signal Hill Rd, you can also stop at the Geo Centre. If you're into architecture, check out the Anglican Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Basilica to name a few. I would also visit the Rooms. Funny, when the Rooms was built, the joke around town was that it looked like the box the Basilica came in. When you check out the view from the Rooms you can draw your own conclusion. The Fluvarium, Cape Spear, Commisariat House and Government House are also interesting visits as is a drive through Quidi Vidi Village which is very close to downtown. Souvineers, as mentioned above, the Downhome probably has it all but I also like to stroll through the shops in the Murray Premises (access on Water St. close to the Downhome) which is also where the Press & Bean Coffee Co. is. Make sure you pick up some decent Newfie CD's. Great Big Sea, Punters, Shanney Gannock, Ed Cavanaugh, to name a few. Besides the Downhome, Fred's Records on Duckworth St (towards the Fairmont) has a great selection. If you want something really authentic to bring home, check out O'Brien's Music Store for an Ugly Stick. They are a must have for a good "kitchen party". Here are some links:

http://www.obriens.nf.ca/other.html

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/signalhill/index_e.asp

http://www.geocentre.ca/

http://www.therooms.ca/

http://www.fluvarium.ca/

Donnak,

If you're there on a nice sunny day, bring your teenagers to the Sundance Bar & Grill on George St. for a late lunch, early supper outside on the covered deck. Last time I was there, kids were allowed (on the deck only) until 8pm and they regularly have live music playing so it's a lively spot to be.

Ephraim,

Not to be picky, but Newfoundland Screech is not local moonshine rum but a product of Jamaica, bottled in NL. Newfoundlanders have long traded salt cod with Jamaica in return for barreled Jamaican rum. This is also how salt fish became part of the national dish of Jamaica. Screech is supposedly named after the blood curdling scream of a US Serviceman trying the stuff as he was passing through Newfoundland during World War II.

HI -

Can anyone tell me the best currency to have in St. John's Newfoundland? Are US # accepted as readily as Canadian dollars?

I see the the local bus (www.metrobus.com) asks for "exact change" only ... is that Canadian or US? We are seriously considering taking the local bus because we get to interact with the citizens with no pretension (we are friendly & outgoing, so meeting others is never a problem). Can we take a bus from the pier? Do buses go to Cape Spear and to Quidi Vidi Village? Is this a good idea? :)

Also, we are in St. John's on Tues. Aug. 5 from noon - 8 p.m., and my understanding is that St. John's Time is occurring that day. Will that mean there will be many, many more visitors in town? Any guesses?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Liz

Could someone tell me if Signal Hill is in walking distance of the pier?

Thanks,

Moya

Hi -

For Moya - I just received my Newfoundland Labrador Tourist brochure in the mail (I sent for it 90 days ago!), and I found this email address for Signal Hill. Perhaps you could write them and ask about transportation to Signal Hill

• • signal.hill@pc.gc.ca

It looks like it is quite a way from the ship dock.

Good luck

Liz