Montreal,Quebec city and St Lawrence river
 

Hi
We are family with 11 year old daughter and we are planning 2 weeks in Eastern Canada next August. We are thinking 4 days in Montreal, 3 in Quebec City, 2 at Tadoussac, 5 in Baie St Paul and then finally 1 night back in Montreal. Does this seem realistic distance and time wise? Initially we were planning to start in Toronto but thought this would be overdoing it.

We are planning to go Whale watching in Tadoussac and to Montmorency falls otherwise we have no specific plans. Any must sees or dos?

Also we hope to swim at the beach, St Irenee on the St Lawrence river, will it be warm enough at end of August?

Many thanks
Lewesgirl

There is a reasonable distance between Toronto and Quebec City that allows you to visit all of your stops within the two week window... transport using air, train, bus, or rental car are available...

I would add Toronto, with a side trip to Niagara, using the beach at Toronto Islands, and a 2 or 3 night stay...

2 to 3 nights in Montreal is enough, as 2 to 3 in Quebec City...

Add in your other stops for a night or side trip and you will have done a fair job exploring the region...

Toronto-Montreal is a five-hour drive, fairly scenic in the Kingston area. Allow lots of extra time for snarly expressways both leaving Toronto and trying to enter Montreal. That's assuming you have your own car. If renting, you might want to train it or fly to Montreal. If you need to fly to wherever your home is, look into a multi-city airline ticket into TO and home from Montreal. Leaving from Quebec City would be nice but its airport has far fewer long-distance connections.

Your plan sounds good except that 5 nights in Baie St Paul might be too much. Perhaps 2-3 nights. As for swimming in the St Lawrence, I wouldn't call it a great beach area. The water is cold and a bit murky. Tadoussac also has a fairly nice beach. We were there in mid August several years ago, but didn't do much swimming - very charming resort town, however. ile aux coudres is another fun place to explore in the Charlevoix area, another good biking spot.

I would recommend considering a few nights in the Eastern Townships at the end of your trip. The Eastern Townships are a picturesque rural area just outside Montreal with mountains, farms, vineyards, lakes, hiking and some amazing bicycling trails.One of the largest zoos in Canada is in the busy little city of Granby. Look at towns like Magog, Bromont & Sutton as a base.

I've ridden the Corridor train between Montréal and Toronto, and I have booked this VIA Rail Canada train again in May 2018, from Toronto to Montréal. Nice, comfortable, modern trains, it's a five-hour ride, from downtown to downtown, without any hassle. I was in Business Class and got a warm meal with a glass of wine, and I had access to the special Lounge at Gare Centrale. Excellent!