18 km, one hour, 16 cars. That is the St. Brendan's ferry in three figures: the provincial MV Grace Sparkes, the provincial boat between Burnside and the island town of St. Brendan's in Bonavista Bay. Since 16 September it has been on its winter timetable, three round trips a day and two on Thursdays, and 511 Newfoundland and Labrador showed it running on schedule on 1 October 2026.
Winter timetable, 16 September 2026 to 15 May 2027, Newfoundland time; summer timetable from 16 May; checked 2 October 2026 Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – St. Brendan's – Burnside Winter Schedule · 2026-10-02
St. Brendan's has no road to anywhere. The town sits on Cottel Island in Bonavista Bay, with 125 residents at the 2021 census according to Wikipedia, and Wikipedia describes it as reachable only by the daily provincial ferry from Burnside.
Newfoundland and Labrador's transportation department runs the service with a single ship, the MV Grace Sparkes, rated for 16 cars and 80 passengers. Its working day starts and ends on the island side: the first sailing leaves St. Brendan's at 07:30 and the last one, all winter, is the 18:30 back from Burnside.
From 16 September to 15 May the winter timetable applies: three round trips on six days, two on Thursdays. A summer timetable, with its own Friday pattern, starts on 16 May, and the department also publishes a separate festival timetable.
The rate sheet the department links today is dated 1 September 2016, when the province last reset intra-provincial ferry fares; we found no newer one. Every price is one way. A vehicle fare includes the driver only, so each additional person in the car buys a passenger ticket.
Seniors (60+), students, children and commuters get reduced fares. The sheet does not define who counts as a commuter and does not say whether tax is included, so ask the Marine Services Branch if either matters to you.
| Adult | $ 4.25 |
| Senior, 60+ | $ 3.25 |
| Student, 13+ | $ 3.25 |
| Child, 5 to 12 | $ 3.25 |
| Commuter | $ 3.25 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| Vehicle and driver | $ 12.75 |
| Vehicle and senior driver, 60+ | $ 8.25 |
| Vehicle and student driver | $ 12.75 |
| Vehicle and commuter driver | $ 8.25 |
| Motorcycle and driver | $ 8.25 |
| Up to 20 ft | $ 12.75 |
| Up to 25 ft | $ 21.75 |
| Up to 30 ft | $ 26 |
| Up to 35 ft | $ 30.50 |
| Over 35 ft | $ 31.25 |
Provincial rate sheet effective 1 September 2016, still the one linked from the service page on 2 October 2026 Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – St. Brendan's – Burnside Ferry Rates · 2026-10-02
The department gives the route as 18 km and one hour. On its map the line runs north from Burnside, threading between the islands of inner Bonavista Bay, past Shalloway Cove to St. Brendan's on Cottel Island. Burnside itself is reached from the Trans-Canada Highway by way of Eastport, on Route 310.
The ship's day begins on the island: every winter timetable opens with the 07:30 from St. Brendan's. For a day trip off Cottel Island the logic is simple, out at 07:30 and home on the 15:30 or 18:30 from Burnside, depending on the day.
Burnside is the mainland end, on the Eastport Peninsula. The department's route map shows the way in from the Trans-Canada Highway on Route 310 past Eastport. Visitors bound for the island catch the 09:15, the earliest Burnside departure on every winter day.
Only two round trips on Thursdays in winter, with nothing between the 09:15 from Burnside and the 15:30 from the island.
511 Newfoundland and Labrador carries the live status for the Grace Sparkes; it showed in service on schedule on 1 October 2026.
The ship carries 16 automobiles and 80 passengers. There is no booking information on the department's page.
Timetables are in local time, half an hour ahead of Atlantic time. Worth remembering if you arrive from the Maritimes.
The Marine Services Branch answers on 1-888-638-5454 on weekdays during office hours (8:30 to 16:30, Newfoundland time).
Fares are modest. An adult pays $4.25 and a car with its driver $12.75, rates that have not moved since the province reset ferry fares on 1 September 2016. The public advisory issued the day before said discounts for seniors, students, children and commuters would keep the percentages each route had always used.
Burnside, on the mainland side, is a local service district on the Eastport Peninsula, about 100 km north-east of Clarenville by Wikipedia's reckoning; together with St. Chad's it counted 79 people in 2021. With the ship starting and finishing each day at St. Brendan's, the timetable favours a morning trip off the island and an evening return; visitors from the mainland get the middle of the day on Cottel Island.
09:15, every day including Thursdays. It is the ship's first return trip after the 07:30 departure from St. Brendan's.
The winter timetable lists only two round trips on Thursdays: 07:30 and 15:30 from St. Brendan's, 09:15 and 18:30 from Burnside. The department does not publish a reason.
The car and driver pay $12.75 one way; each extra adult pays $4.25. Every fare is one way, so you pay again coming back.
On 16 May. The winter timetable runs from 16 September to 15 May.
Check 511 Newfoundland and Labrador. On 1 October 2026 it listed the Grace Sparkes as in service on schedule, on the winter timetable.
The department puts it at one hour and 18 km between Burnside and St. Brendan's.
Yes. The rate sheet linked from the official page is marked effective 1 September 2016, and we found no newer one on 2 October 2026.