Reviews of Cape Bonavista Lighthouse (Zoo)

Angela Parsons

Beautiful day in Bonavista. We were late arriving so didn't get into the gift shops. Cafes have many food choices, homemade and super delicious.

Brian Woodcock

A must visit when you come to the rock. Late 1400"s site. Amazing views, great people. Not to mention it's free to visit!

Laverne Wilton

Great tour guides. Beautiful place to visit

Wade Watts

Must see very cool

Satyam Roy

Bonavista is beautiful. It's a small town on the northern coast of Newfoundland. The colorful houses add to the beauty. It's also famous for the iceberg and puffin viewing. This lighthouse is a gem on the extreme north end of the town. The landscape and the cliffs are very unique.

Jim Lochhead

Puffins, ocean, landing place of John Cabot, the "discovery" of Newfoundland

Jeff Berry

Great place to watch the Puffins and spot whales

Maggie Brown-Bury

Gorgeous views.

Jason Noseworthy

The provincial government has definitely let this place go. It looked terrible when we were there

Margaret Clayton

Picturesque location staffed with people knowledgeable about the history of the lighthouse to educate and answer any questions.

Dawn Cutler-Stuckey

Very nice spot! Great views!

Yance MedicatedVeteran

Truly amazing and breath taking View's, really enjoyed my visit down there while home for holiday's. Very peaceful and relaxing, it a must see if in the area. This place is Ryder and Yance Approved and recommend for sure.

Natasha Somerton

It was my first time in Bonavista, and the lighthouse was a great stop. Exploring Nfld, there are always beautiful spots to stop and admire. And when you visit the different towns, this island seems a bit more special each time. Surrounding this lighthouse you will see many many inuksuks. And I only learned on this visit that it is "good luck" (if that is the word I should use) to place an additional rock on a inuksuk. **Please tell me if I'm (in)correct on that point** We built our own, and I will include our picture. There are trails to take you to different viewpoints, and you will not be disappointed.

Andrew Robinson

Beautiful old lighthouse with a guided tour with knowledgable staff.

Anh Cao

We went there to see the iceberg but the weather forbade us. It was foggy all of the sudden. But overall, it's a pleasant trip

Eliot Smith

Amazing to hike around. Many seabirds and icebergs close to the shore. There's a fog horn that sounds really cool on a foggy night!

Tracey Williams

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Social distancing well established. Enjoyable and informative tour!

Corwin Cornish

Great place to visit

Beverly Billard

Amazing views of Puffins and whales.

Lyndsey Paynter

Amazing views and puffins!

Jim Courville

This was our favorite, did I say it loud enough? FAVORITE place in newfoundland!! We spend so many hours here watching the sun set, whales play, and puffins being goofballs. Go after 7p and you'll have this spot to yourself, and the best sunsets you wil ever see. The whales come right up to the Cliffs, it is unreal. What an experience. Best part is the lighthouse was panted with racing stripes. ????

Nadine Robinson

Beautiful photo stop and excellent gift shop. We accessed it through the "short cut" from Dungeons

Cindie Houde

Probably one of the most picturesque lighthouses in Bonavista! The view at sunrise is spectacular

Steve Leonard

This spot is definitely worth the 1.5 hour drive from the TCH. This is the best spot to view nesting Puffins on the peninsula, but the Newfoundland tourist people send birders to the other site just past Elliston. That has resulted in hundreds of visits each day with one visitor recently slipping off the path and down a steep slope, who then had to be rescued and an ambulance had to be called. The fence at the cape prevents that from happening. The Cape also has the lighthouse, a great gift store, a park, is a great place to view whales and has lots of parking.

Delores Mackey

The most amazing sunrises and sunsets depending on which side of the Cape you're on. This is a sunset.

Hugues Boisvert

Beautiful place nice history. I love you can visit the lighthouse and walk. It was foggy so we had the change to hear the fog horn. Edge is not protected by fences or anything so if you have kids you always have to keep an eye on them. Very steep

John Waltho

A truly Newfoundland experience of awe and grandeur. Great trails to wander along.

Jessica vb

Beautiful lighthouse with a puffin colony beside it. Good place to look for whales too. Only 4 star Becuase the lighthouse was closed, even though all the online information said it would be open, and this meant the toilets were closed too.

Mike Celis

Beautiful view over the ocean. In the season, when the Capelin is there, you can see the whales from the shore jumping and plauying.

Jeremy Kurtin

Kind of touristy but nice, it was nice seeing the puffens.

Jean-Francois LeBlanc

Recently came to check out this lighthouse. This is a very great spot for photo opportunities. Great views as well. Highly recommended.

David-Joyce Baxter

A truly wonderful spot....great viewing for whales,puffins and icebergs early in the year. We have visited the area last 10 consecutive years and always "hit the Cape/Lighthouse" a couple times each trip..never gets old!

Darryl Hollett

Great place to take a walk, explore the building, have lunch and see what a special Newfoundland Town has to offer.

