Things to Do in Antigua and Barbuda in September

The boat pushes out from Bay Bulls harbour into the cold North Atlantic, where the air smells of kelp and diesel and the wind cuts sharp even in summer. Within minutes, the cliffs of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve rise to starboard, their ledges packed with Atlantic puffins standing shoulder to shoulder, orange bills bright against dark rock. Below, humpback whales surface to feed on capelin schools, their exhalations hanging in the fog like small clouds before the breeze tears them apart. This is a Newfoundland cruise, operating on the Avalon Peninsula of eastern Canada, not the Caribbean.

This guided drive covers the colourful row houses of downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, their clapboard facades painted in reds, yellows, and deep blues that pop against the grey Atlantic sky, then climbs east to Cape Spear, the continent's easternmost point. At the Cape, you stand on a wind-scoured headland where the grass lies flat, the horizon is nothing but open ocean, and a restored Second World War gun battery sits in rusted silence beside the 1836 lighthouse. The salt air here is so thick it coats your lips. This tour operates entirely in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

On foot through the steep streets of St. John's, Newfoundland, this walk covers the pastel row houses of Jellybean Row, the heavy stone of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, and the narrow lanes around George Street where the smell of fresh-baked toutons drifts from pub kitchens in the morning. Guides here tend to be locals who grew up in the city, and the stories carry the cadence and dry wit of Newfoundland speech, a dialect unlike anything else on the continent. Cobblestones underfoot, the screech of gulls overhead, the damp chill of harbour fog on your forearms. This walking tour is based in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

This is an experience built around the true story behind the musical Come From Away, which tells how the town of Gander, Newfoundland took in nearly 7,000 stranded airline passengers after airspace closed on 11 September 2001. The tour is led by a former cast member and covers key Newfoundland landmarks while weaving in the narrative of that week in Gander, capped with a sit-down lunch featuring local dishes. You hear the story from someone who performed it on stage hundreds of times, and the emotion in the telling is unvarnished. This experience operates in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Three hours eating through downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, starting at the harbour where salt cod has been dried on flakes for centuries and moving uphill through stops that might include Newfoundland-style fish and chips with scrunchions, partridgeberry jam on fresh bread, and a cold glass of Quidi Vidi craft beer. The flavours are North Atlantic to the core: briny, smoky, sweet from wild berries, and heavy on preserved fish traditions that predate the country itself. This food tour operates in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

A smaller, faster boat out of Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, this two-hour run hugs the coastline of the Avalon Peninsula where kittiwakes, murres, and storm-petrels nest in layered colonies on sea stacks, the noise of thousands of birds hitting you before the smell of guano does. Humpback and minke whales feed close to shore here, drawn by capelin that run so thick the water turns silver. The spray off the bow is cold enough to sting, and the engine cuts when a whale surfaces nearby so you hear the breath, a long exhale that sounds like a pressure valve releasing. This tour operates out of Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, Canada.