Welcome to our comprehensive Halifax to Newfoundland road trip itinerary plan for electric vehicles!
Come along as I plan my route, provide daily charging plans, and highlight the top attractions to see and do along the way. From charming coastal towns to awe-inspiring natural wonders, we’ve got you covered. There’s even a side trip to France (not a typo) along the way!
So buckle up and plan out this unique route from Halifax to St Pierre and St.John’s to Port Aux Basque. This is my Halifax to Newfoundland road trip itinerary.
Vancouver to Newfoundland – The Complete Route
Before diving into the details of this Halifax to Newfoundland road trip itinerary, I want to point out that this is a small part of my upcoming EV road trip across Canada.
Newfoundland and Saint Pierre are turnaround points of this coast-to-coast trip and I will be sharing other planning aspects of it in separate posts. For this one, I will pick up the route from Halifax to St Pierre as this is a popular kicking-off point to drive to Newfoundland.
Halifax to Newfoundland Ferry
To get to Newfoundland by car you will need to take a lengthy ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia. There are two routes to take; a ~7-hour ferry to Port Aux Basque on the west coast of Newfoundland and a ~16-hour ferry to Argentia.
Port Aux Basque is closer to Gros Morne National Park (one of the main reason for my trip) whereas Argentia is closer to both Fortune (where ferries depart for St.Pierre, France) and St.John’s. Both routes offer sleeper cabins although, as I found, they book up fast.
I didn’t want to be without a sleeper cabin on the longer ferry so opted to go in and out of Port Aux Basque. If I planned this out further in advance I would have secured a cabin on the overnight return from Aregentia making for a more efficient route.
The ferry schedule is seasonal but typically runs twice a day. Make sure to check the latest routes and fares for your planning purposes.
How Much Does the Ferry to Newfoundland Cost?
My one-way ferry fee came to $35.65 per passenger and $101.05 for the vehicle. Cabins start around $50 and reserved seats (which I grabbed for my overnight trip) are $11.25. All prices are in Canadian.
Charging in Newfoundland
Electric vehicles in Newfoundland aren’t uncommon but certainly not plentiful. As such, Newfoundland does not have any Tesla Superchargers but is well serviced with ChargPoint chargers. They are operated by Newfoundland Hydro and spaced out along the TransCanada Highway as well as in a few popular tourist spots off the main road. They offer fast charging with CCS and CHAdeMO connections as well as level 2 J1772 plugs.
For everything else along the way, there are a few RV and campgrounds with Nema 14-50 and TT-30 plugs. Make sure you pack the appropriate adaptors before you go. For me that includes a 14-50, TT-30, CCS, and CHAdeMO Tesla adapters.
Charging in Saint Pierre & Miquelon
Speaking of appropriate adapters, this Halifax to Newfoundland road trip itinerary includes a detour to Saint Pierre which is located in France. As such, North American adaptors are not going to help you there.
For my visit, I confirmed with my accommodations that they have an exterior Schuko plug that I can use. From that, I was able to find a Tesla adaptor through evseadapters.com.
Road Trip Plan – Halifax to St. Pierre
With ferries, accommodations, and charging on the island sorted, let’s look at how to drive from Halifax to St Pierre and Newfoundland. To help plan this unique route, I used Plugshare and ABRP.
Leg #1 – Halifax to Port Aux Bausque, NFLD
I was going to stay at The Westin Halifax which has free EV charging however the hotel was booked for my dates. I did spy an Ikea on the way out of town that has free charging. Hello, $2 breakfast!
Depending on my level leaving town, I will likely top up at the Halifax Supercharger which is on the way out. From there I will head north hitting the last Petro Canada fast charger before Cape Breton Island and North Sydney where the ferries depart for Newfoundland.
My ferry does not depart until 11:35 PM so I will have a lot of time to kill. I drove the Cape Breton Trail a few years ago so already know where I am going. The first stop is Big Spruce Brewery which now, coincidentally, has a free EV charger.
After an hour or so, I will head into Baddeck and stop at the Alexander Grahm Bell Museum, which is fantastic. It also has a free charger.
Depending on the charge level I may leave my car there and bike to Baddeck Lobster Supper for dinner or head to a nearby golf course for a quick 9. Then it’s a short drive to the North Sydney ferry terminal.
I will stop and charge to 80% at a nearby Flo charger and then, depending on time, top up to 90% at the free charger at the ferry terminal.
Leg #2 – Port Aux Bausque to Gander
Thanks to my somewhat last-minute decision to drive from Canada to France, the only ferry and accommodation availability that lined up left me with two days to kill. This isn’t enough time to explore Gros Morne National Park (stopping on the way back) but enough to make a few fun stops.
Since there were no cabins available for my ferry crossing to Newfoundland I will likely be pretty bagged after my overnight boat trip. As such, I am booking only as far as Gander the next day. There is an air museum there with a great exhibit on the town’s role as an aircraft haven during the events of 9/11.
Charging stops include L3 Charge Point chargers in Corner Brook and Bishop Falls as well as a free charge while having lunch in Deer Lake.
There are no accommodations in Gander listed with chargers so will have to top up at a Charge Point when I arrive.
Leg #3 – Gander to Marystown
This is where this Newfoundland road trip itinerary gets rugged.
