Bonavista and Elliston

Most puffin colonies are viewed from a boat at a respectful distance. At Elliston they nest on a sea stack separated from the mainland cliff by a narrow gap, so you can sit on the grass and watch thousands of birds come and go a few metres away, which makes it one of the most accessible colonies in North America. The village calls itself the root cellar capital of the world and has dozens of them dug into the hillsides, turf-roofed and still used. Nearby Bonavista has a red and white striped lighthouse on the point, a restored plantation house, and icebergs drifting past in early summer, with whales arriving behind them to feed on capelin.

What you actually see

• The Elliston puffins - thousands nesting on a stack metres from the cliff.
• The root cellars - dozens dug into the hillsides, turf-roofed and in use.
• Cape Bonavista lighthouse - the striped light on the headland.
• Icebergs and whales - drifting past the coast through early summer.

When to go

June to August is puffin season, with birds ashore from about May to early September and numbers highest in July. Icebergs are typically at their best from late May into June, whales from June into August. The overlap in late June is the ideal window.

Honest expectations

Fog on this coast can sit for days and hide everything. The cliff edge at Elliston is unfenced and people get far too close to it for photographs; the ground is undercut in places. Puffins are gone by mid-September, and visitors arriving in autumn find an empty stack. Accommodation on the peninsula is limited and books out for summer.

Nearby

Trinity and its restored heritage buildings are 45 minutes; Terra Nova is on the way back.