Fundy National Park

Smiggle · 06-13-2018, 04:20 PM

We are staying in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick CA right now. It's a great campground (Chigneto North); the sites are spacious, wooded, and private, and it's very quiet here. We have full hookups, ok wireless, and nice bathrooms with laundry facilities.

Canonman · 06-13-2018, 04:48 PM

We pick National Park campgrounds over private RV parks most of the time!
Glad you found one you like and can enjoy!

Cbrez · 06-13-2018, 06:46 PM

We are in St Andrew now. Got some bad weather moving through after a couple of glorious days. Spending the weekend in St John then Fundy NP starting Monday. We will be in the Headquarters Campground. Hope it is as nice as Chigneto North. First trip to Fundy. Please let me know if you have any tips about the park.

Smiggle · 06-14-2018, 08:33 AM

We have heavy rain today, but the rest of the week is supposed to be beautiful. Before we came, I read that Chigneto is a nicer campground than headquarters, but we saw the sites at Headquarters and they look fine. The advantage to Headquarters is that you can easily walk into the town, Alma, where there are a number of really good restaurants. We really enjoyed the Holy Whale Brewery --- craft beers and coffee.
The park sells wood in a plastic bag with starter for about $6 --- enough to burn about two hours.
Did you camp in St. Andrews and St. John? I'd like to stay there on our next trip.
We were in Campbello before Fundy, and are going on to Halifax, then Cape Breton(staying in Baddeck), then Prince Edward Island.

Cbrez · 06-16-2018, 11:49 AM

Thanks for info on Fundy Headquaters Campground. We are in Rockwood Park RV Campground in St John and the WiFi is not good enough for internet, so apologize for the late reply. Nice campground though. They have nice wooded sites for smaller TT’s. Big rigs park in a gravel lot with no trees. Huge sites though. We camped in Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground in St Andrews. Front row has a beautiful view of Passamaquoddy Bay, which is adjacent to the Bay of Fundy. It is also an easy walk or bike ride into town. Down side is that the campground is on the point, so if there is any wind you get it full fetch. If you go there, call for directions. Our gps took us through some sketchy backroads. If your rig is very tall, you also want to avoid the road that the Algonquin Resort is on. The resort bridges the road and creates a low clearance situation. We are also headed to Baddeck, then to Newfoundland (to look for icebergs and whales) before finishing up in PEI. Thanks again for the info and enjoy the ride.

notanlines · 06-16-2018, 01:36 PM

Cbrez, I'll try to post a very short video of the ferry that took us over to Newfoundland last fall. That rascal isn't just big, it is huge!

notanlines · 06-16-2018, 03:11 PM

Let's give this a try:
Nope, the video is only 9 seconds, but too big for the site.
I'll send a picture instead.

Cbrez · 06-17-2018, 08:35 AM

Thanks for the picture. It’s the biggest ferry I’ve ever seen. Looks more like a cruise ship. We underestimated how far in advance we needed to book the ferry. Consequently we are on the overnight sail each way. Not a big deal except that we are waitlisted for a cabin and will probably be sitting up all night. Did you take the ferry to PEI, and if so, did you make a reservation?

Dave W · 06-17-2018, 08:58 AM

Gotta ask - and not as a criticism - but why take the ferry? It's a nice ride up the Maine Coast then into NB. We did it to Fundy NP in 2013 then did the same again with our current 5er in 2014 but then went on to PEI, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.

We have spent time on ferrys in Ireland and to Scotland's Hebrides Islands and found them not very interesting after about the second hour.

Cbrez · 06-17-2018, 09:34 AM

It’s a fair question because the ferry is crazy expensive. We are 57 ft long including the bike rack on the front bumper and they charge you for every foot over 40 ft. Also agree that we are not expecting much out of the ferry ride itself. Especially overnight. But Newfoundland is supposed to be very beautiful. Several folks in St Andrews are from there and gave us some sight seeing tips. Also plan to take a day trip to Labrador. We’ve met a number of folks that go as far as Nova Scotia and no farther, but the alternative is to go back to hazy, hot and humid Virginia Beach mid-summer. So we decided to see all the Maritime provinces while we are up here.

Tiggernb · 06-18-2018, 03:37 PM

There are only two ways to get to Newfoundland, by air or by ferry. By Ferry from Cape Breton is an 8 hr or 16 hr crossing depending on which location you want to land at, Port aux Basques (8 hrs and 900 km to St Johns) or Argentia (16 hrs and 200km to St Johns). Lots of beautiful sights and campgrounds along the way though.

