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from the airport.and beyond

Gander Airport (YQX) to the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Icebergs near Cape Bonavista Lighthouse: email me when it's worth the drive

Best weeks are late May and early June. One or two emails a year, in spring: when icebergs are showing up near Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, and which drive gets you there.

Iceberg-season email only, never shared. Unsubscribe any time, from any email. Privacy.

Distance
247.8 km
Roads
Route 330Route 1Route 230Route 238Route 235
Open in Google Maps →
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Wider view of the lighthouse up the gravel path with ocean and blue sky.
Wider view of the lighthouse up the gravel path with ocean and blue sky.Photo: ErixS · source · CC BY-SA 3.0

Places to stay in Bonavista

No place to stay in Bonavista is listed on Best Kind Stays yet. Every place it lists →

A place listed in Bonavista shows on 12 pages here: the town page, 6 drives to Bonavista, 2 arenas and stages and 3 trails nearby.

Own a place in Bonavista? List it, free →

Guests book with you directly. Nothing paid changes the order.

Why list here: every town's count →

Out on the water from Bonavista

Boat tours that leave from here. The sea and the season decide what you see: ask them what is about. Times and prices are on each one's page.

Every tour in the province, by kind →

Driving route from Gander International Airport (YQX) to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse: 247.8 km by road, via Routes 330 · 1 · 230 · 238 · 235.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line measured along OpenStreetMap's roads.

  1. Stop 1: Lockston Path Provincial ParkDetour

    The peninsula's ParksNL campground, just off Route 236 near Port Rexton, and the campground on this route. ParksNL publishes the season and sites.

    Stopping here adds 0.7 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Lockston Path Provincial Park ↑

  2. Stop 2: Ryan Premises National Historic Site

    The Parks Canada site on Bonavista's waterfront tells five centuries of the salt-fish trade in the merchant premises where it ran. Parks Canada publishes hours and season. The buildings are on the way to the cape either way.

    Stopping here adds 0.5 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Ryan Premises National Historic Site ↑

  3. Stop 3: Dungeon Provincial ParkDetour

    A ParksNL day-use park around a collapsed sea cave, with two ocean windows in a sheep pasture, just before the cape.

    Stopping here adds 2.1 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Dungeon Provincial Park ↑

  4. Stop 4: Elliston Puffin Viewing PointDetour

    The viewpoint facing the Elliston puffin colony, close enough to watch from land in season. The birds keep their own calendar. The spur adds some driving.

    Stopping here adds 9.1 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Elliston Puffin Viewing Point ↑
⛽ Fuel and gravel, road by road ▾
  • Route 330 →Whole road: 8 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 42 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 70% has no surface tag, so unknown.
  • Route 1 →Whole road: 54 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 119 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 68% has no surface tag, so unknown.
  • Route 230 →Whole road: 8 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 45 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 4% has no surface tag, so unknown.
  • Route 238 →Whole road: 1 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 12 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 36% has no surface tag, so unknown.
  • Route 235 →Whole road: 5 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 33 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 2% has no surface tag, so unknown.
Campground 46 km from the end →

Drive measured Sep 4, 2026, terminal to the lighthouse. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Download GPX (offline, Garmin)Airport info: Gander International Airport →

247.8 km. Gander airport to the Cape Bonavista lighthouse, much of it on the long Route 230.

Gander or St. John’s? Gander is nearer this peninsula, and beats Deer Lake by 300 km.

Why people come. The 1843 lighthouse stands over the spot tradition names for Cabot’s landfall. Just before it, the Dungeon is a collapsed sea cave in a sheep pasture; Elliston’s puffin colony is a spur east.

When you get to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Sunrise and sunset at Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, by month
The 15thFirst lightSunriseSunsetLast light
Jan7:14 am7:49 am4:32 pm5:08 pm
Feb6:38 am7:11 am5:22 pm5:54 pm
Mar6:45 am7:16 am7:06 pm7:38 pm
Apr5:39 am6:12 am7:52 pm8:25 pm
May4:43 am5:21 am8:35 pm9:13 pm
Jun4:16 am4:58 am9:06 pm9:48 pm
Jul4:34 am5:14 am9:01 pm9:41 pm
Aug5:20 am5:54 am8:19 pm8:54 pm
Sep6:06 am6:38 am7:16 pm7:48 pm
Oct6:49 am7:21 am6:14 pm6:45 pm
Nov6:36 am7:10 am4:23 pm4:58 pm
Dec7:11 am7:48 am4:06 pm4:43 pm

Worked out for the 15th of each month at this spot, in local time. First and last light are when the sun is 6° below the horizon: light enough to see and shoot by. The weather line at the top has today's.

