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Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 48 Opinions
175 Higgins Line, St. John's, A1B 4N4, Canada
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of people enjoy staying here
48 Opinions
Leaving the Harbor
Whale tail
Fort Amherst
Scary man in the bathroom.
I have a 3.5 hour layover at the airport mid afternoon and was hoping for some suggestions for what to do.
Is there anything interesting to see nearby?
I am considering going into town for a few hours but am worried about missing flight due to traffic so would prefer something more local to the airport.
Thanks
Hi Richard!
3.5 hours might seem like a long time but it's not. First of all you spend about 30 min leaving the plane and going to the waiting area (that is if the plane arrives on time). Then when you go outside, you have to try and get some transport somewhere and then head back to the airport... I wouldn't recommend you to leave the airport. Take a good book with you and have a nice meal while you wait.
Sarah =D
Nothing really interesting nearby. A cab ride into town will run maybe 20 minutes. I wouldn't worry about traffic. We're talking about Newfoundland.
YYT is a really small airport, so getting past security doesn't take much time at all. There are always plenty of taxis out there also.
If you end up doing this, I would plan on staying about 90 minutes, at the most, in town. You can walk around, see the city, maybe grab a bit to eat or a drink (great bars in town). Signal Hill and the Battery may also be worth checking out. If you do that, take the cab up to Signal Hill and walk back down. It'll be easier for you.
Near the airport, there's Torbay, which is very, very pretty but, honestly, there's really not much there, so I don't know what you would do without a car.
There's also the question of what to do with your luggage. If you're okay with walking around with it, then that's fine, but it's a pain, especially with the hills in central St John's. Then there's the weather. Newfoundland, the Atlantic-facing side especially, has weather that can turn on a dime. It's very likely that you'll encounter a quick rain storm. There's also a good chance that it'll be relatively cold, even in the summer.
Hope that helps.
Thanks guys, looks like a book then
In order to have the best views of St John's and surroundings, two places are recommended. The first place is Signal Hill where you have fantastic views of the city, harbour as well as Atlantic Ocean. The second place is along the road up a hill just in front of St John's when you are heading towards Cape Spear, this place gives you very good views of the city's residential areas (see photos taken from both locations).
Take a boat tour to Bird Island. Even if you're not a bird lover, the sight of millions (yes, an estimated 2 million) birds diving and swooping all around you is impressive. Gulls, turres, murres, and puffins (aka 'sea parrots') all in a mad frenzy. The puffins' burrows have punctured the island in so many places they have effectively killed off all the trees by depriving the roots of nutrients. The overall effect is eerie--the birds swarming, the trees ghostly white, shrouded in mist. Not to be missed! You are also likely to see icebergs (don't be surprised when they put on the 'Titanic' music) and whales. We saw no whales--the best season is August. The Irish culture is pervasive. There are allegedly elements of Irish dancing preserved in Newfoundland but lost in Ireland. There are also fiddlers and folk singers. There are lilting accents that seem to vary from person to person. Some would not be out of place in Cork or Kerry! Check out some of the history--some of the Irish settlers were involuntary. Bernice Morgan's _Random Passage_ tells the story of a prison ship, bound for Australia, that unloaded its human cargo on the Avalon peninsula.
St John's was a stop on our cycle tour of The Avalon, All big cities have a basic personality, and this was a pretty friendly and wonderful place for cycle tourists. Take a pub crawl. Cycling down the hills into town in the fog and rain, then the weather lifts as we roll to a stop on the town's main pier reveiling the harbor in a shaft of sunlight.
When you visit the city or the Island of Newfoundland, there is a local custom to make visiters welcome.
It is a drink called Screech. I was taken by my friend who lives there to one of the bars that does it. the Pub is called Trapper John's.
they make you kiss a Fish on the lips...luckely, they had no fish, so I had to kiss a Puffins arse...yes, a puffins arse. Then you state your name and where you from. Then you drink the drink and recieve a certificate.
A VERY fun time and fantastic holiday.
There is a local brewery in St. John's called the Quidi Vidi Brewing Company.
You can try their variety of beers and get a tour of the facilities. The brewery is located in a very picturesque section of the city.
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Address: 175 Higgins Line, St. John's, A1B 4N4, Canada
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