Gander International Airport (YQX) → Farewell ferry terminal
Gander Airport (YQX) to Fogo Island
- Drive time
- 1h 21m
- Distance
- 86.3 km
- Routes
- 330, 331, 335
Free-flow estimate, Gander International Airport (YQX) to Farewell ferry terminal — no stops, dry roads. The ferry after it is not included.Source: OSRM driving profile, terminal door to ferry terminal, checked 2026-08-28.
Then a ferry to Fogo Island
The mapped ferry route runs Farewell → Change Islands → Fogo Island. Which sailings call where, how long they take, and what they cost all change with the season, the number of vessels working, and the weather — so check the current schedule rather than trusting any figure written down elsewhere, including here.
Operated by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current schedule →
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This is the route that most rewards planning, and the one where a vague number does the most damage. The drive north from Gander is straightforward — Routes 330, 331 and 335, through the Gander Bay communities and out to the wharf at Farewell — but it ends at a boat that leaves when it leaves.
So the drive is the easy half. Everything that decides whether the day works is on the water: which sailings run, whether they call at Change Islands on the way, and what the weather is doing. Below is the part we can measure, and a link to the part only the province can tell you.
Worth stopping for
Jonathan's Pond Provincial ParkDetour
A Provincial Park Reserve on Route 330 north of Gander, roughly a quarter of the way to the wharf. ParksNL classes reserves as former camping parks whose campground was privatised before 1997, and says plainly that they have no visitor services — treat it as a place to stop, not a place with facilities.
Stopping here adds about 5 min and 1.3 km to the drive.
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
Schedules, vessel assignments and crossing patterns are all set by the province and all move. This is the one fact on the trip worth checking the morning you travel, not the week before.
Check it now →Getting on the boatStanding advice from the province
The province's notice on the ferry page states that vehicles travelling to Change Islands are loaded first, and encourages them to arrive thirty minutes before departure. The deck is finite and boarding is not by reservation, so being in the line early is the difference between sailing and waiting for the next one.
Check it now →MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn
The province is blunt about it: the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Routes 330, 331 and 335 are unlit two-lane highway. If you are driving back to a late sailing, or off one, this is the risk that matters most.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
Check before you leave Gander. There is very little between the airport and the wharf, and less still once you are past the Gander Bay communities.
Check it now →
Questions people actually ask
How long is the drive from Gander Airport to the Farewell ferry?＋
About 1 hour 21 minutes, covering 86.3 km from the airport terminal to the ferry terminal at Farewell, on Routes 330, 331 and 335. That is a free-flow estimate on dry roads with no stops, and it is the driving leg only — the crossing to Fogo Island comes after it.
Is the drive really only an hour?＋
No. Fogo Island Inn's own travel page (fogoislandinn.ca/destination/getting-here/, checked 2026-08-28) describes it as "a one-hour drive" to Farewell, and that figure gets repeated widely. Measured terminal to terminal it is closer to 1 hour 21. Twenty minutes is the difference between making a sailing and watching it leave, so plan on the longer number.
How much time should I leave for the ferry?＋
More than you think, and check the current schedule for the day you travel. Sailings, crossing patterns and vessel assignments all change through the year, and the wharf at Farewell is not a place to improvise from — there is no settlement there. Build the drive backwards from a sailing you have confirmed.
Can I fly to Fogo Island instead of taking the ferry?＋
Only by charter. Fogo Island has an airstrip (CDY3) but no scheduled airline service. Fogo Island Inn tells guests they can fly directly to it by charter plane or helicopter, chartered from St. John's, Gander or Deer Lake. For everyone else, the drive and the ferry is the way onto the island.
How far is it once I'm on the island?＋
Further than most people expect, and this is what decides whether a day trip works. The boat lands at Stag Harbour, at the south end. From there it is 25.0 km and about 24 minutes to Fogo town, 26.9 km and 25 minutes to Joe Batt's Arm, and 35.4 km and 33 minutes to Tilting at the far end. Add that to each side of the crossing before you plan around a sailing.
How do I plan the day I fly home?＋
Backwards, and with more slack than the drive suggests. The run from Farewell to Gander airport is 86.2 km and about 1 hour 21 — the same as coming out. But on departure day you have a crossing and a vehicle queue in front of that drive, on a service where boarding is not reserved, and missing a sailing costs a flight rather than an afternoon. Work back from your check-in through the drive, the crossing, the queue and the drive across the island to the wharf.
Do I need a rental car?＋
Plan on one, and note the ferry carries vehicles. Fogo Island is big enough that arriving on foot leaves you stuck at the wharf, and the drive to Farewell has no realistic alternative.
Every distance, drive time and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on August 28, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1598423285.