Historic St. John's Newfoundland and Cape Spear Tour
Description
Discover Newfoundland, with Newfoundlanders! Please note that Newfoundland and New Brunswick are different places- there are two towns with similar names- St. John New Brunswick and St. John's Newfoundland. We are in Newfoundland and do not run tours in NB. Become acquainted with the city of St. John's and its surroundings, including Cape Spear, the most Easterly point in North America. Your local guide will regale you with its steeped history, legends & lore - all flavored with personal anecdotes and good humor for which Newfoundlanders are so famous. Enjoy the brilliant vistas from Cabot Tower and Signal Hill, one of the most recognizable skylines in Canada. Walk through a cliffside World War II gun battery, watch for whales and seabirds, and visit the oldest standing lighthouse in the province. Other sights include Quidi Vidi Village, Jelly Bean Row, Government House, the Roman Catholic Basilica, and an orientation of the shops and restaurants of the downtown core.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The most Easterly Point in North America, this spit of land and famous lighthouses are well known the world over for welcoming travelers from across the seas.
This quaint fishing village provides visitors with a taste of what small-town Newfoundland is like, outside the hustle-bustle of St. John's. In season keep your eyes peeled for fish coming in on the boats!
These iconic houses stand out and help make St. John's the vibrant and colorful town that it is.
We will explore the iconic Signal Hill, with its commanding view of St. John's, the iconic Cabot Tower, and the impressive gun emplacements and history.
This charming village is a perfect last stop on the tour- a perfect representation of the old economy and the new. Fishermen still take their small boats out from the harbour in the "gut," while in the old fish plant, some of the most interesting beer in Newfoundland is brewed.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
PICKUP TIMES START PRIOR TO TOUR START TIME. PLEASE LOOK FOR YOUR PICKUP TIME BELOW AND SELECT YOUR PICKUP LOCATION. OTHERWISE WE WILL NOT PICK YOU UP PLEASE NOTE WE ARE IN NEWFOUNDLAND NOT NEW BRUNSWICK. St. John New Brunswick is a different town which is roughly 1000 KM away. If you are travelling on a cruise ship and wish to be picked up at the pier, feel free to check out our Cape Spear, Signal Hill in St. Johns Newfoundland Shore Excursion. Pickup time depends on the location of pickup. We pick up prior to the listed departure time, a set amount of time- see list below. As an example of how this works, for a 9:30 tour, if the hotel listed says "30 minutes prior to departure," that means we should be there to pick you up right around 9:00 am. We will pick you up just outside of the lobby of each of the hotels unless otherwise specified. ALT Hotel – 15 minutes prior to tour departure Bannerman Park Suites – 20 minutes prior to tour departure Best Western – 45 minutes prior to tour departure Capital Hotel - 45 minutes prior to tour departure Courtyard by Marriott - 20 minutes prior to tour departure Delta - 10 minutes prior to tour departure *Pickup from Lower Lobby* DoubleTree - 20 minutes prior to tour departure *Pickup from Lower Lobby* Duckworth Hotel – 15 minutes prior to tour departure Extended Stay - 5 minutes prior to tour departure Fairfield Inn - 45 minutes prior to tour departure Franklin Hotel - 15 minutes prior to tour departure Gower Guest House – 15 minutes prior to tour departure Hampton Inn and Suites - 45 minutes prior to tour departure Hilton Garden Inn - 10 minutes prior to tour departure Holiday Inn Express - 45 minutes prior to tour departure Holiday Inn Portugal Cove Road - 40 minutes prior to tour departure Jag Hotel - 10 minutes prior to tour departure Leaside Manor - 5 minutes prior to tour departure Mallard Cottage – 25 minutes prior to tour departure Memorial University (MacPherson College) - 30 minutes prior to tour departure Monastery Spa and Suites – 5 minutes prior to tour departure Murray Premises - 15 minutes prior to tour departure Narrows B&B - 15 minutes prior to tour departure Pippy Park (Main Entrance) - 30 minutes prior to tour departure Ramada - 45 minutes prior to tour departure Sandman Signature – 45 minutes prior to tour departure Sheraton Hotel - 20 minutes prior to tour departure Super 8 Hotel - 40 minutes prior to tour departure The Roses B&B - 20 minutes prior to tour departure The Rooms - 30 minutes prior to tour departure Visitor Information Centre - 15 minutes prior to tour departure
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- We require a minimum of four people total booked on a tour in order for it to proceed, and we reserve the right to cancel the tour if we do not receive sufficient people
- This tour is located in St. John's Newfoundland, not Saint John New Brunswick- they are different towns in different provinces and not close to one another
- Passengers may have to go up and down a couple of steps. We do stop and walk around at the different sites, however if desired they can stay in the vehicle.
