VOV 2018 - L’anse Aux Meadows tour feedback

[newbie53]

The Roll call for last year's Voyage of the Vikings set up a private excursion to L’anse Aux Meadows.   I'm interested in hearing how people liked the tour, and if they would recommend the same company.  I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this question here, but wasn't sure the best way to reach the folks that went on it.

 

Sue

[RuthC]

I did a HAL tour out there years ago, and thought it excellent. I knew I was walking the same ground as the Vikings, saw the places they lived. It was thrilling.
You do need to be mobile, however, as the walk can be a little difficult.

We also went nearby to a recreation of what the settlement probably looked like. Well worth the drive out there.
I would do this again.

[Vict0riann]

I think if you post your question on the roll call thread, there may be members still subscribed, and they will get your question and hopefully answer.  Or possibly check TripAdvisor in case someone from the roll call has posted a comment there.

[Fouremco]

DW and I drove to Newfoundland in September 2017 and spent a few days in the St. Anthony area, including a visit to L'Anse aux Meadows. While considering your options, you might want to give some thought to renting a car in St. Anthony and driving to L'Anse aux Meadows, an easy 45 minute drive away. There are numerous places to visit along the way if you are so inclined and time in port allows. We frequently do DIY excursions and find that the cost of renting a car to be less than the price of a single  excursion booking. 

 

A few of the comments from my travel log for that day:

 

Last night we had a lot of hard rain, but woke to sunny skies with a bit of wind. "Bit" varied from a gentle breeze to shaking the car. We headed to L'Anse aux Meadows first thing as we wanted to avoid any possible later rain. It's about a 45 minute drive through typical wind-swept terrain with numerous ponds and brooks and tuckamore trees.

 

L'Anse aux Meadows comprises two main parts, plus the visitor centre. The first is the location of the original settlement and later archeological dig. Not much to be seen, other than grassy mounds outlining where walls had once stood, but it gives you an excellent idea of the size of the buildings. There are also signs explaining the use of each building, based on the artifacts found in them.

 

The recreated longhouse and outbuildings were constructed using the same tools, material and methods the the Vikings had employed. I'm not sure of the thickness of the walls and roof, at least 200mm at a guess, but they provide excellent insulation. The sod used is quite fragrant, earthy but very pleasant. Costumed Viking interpreters provide a wealth of information as you explore.

 

Once we were finished our tour, we headed back in the direction of St. Anthony, but took numerous side roads to visit fishing villages along the way. In one, we saw a couple of fisherman - they turned out to be father and son - unloading their day's catch of cod. We parked and wandered over to chat and take a few photos. They were extremely friendly and even offered us some cod to take home for supper. Doesn't get any fresher than that, but cooking dinner wasn't a possibility unfortunately.

 

Here's a link to the official website:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/visit

 

 

[OlsSalt]

Only complaint about L'Anse Aux Meadows was not having enough time to seep and savor in the full impact of the location and what it offers.  Anyway you can maximize your time there is the best choice, on your own terms. I one tour I regretted having to move along in a larger group - we took the HAL shore excursion - covered the basics but not enough time for the ghosts of the past. But then my own roots are "Viking" so this spot probably meant more to me in that regard - I was looking for the souls of my "ancestors". 

Edited January 17, 2019 by OlsSalt

[Cruising-along]

We took the HAL tour as part of the VOV last summer.  I agree with the others' comments, L'anse aux meadows is definitely very much worth seeing.  My favorite part was the longhouses.  Just fascinating. 

 

I'm pretty sure we looked into renting a car (I agree with OlsSalt that more time in each place would have been better).  There must have been some reason we ended up with the tour, we would have preferred DIY.

[newbie53]

Thank you all for your comments.   While a agree renting a car is probably more economical, and gives you the most freedom, I don't like driving in places I'm unfamiliar with.  

 

Thank you for the link to the official site.  I had found it previously, but nice to have it handy right here.  The web site does say it is is wheelchair accessible, which is good.  DH does have mobility issues, and will be using a wc or scooter for excursions. 

 

Ruth, you mentioned it was difficult for those with mobility issues.  Did you notice accommodations for wheelchairs?  Or maybe that's been added since you were there. 

 

Thanks also for the suggestion to post in the old roll call.  I didn't think anyone would respond there since it's been several months, but I will give it a shot. 

 

[RuthC]

11 hours ago, newbie53 said:

Ruth, you mentioned it was difficult for those with mobility issues.  Did you notice accommodations for wheelchairs?  Or maybe that's been added since you were there. 

Perhaps more accessibility has been added since I was there; I don't know. It's been several years since I walked through the original site, and the boardwalk was fine for wheelchairs, but there were spots where there were a few steps to get down to the next level. I clearly remember a woman in a wheelchair. She was with at least two strong men who lifted her down those steps while she remained in the chair.
The Visitors' Center itself was accessible, and IIRC, the recreated site was at least fairly accessible.

Best to contact the site and ask about it.

[Fouremco]

@newbie53 , a bit more information for you on the issue of accessibility.

 

First, the visitors' centre is wheelchair accessible, as is the site of the recreated longhouse and outbuildings. Unfortunately, the boardwalk running from one to the other isn't, and there is a large set of stairs just as you exit the centre to get to the boardwalk. Parks Canada has a second parking lot close to the recreation site, however, to enable wheelchair access to it along a far shorter second boardwalk. There is no boardwalk for the original Viking site, but the walking path there might be viable in a wheelchair.