Places to eat on the way

Near either end, the places are on the town's own list: where to eat in Gander → · where to eat near Cape Bonavista Lighthouse →

23 places to eat within 2 km of this drive, in the order you pass them. The longest stretch with none is 41.4 km, after Dunrovin.

Every one of them, in the order you pass them
  • Copper Kettle Restaurantrestaurantkm 31.9
  • Family Pizzarestaurantkm 38.7 · 1870 m off the road
  • Mary Brown'srestaurantkm 68.3
  • Happy Adventure Cafecafékm 76.4 · 1229 m off the road
  • Snack shack.fast foodkm 115 · 624 m off the road
  • Robin's Donutsfast foodkm 153.7 · 152 m off the road
  • Dunrovinrestaurantkm 155 · 173 m off the road
  • The Galleyrestaurantkm 196.4
  • Port Rexton Brewerypubkm 197.7 · 714 m off the road
  • Oh my Cheesesfast foodkm 197.7 · 726 m off the road
  • 2 Whales cafecafékm 198.1
  • Robin's Donutsfast foodkm 239
  • Neil's Yardcafékm 240.7 · 1196 m off the road
  • Mifflin's Tea Roomcafékm 240.7 · 515 m off the road
  • PK's Restaurant and Take-Outrestaurantkm 240.7 · 686 m off the road
  • Bonavista Bicycle Picnics and Cafecafékm 240.7 · 1142 m off the road
  • The Quintal Cafécafékm 240.7 · 561 m off the road
  • Ragged Rocks Gastropubpubkm 240.7 · 619 m off the road
  • The Boreal Dinerrestaurantkm 240.7 · 547 m off the road
  • Walkham's Gate Pub & Cafepubkm 240.7 · 618 m off the road
  • Mifflin's Tea Roomcafékm 240.7 · 516 m off the road
  • Bonavista Brewing Taproompubkm 240.7 · 516 m off the road
  • Marsh's Snack Barrestaurantkm 240.7 · 439 m off the road

Not ranked or complete, and nobody pays to be here. No opening hours: phone ahead. Open map data, read 2026-09-12 (how we measure). Missing one? Add it to the map or email us the details.

Access, as its own page says: Partly step-free: The interpretation centre by its back boardwalk and ramp, and its accessible washrooms. The lighthouse has steps and no lift. Accessible travel, with the sources →

Short drives from Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

An easy day out from Cape Bonavista LighthouseKlondike Trail 8.4 km awayA walk: 6.4 km walk · moderateDirections from where your phone is now:
Directions →
Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze

Or any of these: nearest first, measured by road from Cape Bonavista Lighthouse. Each one's page has directions.

More, up to 63 km (8)

Distances by road from Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, measured on OpenStreetMap November 7, 2026. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

The trail

The line by each walk is its height, from start to finish.

What has been recorded near here

Wildlife people have reported within 10 km of Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, and the months they saw it. Tap a name for everywhere else on our drives it turns up.

  • Atlantic puffinseabirdFratercula arcticaReports cluster in July, June, August2,043 reports on record
  • Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in July, June, August498 reports on record
  • Humpback whalewhaleMegaptera novaeangliaeReports cluster in July, August, June281 reports on record

Reports, not counts: busy harbours report more. No sighting is promised, and the list covers only the species we look up. Source: GBIF, the international record of wildlife sightings, checked 2026-10-07.

Doing it electric

Fast chargers on this drive
Gander km 3, Glovertown km 68, Port Blandford km 116, Port Rexton km 198, Bonavista km 240
Longest stretch without one
82 km
Port Blandford → Port Rexton, of 247 km driven
Nearest fast charger to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse
7.9 km
by road, at Bonavista

The chargers

Charging: about 100 km of range every 15 minutes, and most EVs to 80% in less than an hour. You start it with a free ChargePoint account, with the ChargePoint app or card. NL Hydro, read November 1, 2026.

Coming in 2026 (NL Hydro, October 22, 2026): Gander, a second site in the same town (km 2; CCS and CHAdeMO plugs · ultra-fast, up to 175 kW to one car, 350 kW where a site has two or more chargers). Not counted until it opens.

