First, look at my recommendations for a FIVE day stay on the island, and then add the following.

When you leave Gros Morne you DO have time for a quick trip to St. John's if you want, remembering that it's a day's drive each way and a VERY long day's drive if you want to drive all the way back from St. John's to Port Aux Basques. If you did that you'd have three full days in St. John's (or two if you wanted to break up the trip back to Port Aux Basques into two parts).  Once in St. John's you'd want to do Signal Hill, the Geo Centre, George Street (great traditional music and LOTS of pubs), Marine Drive and maybe, if you're inclined to do some shopping, Water Street. Visit the Weavery and the Downhomer Shop. (Now you don't really want to go to Malls do you?  They're the same everywhere.) If you have the second or third day do the Whale/Bird Watching tour. (See the links on our LINKS page.) Going around the Southern Shore Drive (I think it's called the Irish Loop) will take a full day. You may want to look for a B&B in St. Mary's. You may also want to go around Cape St. Mary's to Placentia Bay and see the bird sanctuary, but I don't think you'll have time for that in one day. If you left VERY early and planned to arrive back in St. John's late, or if you did it on the way back West with a stay at a B&B you could fit it all in. The roads around the capes certainly aren't high speed roads (he says tongue in cheek). They're OK, but you'll have to watch out for the Newfoundland speed bumps (moose and caribou).

Now, instead of going to St. John's you may want to do Green Bay, White Bay, and Central Newfoundland.  There are great hiking trails in Green Bay. You may also want to spend some time in St. Anthony and visit L'Anse Aux Meadows and the Viking sites. You could even cross over to Labrador and spend some time there. BE WARNED: In the summer you'll get carried away with the black flies. It would be wonderful trip early spring or early fall. Winter comes early in Labrador, so I wouldn't feel too safe traveling there any time after mid-October.  There is an ancient Basques whaling station in Red Bay. You can't go all that far in Labrador, and you'll have to come back the way you went. (Of course the same is true of the entire Northern Peninsula unless Danny gets his way and the tunnel gets built - but that won't happen in my lifetime. Sigh!)