Guide
Change Islands
Change Islands is the quieter of the two islands on the Farewell ferry run, and the one most people pass without stopping. What is there is a heritage pony sanctuary, a community museum, a lookout, a couple of places to eat and somewhere to stay — a half day rather than a full one.
The harder part is the boat. The service can run more than one vessel on separate schedules, and some crossings go straight to Fogo without calling here, so whether a day trip is even possible depends on the timetable in force when you travel. Sort that first; the rest is straightforward.
Where to go, and how to get there
Change Islands Historical Museum
A community museum near the north end of the settled stretch. Confirm opening with the museum before building a day around it. The drive time shown below reaches the Farewell terminal; the crossing is on top of it.
YQX → Change Islands — 1h 21m, 86.3 km, then a ferry
Squid Jiggers Lookout
A marked viewpoint, effectively next door to the museum. Between them they are the reason most day visitors come ashore.
YQX → Change Islands — 1h 21m, 86.3 km, then a ferry
Newfoundland Pony Stables of Change Islands
The island's best-known draw, and the thing the province markets Change Islands on. The Newfoundland pony is a heritage breed and the sanctuary here is central to it. Check visiting arrangements before you sail — this is not something to turn up for on spec.
YQX → Change Islands — 1h 21m, 86.3 km, then a ferry
Before you go
These change. We link the people who keep them current rather than copying numbers that go stale here.
Is the boat actually running today?Check on the day, every time
A schedule says when a sailing is meant to go, never whether it is going. Wind, ice and mechanical trouble cancel these runs, and the province publishes live ferry status separately from the timetable. This is the link to open the morning you travel — the schedule is for planning, this is for deciding.
Check it now →Ferry sailingsChange through the year
This is the entire trip. Change Islands is the first call on the Farewell run and Fogo is the second, so which sailings stop where decides whether a day trip is even possible. Confirm the current schedule before anything else.
Check it now →Getting on the boatStanding advice from the province
Boarding is first come, not reserved. The province's notice states that vehicles travelling to Change Islands are loaded first and encourages them to arrive thirty minutes before departure — on a service where the next sailing may not call here at all, that buffer is the trip.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
The drive to Farewell is the exposed part, not the crossing. Check before leaving Gander.
Check it now →
Questions people actually ask
Is Change Islands worth going to?＋
It is a quiet outport island with a heritage pony sanctuary, a community museum, a couple of places to eat and somewhere to stay — not a place with a full day of scheduled attractions. If the appeal is somewhere largely unvisited and the crossing itself, that is exactly what this is. If you want more to do, Fogo is on the same service and has considerably more of it.
Can I do it as a day trip from Gander?＋
Only if the schedule allows it, and that is a real question rather than a formality. It is 1 hour 21 to the Farewell terminal, then a crossing each way, and a day trip needs two sailings that work together — both of which must actually call here. Boarding is not reserved: the province says vehicles for Change Islands load first and asks them to arrive thirty minutes before departure, so build the drive backwards from a confirmed sailing and add that buffer.
How does it compare to Fogo Island?＋
Same drive to the same wharf, and then it depends on the sailing — some crossings run Farewell to Change Islands to Fogo, and others go straight to Fogo without calling here at all. Fogo has the inn, the reputation and far more to do; Change Islands has almost none of that, which for some people is the entire point.
Where do I stay?＋
Accommodation on the islands is limited — an inn and a small campsite are mapped — so book well ahead or plan to sleep on the mainland. Twillingate and Lewisporte both have real accommodation within reach of the Farewell terminal; see the bases guide for the drive times.
Every coordinate and drive time on this page was checked against its source on August 29, 2026.