 

I think that you'll find this Parks Canada brochure more informative for your purposes than the L'Anse aux Meadows website:

http://parkscanadahistory.com/brochures/meadows/brochure-e-undated1.pdf

 

Finally, if you are familiar with Google Maps and its Street View, the entire L'Anse aux Meadow site has been mapped out so that you can take a virtual walk through the whole site. While you can't enter the buildings, you can walk all around them and get a good idea of what to expect when you visit. It really is quite fascinating.

[newbie53]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

The Visitors' Center itself was accessible, and IIRC, the recreated site was at least fairly accessible.

Best to contact the site and ask about it.

 

51 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I think that you'll find this Parks Canada brochure more informative for your purposes than the L'Anse aux Meadows website:

http://parkscanadahistory.com/brochures/meadows/brochure-e-undated1.pdf

 

Finally, if you are familiar with Google Maps and its Street View, the entire L'Anse aux Meadow site has been mapped out so that you can take a virtual walk through the whole site. While you can't enter the buildings, you can walk all around them and get a good idea of what to expect when you visit. It really is quite fascinating.

 

@RuthC ,  @Fouremco

 

Thank you both.  I will check out both your suggestions.

 

Sue

[OlsSalt]

Photo of the terrain at L'Anse aux Meadow - visiter center in the upper left and staircase below:

 

 

[newbie53]

Thank you for the photo.

[Caribbean Chris]

Newfoundland is one place I wouldn’t hesitate to rent a car. We’ve spent quite a bit of time driving all over the island independently (family connection) and people are as friendly and helpful as any you will find on the planet. If your car ever broke down, someone local would personally drive you for help. After inviting you to come in for lunch!

 

There is only very light traffic up there, so no big city driving stress to worry about. We’ve never been lost in even the smallest places - things are well-marked, especially an internationally-significant landmark such as L’anse aux Meadows.

 

We take along a standard GPS that includes both the US and Canada when driving up north.

 

However you plan your time there, enjoy wonderful Newfoundland!

Edited January 19, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[WisRiver]

We are on the 2019 VOV with a stop in St. Anthony.  We are having a hard time finding a private tour or car rental agency in St. Anthony.  For many of reasons stated in previous posts, we do not want to do the HAL tour.  Any suggestions?

[Fouremco]

National Car Rental ( https://www.nationalcar.com/en/home.html ) has an outlet in St. Anthony.

[Lexusmom]

Hello:

Can you tell me the exact location of and name of Enterprise Car Rental you used for this..

I will be visiting on Cruise in Aug. and want to rent a car.

 DW and I drove to Newfoundland in September 2017 and spent a few days in the St. Anthony area, including a visit to L'Anse aux Meadows. While considering your options, you might want to give some thought to renting a car in St. Anthony and driving to L'Anse aux Meadows, an easy 45 minute drive away.

[cruisemom42]

If anyone else is looking for options, I located (after much effort) the owner of a taxi service in St. Anthony who was willing to meet me at the port and could take up to 4 people to the L'Anse aux Meadows site for a reasonable price.

 

I gathered from talking to him during the drive that he usually tries to make two trips if he can (an earlier start and a later start). We had about 2 to 2.5 hours to do the nice visitor's center and walk around the site where there were docents dressed in Viking clothing giving various demonstrations.

 

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to provide name and contact info.

 

[imluvncruzn]

On 1/27/2024 at 2:19 PM, cruisemom42 said:

If anyone else is looking for options, I located (after much effort) the owner of a taxi service in St. Anthony who was willing to meet me at the port and could take up to 4 people to the L'Anse aux Meadows site for a reasonable price.

 

I gathered from talking to him during the drive that he usually tries to make two trips if he can (an earlier start and a later start). We had about 2 to 2.5 hours to do the nice visitor's center and walk around the site where there were docents dressed in Viking clothing giving various demonstrations.

 

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to provide name and contact info.

 

Hi!  Can you please provide me with the contact information for your driver.  Thank you!  

[cruisemom42]

13 hours ago, imluvncruzn said:

Hi!  Can you please provide me with the contact information for your driver.  Thank you!  

 

Here you go:  

 

Name of service is Town Taxi -- Contact: Guy Strangemore (+1 709-454-3500). Easiest to reach if you call him in the evening.

 

He arranged to await at the dock (ship will tender) at a given time, advised me to get earliest tender I could. The car was waiting with my name in the window. You can arrange other passengers. If you don't, he will likely pick up some by waiting at the dock. He charges a flat $40 each way. Just tell him when you want to be picked up.

 

At the site he will drop you near the visitor center (start of tour) where there are restrooms and some educational info + a short film. There is a separate parking area for pick-up at the end of the tour, so you don't have to walk all the way back to the visitor center -- and there are restrooms there as well.

 

I wouldn't make him wait too long for you to arrive and claim your reservation in the morning. When we showed up last year, there were 3-4 people waiting who wanted the taxi if we didn't show up!

 

[tatabea]

We have used  dannysairbus at outlook dot com twice. He’s terrible at communicating but has always been there waiting for us.