Newfoundland and Labrador’s Viking Trail

Arrive in Halifax and check in at your accommodations for the night. Your lovely hotel is ideally located in the downtown core. This evening meet your fellow travellers and Tour Director at a welcome reception.

We can arrange for pre-booked airport transfer for you as an add-on to your tour. Depending on your time of arrival, you may wish us to book a tour of Halifax, Peggy’s Cove or Lunenburg. Just ask!

Travel via Truro and Antigonish to cross over the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton Island. At North Sydney, board a Marine Atlantic ferry for a relaxing overnight crossing to Port aux Basques, your port of entry on the island of Newfoundland. The Marine Atlantic ferry schedule changes from year to year. As such, a daytime crossing may be necessary, in which case we will overnight in Port aux Basques.

Thousands of years of history come alive as you ferry across the Cabot Strait to explore the West Coast of Newfoundland & Labrador. Learn about ancient peoples-the Maritime Archaic and Dorset Indians at Port au Choix, the Vikings in L’Anse aux Meadows, and the Basque Whalers in Red Bay – as you meet the hospitable and friendly people of today. See the beauty of Gros Morne National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and coastal fishing communities. Take a boat tour in St. Anthony (weather permitting) where you may see whales and, depending on the time of year, icebergs! Meals: B, D

Drive through the Codroy Valley and through Gros Morne National Park – to be enjoyed later on during your tour – to the fishing community of Port au Choix to learn of ancient cultures. The Port au Choix Peninsula juts slightly out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Newfoundland’s northwest coast and people have lived here for 5,500 years. Meals: B,L,D

Board the ferry from St. Barbe to cross the Strait of Belle Isle to Labrador. Continue to Red Bay National Historic Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the Basques had a whaling station in the 16th century. This mystical place takes the essence of Labrador coastal living and transposes it onto a tapestry of rich culture and history. Spend the night in Labrador. Meals: B,D

Return to Newfoundland and travel to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, the first cultural discovery in the world to receive recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hear of the Vikings who walked here over a thousand years ago, much earlier than previously known, before continuing on to your St. Anthony accommodations for the night. Meals: B,D

Enjoy a morning whale watching boat tour in St. Anthony (weather permitting) before travelling to Cow Head in Gors Morne National Park for a 2-night stay. Tours in June and early July offer the best time to see Titanic-size icebergs! Meals: B,D

Discover why Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is truly one of the highlights of your trip with a scenic boat tour on Bonne Bay; be on the look-out for the bald eagles that frequent the deep waters of the fjord. Also visit the Tablelands; this mountain of flat-topped rock of a kind usually found only deep in the earth’s mantle is an awe-inspiring sight. Today will be an unforgettable experience; some say the scenery that Gros Morne offers is unequalled in Eastern Canada. Meals: B,L,D

Option: Passengers may request at the time of making their initial booking to take a scenic boat tour on Western Brook Pond and visit the Broom Point Fishing Premises in lieu of the scenic boat tour on Bonne Bay and visit to the Tablelands. While some may consider the boat tour on Western Brook Pond to be a superior outing, please note that there is a 45 minute walk (3 km/2 miles) from the parking lot to the dock and a 45 minute walk back. This option must be requested at the time of booking and will not be available as an add-on later.