Gander International Airport (YQX) → Pilley's Island
Gander International Airport (YQX) to Pilley's Island
- Drive time
- 2h 59m
- Distance
- 220.2 km
Conservative model estimate, Gander International Airport (YQX) to Pilley's Island — no stops, dry roads. Many of Newfoundland's provincial routes carry no speed limit in the open map data, so the router assumes a slow default: a driver who knows the road will beat this. Source: OSRM driving profile, Gander International Airport (YQX) to Pilley's Island, checked 2026-09-05.
Drive it with your own nav:Organic Maps →OsmAnd →Apple →Google →Waze →The first two run on OpenStreetMap and don't track you — the same map this site is built from.
Or take the whole route with you: Download the GPX → — the measured drive plus every stop as a waypoint, for Organic Maps, OsmAnd or any Garmin, no account and no signal needed once it's on the device.
No one has sent a recording of this drive yet.Be the first — send the track →
The terminal side — parking, arrivals, ground transport — is the airport's own information: Gander International Airport →
Pilley’s Island ferry terminal sits at the end of a long spur off the Trans-Canada, reached by turning north onto Routes 380 and 382 well past Grand Falls-Windsor. The drive above covers most of the width of the island before that turn, and Deer Lake is the closer airport for this exact terminal — see the FAQ below.
Gander still makes sense if it is already your point of entry, or if the terminal is one stop on a bigger loop through central Newfoundland. The route is entirely paved, and the museums around Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop’s Falls make a natural break partway through before the final run north to the water.
Faded on the map: the other measured drives from Gander International into this same region, each its own page — Triton (3h 3m), Leading Tickles (2h 10m), King's Point (2h 42m). Where a faded line leaves the solid one is where that drive forks from this one.
Worth stopping for
Bishop’s Falls Heritage Centre
A small-town heritage centre in Bishop's Falls, the first town of any size west of Gander on this drive. It's a lighter stop than the two museums further on toward Grand Falls-Windsor — worth the few extra minutes if you're passing through anyway.
Stopping here adds about 3 min and 1.5 km to the drive.
navigate: Organic · OsmAnd · Apple · Google · WazeMary March Provincial Museum
In Grand Falls-Windsor, close to where this drive is roughly at its midpoint, telling the history of the Beothuk and of central Newfoundland's interior. It's an easy pull-off the Trans-Canada and a sensible break on a long westbound run before the turn north.
Stopping here adds about 3 min and 1.1 km to the drive.
navigate: Organic · OsmAnd · Apple · Google · WazeLoggers' Life Provincial MuseumDetour
A reconstructed logging camp on the western edge of Grand Falls-Windsor, right beside the driven line. Central Newfoundland ran on the woods for a century, and this is where that work is laid out in camp buildings and equipment rather than display cases. Pairs naturally with Mary March Provincial Museum a short distance back.
Stopping here adds about 9 min and 4.3 km to the drive.
navigate: Organic · OsmAnd · Apple · Google · Waze
What has been recorded near here
Species reported within 50 km of Pilley's Island and shared to GBIF, the international record of species occurrences. The useful column is when — the months the reports cluster in.
- Fin whalewhaleBalaenoptera physalusReports cluster in September, October, July48 reports on record
- Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in July, June, August21 reports on record
- Humpback whalewhaleMegaptera novaeangliaeReports cluster in July, June20 reports on record
- Minke whalewhaleBalaenoptera acutorostrataReports cluster in July, June, August5 reports on record
- Atlantic puffinseabirdFratercula arcticaReports cluster in June, July3 reports on record
What this is not
- Not how many there are. A report means somebody looked, saw and wrote it down. A busy harbour with tour boats reports more than an empty coast with the same animals in it.
- Not a sighting you are promised. Nothing here says you will see one.
- Not complete. Only species we ask GBIF about appear, and only where somebody reported them.
From GBIF, queried 2026-09-14 — their record, not a copy of it.
Doing it electric
- Fast chargers on this drive
- Gander km 3, Bishop’s Falls km 86, South Brook km 178
- Longest stretch without one
- 92 km
- Bishop’s Falls → South Brook, of 220 km driven
- Nearest fast charger to Pilley's Island
- 42.2 km
- 43 min by road, at South Brook
NL Hydro lists an ultra-fast site coming in 2026 at Gander (km 3) — not counted above until it opens.
