A Day Trip To Trinity And Bonavista
On a sunny day in Newfoundland, we did a great day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. We had a perfect day on this scenic peninsula.
One of our blog readers suggested we visit Trinity and Bonavista on our trip to Newfoundland. On our transit day from Grand Falls Windsor to St. John’s, we passed right by the road that went out along the Bonavista peninsula. But the weather was grey and we did not want to add the 6 or more hours to our transit day to detour.
When we settled into St. John’s for 4 days we watched the weather forecast. And on the best day of our visit, we backtracked for a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. And we were so glad we did!
Arriving In Trinity
We took the Trans-Canada Highway #1 out of St John’s. It was about 2 hours before we hit the exit for the Discovery Trail (Route 230). Route 230 went all the way to Bonavista. Along the way various roads split off to different bays. We exited at the turn for Trinity about an hour later.
As we approached Trinity, we saw a series of floats in the water. A little research told us these were oyster farms.
Our first view of the charming village of Trinity came from the hill high above the town. We saw our first colourful houses. The fog rolled out on the shore. And far off in the distance the lighthouse stood at the harbour entrance.
We meandered along the streets in the town and went up the hill to the Sweet Rock Ice Cream shop on High Street. The shop was closed. But the colourful chairs provided us with a wonderful view down over the town.
We knew we wanted to get closer to this cute town.
Wandering In The Charming Town Of Trinity
We drove back down the hill and along the small streets. There was much to see along the way. Across the harbour we got a better view of the lighthouse. There were signs around town for walking tours. And we saw the colourful Mirabella Artisan Gift Shop.
When we found Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Shop, we parked the car. No road trip was complete without at least one chocolate shop stop!
The Dock Marina Restaurant had a large outside patio. We picked up coffees and settled in and just looked out over the harbour. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the views.
We were delighted with our quick stop in Trinity. This was the charming small colourful town we set off to discover. We were sure there was much to enjoy on a longer stay.
Visiting The Town Of Bonavista
When we headed off for our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista, we were not sure what we would find at Bonavista other than the lighthouse. So when we came down the hill and saw a large town, we were pleasantly surprised. Bonavista was the first spot discovered in Canada (and maybe in North America). John Cabot landed at this point in 1497.
As we generally did in a new water town, we headed first for the waterfront. We saw the colourful boats in the harbour. And then we followed the shore road in search of the colourful matching houses.
With so many fishing boats, we knew there should be fresh seafood for lunch. When we passed the Foggy Shoals Fish Co., we really wanted fresh scallops for lunch. Sadly this shop was not yet open.
But our craving for seafood did not wane. As we headed out of town, we were drawn in by the busy parking lot at the Little Dairy King. We found a full cafe with an outside patio and an ice cream shop. And the menu met our seafood needs!
On a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista in Newfoundland, we were captivated by the traditional Newfoundland delights.
Heading Out To Cape Bonavista
We kept along the shore road until we hit Cape Bonavista. The lighthouse stood on the edge of the rock outcropping and guided the ships around the point.
We headed off over the mossy rocks and explored the rocky shoreline. We got our first close up view of the rocky shores of Newfoundland when we went whale watching in Bay Bulls. But we were like billy goats as we climbed up out over the rocks. The views out to sea over the rocks were stunning.
But rocks were not all we found when we looked out to sea. We soon discovered that one of the rocks was the launching point for puffins. A whale watching boat approached. And when we looked out, we saw whales on the horizon as they played in the sea. Catching puffins and whales in Newfoundland never ceased to delight us. It was just one more reason we were happy we planned a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista.
As we left Cape Bonavista we made one last stop at the statue of John Cabot. Such a fascinating spot for the first landfall in Canada.
On the trip back, we stayed on Route 235 around the northern shore of the peninsula. We got more views of stunning coastlines and small towns before we re-joined Route 230 and headed back to St. John’s. It was a wonderful day trip to Trinity and Bonavista in Newfoundland.
Every Kind Of Weather On A Day Trip To Trinity And Bonavista
In late July we found the weather in Newfoundland unpredictable. When the forecast for Bonavista looked the best on our 4 day stay in St. John’s, we planned our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. We were excited when we saw the sun as we woke in St. John’s. Every other day, the skies in St. John’s only cleared late in the afternoon.
