48 Hours in Newfoundland: A Puffin Paradise
Pack your bag for a quick adventure to Newfoundland, Canada, where you’ll be transported to a community with a slower pace, friendly locals, and engaging wildlife.
Newfoundland is our favorite and most accessible place to enjoy and photograph Atlantic Puffins, and Elliston is an amazing place to do it.
In addition to puffins, this quick adventure will bring you into view of Humpback whales and red foxes, as well as numerous other birds of the Canadian tundra. It is a real nature lovers’ adventure.
48 Hours in Newfoundland Puffin Paradise at a Glance
Here’s my complete 48-hour Newfoundland itinerary at a glance. Fly into St. John’s, base in Elliston for puffins, root cellars and fresh cod, then spend a full day exploring Bonavista’s coastline, lighthouse, red foxes and Humpback whales, mapped across two full days.
Day 1: Arrival in Elliston
- Fly in: St. John’s, Newfoundland
- Drive: About 4 hours to Elliston
- Stay: Me Mudders B&B, Elliston
- Afternoon: Puffin Viewing Site on Maberly Road
- Food: Cod tongues and poutine at Puffin Café
- Evening: Explore Elliston’s historic root cellars
Day 2: Spillars Cove to Bonavista
- Morning: Hike the coastal trail at Spillars Cove and The Chimney
- Lunch: Ragged Rocks Gastropub in Bonavista
- Afternoon: Bonavista Lighthouse, puffins and red fox dens
- Wildlife: Watch for Humpback whales offshore
- Dinner: Jig Dinner at Nanny’s Root Cellar, Elliston
- Departure: Return to St. John’s the next morning
Day One: Arrival in Elliston
To start this trip, you will fly into St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Upon landing in St. John’s, you will rent a car and drive about four hours to Elliston. Elliston will be your base for this getaway.
It is a very small town of just a few streets, but it is rich with welcoming locals, authentic fare, and an amazing puffin colony that you can view from shore. Elliston is also known as the Root Cellar capital of the world, but we’ll get to that later.
Elliston has a couple of B&Bs to choose from, but we recommend Me Mudders B&B. It is located in the heart of Elliston, has three comfortable rooms, and a deck with ocean views.
They offer a hot and cold breakfast, have a cozy common area, and are decked out in “Newfie” charm. One thing that is very special here are the Newfoundland jams, made by locals from berries collected right around Elliston. Be sure to enjoy some with your breakfast.
Puffin Watching at Maberly Road
After checking in to your room, it’s time to go see some puffins! Your drive to the colony will just be a few minutes to the Puffin Viewing site, located on Maberly Road. There is a large parking area across from the viewing area entrance, so park there and walk across the street.
You will see a small shack at the entrance to the walking path where a volunteer will greet you and answer any questions that you have. The 10-minute walk to the colony is on a fairly flat path through grass and tundra, although at the end, as you cross over to the area where the puffin viewing is, there will be some rocks to walk over.
It is an easy walk, but just take it slow. Once you reach the end of the path, walk toward the far end of the point. The colony nests in burrows on the small island in front of you, and you will see puffins flying into the burrows and interacting with each other.
One of the experiences we love the most when coming to this spot is to see Puffins fairly close. To enable this to happen, stay back from the cliff edge about 20 ft. This allows the puffins the space they need to not only feel comfortable but also to fly in and hang out on the cliffs right in front of you.
They especially love to fly in to the cliff edge on the right side, so keep an eye out for that activity and encourage other visitors to stay back from the edge as well. In doing so, you become part of the puffin’s world. Just be sure to respect their space.
Dinner and Root Cellars in Elliston
After enjoying the Puffin viewing area for a few hours, you may be hungry! We recommend stopping by the Puffin Café for a late lunch/early dinner.
Cod is always fresh here in Newfoundland as it is caught daily, but in addition to this, there are a few Newfoundland specialties that you should try. These are Cod tongues (yes, cod have tongues!) and Poutine, a French fries dish with gravy.
Be sure to save room for a piece of homemade Backapple pie as well. It is made from a local berry called Cloudberries and is delicious.
After your late lunch/early dinner, take a drive through the town and check out the root cellars. There are a couple located right at the puffin viewing area, but as you look around, you will see more scattered around, built into the landscape.
There are actually 130 located here, and they date back to the early 1800s. Root Cellars are underground storage areas made of stone and grass and were used to keep food fresh through the winter months.
Day Two: Spillars Cove and The Chimney
For your second day, start with a short drive to Spillars Cove/The Chimney. To get here, you will drive from Elliston to Bonavista on Route 230 and then turn onto Route 238. There are signs guiding you to Spillars Cove. Park at the paved end of the community and walk in.
This area offers a wonderful hiking trail system of very easy paths where you’ll walk along the jagged coastline. Below you, the waters are deep, and you may see whales as they hunt for fish.
The trail is a loop of about 3 miles and can take about 2 hours, but you don’t need to do the whole thing. We often just go out to a few of the points, enjoy the scenery, and return.
This is also an area where icebergs can sometimes be seen floating in. Puffins also nest on the cliff sides here, so watch for that activity too.
Bonavista Lighthouse: Puffins, Foxes and Whales
When you get hungry for lunch, there are some great restaurants in Bonavista. Ragged Rocks Gastropub is one that we have enjoyed. They have terrific seafood dishes as well as other options, including vegetarian options, and even live music on Fridays and Saturdays.
For the afternoon, drive further up to the Bonavista lighthouse. There is another puffin colony here, and you will see them flying to the burrows, sometimes with fish in their beaks.
In addition to this, Red Foxes may be seen near the lighthouse. In early summer, they have dens nestled in the tundra and are raising their kits. You may see some fox kits playing while waiting for mom or dad to return with food.
As you enjoy the lighthouse, keep an eye on the ocean for “blow spouts” as Humpback whales are swimming through the area. You may see mothers with babies as well as breaching, all from shore.
Dinner at Nanny’s Root Cellar and Heading Home
From here, return to Elliston and check out Nanny’s Root Cellar for dinner. You may want to call in advance to make sure they have availability since they only have a few tables. When you call, ask if they can make you their Jig Dinner. This is another specialty of the area, and theirs is excellent.
This final morning, you will return to St. John’s for your flight home. If you have extra time here, St. John’s is a wonderful port city that is quaint, with its varied shops and restaurants as well as the Signal Hill lighthouse and a colorful row of homes known as the “Jellybean Houses”.
Seafood restaurants here along the main street are terrific and everything is fresh. Whale watches can also be taken from Bay of Bulls as well.
We hope you enjoy this quick adventure to “The Rock”!
- About the Author
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Steve Gettle is an acclaimed wildlife photographer and educator with over 40 years of experience capturing the beauty and diversity of the natural world. His award-winning images have been featured by National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, Audubon, and the BBC, as well as in publications for the World Wildlife Fund and National Wildlife Federation.
A multiple honoree in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature’s Best Photography contests, Steve’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Museum of Natural History in London and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
