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Cultural drive · Newfoundland
Irish Loop
Newfoundland's southern shore where Irish accents survive and puffins arrive by the tens of thousands.
Overview
The Irish Loop circles the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula in 320 km — Newfoundland's most Irish landscape, where accents survive that no longer exist in Ireland itself. The route runs from St. John's south through Witless Bay's puffin colonies, past the Colony of Avalon (Ferryland) archaeological dig, and around Cape Race to the Cape St. Mary's gannet cliffs.
The eastern leg follows Route 10 south from St. John's through Bay Bulls and Witless Bay Ecological Reserve — home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in North America (500,000 birds), best seen by boat June through August. Ferryland's Colony of Avalon protects a 1621 English settlement with active summer digs.
The southern point at Cape Race — famous as the first station to receive the Titanic's distress signal — has a lighthouse and Marconi museum. The western return through Trepassey and St. Bride's reaches Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, where a 400 m clifftop walk delivers a face-to-face with 24,000 nesting northern gannets — one of the world's most accessible seabird colonies.
Loop distance
320 km
St. John's → Cape St. Mary's → return
Puffin colony
500,000
Largest in North America (Witless Bay)
Gannet cliff walk
400 m
Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve
Historic site
Colony of Avalon
1621 English settlement dig
The route
From start to finish
An approximate path through 6 key waypoints along the drive.
Driving times
Leg by leg
480 km across 5 legs. Times exclude stops, ferries, and weather contingencies.
| # | From → To | Distance | Driving time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | St. John's → Witless Bay | 30 km | 0h 30m | Puffin boat launch |
| 02 | Witless Bay → Ferryland | 40 km | 0h 40m | Colony of Avalon |
| 03 | Ferryland → Trepassey | 80 km | 1h 15m | Southern shore |
| 04 | Trepassey → Cape St. Mary's | 130 km | 1h 45m | Cape Race + Placentia detour |
| 05 | Cape St. Mary's → St. John's | 200 km | 2h 30m | TCH return |
| Total | 480 km | 6h+ | Drive time only |
Day by day
The itinerary
A suggested route designed to balance driving time with the stops that matter.
St. John's to Ferryland
Drive south to Witless Bay for a Gatherall's puffin boat, Colony of Avalon in the afternoon, overnight in Ferryland or Bay Bulls.
Cape Race & Cape St. Mary's
Loop via Trepassey and St. Bride's to Cape St. Mary's gannet colony; return to St. John's via the TCH.
When to drive
Month by month
Best window: June – September (puffins Jun–Aug). Plan around shoulder months for fewer crowds at the cost of variable weather.
Budget
Three ways to drive it
Smart
$180–$280/ day
- Drive days
- 2–3
- Lodging
- St. John's B&Bs, campgrounds
- Food
- Fish & chips, cod cheek plates
- Experiences
- Puffin boat + Colony of Avalon
Mid
$320–$520/ day
- Drive days
- 3
- Lodging
- Alt Hotel St. John's, Lighthouse Picnics cottages
- Food
- Chinched, Mallard Cottage
- Experiences
- Gannet tour + guided archaeology
Premium
$800+/ day
- Drive days
- 3
- Lodging
- Fogo Island add-on, JAG suite
- Food
- Raymonds tasting, Chinched chef's table
- Experiences
- Private zodiac + Iceberg Quest add-on
Editorial picks
Where to stop, sleep, and eat
Operator
Gatherall's Puffin & Whale Watch
Bay Bulls
Best-rated puffin boat on the Ecological Reserve — humpbacks reliably in June/July.
Stop
Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve
St. Bride's
400 m clifftop walk to a face-to-face with 24,000 nesting gannets.
Stop
Colony of Avalon
Ferryland
Active dig at Canada's earliest English settlement — 1621 stone drainage system still visible.
Eat
Lighthouse Picnics
Ferryland
Basket picnic at the Ferryland lighthouse on the North Atlantic — reserve online.
Signature stops
Don't miss
Witless Bay puffin colony
Colony of Avalon (Ferryland)
Cape Race lighthouse
Cape St. Mary's gannet cliffs
Before you go
The prep checklist.
Practical things to lock in before you leave the driveway.
- Reserve Lighthouse Picnics 3–4 weeks ahead for July/August.
- Puffin boats run late May through early August; whales linger to September.
- Icebergs: check icebergfinder.com late May through mid-June.
- Cape St. Mary's fog can shut viewing for hours — build a weather buffer.
- Combine with Fogo Island (via central Newfoundland) for the ultimate Atlantic drive.
Where this road leads
Related destinations
Good to know
Frequently
asked.
Practical answers from travellers who have driven this route.
- When can I see puffins?
- Late May through early August. Gatherall's, O'Brien's, and Molly Bawn run daily boat tours from Bay Bulls and Witless Bay.
- Icebergs?
- Late May through mid-June in most years — check icebergfinder.com. Cape Spear (near St. John's) is the classic land viewpoint.
- How Irish is it, really?
- Very — some communities preserve Waterford and Wexford accents that have disappeared in Ireland itself. Local musicians play Irish trad in Ferryland and Trepassey pubs.
Planning the bigger trip?
Read our full guide to Canadian road-trip itineraries.
Along this route
Parks, camps, and cities on the drive
Every place below is within a comfortable side-trip of the route waypoints — surfaced automatically from our national-park, provincial-park, campground, and city datasets.
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