But the drive to Bonavista took us up through the neck of Newfoundland. The elevations went high and then dropped back down along the road. On our drive there, we hit blinding rain for about 100 km. And then we drove right out into sunshine. On the return trip to St. John’s, we hit fog in this same stretch of road that was so thick we barely saw the cars in front of us.
So it was wonderful when we arrived in Trinity as the fog lifted. And by the time we got to Bonavista, the sun was fully out. On our return, once we passed the fog, we even drove up to Signal Hill and the Cabot Tower for a beautiful sunset over St. John’s.
When you plan a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista, you may find all kinds of weather. We were happy the bad weather passed and we got a bright sunny day!
So Happy We Planned A Day Trip To Trinity And Bonavista
We had much planned for our 4 days in St John’s. There was much to see in town and on short day trips. But we were glad we planned a much longer day trip to Trinity and Bonavista.
On a return trip to Newfoundland, we will plan to spend more time in the small communities like Trinity and Bonavista. But Trinity and Bonavista was one of the highlights of our summer road trip to Eastern Canada.
Did you do a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista? Did you have a favourite spot on your visit?
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What quaint little towns you visited. Trinity looks so Scandinavian, I thought it was in Norway somewhere. I like these small independent shops, selling the chocolate and then the scallops in Bonavista. A lovely day trip and to places not known to me.
We were delighted with our first views of Trinity and Bonavista. Well worth the long day trip to see.
I love those brightly colored residences, as well as the colorful chairs perched on top to enjoy the magnificent views of the town. I’ll definitely stop by Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Shop because I love sugary treats! In addition, I’d like to go to Cape Bonavista and climb to the top of the rocks for a better view of the sea.
We sure loved all the bright colours in the towns we visited in Newfoundland.
What a picturesque place to visit…I’ve always wanted to get to Newfoundland, as my family history includes many of the Canadian Maritimes. Looking at the rugged, scenic beauty and colorful houses, it’s like a getting a glimpse back in time! How fortunate that you come across the launching place for the puffins, too! They are soooo cute. I’m heading to Nova Scotia this fall, so I’ll have to see about scheduling in Newfoundland, too!
I am sure you will love your trip to Nova Scotia. We were happy we planned for 10 days in Newfoundland when we went to the East Coast. It was a lovely look at this province.
Puffins, whales and seafood — sounds like a successful day! Seeing puffins has been on my bucket list for so long and this looks like a dream to me. Trinity looks like a cute fishing village too.
There were indeed so many great things to see and do on our road trip to Trinity and Bonavista. It was well worth the long day trip.
Your day trip to Trinity and Bonavista is amazing and I totally agree with Lisa when she says Trinity looks Scandinavian. It’s a visual treat to watch the colorful homes sitting on the colorful chairs perched on the shore. And enjoying treats from Aunt Sarah’s chocolate shop and the shopping at Mirabella’s artisan shop defines a perfect holiday destination. Also it was great you got to see whales and puffins from the shore.
It was such a treat to visit Trinity and Bonavista. The colour was a wonderful treat. Next time we need to stay and enjoy more!
Thanks for giving me such lovely photos. Now I know why Newfoundland is touted as must-see. Quaint, rural, fresh…I regret skipping it when we toured eastern Canada.
We were sure glad we got to Newfoundland on this visit!
I love how colorful everything is! Quaint waterside villages are my favorite. And I’ve never seen oyster farming before, so it would totally have me wondering. I’m jealous you saw puffins, too – so cute!
We were so glad we got a recommendation to visit Trinity and Bonavista. A real treat on our visit to Newfoundland.
I haven’t been interested in Newfoundland so far, but this changed with your post. At least the two spots you’re introducing look so wonderful. I love this brightly colored furniture – it has an air of eternal summer. The most fun feature, however, is this interpretation center in bold red and white. In combination with the serene nature, that’s just so inviting. Newfoundland has officially made it onto my bucket list 😉
I will be sharing more of our trip to Newfoundland. So will tease you even more. This was our first visit but won’t be the last.
Can’t wait to visit there one day!
I hope you do get to visit this quaint corner of Newfoundland.