Kimberly Yetman Dawson

Fab day for a visit to Bonavista!!

Daniel Hefford

I did not go into the lighthouse itself or read any of it's history. There is a large parking lot. I was here for the puffins.

Bahman Seifi

Great place to see Puffins on Spring

Mark Garrisi

Awesome place, can't wait to get back there.

LeeAnn Denischuk

Beautiful scenery and the tour of the lighthouse was great.

Ames P

Tourism shuts down for October but there are mini horses on the road to the lighthouse that make the drive worthwhile.

Mick Shea

The lighthouse is great, with its stripes. The museum next door is very informative. Most lighthouses use a frenel lens, I found it interesting that this one doesn't. Learn about it and other lights in the province. And as a special, today only bonus (nesting season), PUFFINS!!! There is a sea mount beside the lighthouse with a puffin nesting site! This is the easiest viewing of these iconic birds anywhere. Just remember to bring your camera (which I didn't).

Blue Berry

Check in in the morning to watch the sunrise. The lighthouse was built in 1870, yet its heavy sense of history is not incompatible with today's aesthetics, probably because of the eternal combination of red and white.

Pam Rose

Loved it. Best part was watching the puffins

STAN LEY

The puffins, whales and coastline were great.

Jordan Smith

The bleak and rugged landscape is beautiful in the summer, with puffins diving off the island only a stones throw away from the lighthouse. Watch your step on the cliff edge!

Dave Bosse

Nice free place

Shelley Smith

We saw many whales and many puffins. It was a great day.

Nathan Adams

Awesome Icebergs

Dean Whalen

Good Puffin viewing. Nice little gift shop.

Brent

Along with the old lighthouse on cape spear, this lighthouse is one of the few build around the base of the lighthouse. The interior if fascinating, including vignettes of old rooms where the family lived. Unlike in most lighthouses, you can venture up to where the rotating light mechanistic still exists. It still turns even, and is a unique and accessable window into that past. The story of the family life before and after the road was put in demonstrate how lighthouse duty changed over the years.

Stephanie Matte

Super interesting. The guides were wonderfully knowledgeable; we probably annoyed them with our questions, but they always had an answer! Worth a visit.

Glenn Gleeson

Scenic historic lighthouse.

A K

Lovely site with many interesting views. Historic information and a hands on interpretive centre make it an all ages win.

Juzer Hussain

Wonderful place. One must visit this place if you are in New Foundland

charlene Okeefe

Beautiful views!!

Jacquie Fuentes (Jax)

Gorgeous spot to take in all the beauty and glory that Newfoundland has to offer. The lighthouse is a historical spot bit the views are even better. The craft shop has the best prices for souvenirs. Stop in and grasp your knotted goods!

Gary Miller

Absolutely beautiful! This place is heaven on earth. From the cliffs you can watch the whales and far off Ocean and gorgeous sunsets. The light house is incredible and a must see while visiting this incredible province.

Sahar Salimi

Great museum with lots of info from the guides.

Dan Roman

I loved this very much

Catherine Conway

Get there by walking. Very rewarding.

Audrey Froude

Wasn't open . Very limited open time during tourist season. We were disappointed.

R-D White

Great place to visit. Come in July to see icebergs, whales, and puffins just offshore!

Doug M

Awesome light house circa 1870! Display is great and the period clothing you can dress up in.

Sharon Moore

The views are amazing saw ice burgs birds and underground cellars

Sonya Richmond

Wonderful location! Be sure to enjoy the hike from the town of Bonavista out to the lighthouse! Beyond the great historical displays and friendly staff, they also have a ton of puffins which you can get close to. A great location!

Bryghton Levere

- Beautiful vistas all around the peninsula - Lively puffin colony often found on the north east portion of the peninsula - Pleasant little gift shop by the lighthouse - Great deal of history of area -

Robert Hoban

Awesome what a view

Mona McCarthy

Spectacular views, whales and all kinds of seabirds including the special little puffin. Many places to dine from cafe to full on dining. I have been to many of them and yet to have a bad experience. The people here are just naturally friendly, kind people. You can tell it's their nature. It seems you can't go wrong with a visit to this beautiful community

Paula Taylor

Great place for a short walk and to see some Puffins.

Carole

We have been on the road traveling through Newfoundland for several weeks now, and have visited the western peninsula, the northern Kittiwake coastline (including Twillingate), and parts of the Avalon peninsula. Our favorite place so far has been the Bonavista peninsula. Note: we did NOT go inside or otherwise tour the lighthouse, so this review is about what you can see and experience on a trip to the lighthouse. The coastline is gorgeous, and we would have loved climbing on and hiking around the rocks and cliffs whether in whale season or not, but what made this a 5-Star experience for us was definitely the whales! They were feeding right along the shore (not just passing by), so we watched for probably well over an hour and never had more than a couple of minutes of waiting for another one to break the water. We had a great pair of binoculars, and I highly recommend bringing a pair - not because the whales are far enough to require them, but because they are close enough that a good pair of binoculars allow you to even see them under the incredibly clear water before they swim up and blow. We also saw puffins and other seabirds, but for the most amazing puffin viewing, go to nearby Elliston. The puffin viewing there is incredible, even without binoculars. But we have a great pair, so viewing the puffins and their burrows was like being just a few feet away from them.

David Pritchett

Spectacular scenery!

Elaine

The big draw here is the puffin viewing. There are picnic tables and washrooms. It is a very photogenic lighhose, rather iconic and popular. It's a good place to see puffins but take your binoculars or telephoto lenses.

Barbara Storey

My first Lighthouse, ever was amazing, views were breathtaking. The Lighthouse is well maintained, staff answered all our many questions. What a harsh life it would have been living at the Bonavista Lighthouse. Will post a picture later.

burmoose

These pics are from behind the lighthouse at dusk. Even saw 3 orcas! Whale watching was a delight. Puffins were very active as well. Not to mention, the beautiful sunsets. Early August is definitely the best time to be visiting here. Won't be disappointed.

John Cronk

Friendly knowledge staff about the history dating back to late 1800. Interesting to know to rotate the large brass wheels was done by cranking a weight from the bottom to the top of the light house every 2 hours so the ships could see land also by what colours would tell them there location. This system works as the same idea as a Grandfather clock with the weights. There were people that worked 12 hour shifts, pulling the heavy weights up every 2 hours

Pawan K

It's out of the way, however, it is truly woth the drive. If you are in to birds, then, there is a special delight as Puffins nest there. If you are a whale watcher, then without paying outlandish fees, you can watch them for free. There are 2 types that you can see, the Blue whale or the Humpback. There is also another known festure as the Dungeon another must see attraction.

Lacey Rose

Gorgeous views. Saw many whales just off the cliffs.

Philip V

Another heritage lighthouse well preserved. Wonderful.

Kate Soper

Beautiful views and great historical information, but closed for an hour at lunch time so we couldn't visit with our most recent visitors which was a shame

Olayinka Akindele

Beautiful historic place. I gave it a four star because we couldn't get to the very top of the lighthouse due to Covid-19 restrictions. Not the management's fault, but that was one of the reasons we visited. Overall, good experience. The hiking trails were beautiful too!

Liz Mifflin

Always a scenic place to visit. So lucky to have this gem in our back yard.

Bcon Bcon

Very hard to find. Not sure if that address is correct my GPS couldn't find it. But got really good directions from a local

Gary Bishop

Beautifully rugged

Ed Newhook

Life in the past was made very real as two extremely knowledgeable guides explained every aspect of living in and working at the lighthouse years ago. While in the top of the lighthouse, one guide even demonstrated winding up the system and starting the mechanism like a clock. Very enlightening.

Jim A

Must stop. Puffins and possibly whales. Wife says store is inexpensive ????

Gary swift

Nice views however no puffins on August 30 or 31

Barb Seaward

Beautiful spot the scenery is amazing...seen two foxes playing together ????

Ian Torry

Very interesting piece of history. If you're not familiar with light houses and their keepers it's no problem the staff fills in all the details. The view is awesome even when the weather isn't great.

Richard Weigand

A beautiful location overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Helpful staff. A great Heritage Shop where the proceeds go back to the local community. A must see.

Sam cassidy

Easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen on Earth. Try to go on a day that's not too foggy to take full advantage of the incredible views. You can whale watching Puffin watch right from the cliffs. An absolute must-see if you're in the Bonavista area

Don Butler

Pretty lonesome at the Lighthouse. Time to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. Lunch was great at PKs

derekofalltrades

The best time to go I found was between April-June lots of Icebergs

Aaron Adamack

Beautiful sunsets and sometimes foxes and puffins.

Myriam Joel

Beautiful drive.

Sharon Macauley

Excellent condition with period furniture, etc. The staff were so knowledgeable and helpful, generous with time and information. Highly recommend the visit, especially for the low price.

Damian Castro

Great view, lots of whales and puffins.

CC W

Awesome trails for our family with young kids, and the views were spectacular. The puffins were all in the water when we were there, so too small to see since you're on top of the cliff. But the puffin viewing site at Maberly not too far away made up for it.

Les Dawe

Awesome view,spectacular scenery,very well maintained and the guides were very informative.

Danielle Bishop

An incredibly beautiful spot especially on a clear day! Views are amazing and include the opportunity to see puffins and other local birds as well as whales. There is also the historic significance of the landing of John Cabot in Newfoundland and you can tour the light house and learn about the history. The site also includes a fabulous craft store with a huge variety of local made crafts, jewelry, books and all things Newfoundland. Great for tourists and locals.

Dean Martin

Amazing,views,historical info as well.

Richard Tickner

Beautiful area and scenery right at the Atlantic Ocean