Things to do in St. John's
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit St. John's
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Icebergs begin, trails reopen, boats start mid-month and puffins return late month. Cold and pre-crowd.
Peak icebergs mid to late June plus capelin, early whales and active puffins. The only trifecta month, and the foggiest.
Warmest weather begins, prime whales build from mid-July and puffins are at maximum activity. Best all-round first trip window late month.
George Street Festival into Regatta week: best weather odds, peak whales, maximum music, and maximum prices and sellouts.
Crowds vanish and prices ease. Puffins linger into early September and whales thin mid-month. Many operators close after mid-September.
Film festival and shoulder season city break energy. A food and music weekend works; an outdoors-first trip does not.
Cold, dark, windy and icy, with storm watching and pub and music charm. Most boats, picnics and some restaurants close or reduce hours.
The weakest visitor window: late snow, no icebergs most years until late April, and seasonal businesses closed.
What's on
- NL Folk Festival July
Flagship folk weekend in Bannerman Park, the year's best single cultural weekend for music lovers.
- St. John's Pride Usually mid July
Pride festival of about ten days in July.
- George Street Festival 30 July-5 August
Seven nights of ticketed outdoor concerts on George Street running into Regatta week.
- Royal St. John's Regatta first Wednesday in August
North America's oldest continuous sporting event, at Quidi Vidi Lake, weather permitting.
- St. John's International Women's Film Festival October
Among the world's longest-running women's film festivals, anchoring October.
- Mummers Festival December
The centuries-old costumed house-visiting tradition, with a parade and events around Christmas.
Best things to do in St. John's
Signal Hill National Historic Site
The city's defining viewpoint, with Cabot Tower, harbour history and the Marconi wireless story in one climb.
Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site
The most easterly point in North America, with two lighthouses, gun batteries and sunrise before the continent.
The Rooms
Provincial museum, gallery and archives in one harbour-view building, and the best fog or rain day fixture.
Quidi Vidi Village
A tiny working fishing village inside the capital, with stages, studios, a brewery and Mallard Cottage.
Jellybean Row
A slow hilly wander past the bright row houses covering the steep grid above Water and Duckworth streets.
St. John's Food Tour
A guided food and history walking tour that adds the stories behind the downtown streets and dishes.
Johnson GEO Centre
Underground science museum cut into Signal Hill rock, explaining 3.8 billion years of provincial geology.
Christian's Pub
George Street's oldest pub runs the screech-in as full theatre, ending with a cod kiss and a certificate.
Where to stay in St. John's
Downtown - Water/Duckworth/Harbourfront
first trip, all-round base, no car needed
Everything central is walkable, and it is the only base that lets you drink at dinner and walk home.
East End / Georgestown / Bannerman Park
quieter, local stay
Leafy residential streets with the best B&Bs, near the Basilica, Bannerman Park and The Rooms.
Quidi Vidi / east edge
hikers and repeat visitors with a car
Sugarloaf Path, the brewery and Mallard Cottage on your doorstep, downtown five minutes by car.
Think twice about
- Kenmount Road / airport / Avalon Mall sprawl
Not dangerous, just isolating: chain hotels and big box stores where you drive everywhere and could be in any Canadian city.
- Unvetted ultra-cheap rentals on or around Brazil Street
The city's documented problem buildings cluster in this west end pocket. Skip any downtown listing dramatically cheaper than everything else there.
- Mount Pearl / Paradise
Safe suburbs, but not St. John's for visitor purposes. No reason to base there.
Best restaurants in St. John's
Portage
Small Canada's 100 Best room doing share plate Newfoundland cooking with global influences.
Terre
The province's highest Canada's 100 Best placement, cooking the island landscape in a calm harbour room.
Mallard Cottage
Historic cottage serving the island larder at its highest level, with a legendary weekend brunch.
The Merchant Tavern
Upscale tavern from the Raymonds team, fine dining ingredients in a relaxed room a mixed group can share.
Magnum & Steins
Heritage house steakhouse and wine bar that satisfies both the steak person and the adventurous person.
St. John's Fish Exchange Kitchen & Wet Bar
Big buzzy harbourfront seafood hall built for a group blowout of crab cakes, cod tongues and cocktails.
Saltwater Restaurant
Intimate reservation focused seafood room, a quiet Terre contender for a leisurely date night.
Adelaide Oyster House
Small high energy oyster bar with fish tacos and crudo plates, a bar with great food.
Best bars in St. John's
Quidi Vidi Brewery
Brewery in the old fish plant pouring the Iceberg beer that works as the souvenir pint of the village.
The Ship Pub
Listening room for Folk Night Wednesdays and original acts, the thoughtful alternative to George Street volume.
Erin's Pub
A trad session stalwart where local musicians, not cover bands, set the pace of the night.
O'Reilly's Irish Pub
The other trad session anchor downtown, lively and dependable for live Newfoundland music.
Bannerman Brewing
Craft brewery with the Namjim Thai kitchen inside, an easy downtown lunch or early evening stop.