I’ve always dreamed of going to Newfoundland and this road trip looks so picturesque! I didn’t realize there are so many things to see and do. The towns and wildlife look absolutely charming. I’ll definitely be saving this for the future.
We would definitely recommend a road trip around Newfoundland. So many great treats like Trinity and Bonavista.
Puffins and chocolate in one trip…so lucky! The brightly colored chairs along the water were such a thoughtful touch from the town. Sounds like a great day trip. I hope to see whales in the wild one day too.
We sure found some of our favourite things on our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista!
What adorable towns! A day trip to Trinity and Bonavista sounds like a ton of fun. I love how colorful the houses are in Trinity, and the towns look so quaint! I also would love to check out Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Shop, yum!
We had a busy day trying to see all there was to see in Trinity and Bonavista. It will be worth a longer stay on our next trip to Newfoundland.
What lovely towns! I especially liked the colorful chairs and tables at the observation decks along the coast, they creat such a positive vibe!
We were so glad we saw these colourful lovely spots on our visit to Newfoundland.
I have yet to make it to Newfoundland, but it is definitely on my list! And this day trip looks wonderful. I adore the colouful houses. Your feature photo of red chairs is great and makes me want to book a trip right now!
I hope you do get a trip booked to Newfoundland. Our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista should definitely be on your plans.
I’m glad you followed your reader suggestion. Trinity and Bonavista are so pretty. These are kind of my destinations. Cute little town, not too many tourists, colorful, best nature, and offer local food.
We love when we get great input to help us with our planning. The suggestion for Trinity and Bonavista was right on!
Wow, I loved the place altogether. Glad you guys took the day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. You got me at those beautiful coloured houses. It’s very picturesque.
We were charmed from the first view we got of both Trinity and Bonavista.
I just moved to the west coast of Canada, and can’t wait to see the eastern coast! It looks so wonderful and Trinity and Bonavista look like the perfect place to start (or end) an epic road trip! I love the houses <3
I hope you do get to visit the east coast of Canada. There is so much to explore across both coasts!
What a delightful day trip! Such cute places to visit. Looks like I would enjoy this road trip.
It was definitely a great road trip to Trinity and Bonavista.
I had never heard of Trinity or Bonavista, but I love how colorful both towns are. I love the photos of the brightly colored houses and boats!
All of the bright colours sure cheered us on our visit.
So much fun color from the Adirondacks, picnic tables, houses, to businesses. Looks like another fun adventure.
We were definitely very glad someone suggested we visit Trinity and Bonavista.
Before I even read what you wrote, I was thinking, “Oh wow! That coastal village looks so charming!”. I love spending time near the water and exploring out in nature. This looks like such a relaxing, fun area to visit. Thanks for sharing! Xx Sara
There was so much to see and do in Trinity and Bonavista that a day trip really was not enough. But we were sure glad we did not miss this treat.
Town Of Trinity looks like a great option to unwind. It has such a calming effects. I absolutely love slow travel and I think this place gives you perfect reasons to unwind in slow motion. Great views and fantastic location. What else do you want? Loved reading about this place.
I loved sharing about our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. Hopefully we will inspire others to wander here too!
You had me at fresh seafood. Yum! Your day trip to the Village of Trinity and the Town of Bonavista sounds delightful! Beautiful photos. That’s so interesting that the weather was so unpredictable.
The fresh seafood was definitely a big draw for us when we visited the East coast of Canada. Newfoundland was a great treat.
This place looks so wonderful! I love the multitude of colors that paint this quaint town. I could definitely see myself visiting for a self-care retreat!
We will certainly have to go back to Trinity and Bonavista for a longer stay to relax and unwind.
PUFFINS!! We love this kind of coastal adventure – Trinity and Bonavista (and everything along the way) looks fabulous. I am such a fan of finding those red chairs then relaxing to see the best Canadian views.
There were indeed so many great spots to just sit and enjoy the view in Newfoundland. Trinity and Bonavista should definitely be on the list of places to visit.
How charming is this?! Little spots like these towns are always great places to spend a bit of time and enjoy a different pace. So glad to learn about this area!
Trinity and Bonavista were a great discovery for a day trip or for a longer visit!
Trinity and Bonavista look like the perfect day trip in Newfoundland! So quaint with beautiful views! Would love to visit!