NL Hydro fast chargers within 3 km of the drive. Check the app for one that's working. Exported October 22, 2026. How we measure

Every route compared →NL Hydro: plan your road trip →

Paved or not, per the map

Mapped as unpaved
none
Not proof it is all paved: 41% has no surface tag.
Mapped as paved
59%
132.3 km of 247.8 km driven
No surface tag on the map
41%
92.2 km: surface not recorded

In a rental car: Hertz Canada’s terms say “use off paved roads or on roads which are not regularly maintained” voids the damage waiver. Check your own agreement. Hertz’s terms ↗. Source for these figures: OSRM driving profile, stored route query, with node annotations; OpenStreetMap surface tags via Overpass, checked 2026-09-06. Today's road conditions: 511.

Before you go

These change, so we link to the people who keep them up to date.

  • WhalesMay–September, the province's stated window

    Cape Bonavista is on the province's list of shore spots for whales. Watch from the lighthouse headland.

    newfoundlandlabrador.com →

  • Puffins and icebergsRoughly late spring into summer

    Birds and bergs both vary year to year. The province names Bonavista on its list of popular iceberg-viewing places, read 2026-09-26. The live strip above shows the day; the town's and province's pages carry the season.

    newfoundlandlabrador.com →

  • MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn

    The province states that the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Route 230 down the peninsula is long, fast and wooded.

    gov.nl.ca →

  • Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April

    The Bonavista Peninsula takes weather from two bays at once. Check before you set off down the 230, and again before the drive back.

    511nl.ca →

Renting a car? Book the car when you book the flight.

Summer rentals sell out, says NL Tourism, and in June 2026 BNN Bloomberg reported St. John's airport agencies booked for nearly all of summer.

Both checked October 7, 2026.

Rental counters at Gander, with numbers →

Arriving without a car

Not renting? Here's who Gander International Airport Authority lists at the terminal.

No rideshare here.

The Airport Authority's transport page lists no rideshare service (checked 2026-09-15).

  • Taxi

    Busy Bee Cabs, which the Airport Authority says runs a 24-hour service available curbside in the Domestic Arrivals area.

    (709) 256-1444

  • Coach

    DRL Coachlines runs the island's one scheduled coach, once a day each way, between St. John's and the Marine Atlantic terminal at Port aux Basques. It stops at Gander Airport itself (the restaurant), and at Lewisporte, Grand Falls-Windsor, Deer Lake and Corner Brook among others. It reaches no island and no national park. Tickets are bought on the bus, cash only. The Airport Authority says a wheelchair-accessible bus needs 48 hours' notice. Times and fares are DRL's: drl-lr.com.

    (888) 263-1852

  • Limousine

    Nobel Limousines, listed by the Airport Authority.

    (709) 535-2457

Avis, Budget, National and Enterprise are listed at the airport. The Authority says accessible vehicles with wheelchair accommodation or hand controls are limited and need 48 hours' notice.

Source: Gander International Airport Authority,2026-09-15. Check there for fares and times.

The drive back

Measured the other way, Cape Bonavista Lighthouse back to Gander is the same distance: 248 km.

Plan back from your check-in time. Give the planner your flight time and it tells you when to set off.

How early to arrive depends on the carrier and the season: check Gander International Airport →

Return measured 2026-09-29, the same way as the drive out. How we measure

Questions

Should I fly into Gander or Deer Lake for Bonavista?＋

Gander, by a long way: 248 km against 551 km from Deer Lake.

Why does the route end at the lighthouse and not the town?＋

Because the road ends there. The cape is where Cabot's landfall is commemorated, where the 1843 light stands, and where the pavement stops at the sea. The town is on the way.

What is the drive actually like?＋

Trans-Canada east to Clarenville, then the long 230 down the peninsula's spine: about 100 km of woods and barrens. Near the end the shore towns begin: Bonavista town, the Dungeon's sheep pasture, and the light at the end.

Is Trinity on this route?＋

Its turnoff is. Trinity sits a short spur off Route 230 about two-thirds of the way down, and has its own page: YQX to Trinity.

No recorded track yet.Drove it? Send yours →

Put this map on your site

Run a place to stay, a tour or a town page on this drive? Add this map to your site. It shows your guests the drive and its distance. It is free, needs no account, and we keep the figures current.

<iframe src="https://fromtheairport.xyz/embed/yqx-bonavista"
  width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
  title="Driving route: Gander International Airport (YQX) to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse"></iframe>
Add ?lat=&lon=&label= to the URL to pin your own property on the map.

Every distance and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on September 4, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1446757242 — man_made=lighthouse. Planning only: not live and not for navigation; roads and conditions change. Terms