A town of about 12,000 took in thousands of stranded passengers in a single week in September 2001, when 38 planes were diverted to Gander after 9/11, a story later told in the musical Come From Away. The town grew around its airport, which opened in 1938.
The North Atlantic Aviation Museum is the natural first stop. After that, Gander Lake and the river are good for boating and fishing, and Terra Nova National Park is about an hour away. Twillingate, about 100 km north, is a well-known spot to see icebergs and whales, and Fogo Island makes another day trip. Living costs are modest, and crime is low, near or below the national average. The main hazards are practical: moose on the Trans-Canada Highway at dusk, fog, wind, and cold winters with blizzards. It is a quiet, friendly, central base for exploring the island.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Crossroads of the World; Aviation capital of Newfoundland; Gander International Airport hub; Where 38 planes landed on 9/11 (Come From Away); North Atlantic Aviation Museum
- Founded
- 1936 airport construction and settlement began; 1938 airport opened; 1958 incorporated as a town
- Languages
- English; Newfoundland English dialect; small French and immigrant communities; airport workers from many countries
- Airports
- Gander International Airport (YQX), in the town (Air Canada and PAL flights to St. John's, Halifax, and Toronto, approximate; a major transatlantic diversion airport); St. John's International (YYT), about 330 km east (about 3 hours by car); Deer Lake Regional (YDF), about 280 km west
- Tipping
- Restaurants 15-20% of the pre-tax bill; bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20% of tab; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 CAD per night; bellhops $2-5 CAD per bag; tour guides 10-15%; counter service optional (all amounts CAD; Newfoundland and Labrador charges 15% HST on top of listed prices, so tip on the pre-tax amount)
About this data
Population 11,880 (2021 Census), area 104.53 sq km, elevation 128 m, coordinates and founding from Wikipedia. Metro figure set equal to the city figure (Gander is a small census agglomeration in some years; the CA figure was not confirmed, approximate). Airline service listed is approximate. visitor_website is the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial tourism site (no dedicated Gander tourism site confirmed) and event_calendar uses the same site. Web fetch of Wikipedia was used for population, area, elevation, coordinates and founding; StatCan pages were not retried (robots-blocked). Event names and months, hotel ranges, cost of living, crime index, rent, prices and distances are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified. All money in CAD.
