Travelpack

Day 2: FREE DAY Montreal
Highlights today may include Notre Dame Cathedral, old Montreal with its cobbled streets and outdoor restaurants, St. Joseph Oratory, and one of the best shopping streets in Canada – Sainte-Catherine Street. The diversity of the city’s resident population is evident in the kitchens, chic restaurants and casual eateries. Bring-your-own-wine establishments near Prince Arthur Street and Square Saint-Louis are especially popular.

Day 3: Montreal - Quebec City (236 km) 

You have a choice of either the south or northern routes to take you to Quebec City and as you will return in the similar direction we suggest alternating.

Day 4: FREE DAY Quebec City
A free day to explore this truly historic city. Take in the old city with its cobbled streets, historic buildings and strongly fortified walls. Enjoy the views over the St. Lawrence River from the Dufferin Terraces and take time to explore the colourful
streets, stores, pavement cafes and restaurants.

Day 5: Quebec City - Tadoussac (220 km) 

Early morning, leave Quebec City and travel directly to the quaint village of Tadoussac for your afternoon whale watching cruise.

Included Activity: Commented Whale watching cruise From the deck of one of our cruise ships, you will have a front-row seat for this natural, larger-than-life production featuring spectacular leaps and pods of hungry whales seeking to find enough krill to sate their enormous appetites.
A show you won’t soon forget!

Depart Tadoussac early this morning, traveling along the rugged, northern shore of the St Lawrence. At Baie Comeau take a ferry across the Seaway to Matane and the Gaspe Peninsula
-OR- Alternatively for a shorter ferry crossing you may wish to cross at Rivière-du-Loup to Saint-Siméon and then travel up the south coast to Matane. Check ferry schedules prior to departure.

Day 7: Matane - Perce (371 km)
Travel east today along the coastline. You may wish to visit Parc de la Gaspesie, one of the most beautiful parks in Gaspe, which boasts the highest peak in Quebec Mont Jacques Cartier. As you head towards Perce, discover the beauty of Forillon National Park – a vast nature reserve housing numerous plant and animal species. On route, travel through the Peninsula’s charming coves and small fishing ports, great lunch stops, before reaching your destination.

Travelpack recommends: Exploramer - A Laboratory at Sea Through a sea excursion, discover the ecosystem’s biodiversity of the St. Lawrence Gulf, watch the rising of fishing traps, handle little-known organisms, and take part in releasing species into the water.

Day 8: Perce
Today explore Perce Rock, all who have seen it have been impressed by its size, its colour and its beauty. Due to the many belvederes in the area, the Rock can be viewed from many angles. It can also be observed by boat and you can walk right up to it at low tide.

Day 9: Perce - Bonaventure (125 km)
This morning you may choose to take an excursion to the Island of Bonaventure, just off the coast of Perce. It has one of the most important gannet colonies in the world and many other species of birds such as puffins, cormorants and murres. The island also has many interesting and diversified trails alongside cliffs, crevasses and beaches. In the afternoon head south along the spectacular coastline to Bo Bonaventure, your destination for the night.

Day 10: Bonaventure
Spend the day exploring the southern area of Gaspe. Bonaventure is an active city and has many attractions and activities
to offer. Visit the imposing church and its vault covered with Georges S. Dorval’s paintings. There is also a museum, a zoo and an interpretation centre. You have access to many recreational activities : Beaubassin Beach, salmon fishing on the Bonaventure River, kayaking and canoeing. Finally, a popular celebration, La Braderie, takes place at the end of July.

Day 11: Bonaventure - Rimouski (318 km) 

Travel through numerous fishing villages this morning, before heading inland, through the Matapedia Valley to Rimouski, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Travelpack recommends: Reford Gardens A visit to the superb Reford Gardens, located at Grand-Métis, absolutely must not be missed. A jewel of Canadian horticultural heritage, it was created by Elsie Reford in the early 20th century and contains more than 3,000 plant species, including the famous Himalayan Blue Poppy.

Day 12: Rimouski – Quebec City (295 km) 

Follow the St. Lawrence passing through some wonderful scenery, on your way back to Quebec City to end your tour.