With time to kill, I am going to detour around the Bonavista Peninsula. There are some excellent hiking trails around Trinity and Bonavista. Planned stops include the hiking the Skerwink trail, checking out a puffin colony, and strolling the Dungeon Provincial Park. Depending on the time, I will likely leave my car charging in Bonavista and bike to the nearby trails.
I will be staying at the Marystown Hotel and Convention Centre which includes free EV charging with your stay.
Leg #4 – Trinity to Saint Pierre
Given some of the unknowns around charging on Saint Pierre, I left some room on the day of the ferry. The boat doesn’t depart until 4 pm however it was asked to arrive two hours early.
This free day will allow me to top up to 90% before heading to Fortune where the ferry departs for France. I will have an estimated 75% when I arrive in Saint Pierre which will hold me over for the three days should my charging solutions not pan out.
Once on the island I will largely bike but want to use the car to get to some hiking trails on the far side of the island. Other than that, I will be taking full advantage of being in Europe enjoying the cafes and practicing my French.
Road Trip Plan – St. Pierre to Port Aux Basque
Leg #5 – Saint Pierre to Sunnyside
My ferry back to Newfoundland leaves at 16:00. With the time change, the 1.5 ferry ride gets me in at 18:00. Depending on if I am successfull charging at my accommodations in Saint Pierre or not, I may have to stop in at the Chargpoint fast charger in Marystown.
With Newfoundland having more moose than men, I am trying to limit my drives to daylight hours. As such, I will only drive about 220 km and spend the night at the Sunnyside of Life RV park. This quiet spot is tucked just off the Trans Canada and has RV stalls as well as a BnB. There are no facilities for the RV spots so I reserved both a room and a stall to ensure I can charge overnight.
Leg #6 – Sunnyside to St.John’s
The Sunnyside of Life RV and BnB also offer fishing trips so, depending on the weather, I will see about catching some cod before continuing on.
My drive into St.John’s will take a couple of slight detours – one to Dildo (yup, that’s a place) and the other at Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America. The latter is a personal point as getting there will officially take me from one of the most western points to the east, coast to coast, in an electric vehicle. How great is that?
In St.John’s I will be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn as it is one of the only hotels with EV charging. It’s in a great location and will allow me to cover the city highlights on foot (or bike). This includes the colourful hoses in Jellybean Row and taking in the live music on George Street.
Signal Hill, where Guglielmo Marconi conducted the first transatlantic wireless transmission, has a free charger. I will park there and tour Cabot Tower and the nearby trails before heading out of town.
If I had another day to spend on this Newfoundland road trip itinerary I would head south and drive the Irish Loop. It has plenty of rugged scenery with the added bonus of EV chargers to make it an easy trip.
Leg #7 – St.John’s to Gros Morne
I opted to stay two nights in St.John’s as it truly is one of my favourite cities in Canada. This leaves me with a long day cutting across the island to get to Gros Morne.
This leg will take a few fast charges so hoping all goes well here as it is going to take me 8-10 hours end-to-end. To help speed things up, I am going to program one of my S3XY Buttons for battery pre-conditioning. This will allow me to heat up the battery before I arrive at my charging stops and, in theory, charge the car faster.
The other reason I am hoping the day doesn’t go sideways is I am going to be car camping in the national park. Getting in during daylight will help me set up my site easier. Failing that, I can prep while I wait at the chargers on the way. This means setting up my Tesmat and bedding as well as getting my camp gear sorted for meals.
The next day I will be packing up camp and heading to the Western Brook Pond trailhead. This here takes you to THE iconic fjord photo of the park. On the other end, I will also be taking a boat tour.
After that, I will head north a bit to bike before making my way south to Woody Point. Depending on time, I will charge at the visitor centre while taking the discovery trail then head up to the tablelands trail.
That night I am staying at The Rooms at Woody Point, the only accommodations in the area with EV charging.
Leg #8 – Gros Morne to Port Aux Basque
Depending on how much hiking I got in the day prior, I may spend the morning hiking another trail or two. After that, I will head south towards Port Aux Basque for my return to the mainland.
Since there were no cabins available on the ferry, I opted to take the return boat during the day. Hopefully, I will get to see some sights and not be as exhausted when we get in.
As such, I am spending one night in Corner Brook. Truthfully, I also want to check out the Hew and Draw Hotel. It looks very hip and has a microbrewery onsite. It also includes EV charging with your stay.
The last day of this Halifax to Newfoundland and back road trip is a short 2-hour drive to catch my 11:45 AM ferry back to the mainland. Depending on what time I arrive at the port, I may top up a bit at the free Marine-Atlantic terminal.
Estimated Charging Cost & Time
The total charging cost on this one is tough to gauge as I will be using 3rd party chargers almost exclusively. Charging time, not including charging at accommodations, will be ~6 hours and 27 minuts.
Halifax to Newfoundland – Real World Results
If you are interested in how this Halifax to Newfoundland road trip itinerary plays out, bookmark this post and check back soon. I will follow up with my actuals along with lessons learned from this unique EV road trip. If you are an electric vehicles Newfoundland local, let’s hear from you! Would love some of your tips!
Until then, you can follow along with updates from the road through my Instagram stories.
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