Source: NL Hydro's published fast-charging network map, exported 2026-09-13 — sites within 3 km of this route's measured line, the km read along it, the drive to the nearest site priced by OSRM. NL Hydro lists these as 62.5 kW DC with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs on a ChargePoint account; whether one is free or working right now is the app's to say. Level 2 chargers in towns are not counted.
Paved or not, per the map
- Mapped as unpaved
- none
- Mapped as paved
- 46%
- 92.8 km of 220.2 km driven
- No surface tag on the map
- 54%
- 107.5 km the map does not describe either way
Why it matters: Hertz Canada’s published rental terms — the one set of Canadian rental terms we could read in full, quoted not recommended — list “use off paved roads or on roads which are not regularly maintained” as misconduct that voids the damage waiver. Read the agreement you sign before leaving the lot. The terms themselves. Source for these figures: OSRM driving profile, stored route query, with node annotations; OpenStreetMap surface tags via Overpass, checked 2026-09-06. A road with no tag is unknown, not paved; what any road is like today is on 511.
Eating on the way — measured, not recommended
51 places to eat that the open map data records within 2 km of this drive, in the order you would pass them. No stars, no prices, no opinions, and no opening hours — distance along the road is the one thing measured here that a directory cannot give you.
The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 58.5 km — after Riverside Diner, until Irving. That is the figure worth planning around.
- The Newfoundland Tea Co. Restaurant & Shoprestaurantkm 1.8 · 782 m off the road
- Rosie's Restaurant & Bakeryrestaurantkm 1.8 · 898 m off the road
- Swiss Chaletrestaurantkm 2 · 235 m off the road
- Robin's Donutsfast foodkm 2 · 264 m off the road
- Subwayfast foodkm 2.1
- McDonald'sfast foodkm 2.1
- Wing 'n Itrestaurantkm 2.1 · 703 m off the road
- Tim Hortonscafékm 2.1 · 398 m off the road
- KFCfast foodkm 2.2
- Pizza Delightrestaurantkm 2.2 · 268 m off the road
- Tim Hortonscafékm 2.2
- Little Caesarsfast foodkm 2.4 · 816 m off the road
- Mystic Roomrestaurantkm 2.4 · 269 m off the road
- The Shawarma Stationrestaurantkm 2.4
- Ches's Fish & Chipsrestaurantkm 2.5
- Jumping Bean Coffee Companycafékm 2.6
- Lilly's Landing Family Restaurantrestaurantkm 2.6
- Jade Garden Restaurantrestaurantkm 2.6
- New Highlight Restaurantrestaurantkm 2.6
- Pizza Housefast foodkm 2.6
- East Ocean Restaurantfast foodkm 2.6
- Grecofast foodkm 2.6
- DQ Grill & Chillfast foodkm 2.6 · 958 m off the road
- Louis Geesfast foodkm 2.7 · 189 m off the road
- Tim Hortonscafékm 3.1 · 918 m off the road
- A&Wfast foodkm 3.2 · 774 m off the road
- Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 3.2 · 845 m off the road
- Subwayfast foodkm 3.2 · 784 m off the road
- Riverside Dinerfast foodkm 25.1 · 598 m off the road
- Irvingrestaurantkm 83.6
- Tim Hortonscafékm 83.6
- Furey's Trailway Take-Outfast foodkm 83.7 · 423 m off the road
- KFCfast foodkm 96.7 · 488 m off the road
- Greco Pizzafast foodkm 96.8 · 383 m off the road
- Taiwanrestaurantkm 96.8 · 1240 m off the road
- Juniper Kitchen and Bistrorestaurantkm 96.8 · 1261 m off the road
- Sarah's Dinerrestaurantkm 96.9 · 1171 m off the road
- A&Wfast foodkm 97.4 · 969 m off the road
- Subwayfast foodkm 97.5 · 379 m off the road
- McDonald'sfast foodkm 97.6 · 409 m off the road
- Tim Hortonscafékm 97.6 · 519 m off the road
- Burger Kingfast foodkm 97.6 · 721 m off the road
- Wing'n Itrestaurantkm 97.6 · 1245 m off the road
- War Wick'srestaurantkm 97.6 · 1338 m off the road
- Tai Sun Restaurantrestaurantkm 97.6 · 403 m off the road
- Donnini's Pizza & Donairrestaurantkm 97.6 · 422 m off the road
- Dairy Queenfast foodkm 97.6 · 267 m off the road
- Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 97.8 · 846 m off the road
- Badger Diner & Motelrestaurantkm 126.5
- Red Hawk Dinerrestaurantkm 126.7
- Eddies Restaurantrestaurantkm 177.5
What this list is not
- Not a recommendation. Nothing here is endorsed, reviewed or rated. It is in the order you drive past it.
