Canada
Bonavista
Cabot's 1497 landfall, where puffin colonies and restored saltbox houses line a windswept headland.
John Cabot reportedly made landfall at Bonavista in 1497 — the first European to set foot on the North American mainland since the Vikings. The puffins nesting on the headland at Elliston don't care about the history. They waddle and fish and stare at you from five metres away.
Bonavista sits on Newfoundland's eastern coast, a town of restored saltbox houses in candy colours lining a coastline of headlands and harbours. The Matthew, a replica of Cabot's vessel, sits in the harbour. The Bonavista Lighthouse — one of the most photographed in Canada — guards Cape Bonavista where the landing supposedly occurred. Elliston, five minutes down the road, hosts the most accessible puffin colony in North America — viewing platforms let you sit metres from the burrows. The Bonavista Social Club serves craft cocktails and cod-cheek tacos in a converted salt-fish warehouse, emblematic of the Newfoundland outport renaissance.
Couple
Saltbox houses, lighthouse walks, puffins at arm's length, and cocktails in a converted fish warehouse — Bonavista is the Newfoundland escape couples come back from raving about.
Family
Children can watch puffins from metres away at Elliston, climb the lighthouse, and explore the Matthew replica — Bonavista makes history and wildlife tangible for young travellers.
- John Cabot reportedly made landfall here in 1497 — a reconstructed Matthew ship sits in the harbour.
- A puffin colony at Elliston (five minutes away) allows viewing from a clifftop just metres from the burrows.
- Restored saltbox houses line the coastline in candy colours, and the lighthouse at Cape Bonavista is one of the most photographed in Canada.
- The Bonavista Social Club serves craft cocktails and cod-cheek tacos in a converted salt-fish warehouse.
Mussels steamed in local beer at the Bonavista Social Club, a restored community venue.
Cod au gratin from Mifflin's — the dish that built Newfoundland, perfected in the town that started it.
Salt-box–house B&B breakfasts: toutons, baked beans, and tea strong enough to stain the cup.
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