On a small island off an island in the North Atlantic, where sea air and salt water have formed the land, there is something special. Small villages decorate the rocks. The warmth of human connection balances quiet solitude. Intention breathes life into the community. Fogo Island Inn is that place.
As one of only two three-MICHELIN-Key winning properties in Canada — the other being Clayoquot Wilderness Resort on Canada's West Coast — Fogo Island Inn is the definition of a bucket-list destination in Canada.
Beyond its striking modern aesthetic and high-end hospitality, it grants guests entry to a unique community of people making their lives in a beautifully remote corner of the world.
Fogo Island Inn above the town of Joe Batt’s Arm | Credit: Destination Canada
Fogo Island Inn: Why Visit this Luxury Hotel in Canada
Fogo Island, an outpost in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Atlantic Canada, Canada's East Coast, is extraordinarily unique — 11 small fishing villages made of traditional clapboard houses; 34 varieties of edible berries growing on windswept barrens; dramatic shores in every direction; and, between them, peeks of a futuristic stilted hotel and striking artist studios.
The contrast of the island is enigmatic, and the warmth within it enduring. It's only natural that people come from all over the world to see this: one of the most striking places to visit in Canada.
Turpin’s Trail in Tilting | Credit: Barrett n MacKay Photo / Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism
Entangled with Nature, Rooted in Community
Fogo Island — and, by extension, Fogo Island Inn — is grounded in the blend between the natural and the human.
While Fogo Island Inn might visually stand out from the rest of the island, it is deeply ingrained in its culture.
Profits from operating surpluses are reinvested into the community, allowing the inn to preserve the island's way of life — one that was at risk due to the industrialization of the fishing industry.
The inn also provides work on the island.
Beyond employing islanders as inn staff, most furniture is made locally, giving locals the means to make a living from carpentry and artistry, too. Whether sleek wooden chairs, knitted pillows, or the iconic patchwork quilts that top each bed — which, we might add, even include the name of its maker and date it was completed, hand-embroidered into one corner — the inn is a vital lifeblood of Fogo Island.
Visiting guests, who pay to stay at the inn, eat across the island, and even purchase these locally-made goods directly from the inn, only contribute to the community's growth.
Handmade furniture in your room | Credit: Destination Canada
Inside Fogo Island Inn
Upon arrival, guests are welcomed as friends in a way ingrained into any good Newfoundland community. The check-in process is brief, so, after your travels, you are quickly free to unwind in your home for the duration.
But before you even step foot inside, or enjoy your welcome snack, you will find wonders at Fogo Island Inn.
Fogo Island Inn’s striking exterior | Credit: Destination Canada
The Building
Designed by Newfoundland-born architect Todd Saunders, Fogo Island Inn is undeniably striking. Despite its ultra-modern-bordering-futuristic design, it is the actualization of years of history and cultural heritage transformed into a contemporary masterpiece.
The white timber-clad walls mimic the clapboard houses, the stilts match the wharfs in the harbors, and, at almost a contrast to the outside, the inside looks and feels like the home of a friend.
Inside the Sunset Suite | Credit: Destination Canada
The Rooms and Suites
Fogo Island Inn has 29 rooms and suites, each with floor-to-ceiling windows and North Atlantic Ocean views. The rooms are split across Labrador Rooms, Newfoundland Rooms, and six stunning suites — two of which are large family suites.
Inside the Flat Earth Suite | Credit: Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
The rooms and suites here are like few other luxury destinations — quirky and colorful textiles take center stage, and everything is artfully mismatched.
Honoring Fogo Island tradition, hand-stitched patchwork quilts adorn every bed, and hand-knitted cushions are found dotted throughout the property. Even the wallpaper is bespoke, designed just for the inn to tell stories of the island.
These rooms are true remnants of the hand-made and cobbled-together aesthetics born from resourceful Fogo Island culture, masterfully elevated to high-end luxury.
The view from the dining room | Credit: Destination Canada
The Dining Room
The dining room is the place that best matches Fogo Island Inn's exterior. Tall windows line the room, tables set along them, and sweeping views of the ocean lie just behind. But it is still a warm and intimate space.
Here you will find breakfast, three-course lunch — if you have chosen to remain at the inn for the day — and set-menu dinner each night.
One of Fogo Island Inn’s gathering spaces | Credit: Destination Canada
Public Spaces
Fogo Island Inn extends beyond your room or suite. In true Maritime fashion, the public gathering spaces throughout the property are some of its best. And it can be expected that each has a wood fire, colorful furniture, and a home-like feel.
The Main Bar and Lounge, alongside the dining room, hosts music and storytelling from local Fogo Islanders, and drinks served from the bar. The Tea Room is the place to relax with warm drinks. You'll also find the Guest Experiences team here, ready to help you plan daily activities. The Rooftop Lounge and Honesty Bar is on the fourth floor and has a selection of drinks and baked goods from the pastry team to keep you company.
