Some 11km (6 3/4 miles) southeast of downtown is North America's most easterly point, home to dramatic Cape Spear National Historic Site (tel. 709/772-5367). Here you'll find a picture-perfect lighthouse dating from 1836 and underground passages from abandoned World War II gun batteries. A visitor center will orient you; leave plenty of time to walk the hiking trails and scout for whales surfacing at sea. Admission to the lighthouse, which has been restored to its 1839 appearance and opens from 10am to 6pm, is C$3.95 (US$3.55/£2) for adults, C$3.45 (US$3.10/£1.75) for seniors, C$1.95 (US$1.75/£1) for children ages 6 to 16, and C$9.90 (US$8.90/£4.95) for families. The lighthouse and interpretive center are closed mid-October to mid-May, but the grounds are open year-round.
Just 14km (8 3/4 miles) west of St. John's is Portugal Cove, from which frequent ferries depart for Bell Island year-round, except in very stormy weather. This is a handsome and historic island, with abrupt cliffs edging its eastern shore. It was once a thriving community early in the 20th century; an iron mine employed hundreds of locals from 1895 to 1966, after which it no longer made economic sense to scratch ore out of the earth in these parts. Today the island is honeycombed with impressive mine shafts, many extending far out under the sea. You'll find simple accommodations, a few lowbrow seafood restaurants, and an art gallery; check the island's website (www.bellisland.net) to get its flavor before coming.
The ferry ride over and back costs C$6.25 (US$5.65/£3.15) for a car and driver and C$2.25 (US$2.05/£1.15) per extra adult passenger; less for students, children over age 6, and seniors. It runs every 40 minutes from about 6am until about 10:30pm most days. The crossing takes about 20 minutes. Contact the ferry office at tel. 709/488-2842 or 709/895-3491 for more details about the journey.
The no. 2 mine on the island has been maintained as a museum of sorts, the Bell Island Community Museum and Mine Tour (tel. 709/488-2880), where visitors can relive the life of a typical miner, who made his way through the perpetual underground night with a carbide lantern. During a 40-minute tour, you'll descend by foot 195m (640 ft.) underground to the point near where flooding makes the mineshaft impassable. (The mine actually descends another 510m/1,673 ft. into the earth, and is 3-5km/2-3 miles long in total.) Tours are offered frequently daily in summer; combo tickets incorporating the tour and museum admission cost C$7 (US$6.30/£3.50) adults, C$5 (US$4.50/£2.50) seniors, C$3 (US$2.70/£1.50) for children under 12. Tickets for the museum alone are just C$2 (US$1.80/£1), though frankly, that's less fun. The museum is open daily from 11am to 7pm, June through September.
While on Bell Island, ask locals about the Grebe's Nest, a rocky point marked by an offshore sea stack. Down on the shore, there's a man-made tunnel leading to a secluded beach surrounded by towering, crumbling cliffs.
