Gander International Airport (YQX) → Burnside ferry terminal
Gander Airport (YQX) to St. Brendan's
- Drive time
- 1h 19m
- Distance
- 94.3 km
- Routes
- 330, 1, 310
Free-flow estimate, Gander International Airport (YQX) to Burnside ferry terminal — no stops, dry roads. The ferry after it is not included.Source: OSRM driving profile, terminal door to ferry terminal, checked 2026-08-31.
Then a ferry to St. Brendan's
The longest crossing on this site, out across Bonavista Bay — the province publishes the crossing time and it is substantially longer than the Fogo or Long Island runs. It is also a small vessel: sixteen automobiles and eighty passengers. Schedule, vessel and crossing time all come from the province, and a boat that size fills.
Operated by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current schedule →St. Brendan’s is the island on this coast nobody plans for. The wharf at Burnside is closer to Gander airport than Twillingate is — an hour and twenty minutes — and almost no itinerary mentions it.
The reason is the water rather than the road. An hour each way across Bonavista Bay on a sixteen-car boat, with fewer sailings than the Fogo run, turns a short drive into a committed day. That is the trade, and it is worth knowing before you decide rather than at the wharf.
Worth stopping for
Joey's Lookout
A viewpoint roughly a fifth of the way along, effectively on the road. Easy to miss at highway speed.
Stopping here adds about 1 min and 0.1 km to the drive.
Eastport North Arm Provincial Park
A green space near Eastport, essentially on the driven line. It is not on ParksNL's list of provincial parks or reserves despite the name, so check who runs it and whether it is open rather than assuming a provincial season.
Stopping here adds about 1 min and 0.3 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 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.
Check it now →Ferry sailings and vesselChange through the year
The province publishes the schedule and names the vessel. On a sixteen-car boat serving one small community, confirm the specific sailing before you drive an hour and a quarter to the wharf.
Check it now →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 310 out to Burnside is unlit and lightly travelled.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
Check before leaving Gander. Route 310 is a spur to the wharf with no way around a closure.
Check it now →
Questions people actually ask
How long is the drive from Gander Airport to the St. Brendan's ferry?＋
About 1 hour 19 minutes, covering 94.3 km — south-east on the Trans-Canada, then Route 310 out to the wharf at Burnside. That is the driving leg only; the crossing comes after it, and it is the long one here.
How long is the crossing?＋
Long enough that it is the main event rather than a formality — the province publishes the crossing time, and it is the longest on this site by a wide margin. Treat the boat as the substance of the day and confirm the sailing before you commit to it.
Is it further than Twillingate?＋
No — the wharf is nearer. Burnside is 1 hour 19 from the airport against 1 hour 48 to Twillingate, so the driving is shorter. What makes St. Brendan's a longer day is the hour on the water each way and a schedule with fewer sailings to choose from.
Can I combine it with Terra Nova?＋
Easily — you drive past it. The Terra Nova visitor centre is on the same Trans-Canada stretch, and the Eastport peninsula turn is off the same road. If the sailing you want is in the afternoon, the park fills the morning without any backtracking.
Do I need a rental car?＋
Yes, and note the ferry carries vehicles. There is no realistic alternative to Burnside, and St. Brendan's is spread out enough that arriving on foot limits you to the wharf.
Every distance, drive time and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on August 31, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1459440411.