Forum

St. Pierre, Miquelon

Posted by Tom Davison on March 27, 2017 at 6:21am

Friends,

I'm a new TCC member who lives in Miami, Florida.

I was interested in travelling to St. Pierre from Miami but I notice that flights and ferries to the location would be difficult to schedule without spending basically an entire week in the process.

Does anyone have some helpful advice?

Thanks!

Tom

You need to be a member of TCC Forum to add comments!

Join TCC Forum

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Justin W. Pimenta October 27, 2017 at 2:27am

    Tom,

    My apologies, but I had forgotten to update my post.  I was in St. Pierre over the July 4th weekend.  I flew into St. John's, NL from Tampa, via Toronto on West Jet.  I spent two nights in St. Johns and then drove to the ferry port.  The drive took about five hours with stops.

    The ferry was extremely rocky.  I do not get seasick and the weather was clear, however the crew was handing out buckets on both the trip there and back.  About half the people on the boat were sick.  The ferry takes a little over one hour.

    I spent one night in St. Pierre, which was plenty of time to get a feel for the island and its remoteness.  There is good bus tour that leaves from the port and drives the entire island.  The tour lasted for about two hours.

    It looks like Tom's itinerary avoided the ferry ride, which would be recommended for anyone who gets seasick.  Otherwise, WestJet is a great airline and Newfoundland was a lot of fun to visit.

    I would also be happy to answer any questions about St. Pierre.

    JP

     

  • Tom Davison October 26, 2017 at 12:13pm

    This is a follow up to the previous discussion.

    I finally made it to St.Pierre!  After completing a cruise in Montreal, I flew non-stop on Air St. Pierre from Montreal to St. Pierre. (flights operate only twice a week).  Stayed two nights in St. Pierre.  Returning to Miami required three separate flights in one day.  On Air St. Pierre from St. Pierre to Halifax, Nova Scotia (flights operate only twice a week).  The second leg was Halifax to Boston on Westjet.  The final journey was Boston to Miami on American.  In order to fly round trip from one of four gateway cities it requires about a 4-day stay in St. Pierre.  I found that one day was more than enough time to completely cover this interesting but elusive island.

    If any member should have a question about St. Pierre, I'd be happy to help.

    Thanks,

    Tom

  • Justin W. Pimenta May 30, 2017 at 2:26am

    Tom,

    I am headed out there for July 4th weekend.  I will let you know how it went when I return.

    JP

  • Tom Davison May 27, 2017 at 5:40am

    Hi Justin,

    Thanks for the reply!

    The ferry seems to be the preferred method to get to St. Pierre.

    I hope you have a great trip and I'd like to hear from you as to how the travel logistics went.

    Tom

  • Justin W. Pimenta May 26, 2017 at 10:13am

    I am flying from Tampa next month.  I got a good flight to St. John's Newfoundland and plan to drive the four hours to the ferry port.  On weekends it looks like the ferries run twice a day and it only takes an hour...

  • Tom Davison April 6, 2017 at 2:03am

    Hi Doug,

    Thanks for the very detailed reply!  After reading your response, I think I'll follow your advice and go via Newfoundland as you suggested.  You have made the trip for me much easier than I had anticipated.  Thanks again, Tom

  • Douglas W Harwood April 5, 2017 at 5:03pm

    Dear Tom:

    I visited Newfoundland and St. Pierre for 10 days in the summer of 2014. The best way to get to Newfoundland is to fly to St. John's. It's an interesting city and certainly worth some of your time. There are nonstop and one-stop flights to St. John's from Toronto. You can connect in Toronto from Miami. The ferry to St. Pierre leaves from Fortune, Newfoundland. Driving to Fortune from St. John's takes 4 hours plus time for any stops you make. I left St. John's after breakfast and was easily in Fortune for lunch before the afternoon ferry. The ferry from Fortune to St. Pierre takes only an hour. I left my rental car in Fortune and went to St. Pierre as a passenger. There are flights to St Pierre from St. John's and even (infrequently) from as far away as Montreal, but I was worried about weather cancellations and decided the ferry was more reliable.

    St. Pierre was a delightful place. The city is small and walkable. Restaurants are good. I stayed in a comfortable B&B up the hill from the harbor. I took a one-hour bus tour that covered the city and rural areas of the island as well. I stayed only one night and regretted that I did not stay longer. With extra time I would have taken a day trip to Miquelon.

    If you wanted, you could get to St Pierre and back in four days from Miami. First day, fly to St. John's. Second day, drive to Fortune and take the ferry to St. Pierre. Third day, take the ferry back to Fortune and drive back to St. John's. Fourth day, fly home from St. John's. But I can assure you that Newfoundland and St. Pierre are well worth more time than that.

    Doug Harwood

  • Tom Davison March 29, 2017 at 3:53am

    Drew,

    Thanks for the response!

    I would be interested in hearing from you after your trip to see what you would recommend as far as the ferry service goes.  It seems like it departs from a very remote location.

    Tom

  • Drew Kirk March 28, 2017 at 5:14am

    This summer, I'll be spending 10 days in Newfoundland for a family vacation and taking in St. Pierre by ferry as part of that.  Newfoundland is well worth seeing in its own right. 

This reply was deleted.