We were so happy we had the perfect day to enjoy the lovely coastal towns of Trinity and Bonavista in Newfoundland.
Thanks for letting us discover these tranquil towns on your day trip. Pretty sure l would like to visit Trinity and Bonavista. To be able to indulge in some scallops which l love but is really hard to find here would be the icing on the cake. Your images are excellent.
I am glad to take you with us on a day trip through Trinity and Bonavista. They were lovely spots to discover.
Looks absolutely beautiful, I love your photos! Would love to visit, thank you for sharing.
Thank you so very much 🙏 We love to share all the beautiful views we get travelling.
I absolutely loved the colourful houses and the photos! I didn’t know about these places and now I have to add them to my list! Thanks for sharing them and letting them know! This is so inspiring!
Our list of places we loved kept growing as we travelled through Newfoundland. Trinity and Bonavista were such lovely gems.
Looks absolutely beautiful locations to visit and somewhere you could really kick back and wind down. Reminds me of some of the little fishing villages in Scotland!
It was lovely to find these quaint spots on our day trip around Newfoundland. One day we will explore Scotland and hope to find such sights there.
What a cute, charming town! I had no idea what oyster farms looked like (or that they existed!) How interesting. I totally would have wondered what all those floats were, too!
We stopped often on our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista to look at the interesting and unique sights.
Both Trinity and Bonavista look so charming. I love the many colors of furniture, houses, and buildings. The seashore along Bonavista with the rock formations is also beautiful. Thanks for sharing these lovely places.
It was lovely to do a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. The colour just drew us from place to place.
How cool that you saw whales! I am watching Anne with an E right now which is set in Newfoundland, so would love to explore it.
We were delighted with our visit to Newfoundland. So many charming spots like Trinity and Bonavista!
The color of the homes as well as the tables and chairs are so bright and lovely. The puffins! Oh goodness! I need to make a trip to the area just to see the puffins. Thanks for sharing!
We were so glad we finally got to see puffins on our visit to Newfoundland. It was an added treat when we headed out on our day trip to Trinity and Bonavista.
These towns are very cute. I love the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista but what really draws me are the puffins (and excellent seafood)
The seafood was sure a big draw for our visit to the east coast of Canada for sure. And puffins were a surprise treat!
These two towns sound absolutely lovely and remind me how much I need to get to the Maritimes! Sounds like it could be pretty challenging weather year-round though!
We learned how to plan around the weather on our trip to Atlantic Canada. But we were so glad we planned a visit to Newfoundland and saw these lovely small towns.
Trinity and Bonavista are such cute little towns! I love little towns that are walkable and full of character. The marina restaurant looks like a great place to take it all in!
It was so great to do a day trip to Trinity and Bonavista. We saw enough to know we would like to go back and explore more.
Wow, that’s a charming trail indeed.I would love to sit on those colorful benches / chairs to enjoy the scene. Marina Restaurant seems to be a great place.
There were indeed so many great spots to take in the charming towns of Trinity and Bonavista in Newfoundland.
Both Trinity and Bonavista are so pretty and colorful! I have always known that I need to explore more of Eastern Canada but this post confirms it. I love all the unique architecture, especially the lighthouse in Bonavista with its red and white stripes. And I love that you got to see some puffins out there!
Newfoundland was a real treat for us. It was fun to discover the small towns like Trinity and Bonavista.
I really need to plan a trip to Newfoundland because it looks incredible. I love going to small towns as well because they’re always so unique.
You would definitely love the small towns in Newfoundland. So many great ones to discover.
What a great trip! Newfoundland, for me, is like a distant land known only from movies and books. I want to visit these places one day because they are amazing. Especially since I am a fan of lighthouses, there are plenty of them in the area. Trinity and Bonavista seem perfect for a trip. Also, as I love wildlife, catching puffins and whales through my lens is a fabulous adventure.
We were so glad we made it to Newfoundland finally. It had been on our list for some time. So many great outdoor spots and lovely charming spots like Trinity and Bonavista.
I really need to plan a trip to Newfoundland because it looks incredible. I love going to small towns as well because they’re always so unique. thanks for sharing this wonderful article.
Newfoundland is definitely worth a visit. We loved the small towns like Trinity and Bonavista.