Conception Bay Tour: Explore Historic Outports

Explore Conception Bay’s rich history with tales of pirates, WWII, and aviation. Discover charming outport communities and savor authentic Newfoundland cuisine.

Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Holyrood - Take a leisurely walk along the Holyrood Boardwalk, a picturesque trail that meanders through verdant landscapes and follows the tranquil coastline, providing breathtaking views of the bay, nearby hills, and diverse wildlife.
  • Conception Harbour - Explore the remains of the SS Charcot, a Norwegian whaling ship that sank off…
What's Included
  • Pickup and Dropoff at major hotels and B&Bs
  • Live guide in English
  • 3 Course Lunch
  • All Fees and Taxes
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a scenic drive to explore the charming outport communities along the shores of Conception Bay. This area is rich with fascinating tales of ancient pirates, World War II submarine encounters, the beginnings of transatlantic flight, Arctic expeditions, and North America’s first European settlement. Visitors will truly appreciate this authentic…

Location
Holyrood
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(18 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Sheilapl1973il
Sep 28, 2025
Wonderful day trip, with a great scenery and a lovely driver too! - This was my 2nd day trip with McCarthy's Party and I was lucky enough to have the same driver again! Steve really knew his stuff and made the trip even more enjoyable with his singing, stories and knowledge. The scenery was beautiful and well worth the trip. I'd highly recommend the company, the trip and their great driver, Steve!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ajdornier
Aug 1, 2025
Don't miss this day tour! - Steve was a great guide and definitely gave a lot of historical background on all the stops we visited, and everything in between. The views of the bay and the coves were so beautiful, and understanding the role that these played (and in some cases, continue to) in Newfoundland's history was enlightening. The lunch stop was also excellent and the food was great (we were quite full afterward). I loved that there was not a lot of crowds in our photo stops. Steve was also very knowledgeable and so we were able to ask questions during our photo stops. I would definitely recommend this day tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrea_l
Jul 27, 2025
Fun and knowledgeable... - Fun and knowledgeable tour guide (Steve) and a well paced visit to all the beautiful sites. Lunch was lovely, and the restaurant staff were very welcoming.
Review provided by Viator
Tborys
Jul 22, 2025
- Great experience in July 2025. . The entire tour with McCarthy's was excellent! Dave was very informative and entertaining !! We highly recommend this to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lfh86
Jul 21, 2025
St. John’s Nfld - Excursion around the bay tour - Perfect weather for our “ Excursion Around The Bay Tour “ with McCarthy’s Tours Our tour guide , Dave, had a vast knowledge of the local history and a some amazingly funny local stories. Spent the day exploring Conception Bay South , the beautiful countryside and all the quaint little towns, rich in Railway and Aviation history and sunken vessel disasters. The glaziers left some amazing rock formations. Hard not to imagine why Newfoundland is referred to “The Rock”
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bootsnbeans
Jul 11, 2025
Fun!! - We had Billy again for the Excursion Around the Bay! He did not disappoint, and neither did the tour! We took a few tours with this company. The Excursion Around the Bay was the neatest!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Conrads609
Jul 10, 2025
Cape Spear and Signal hill vistAs - Our guide, Billy was very very entertaining and informative. The scenery was amazing and the amount of time at each stop was just about right.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mjb41
Sep 5, 2025
A great day out. - The bus was clean, punctual and driven carefully. The driver, Steve Gosse was friendly, funny and informative. I am happy that I took this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brenlove
Jul 25, 2025
- Conception Bay full day tour and The Outports half day tour both in vans that were okay for the short time in them but not very luxury for viewing the sights along the road. A different tour guide for each tour. Both were fairly knowledgeable but had their own interests in what to share. The full day tour guide was a little more personable, knew everyone on the bus and looked to give each one the best attention for their interests. The half day tour guide spoke a lot about his own and ancestor's life in Newfoundland so it was a slightly different perspective. The half day tour was combined with others who were with the driver for five days so it wasn't the same feeling on the bus or connection with the driver for being the first time with the bus and driver. Bus tours in Newfoundland are not my favourite thing to do since there are so many places to stop and enjoy along the coast and that is not possible on a tour. I felt that especially on the half day tour when we drove by the beach where Terry Fox was going to take water to the West Coast and I was told that we wouldn't be going to the beach from the view stop above it. If you are going to tell that story then it would have been really nice to stop at the beach. We went to a beach further along the road. Overall both tour itineraries were fairly well planned for the time and the distance.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan_t
Aug 15, 2025
Beware - It’s not a boat tour it’s a bus, maybe you have motion sickness like me so I would have been prepared, like I need the front seat
Review provided by Viator