Skip to content
from the airport.

Gander International Airport (YQX) → Witless Bay

Gander Airport (YQX) to Witless Bay and Bay Bulls

The drive from every airport and ferry ↓

Distance
316.3 km
Open in Google Maps →
Use another map appApple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze

Stops and map ↓Where to eat near Witless Bay ↓

The East Coast Trail on the headland at Witless Bay, the path running along the cliff edge above the Atlantic.
The East Coast Trail on the headland at Witless Bay, the path running along the cliff edge above the Atlantic.Photo: Brett Hodnett · source · CC BY-SA 2.0
Driving route from Gander International Airport (YQX) to Witless Bay: 316.3 km by road, via Routes 330 · 1 · 13 · 10.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

Faded lines are other drives from Gander International into this area: Ferryland (357 km), Cape Spear (346 km), St. John's (335 km), Salmonier Nature Park (292 km), Signal Hill (Cabot Tower) (338 km), Portugal Cove ferry terminal (338 km), Brigus (280 km), Clarke's Beach (280 km). Each splits off where its line leaves this one.

  1. Stop 1: Silent Witnesses MemorialDetour

    A memorial on Route 1 outside Gander, unveiled in 1990 for the lives lost in the Arrow Air crash of 12 December 1985. An American soldier stands atop a rock holding the hands of a civilian boy and girl, each child carrying an olive branch for the Screaming Eagles' peacekeeping mission in the Sinai; they were going home for Christmas. The trio look toward Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where a similar statue looks back.

    Stopping here adds 2.4 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Silent Witnesses Memorial ↑
  2. Stop 2: Square Pond

    A pond-side stop beside the Trans-Canada. OpenStreetMap still uses its old provincial-park name; the province no longer lists it. A place to stretch your legs.

    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: Square Pond ↑
  3. Stop 3: Joey's Lookout

    A mapped viewpoint on the Trans-Canada east of Gander, effectively on the road. OpenStreetMap records only the name and that it is a viewpoint. It is easy to miss at highway speed.

    Stopping here adds 0.1 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Joey's Lookout ↑
  4. Stop 4: Sandy PondDetour

    One of the park's officially designated observing sites under its Dark-Sky Preserve status: the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada designated Terra Nova on 26 February 2018, and Parks Canada's own night-sky page calls Sandy Pond the darkest skies in the park. RASC notes the designated sites have paved parking with a walk to the observing spot. The pond also has a beach and a trail for daytime. After dark, the drive back to the highway is moose country.

    Stopping here adds 4.8 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Sandy Pond ↑
⛽ 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 13 →Whole road: 1 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 20 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 100% has no surface tag, so unknown.
  • Route 10 →Whole road: 7 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 91 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 77% has no surface tag, so unknown.
Electric: plan 282 km on a charge ↓

Drive measured Oct 19, 2026, Gander International Airport (YQX) to Witless Bay. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Airport info: Gander International Airport →

316.3 km. From Gander airport to Witless Bay, on Routes 330, 1, 13 and 10.

When you get to Witless Bay

Sunrise and sunset at Witless Bay, by month
Month (the 15th)SunriseSunset
January7:43 am4:36 pm
February7:07 am5:23 pm
March7:15 am7:06 pm
April6:13 am7:48 pm
May5:25 am8:29 pm
June5:04 am8:58 pm
July5:19 am8:54 pm
August5:57 am8:14 pm
September6:37 am7:15 pm
October7:18 am6:15 pm
November7:05 am4:27 pm
December7:41 am4:11 pm

Worked out for the 15th of each month at this spot, in local time. The weather line at the top has today's.

Places to eat on the way

28 near the start: where to eat in Gander →
2 near Witless Bay: where to eat near Witless Bay →

28 places to eat within 2 km of this drive, in the order you pass them.

The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 64.7 km — after Mary Brown's, until Tim Hortons.