Left: The Library with log fire and selected readings | Credit: Fogo Island Inn
Right: The Main Bar and Lounge as seen by our team on their most recent trip
The Library holds an extensive collection of both fiction and non-fiction based in and on Newfoundland and Canada. There is a recommended reading list to accompany you on your stay, comfortable chairs to enjoy the books from, and a long table with games. And the Cinema is a 12-seat theater that shows documentaries and movies throughout the day, along with the appropriate movie snacks.
The Art Gallery hosts exhibitions by local and resident artists, contributing to the thriving arts community on Fogo Island.
Left: The rooftop hot tubs with expansive ocean views | Credit: Alex_Fradkin
Right: One of the two steam rooms | Credit: Fogo Island Inn
And, while there is no on-site spa, a small gym and yoga room are on the fourth floor for a little health and wellness. Of course, floor-to-ceiling ocean views await from inside and out, where rooftop hot tubs and two steam rooms can be found.
A house and family in Tilting | Credit: Barrett & MacKay Photo
The People
The people are what truly make Fogo Island. At the inn, each guest will be introduced to the place by their personal 'community host' — a Fogo Island local who will show you around, likely introducing you to their friends, and the friends of their friends as you go. They help guests ground themselves in the place they are visiting, the culture that thrives in it, and the communities that benefit from their time there.
If you don't end your time with your community host with one Fogo Islander for a friend, it's because you've made three more along the way.
Tilting’s waterfront and colorful houses and sheds | Credit: Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism
What to do on Fogo Island
From hiking to whale watching on the North Atlantic, a trip to Fogo Island Inn is about that sense of place. Most activities found here are about slowing down, disconnecting from the modern world, and reconnecting with what matters most.
You can arrange these experiences and activities from the Tea Room in the inn.
Hiking path to Squish Studio | Credit: Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism
Explore Nature
An elusive herd of caribou wanders the island, humpback whales swim through the seas, and colonies of puffins nest on the Little Fogo Islands' cliffs. Over 200km of paths and trails weave across the windswept barrens, through the forested coves, and along the sandy and rocky beaches. And, between it, you'll see the way nature and culture meet, as striking artist studios and working and abandoned communities live among.
From left to right:Tower Studio and Squish Studio | Credit: Destination Canada
Hiking these trails is the best way to see the island and the life that calls it home.
You can go alone, with your community host, or accompanied by one of the on-site expert naturalists who will identify the plants and animals you see, and the stories that the landscape has shaped.
Fogo Town with Brimstone Head in the background | Credit: Fogo Island Inn
Visit Fogo Island's Towns
11 distinct communities call Fogo Island home. From the protected coves along the Southwest to the windswept shores in the East. The towns are:
- Stag Harbour
- Seldom
- Deep Bay
- Island Harbour
- Fogo Island Central
- Fogo
- Shoal Bay
- Barr'd Islands
- Tilting
- Joe Batt's Arm
Each town has a unique culture of its own.
Stag Harbour, where you first land on the island, is tucked into a sheltered cove, and exudes a comfortable atmosphere.
Tilting, on the barrens facing the wild Atlantic of the far side of the island, has strong Irish roots still evident today.
And the town of Fogo is known as one of the four corners of the flat Earth, according to the Canadian Flat Earth Society.
Left: Foraging wild berries on Fogo Island | Credit: Destination Canada
Right: Grazing sheep in Tilting | Credit: Barrett & MacKay Photo
Learn the Local Culture
Fogo Island is rich with unique local cultures varying across the island.
In Joe Batt's Arm, find a Jam and Quilt store that doubles as a local museum and explore the gardens and root cellars that keep the islanders fed despite its harsh climate.
In the sheltered woodland in the south, learn to forage and enjoy a traditional 'boil-up' of hearty stew and your fresh-foraged tea, made with a Fogo Island Inn expert naturalist, and learn how the Fogo Island Inn team incorporates wild foraged foods into even high-end luxury cuisine.
And in the community of Tilting, see the McGrath family's sheep grazing the hills and be welcomed into a 'Shed Party', the culmination of the friendly Fogo Island draw. There, in a small — but overwhelmingly cozy — shed, experience a traditional gathering with the islanders, where the small venue is flush with fresh seafood, warming screech (Newfoundland rum), folk music, and dance.
Left: A local fisherman | Credit: Destination Canada
Right: A breaching whale just off the coach | Credit: Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism
Go Whale Watching or Cod Fishing
Fogo Island is born from its waters, where cod fishing sustained generations of islanders and founded the culture and tastes with culinary traditions. As the cod population dwindled following the industrialization of fishing, the future of Fogo Island's population was unclear.
Now, fishers invite you to take to their waters to experience cod jigging (fishing) on an open boat, and watch for whales as you go. This is the chance to experience the waters as the locals do, while adding the opportunity to see the remarkable.
Whale watching in Newfoundland offers the chance to see humpbacks, minke, and other transient species passing along the North Atlantic coasts. And, while they can be seen from shore or from the floor to ceiling ocean views your room provides, the best way is always to meet them at sea.
Keep in mind that the fishing and whale watching season is short, running between June and August each year. So if you want to go whale watching or experience traditional fishing, you should plan your trip in summer.
