We’re looking at Maritimes tours and they vary a lot - some stick to Nova Scotia and PEI, others tack on Newfoundland with extra flights and ferries. We can’t tell if Newfoundland is a must or a stretch too far for one trip. Was adding Newfoundland worth the extra travel, or is the mainland Maritimes enough?
Honestly… I did basically the whole Maritimes in 8 days except Newfoundland and I deeply regret it 
. My cousins and I had road tripped from Toronto, through all the other provinces. Like, Nova Scotia and PEI were beautiful, don’t get me wrong… Peggy’s Cove, the Cabot Trail, Lunenburg, red sand beaches, seafood, cute fishing villages, all of that is lovely. But after a while, parts of Nova Scotia/PEI can start to feel a little repetitive: lighthouse, harbour, lobster, repeat.
Newfoundland feels like the one I missed that would’ve made the trip feel more wild and different. The hiking there looks unreal, especially around Gros Morne, with those big dramatic landscapes that feel way more rugged and less polished than the mainland Maritimes. Plus you get puffins, whales, icebergs depending on season, Viking history at L’Anse aux Meadows, and just a totally different energy from the classic Nova Scotia/PEI loop.
Newfoundland is big, and the flights/ferries add real travel time, so I think it’s only worth adding if the itinerary gives it proper breathing room. If it’s just one or two rushed nights, I’d probably save it for its own trip. But if you have the time and budget? I’d choose the version with Newfoundland. The mainland Maritimes are enough for a nice trip, but Newfoundland is the part I still think about and go, “ugh, I need to go back and do that properly.”