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 144.1 · 1142 m off the road
  • A&Wfast foodkm 144.2 · 585 m off the road
  • A&Wfast foodkm 144.2 · 585 m off the road
  • Rod's Restaurantrestaurantkm 144.3 · 508 m off the road
  • Don Cherry's Sports Bar & Grillrestaurantkm 144.3 · 200 m off the road
  • KFCfast foodkm 144.5 · 773 m off the road
  • Jungle Jim'srestaurantkm 144.5 · 488 m off the road
  • Jungle Jim'srestaurantkm 144.5 · 488 m off the road
  • Tim Hortonscafékm 144.6 · 593 m off the road
  • McDonald'sfast foodkm 144.6 · 539 m off the road
  • Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 144.6 · 676 m off the road
  • Pizza Delightrestaurantkm 146.1 · 1264 m off the road
  • Brownings Pubpubkm 146.2 · 1212 m off the road
  • Flannigans Pubpubkm 146.2 · 1229 m off the road
  • Tim Hortonscafékm 147.9
  • Tim Hortonscafékm 147.9
  • Breen'srestaurantkm 174.4
  • Robin's Donutscafékm 174.7
  • Meghan's Restaurantrestaurantkm 198.9
  • A&Wfast foodkm 246.2
  • Tim Hortonscafékm 246.3
  • Subwayfast foodkm 246.3
  • Mary Brown'srestaurantkm 246.9

Not ranked or complete, and nobody pays to be here. No opening hours: phone ahead. Open map data, swept 2026-10-18. How we measure · Add a missing place

New place to eat, or one that's missing? This list comes from OpenStreetMap, so nobody can pay to be on it. Add it to the map yourself (about twenty minutes on a phone), or email us the details and we'll put it on the map.

Short drives from Witless Bay

An easy day out from Witless BayFerryland 41 km awayIts own page measures from the Gander airport; from Witless Bay it is 41 km.Directions 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 Witless Bay.

More, up to 91 km (6)

Distances by road, measured on OpenStreetMap October 16, 2026, from where this route ends. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Doing it electric

Fast chargers on this drive
Gander km 3, Glowertown km 68, Port Blandford km 116, Goobies km 175
Longest stretch without one
141 km
Goobies → Witless Bay, of 316 km driven
Nearest fast charger to Witless Bay
31.7 km
by road, at St. John’s

No fast charger at Witless Bay. From Goobies it is 141 km there and the same back: plan on about 282 km on one charge, more in cold weather or with the heat on. Or charge at St. John’s, 31.7 km from Witless Bay by road, off this drive's own road.

Coming in 2026 (NL Hydro, 2026-10-22): Gander (km 2) and Clarenville (km 148) and Whitbourne (km 247). Not counted until it opens.

NL Hydro fast chargers within 3 km of the drive. Check the app for one that's working. Exported 2026-10-22. 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: 70% has no surface tag.
Mapped as paved
30%
87.3 km of 316.3 km driven
No surface tag on the map
70%
199.9 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 2026-10-19. Today's road conditions: 511.

Before you go

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

  • MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn

    The province says the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. This is 316.3 km, much of it unlit two-lane highway; plan the drive for daylight where you can.

    gov.nl.ca →
  • Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April

    Conditions at one end of the island say little about the other. Check before you set off.

    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.

Questions

How far is Witless Bay from Gander airport?+

316.3 km from the terminal to Witless Bay.

What route do I take?+

Routes 330, 1, 13 and 10. Your maps app has the turns.

Do I need a car?+

Plan on one. Buses between these towns are few, and the drive is the way most people make it.

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-witless-bay"
  width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
  title="Driving route: Gander International Airport (YQX) to Witless Bay"></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 October 19, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — Terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/470735059 — Witless Bay.

Going with someone?

Hear when iceberg season looks worth the trip

One or two emails a year: where icebergs are showing up, and which drive gets you there.

Pressing Email me signs you up for iceberg-season email only, never shared. Unsubscribe any time. Sent by From the Airport, 582 St. Clair Ave W, Suite 326, Toronto, ON M6C 1A6, [email protected]. More about it.