Battle Harbour NL Newfoundland-Labrador Canada
62
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
HX Expeditions (3 Cruises)
Lindblad Expeditions (6 Cruises)
Ponant (1 Cruises)
Seabourn Cruise Line (14 Cruises)
Seabourn Venture
14 Cruises
| 24 April | 83 days | One-way from Lisbon to Reykjavik |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
| 24 April | 68 days | One-way from Lisbon to Kangerlussuaq |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
Viking Ocean Cruises (36 Cruises)
Viking Octantis
20 Cruises
Viking Polaris
16 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
Expedition ships anchor nearby and land passengers at the wharf by small boat. The island lies off the south Labrador coast, about fifteen kilometres from Mary's Harbour.
None. No vehicles, no modern street lights: the whole place is covered on foot, at the pace of wooden boardwalks creaking underfoot.
The restored merchant premises are the heart of the visit, with the salt loft and the general store. Add St. James the Apostle Anglican church on the rise and an hour of grassy trails: the island is easily covered.
It was the salt fish capital of the region: its salt cod sold as far as Europe and the West Indies. The industrial fishery closed in 1992, but the island was restored building by building and is now a National Historic District.
Drying flakes, barrels, scales and the tools used to process cod. These are among the oldest fishing premises still standing in Atlantic Canada, and the general store is still stocked.
In 1909 the explorer Robert Peary, returning from his North Pole expedition, stopped here and answered reporters' questions in the salt loft of the merchant complex, one of the first points on the coast with wireless telegraph. The room can still be visited.
Often descendants of the families who lived here. Their stories are worth more than any interpretive panel: one remembers a grandfather weighing fish on that very scale, another points out the house where she was born.
In spring and early summer, yes: ice drifting down from Greenland fills the coves and turns the view into a sculpture gallery. Humpbacks and minke whales blow offshore in season.
In layers, with a windbreaker and walking shoes: the hills are bare and swept by open-sea wind, and the boardwalks can be slippery. Even in July it is cool.
No, and that is deliberate. No chain shops, no manufactured attractions: the strength of the place is the accuracy of the restoration and the presence of the islanders. Fish soup is served in the common dining room, and the general store sells woollens and basic goods.
