St John’s & Fogo Island

NEWFOUNDLAND

May 25 to 31, 2020

SHORT HISTORY:This incredible tour is a delectable mix of history and luxury. In just 7 days, visit three amazing areas: St. John’s, the oldest city in North American, Terra Nova Golf Resort and Hotel in Port Blantford, and Fogo Island, home to Fogo Island Inn (voted as one of the top hotels in the world by Telegraph Travel). this will definitely be the highlight of your tour.

With vast amounts of fishing, icebergs coming from the North Atlantic, remarkable wildlife such as numerous species of birds including puffins, schools of fish, and pods of whales, and ancient hiking trails, not to mention the abundance of arts and culture you’re relish, this is one tour you don’t want to miss!

Arrive in St. John’s this morning and spend some time sightseeing before checking in at the Sheraton Newfoundland, a luxurious hotel located near the waterfront and the downtown district where you will have breathtaking views of the harbour, Signal Hill, and the historic center.

St. John’s, the province’s capital, is the perfect combination of big-city luxury and small-town charm. As the oldest and most easterly city in North America, St. John’s is a place of culture, history, and personality. The city has survived two World Wars, amazing hardship, and countless triumphs. Relish in this city’s charm and perseverance while wandering through the streets carved by horse and carriage over 100 years ago, pass by jellybean coloured houses, the working harbor, and the Narrows—a fisherman’s paradise.

Visit Quidi Vidi, a charming village within a city, which still embodies the spirit of an old fishing outport. Also hike up Signal Hill where you can view the canons and iconic Cabot Tower which were used to guard and protect the city for hundreds of years. It was also the first area to receive trans-Atlantic radio transmission.

Check into the beautiful Sheraton Hotel overlooking St. John’s Harbour. Tonight our Welcome Dinner will be at The Gypsy Tea Room. This restaurant offers a fine dining experience and is known for its incredible wines.

This morning, depart on a tour of The Colony of Avalon, the best preserved early English colonial site in North America, which was established in 1621 by Sir George Calvert. For 25 years, archeologists have been uncovering portions of Calvert’s 4 acres giving evidence into the past, including Calvert’s own mansion, remains of a bakery/brewhouse, a cobblestone street, a warehouse, a well, a sea-wall and over 2 million artefacts. The Colony of Avalon website describes the work as re-writing history stating: “Think early Newfoundlanders lived in hovels on a diet of fish, fish and more fish? Think all Catholics were persecuted and women were second class citizens? Think again! Imagine a place where substantial stone and timber-frame houses lined a “prettie” cobblestone street, where Protestants AND Catholics worshipped in peace, and a woman held most of the power!”

Afterwards, return to St. John’s for a delectable lunch at Get Stuffed, one of the most popular restaurants in Newfoundland where its name says it all.

After lunch, enjoy a tour of The Rooms. Perched on top of the horizon, The Rooms is home to Newfoundland’s Provincial museum, art gallery and archives and stands next to the striking twin clock towers of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

After lunch, enjoy a tour of The Rooms. Perched on top of the horizon, The Rooms is home to Newfoundland’s Provincial museum, art gallery and archives and stands next to the striking twin clock towers of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

This evening, enjoy dinner on your own.

Wake up and meet the day with a special surprise just outside your door. The Day Break Tray features tea or coffee and pastries, served in a convenient “Tackle Box.” This morning following breakfast in the Dining Room, we will depart for the Terra Nova Golf Resort in Port Blantford.

Enroute, you will travel through Heart’s Content and visit the Heart Content’s Cable Station. Now a heritage site, this steep-gabled building in a town unknown to most went down in the history books in 1866 when it became the site of the first permanent telegraph, connecting Europe and North America. For over a century, Heart’s Content Cable Station remained the “hub” of global communication and is now an official World Heritage Site and opened for tours.

After this educational tour travel to Cupid’s and sit down ocean-side for a delectable lunch at Skipper Ben’s Bed and Breakfast where you can savor in the amazing atmosphere and cuisine.

Following lunch, continue on to the Terra Nova Golf Resort and check in for the night. Dinner and the remainder of the evening will be for you to enjoy on your own.

Following breakfast at the hotel, checkout and enjoy the scenic drive to Farewell Ferry Terminal.

Board your awaiting ferry and take pleasure in the 40-minute ferry ride to Fogo Island. Look out into the distance and search for sea life and perhaps even have an opportunity to spot an iceberg or two!

Arrive on Fogo Island just in time for lunch which will be enjoyed at the celebrated Fogo Island Inn—a remote yet luxurious hotel. This world-famous hotel you have to see to believe sits gloriously on the edge of the island at one of the four corners of the Earth! Each room at the Inn contains dramatic floor to ceiling windows that look out onto the most powerful and beautiful oceans on the planet. Each room is more luxurious than the one before it; every single one of them facing the ocean.

After lunch, meet your Community Hosts who will take you for your Island Orientation. Throughout the tour, they will share stories that will help you understand this place they call “A Salty Narnia.” Fogo Island literature describes the culture of the island by describing its people as: “[those] who have retained their wild, intellectual heritage; whose sense of self comes from a deep historical sense of landscape and seascape; people who are profoundly at home on this ’edge of the known’.”

Before dinner, you will meet with someone from Shorefest—perhaps Zita Cobb herself or her brother, Alan Cob! Then, enjoy dinner and return to the lounge to relax, unwind and revel in some local musical entertainment.

Wake up and meet the day with a special surprise just outside your door. The Day Break Tray features tea or coffee and pastries, served in a convenient “Tackle Box.” This morning following breakfast in the Dining Room, we will depart the hotel for your half-day cruise to Little Fogo Islands, an archipelago of tiny abandoned inlets 5 miles offshore.

You will travel by private charter aboard M/V Ketanja with Captain Ane and crew to watch for whales, puffins, bird and aquatic life, as well as an iceberg or two!

You will then wander through the abandoned buildings in Wadham’s Harbour and visit St. Anne’s Church, consecrated in 1867.

Return to the Inn for a delicious lunch and then leave for another half-day tour of the Fogo Island Shop. Immerse yourself in the cultural arts while touring the workshops and meeting talented carpenters behind the distinctive pieces of furniture. Learn about the traditions that make these contemporary pieces of art for amazing.

This evening, enjoy supper at the Inn. Like the handmade, modern aesthetic of the Inn, the provenance of every menu is inspired by local and regional ingredients. Everything coming out of the kitchen is handmade—sausage, bread, baked goods, bacon, and even mustard!

After supper enjoy a screening of “Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island” in the Inn’s state-of-the-art cinema

Following breakfast this morning, depart for another sightseeing tour—this one at Tilting. One of the most historically significant settlements in Eastern Canada, it is also considered The Ireland of Canada with the longest use of Irish culture and dialect. Although the English did settle in Tilting prior to the Irish, the English settlement was short-lived and quickly taken over by the Irish in the mid-18th century.

Afterwards, enjoy a kitchen party lunch in the area before leaving Tilting to return to the Inn.

Upon return, take the remainder of the afternoon for yourself before joining our group for a Farewell Dinner and Music at the Inn.

Wake up and enjoy your “Daybreak Tray” before going down to the Dining Room for your final breakfast at the Fogo Island Inn. Check out and, with the lovely box-lunch the Inn will so generously prepare, depart for your ferry ride to the Farewell Terminal. From there, transfer to Gander in preparation for your return flight to Ottawa.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

RESPONSIBILITY

Executive Cultural Tours and/or their agents, affiliates, or subsidiaries act only as agents for the hotel, airlines, bus companies and operators providing accommodation, transportation, meals, tours or other services and all coupons, exchange orders, receipts, contracts and tickets issued by the Company are issued subject to all tariffs, terms and conditions under which the forgoing or any other services whatsoever are provided by such hotels, airlines, bus companies. By the acceptance of such coupons, exchange orders, receipts, contracts and tickets, the tour member agrees that the Company shall not become liable or responsible for any loss, injury or damage to the person, firm or corporation. Further, the Company shall not become liable or responsible for any loss, injury or damage due to an Act of God or Act of War. The tour operator reserves the right to withdraw a tour, to refuse to accept or retain any person as a member of the tour at any time or to make changes in the itinerary whenever in their sole judgment conditions warrant or if such changes result from circumstances beyond the control of the tour operator. Executive Cultural Tours and/ or their agents shall not be responsible for the injury, damage, loss, accident, delay or irregularity which may be occasioned either by reason of defect in any vehicle or other, or through the acts or default of any company or person engaged in conveying or providing transportation to the passenger or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour or otherwise in connection therewith, or of any other hotel proprietor or employee. The aforesaid and their agents can accept no responsibility for losses or accidental expenses due to delay or changes in schedules or hotel overbookings or other causes. All such losses or expenses will have to be borne by the passenger.

CONDITIONS

BOOKING

A deposit of CAD $2,000 per person is required at time of reservation, together with single supplementation (if applicable) and package tour insurance costs (optional). Post-dated cheques for $2,000 dated February 7, 2019, and for the balance dated February 4, 2020, are also required at the time of booking. Cheques should be made payable to Uniglobe The Premiere Travel Group. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Diners/ EnRoute credit cards are accepted.

CANCELLATION

Full refund up to 180 days prior to departure less $1,500.00 per person. Between 180 and 90 days prior, full refund less $2,500.00 per person. Between 120 and 90 days prior, full refund less $1,500 per person. Between 90 and 65 days prior, full refund less $4,500.00 per person. Less than 65 days prior to departure the total cost of the tour is non-refundable. After departure no refund will be made for any unused hotel accommodation,

INSURANCE

The following insurance packages are optional but highly recommended.