- Not complete. Somewhere unmapped does not appear. This is never "all of them".
- Not open hours. We publish none, because the open data holds none. Never assume a kitchen is serving.
- Not necessarily still trading. A place that closed stays in the data until somebody removes it.
- Not for sale. No one can pay to appear here, to rank higher, or to have a rival removed.
Open map data is incomplete — somewhere unmapped does not appear here, and this is never "all of them" or "the good ones". A place that closed is also still on the map until somebody removes it, which is why no hours are shown and nothing here says a kitchen is open. From OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (which includes data from Meta, Foursquare and AllThePlaces); swept 2026-09-12. Map the one that is missing → and every site built on the open map gains it, this one included.
Before you go
These change. We link the people who keep them current rather than copying numbers that go stale here.
MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn
The province states the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is about twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Most of this drive is the four-lane Trans-Canada, but the final stretch north on Routes 380 and 382 is longer, unlit two-lane highway — worth timing around if you land late.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
The Trans-Canada carries most of this drive, but the secondary highways north to the ferry terminal are a lower winter-maintenance priority. Check conditions before leaving the airport.
Check it now →
Arriving without a car
Every distance and time on this page is a drive. If you are not renting, here is what Gander International Airport Authority lists at this door — operators and numbers, not fares: a tariff is theirs to change, so it is linked and not copied.
No rideshare here.
No rideshare service is named anywhere on the Airport Authority's transport page. That is an absence read off the page on 2026-09-15, not an assumption — but it is the Authority's page, not a licensing register, so it says what the airport lists rather than what is legal.
Taxi
Busy Bee Cabs, which the Airport Authority says runs a 24-hour service available curbside in the Domestic Arrivals area.
Coach
DRL Coachlines runs a scheduled coach service across Newfoundland. The Airport Authority says a wheelchair-accessible bus needs 48 hours' notice.
Limousine
Nobel Limousines, listed by the Airport Authority.
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.
Gander International Airport Authority, read 2026-09-15 — the authority on what operates at this kerb, and the only place a current fare or timetable should come from.
Questions people actually ask
How long is the drive from Gander Airport to the Pilley's Island ferry terminal?＋
About 2 hours 59 minutes, covering 220 km — the Trans-Canada Highway west, then north on Routes 380 and 382 to the terminal. That is a free-flow estimate on dry roads with no stops.
Should I fly into Gander or Deer Lake for Pilley's Island ferry terminal?＋
Deer Lake is closer for this specific terminal — 171 km and about 2h22 against the 220 km and 2h59 from Gander on this page, a difference of roughly 37 minutes. If Pilley's Island is a stop on a bigger loop through the Gander side of the island, the arithmetic may still favour Gander.
What's at the Pilley's Island ferry terminal itself?＋
It's a working wharf, not a destination in its own right — the boat from there crosses to Long Island. The stops worth making on this page are inland, on the highway on the way there; treat the terminal as the end of the drive and the start of a separate crossing.
Is it a hard drive?＋
No — it is paved the whole way. Most of it is the four-lane Trans-Canada, and only the last stretch on Routes 380 and 382 narrows to two lanes. It is simply long, and worth timing so you are not making that last stretch after dark.
Put this map on your site
If you run a place to stay, a tour, or a town page along this drive, this map answers the question your guests already email you: how far are you from the airport? Free, no account, and the measured figures stay current because they are ours to maintain.
<iframe src="https://fromtheairport.xyz/embed/yqx-long-island"
width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
title="Driving route: Gander International Airport (YQX) to Pilley's Island"></iframe>?lat=&lon=&label= to the URL to pin your own property on the map.Every distance, drive time and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on September 5, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — Terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1524676985 — Pilley's Island.