Fine Dining at Fogo Island Inn | Credit: Destination Canada
Enjoy Fine Dining
Food, on Fogo Island, is truly where nature and culture meet. And at Fogo Island Inn, fine dining is just a natural part of your day. The menus always feature hyper-seasonal, hyper-local ingredients, and fluctuate across the seven seasons on the island.
The Inn works with fishers, hunters, and foragers across Fogo Island and Newfoundland to honor both Fogo Island flavors, but also traditional sourcing. And, from these culinary traditions, every dish tells a story of Fogo. The Inn even provides a list of the local food suppliers they source each product from.
From left to right: Celiac-friendly Partridgeberry Scone for daybreak and smoked Lamb with eggs and garlic greens for breakfast. Both enjoyed by our Travel Designers during their trip to Fogo Island Inn
Each morning, at 6am, a 'daybreak' basket is placed at your door, with coffee and a baked good to enjoy in bed before breakfast.
Breakfast consists of a rotating menu, always featuring local produce. Pictured is the Smoked Lamb our Travel Designers enjoyed on their recent trip to Fogo Island Inn, but the offerings vary wildly. From a classic breakfast — eggs, bacon, sausage, the works — to a stack of pancakes, all the expected breakfast options frequently rotate through. But regional specialties — a rabbit omelette or lobster stew — also chance across the breakfast menu.
Sampling Newfoundland seafood at the inn | Credit: Destination Canada
During your days, you can choose to take a lunch on your adventures, return to the Inn to dine, or eat at local places across the island communities. With the cost of your meal in the communities included, inclusive hospitality at Fogo Island Inn fosters strong economic growth island-wide, not just at the inn itself.
Each evening, guests are treated to a set menu, built from Fogo Island's sense of place, and exploring its culinary heritage as modernized dishes.
How to Plan Your Trip to Fogo Island Inn
At Canada By Design, our team of travel experts invites you to experience Fogo Island your way, without missing the experiences only insiders know.
Left: Fogo Island Inn during Pack Ice season | Credit: Paddy Barry
Right: Fogo Island Inn during Berry season | Credit: Destination Canada
Best Time to Visit Fogo Island Inn
Fogo Island has seven distinct seasons:
Pack Ice, Spring, Trap Berth, Summer, Berry, Late Fall, and Winter.
The lodge is open seasonally, from Spring until Late Fall, for five of these seven.
We recommend visiting in Summer or Berry seasons, when the weather is warm and the island is full of life. But traveling during shoulder seasons offers a different kind of experience — the ice-covered Atlantic Ocean of Pack Ice or the quiet solitude of Late Fall welcome a restful stay at Fogo Island Inn.
The view from the Brimstone Head hike | Credit: Destination Canada
How to Get to Fogo Island Inn
The trip to Fogo Island Inn is long, but worth it every time.
Guests arrive at Fogo Island Inn in one of two ways.
Most choose to arrive in Gander by plane, before taking a one-hour drive to Farewell ferry terminal, a 45-minute ferry to Fogo Island, and another 25-minute drive to the inn. The long journey does just enough to dissuade over-tourism and preserve that sense of place that is so dear to Fogo Island.
But our favorite way to introduce guests to Fogo Island is by starting your trip with a private helicopter from Gander. It removes several of the typical steps, offering a seamless and luxurious start to your stay.
Let Canada By Design plan your stay with our complete Fogo Island Inn package. Your personal Travel Designer will work with you one-on-one to arrange everything you need, allowing you to simply relax into the journey.
Left: Gros Morne National Park | Credit: Destination Canada
Right: A house on Jellybean Row in St. John’s, Newfoundland | Credit: Destination Canada
Extend Your Stay with a Tour
If you're looking for something a little more than our Fogo Island Inn package, extend your time in Newfoundland & Labrador, with the best of Newfoundland West, and see Newfoundland's rural Northwest before transferring to Fogo Island.
Or, to see the range of ways people build their lives on Newfoundland, choose the Spirit of Newfoundland & Fogo Island. You'll see both city living in the province's capital, St. John's, and remote outpost life on Fogo Island.
Both tours include a private helicopter transfer to Fogo Island Inn, ensuring your time is spent in the places that matter most to you.
The Canada By Design team at Fogo Island Inn
Let Us Take Care of the Rest
At Canada By Design, we extend Fogo Island Inn's seamless experience from the first call until your last moments here. You will be connected with a personal Travel Designer who will work with you one-on-one to craft your dream trip, wherever in Canada it may be.
From there, we will arrange everything.
Whether it's the one-of-a-kind inn on Fogo Island, a luxury train to the Canadian Rockies, or a wilderness lodge deep in the British Columbia wilderness, Canada By Design is ready to introduce you to Canada your way.
Reach out to a travel designer to begin planning your trip today. Or, if you're not quite ready, subscribe to our newsletter to stay in touch, receive inspiration, deals, and recommendations right to your inbox. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
A little shed on the water on Fogo Island | Credit: Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism