Getting Around St. John's
St. John's climbs the hills around its harbour. Signal Hill, crowned by Cabot Tower, looks over the city, the harbour and the coast, and in spring icebergs often ground near the Fort Amherst lighthouse across the harbour entrance. Downtown, the St. John's Convention Centre offers about 47,000 sq ft of divisible meeting space since its expansion.
The 2026 cruise season brought 39 ship calls from 25 cruise lines. Thirteen were turnaround calls: the voyage begins or finishes in St. John's, and travellers move between the ship, a hotel and the airport. The City warns that cruise schedules can change without notice, so check your ship's time before you set the pickup.
George Street, the downtown street of pubs and music, is reported to be open to vehicles only in the morning for deliveries and closed to traffic later in the day, and the City closes nearby streets for events. For a hotel or venue near George Street, send the full address with the booking and we will tell you how close the car can go. For a day of meetings downtown followed by a drive up Signal Hill, hourly chauffeur service is the easier choice: one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve.
Airport Transfers in St. John's
St. John's International Airport is only 8 km from downtown, usually 15–20 minutes by car. It handled about 1.41 million passengers in 2025, a record. WestJet uses it as a focus city and PAL Airlines has a base here; flights go to Toronto, Montréal, Halifax and Ottawa, with seasonal routes to the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. The airport has no US preclearance.
Book with your flight number. For an arrival, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pickup to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. If you land late after a connection through Halifax or Toronto, the pickup moves with your flight.
For a departure from St. John's, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: the run to the terminal is short, but weather on the Avalon Peninsula can slow it, so leave room. Journey times vary with traffic and weather. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Multi-City Travel from St. John's
Cape Spear is 16 km from St. John's along Route 11, 20–25 minutes. Parks Canada describes it as the most easterly point of land in Canada, and its lighthouse, from 1836, is the oldest surviving one in Newfoundland and Labrador. Parks Canada notes that from June to August you may see an iceberg from the site.
Iceberg season off this coast runs from about April to June, with the best viewing in May and early June, although sightings are never certain. Ferryland on the Southern Shore is 79 km, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, and Placentia 131 km, 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes.
For a day along the coast with time at each viewpoint, book by the hour rather than one leg at a time. For a single ride to Placentia or Ferryland, a one-way transfer from your hotel door is enough.
Groups & Congress Travel in St. John's
The expanded St. John's Convention Centre can be split into several rooms within its 47,000 sq ft, which suits a congress with plenary and breakout sessions. The city's own calendar peaks in early August: the George Street Festival runs for seven nights from late July and ends on Regatta Day, when the Royal St. John's Regatta is rowed on Quidi Vidi Lake. Regatta Day, usually the first Wednesday of August, is a civic holiday in the city and depends on the weather.
When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If a cruise group or a congress team arrives on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own. For a group travelling together, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load, from delegates with presentation kit to cruise passengers with a week's luggage.
Around Regatta Day and the turnaround cruise dates, book early: local vehicles and drivers are booked up early on those days. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