YellowBelly Brewery
Big group brewpub in an 1892 fire survivor building, best at happy hour for pizza and house beer.
Best coffee in St. John's
Toslow
East end coffee and baking stop that fits a Georgestown morning wander perfectly.
Outdoor things to do in St. John's
Gatherall's Puffin & Whale Watch
Stable 90 minute catamaran to the Witless Bay puffin colony, the seasick friendly pick for families.
O'Brien's Whale and Bird Tours
Two hour tours with a heated cabin, panoramic windows and singing crew to the same Witless Bay reserve.
Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours
Downtown departures through the Narrows to Cape Spear, the easiest iceberg trip when a berg grounds nearby.
North Head Trail
The East Coast Trail's urban jewel, climbing from the Battery around the cliff face to Cabot Tower.
Sugarloaf Path
Cliff top East Coast Trail section from Logy Bay over Sugarloaf Head down into Quidi Vidi village.
Deadman's Bay Path
An East Coast Trail day section that pairs naturally with a Cape Spear visit for strong walkers.
Stiles Cove Path
East Coast Trail section between Flatrock and Torbay known for its sea arches and cliff scenery.
Spout Path
A long, demanding East Coast Trail day to a wave driven sea geyser, for strong hikers only.
Best hotels in St. John's
JAG Hotel
Rock and roll boutique on George Street with a lap pool, the special occasion and party adjacent base.
Alt Hotel St. John's
Germain hotel where every room faces the harbour and Narrows, calm and upscale, home to Terre.
DoubleTree by Hilton St. John's Harbourview
Full service luxury hotel on the quieter east harbourfront, ten minutes walk to the core.
Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland
Large harbour view hotel with pool, sound on points and scale rather than character.
Delta Hotels by Marriott St. John's Conference Centre
Big renovated conference hotel attached to the arena, chosen for rate, points or an event.
Murray Premises Hotel
Character inn inside an 1849 historic site, with beams, fireplaces and rare included downtown parking.
Blue on Water
Small boutique hotel over a good restaurant, with the strongest reviews of any small downtown property.
Duckworth Hotel
Small boutique rooms above the Magnum and Steins restaurant, a food trip base walkable to everything.
Is St. John's expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CA$130 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CA$235 a person |
| Splurge | CA$480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Christian's Pub: a few days ahead
- Gatherall's Puffin & Whale Watch: weeks ahead
- O'Brien's Whale and Bird Tours: weeks ahead
- Bally Haly Country Club: a few days ahead
- Lighthouse Picnics: weeks ahead
- JAG Hotel: weeks ahead
- Alt Hotel St. John's: weeks ahead
- DoubleTree by Hilton St. John's Harbourview: weeks ahead
- Rental car months ahead for summer, ideally a cancellable rate booked the day you book flights.
- Downtown rooms for George Street Festival and Regatta week and late June to August, as early as the car.
- Mallard Cottage, Portage and Terre days to weeks ahead in season. Mallard weekend brunch books out first.
- Ferryland Lighthouse Picnics with the trip skeleton, not on arrival. Whale and puffin boats ahead in July and August, with a weather backup day.
- Christian's screech-in slots online ahead in summer.
Is St. John's safe?
- Cliff edges and ocean are the main risks. Stay on trails at Signal Hill, Cape Spear and on the East Coast Trail, and never turn your back on surf on rocks.
- Moose are a serious year-round collision risk, worst at dawn and dusk on unlit highways including the Irish Loop.
- Leave your East Coast Trail section and return time with someone. Cell coverage is patchy and weather exposure is real.
- In winter, ice on the steep downtown slopes is the main pedestrian hazard. Locals wear ice grips.
- At George Street closing time, leave 15 minutes before close or wait 20 minutes after, and get your taxi away from the west end scrum.
St. John's travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Raymonds is closed. Any current guide still listing it as the city's top room is stale.
- Expecting an iceberg in July or August. Icebergs are a May to June phenomenon, best mid to late June and never guaranteed.
- George Street by day or on a quiet Sunday is dead. It is a nighttime product.
- Driving up Signal Hill for a photo and leaving. Walk the North Head Trail or at least do the visitor centre.
- Jellybean Row as one address. There is no single street by that name; it is a downtown walk, not a destination.
- Under-dressing. Rain, drizzle and fog are the norm, boat decks feel far colder than town, and sturdy shoes are needed in every month.
- Confusing St. John's with Saint John, New Brunswick, some 1,500 km away. Check your booking says YYT.
Getting around St. John's: public transport and more
- Downtown is compact and walkable but steep. A car or tours are essential for Cape Spear, Bay Bulls, the Irish Loop and most trailheads.
- Book the rental car first, right after flights. The fleet is small and peak summer weeks sell out entirely.
- Taxis are plentiful downtown and at the airport. Rideshare is limited, so pre-book returns from out of town dinners and boats.
- Metrobus will not do Cape Spear at sunrise and is a poor tourist tool beyond downtown-adjacent trips.
Who St. John's suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make St. John's your trip
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