Pmedic4 · 06-18-2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cbrez

It’s a fair question because the ferry is crazy expensive. We are 57 ft long including the bike rack on the front bumper and they charge you for every foot over 40 ft. Also agree that we are not expecting much out of the ferry ride itself. Especially overnight. But Newfoundland is supposed to be very beautiful. Several folks in St Andrews are from there and gave us some sight seeing tips. Also plan to take a day trip to Labrador. We’ve met a number of folks that go as far as Nova Scotia and no farther, but the alternative is to go back to hazy, hot and humid Virginia Beach mid-summer. So we decided to see all the Maritime provinces while we are up here.

I was just wondering, and I looked it up for those of you interested in the cost to take the ferry to Newfoundland. From Cape Brenton to Port aux Basques, is about $45 ( $34 US) per person, and 2 people with car would be $241 ($183 US). While they didn't give a RV rate, a Semi-Truck was $657 ($500 US) at current exchange rates.

There is a longer ferry to Argentia NL, for 4 people and car, it's $575 ($435 US), and certainly it's a overnight trip taking 12-14 hours.

Truck, maybe - RV, nope.

We did take a cruise up to St. John on Newfoundland several years ago.

notanlines · 06-18-2018, 05:09 PM

Having actually been there, paid the fee for motorcycle, dog, trailer and 2 passengers, enjoyed 8 days in Newfoundland and Labrador take it from us: Do not miss it. And of course one should take a ferry at least a couple times so you can say you've been on one (a real ferry). And if you have children with you it is almost imperative that they experience a ferry ride. And one more thing that I've said on here before: Nowhere have we travelled where we were ever treated any better or enjoyed ourselves more than on Newfoundland. You have probably been told that these people are different. Take it to the bank!

66joej · 06-18-2018, 05:17 PM

Just to echo Jim's remarks the "Newfies" as they like to be called are even far friendlier than us average Canadians. I worked with several over the years in the oil patch and with the RCMP. Still in contact with most of them. They do have a way with words!

Cbrez · 06-19-2018, 04:43 PM

Round trip to Port aux Basques for us is C$983. That doesn’t include a cabin we’re hoping to get. Not something we’d do very often, but didn’t want to come this far and not go all the way up.

lisaldw · 06-24-2018, 08:35 AM

We are currently in Cavendish campground in PEI. We loved our stay last week in Chignecto North. Since we dedicated the summer to the Maritimes we bit the bullet and are taking the Ferry to Newfoundland; to get the most bang for our $$ we are staying two months. Just couldn't see coming all this way to not experience it all. Anyone who is on our same travel path, message me and we can share our newly earned tips and perhaps meet up! I highly recommend a screened room, the bugs are bad; we just purchased one. I also highly recommend visiting the farmers market in Summerville in PEI. We met a pig farmer - Pleasant Pork who invited us out to his farm for a bonfire, and we had a great time meeting locals. Our next stop is Cape Breton then on to the ferry first week of July.

dpatroch · 06-24-2018, 09:44 AM

We did the Newfoundland trip two years ago and highly recommend it. Great people and great scenery. We took the long ferry ride to St. John. crossed the island and then the shorter ferry ride back. We did the overnight trip both ways and had booked cabins well in advance. When we landed we were refreshed after a good sleep and could put a good day travelling.
We changed dates on the return trip and lost our cabin but got lucky. We were on the waiting list and got the last cabin.

lisaldw · 06-24-2018, 09:58 AM

I booked well in advance - with a cabin, I don't like sleeping in public - taking the short ride since we'll be leaving our dog in the trailer. I'm already prepping her by leaving her in for short periods of time alone with the slides in so it won't be a new thing for her when we cross - but 7 hours alone will push her limits. The 16-hour ride would be too much; I wish they would allow pets in the cabins!

Smiggle · 06-24-2018, 10:08 AM

We were also in Cavendish last week. Loved our time there and it goes along with a previous comment that National Parks generally have great campgrounds. The sites there were so big and beautiful. We enjoyed biking in the park and on the Confederation trail. We went on the Eastern end near St. Peter’s bay.

Smiggle · 06-24-2018, 10:20 AM

We’re in Ellsworth Maine now and I wanted to give a few travel tips to those going to Canada. On the way up we encountered a lot of construction on route 1 near Canada. The road was milled down to dirt and our trailer is covered in mud. On the way back We took Route 9 and the road was much better.
Also wanted to mention the border crossing . Very easy going into Canada . Coming back to the us, the agents were extremely thorough; went into the camper and into the refrigerator where they confiscated lemons and limes. You’re not supposed to take citrus across the border. It took some time and it was stressful but the agents were professional. We were surprised because we had much easier reentry into the us after a trip to Niagara and Toronto last year.
I so enjoyed the discussion about Newfoundland. We simply didn’t have the time.
I’ll post soon about our campgrounds In Halifax and St. Breton.
I appreciated the info I garnered pretrip from this forum.

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