ferries & roads

Gander is centrally located in the province and has ideal transportation services linking it to the rest of the province and the world. A quick trip to visit family and friends is always at your fingertips.

Make a sea cruise part of your travels when you visit Newfoundland and Labrador. Then you'll know why they say half the fun is getting there. Marine Atlantic's modern car ferries also accommodate recreational vehicles all year round from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques in southwestern Newfoundland. Throughout the summer, a second ferry sails from North Sydney to Argentia, bringing you to within an hour or two of St. John's. Marine Atlantic ferries offer a wide variety of onboard accommodations and features, including deluxe cabins, dormitory sleepers, full meal and beverage service, live entertainment, movies, and children's activity programs.

A variety of ferries and coastal boats operating on year-round and seasonal schedules can take you to island and remote coastal communities. There's a twice weekly service from Lewisporte, Newfoundland, that takes you and your car to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. Smaller communities on the Labrador Coast are served by a passenger and freight (no cars) vessel that sails from St. Anthony to Nain and back, giving passengers an opportunity to visit remote coastal villages and experience life on a coastal freighter. There's another vessel that takes you to that little bit of France called St. Pierre! Whenever you're on the water, be prepared to be entertained and amazed by wonderful natural spectacles. Like humpback and minke whales that appear in season, or the many varieties of seabirds that roost in huge coastal colonies. Ferries are floating observation platforms. Along the eastern coastline, look for icebergs bigger than you ever imagined. Those who live by the sea swear that the best way to see Newfoundland and Labrador is from the water. Come see for yourself.

• Ferry Service
• Highway

Ferry Service

Nova Scotia to Newfoundland
Year-round vehicle and passenger ferry service is provided by Marine Atlantic between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Crossing time is 6 hours. (This ferry connects with the trans-island bus service operated by DRL Coach Lines.)

From mid-June to mid-September, an additional ferry operate between North Sydney and Argentia in eastern Newfoundland, which is 45 kilometres from Route 1 and 131 kilometres from the provincial capital of St. John's. Crossing time is 12-14 hours.

For rates and schedules, contact:

Marine Atlantic Reservations Bureau
P. O. Box 250
North Sydney, NS B2A 3M3
Telephone: (902) 794-5700
Toll Free Canada and U.S.: 1-800-341-7981
Fax: (902) 564-7480
www.marine-atlantic.ca

Advance reservations are recommended. A toll-free telephone service is provided within most of North America.

Strait of Belle Isle
There is daily ferry service in summer between St. Barbe on Newfoundland's Viking Trail and Blanc Sablon on the Quebec-Labrador border. Take this ferry to reach Route 510. Crossing time is 80 minutes.

For reservations or information on schedules and rates, contact:

Labrador Marine Inc.
St. Barbe Ferry Terminal
St. Barbe, NF
A0K 1M0
Telephone: (709) 877-2222 St. Barbe
Telephone: (418) 931-2275 Blanc Sablon

Confirmation of reservation will be made upon receipt of a non-refundable $5 deposit. Bus operators must make reservations. All traffic with reservations should be at dockside 1 hour prior to departure.

Lewisporte to Labrador
Coastal Labrador Marine Services operates a ferry service from Lewisporte, Newfoundland, to Labrador. The ferry service operates from mid-June to mid-September, but June sailings are sometimes delayed due to ice conditions. The ferry, which carries automobiles, docks at Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and the one-way trip takes about 35 hours.

For reservations and information, please contact:

Coastal Labrador Marine Services
P.O. Box 790
Lewisporte, NF
A0G 3A0
Telephone: 800-563-6353
Fax: (709) 535-0060

St. Anthony to Coastal Labrador
The coastal boat service from St. Anthony calls at some 40 isolated villages as far north as Nain, Labrador. The one-way trip takes about 12 days. This is a freighter service and does not carry automobiles.

For reservations and rates please contact:

Coastal Labrador Marine Services
P.O. Box 790
Lewisporte, NF
A0G 3A0
Telephone: (709) 535-6872
Fax: (709) 535-0060

Highway Travel

The Trans Canada Highway (Route 1) crosses Newfoundland west to east from Port aux Basques to St. John's, a distance of 905 kilometres. Secondary highways along the route provide many fascinating, "off-the-beaten-track" side trips.

Route 500 is a gravel road that crosses Labrador from Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the east to Labrador City/Wabush in the west. Distance is approximately 525 kilometres and travel times of 9 hours should be expected. The road is sometimes soft in spring, and passable only by four-wheel drive vehicles. For a recorded message on road conditions between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Churchill Falls, telephone (709) 896-5840. For information on the road between Churchill Falls and Labrador City, telephone (709) 282-3406. From Labrador West you can drive into Quebec on partially paved Route 389 which runs 581 kilometres to Baie Comeau on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Anticipated travel time is 8.5 hours.

Website: www.gov.nf.ca/roads

The Department of Works, Services and Transportation has installed digital cameras at five weigh scale sites along the Trans Canada Highway, in an effort to provide the motoring public in the province with the most up-to-date road and driving conditions. All 5 cameras are available via the above Internet address.

Gander International Airport links Gander with other countries, as well as Canada. Operating on a daily basis, such companies as Air Canada, Provincial Airlines, link with major aircraft carriers to open the doors of the world to the people of Gander.