- The tour lasts 3.5 hours, which includes the driving time to get to the different sites, as well as pickups. We generally spend around 15 minutes at each stop but the driving time to get to each place adds a significant amount of time to the tour
- The closest pickup to the Cruise Terminal is the Alt Hotel, roughly 300 Meters Away
- Pickup starts prior to tour departure time- please check in the list to see how long before the start time of the tour you should be ready for pickup
- Please ensure that you will be in Newfoundland and not New Brunswick
Reviews(296)
Overall an excellent tour and good value for the money We were picked up at the Alt hotel which was visible from our ship and a quick 5-10 minute walk depending on your pace. Hotel has a nice 1st floor lobby with a coffee bar, restrooms and seating. Front desk staff were very friendly and helpful. Bus pickup is at the main entrance of the hotel on Water St. Tour was operated by McCarthy so look for a bus with that name. Our tour had 20 people and bus could hold maybe 24 max so nice size group. Pickup time was a little confusing as it said 30 minutes before tour time but it actually was the tour time so I recommend confirming actual pickup time. Generally speaking the amount of time spent at each site was appropriate and the drive between each site was no more than 15 or 20 minutes. Petty Harbor was a very nice 1st stop. Good overview of the towns history and good picture spots. Easy walking. Cape Spear was beautiful. A good walk up and down some hills and stairs but you can stay on the path if "hiking" is not for you. Restrooms and a coffee shop are available. Signal hill/John Cabot's lookout. Beautiful view of St John's harbor with a slight uphill walk. A local man had his Newfoundland dog with him and you can take a picture too. A small tip is a nice gesture but not mandatory. The lighthouse was interesting to see and go up top for pictures. Note the stairs are quite narrow. Quidi Vidi was our final official stop. Beautiful picture spots with a few small shops and Iceberg beer at the brewery is a good option, time permitting. Level ground for walking and restrooms available in the art building. Drove down Jelly bean row on the way back to our dropoff. Ellis our tour guide was fantastic. Informative, witty, punctual and communications were clear and easy to understand. We really preferred this tour compared to the hop on-hop off busses. When we were in St John's there were 2 cruise ships in port and the busses had more volume of people than they could handle. Granted this is feedback from only 2 fellow passengers but at some locations they waited for up to an hour for a bus that wasn't full and that limited the number of sites they could see.
It was a great way to see st.john’s and surrounding coves . The guide was very knowledgeable and answered all questions asked
What a fantastic tour!! Comfortable van and an amazing, knowledgeable guide!! We were very fortunate to have a sunny day and Shawn gave us lots of time to get out and enjoy exploring the sights. He is clearly proud of his home and gave a detailed account of the history of this area, interspersed with wonderful stories about the locals and personal memories from his childhood. Thanks so much Shawn!! We highly recommend this tour.
We had a great time, Sean was very knowledgeable and we greatly appreciated and enjoyed his story telling, the spots to view the beautiful city and surrounding areas. 10 out of 10 a must do if visiting St. John's.
It was a very enjoyable and informative tour.
Steve was very knowledgeable about Newfoundland and made this tour very enjoyable! His ongoing dialogue was extremely interesting.
A magnificent excursion organized by McCarthy’s Party Tours. An extraordinary guide, congratulations to Mr. Cliff Simms for his patience, kindness, relevant explanations, safe driving, adherence to schedule, allocated time for the places to visit, and his excellent sense of humor. The proposed and respected itinerary: Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Park, Petty Harbour, Jellybean Row houses, Signal Hill, and Quidi Vidi. Spectacular discoveries, an extraordinary guide, a remarkably clean and comfortable minibus, a small group, sunshine and blue skies, a perfect excursion! I highly recommend this excursion. Congratulations on your excellent work and long life to your business. Enjoy your visit!
Comfortable transportation and very nice tour guide, Leslie Ann(?) - she even sang to us!. Four stops during the tour which was adequate and a good description of each location.
I understand we took this tour the first day a cruise ship was in port for the season so the company was busier than normal. We were actually on the cruise, and I had selected a meeting location close to the cruise port, but the meeting location we were given in an email the day before was two miles away. We decided to walk, and I am glad we did because we saw a lot of the city we would not see on the tour. I should have called the day before to find out if there was a closer pick-up location (there was). So that is on me. But picking up other passengers was equally disorganized. We waited over ten minutes at one location only to pick up guests for a different bus, had to circle back to get the correct guests which took all-in-all about 40 minutes away from the tour. Our tour guide was good, but we only made it to Cape Spear and Signal Hill in the allotted time. Normally, we would have gone from Signal Hill to nearby Quidi Vidi, but due to earlier delays we were running behind schedule and he drove back downtown to accommodate a family that had dinner reservations. He gave people the option to get off downtown or go to Quidi Vidi, but since the tour had already gone over, we knew we didn’t have time to drive back to Quidi Vidi and then back and make our reservations later that evening. If the company had been more organized about pick-up, we would have seen more without going over time. (Also, note to fellow travelers, please be on time and wait in the right spot for pick-up and return to the bus at the designated time - our delays/circle back was caused by one couple who we circled back for and then they failed to return on time at any of the stops. I can’t say that the company/driver should have proceeded without them once they were on the tour, but it would have been a better tour for everyone else if we had not circled back to begin with.)
Our tour guide, Larry Hann, was very knowledgeable and personable. We had some time at each of our stops to take pictures and enjoy the views. Larry is a veritable gem for St. John's.
