pieterb

Next year in August, I will be over from Europe and driving with my family from Boston to Montreal. We have 10 days to do it.
Since this is probably our only chance to visit this area of N-America and Canada, we don't mind to do a lot of driving, as long as we can see some real highlights, things we don't get to see/do in Europe. Spotting whales and bears rank very high on the priority list of our two teenage girls.

I was thinking we could do the following:
Day 1: Drive North from Boston and sleep in a small town or near the coast in Maine
Day 2: Drive further North, cross Canadian border at Calais and take ferry from St John to Digby Neck
Day 3: Stay at Digby Neck/Brier Island
Day 4: Take a whale watching cruise from Digby Neck/Brier Island
Day 5: Take ferry back to St John - drive in the direction of Québec City, sleep somewhere nice halfway
Day 6: visit Québec City
Day 7: visit Québec City
Day 8: Drive up to Nature Reserve des Laurentides, go bear-watching
Day 9: Drive to Montreal
Since we have in fact 10 days for the trip, that would leave one additional day we could spend in Maine, or Nova Scotia, or North of Québec.

I would love to get feedback on (a) Trajectory. What is the best combination of whale watching - bear watching - nice outdoors areas and cities, all in 10 days (b) Places to stay the night, preferably a bit out-of-the-way. We don't have a big budget, and we like typical, but not very crowded or touristy places... Many thanks for helping us plan this once-in-a-lifetime trip!

zootsi

This sounds like a fun trip, but involves a tremendous amount of driving. Unless you have a great desire to go to St John & Digby, whale watch cruises can be found on the entire Maine coast. You could spend a night or two in Bar Harbor/Acadia (very beautiful), and then head to Quebec City from there. You will be heading thru some very rural country driving from Maine to Quebec City, and you might spot bear and moose en route. Realize that eastern black bears are fairly common throughout New England and Quebec, but they are very reclusive, so people don't really go bear watching. You are far more likely to spot moose and deer.
Also realize that Boston and Montreal are both very interesting cities, you might want to spend a day or two in each.

cdnyul

<< things we don't get to see/do in Europe. >>

In that case don't waste your time om Montreal and Quebec City.

10 days realistically limits you to Maine/ Nova Scotia.
August is prime tourist plucking time and traffic along the coast will be at a snails pace.

Mark

pieterb

Thanks. You have already exposed my ignorance about that part of the world
I didn't know you can also go whale watching off the Maine coast. I had read that from Digby Neck one is almost certain to view whales, so therefore I included it in the itinerary. Would you say chances are as good from Maine?
Also, I included Québec City because the close-by Laurentides reserve advertises bear-watching...

But maybe I need to rethink the itinerary. Are there other places besides Bar Harbor/Acadia that you would recommend?

@zootsi: Yes, we will spend some days in Boston and Montreal, but those are not included in the 10 days we have in-between.

@cdnyul: we must finish our trip in Montreal, that cannot be changed. So would you then say that Nova Scotia or thereabouts is out of the question?

cdnyul

No, it is not out the question. Actually it makes it easier. I assumed you were finishing your trip in Boston.

You are renting a car in Boston and leaving it in Montreal?

Mark

pieterb

Actually we're driving back after spending 4 days in Montreal, but that part will be pretty straightforward

cdnyul

Looks like time for everything, then.

BTW, since you plan to be in the area, Tadoussac is another great whale watching area.

Mark

zootsi

Whale Watching cruises are found everywhere fromm Boston up to the Maritimes. I believe the best area of the Atlantic is Stellwagen Bank, just off the tip of Cape Cod, although the Bay of Fundy and the St. Lawrence are also very good. This means good whale watching can be done from Boston, Cape Cod, Maine, and parts of Canada. You can even whale watch just north of Quebec city, so you have lots of options. As for small seacoast towns in Maine, you have dozens of options. The southern most ones like York, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport are known for beautiful sandy beaches that are swimmable. However they do get crowded in August. As you proceed north, the coast gets rockier and a little less crowded. Towns like Boothbay and Camden are very nice. I stand corrected on bear watching - it does sound interesting!

pieterb

Thanks! So how does this sound:
Day 1: Drive from Boston to Cape Cod
Day 2: Whale watching from Cape Cod
Day 3: Spend day at Cape Cod
Day 4: Coastal town of Maine
Day 5: Bar Harbor/Acadia
Day 6: Maine
Day 7: Quebec City
Day 8: Reserve des Laurentides
Day 9: Reserve des Laurentides/Tadoussac
Day 10: Drive to Montreal

That would already shave off around 800 kms of the original plan.
Alternatively, we skip Maine, drive through New Hampshire/Vermont and spend more time in Canada... (But then I have the feeling that Nova Scotia, PEI etc are more beautiful than the area around Quebec - so that would not improve things over the original plan?)

Erick_L

There's whale AND bear watching in Tadoussac (http://www.ours-noir.net/). You can watch whales from the shore. Gaspésie is really nice and you can see whales and bear in Forillon. A trip to Bonaventure island is nice for the Gannets colony and you might see whales there as well.

zootsi

pieterb, since yo are planning much of your trip in the US, you might want to also post your topic on the US forums. I'm not sure if doing both Cape Cod and Maine in one trip is necessary. Cape Cod is quite large, and you could easily spend a week exploring it. Realize that the drive from Boston to Cape Cod can involve heavy traffic if you go on a weekend. You can take a ferry from Boston to Cape Cod as another option. If you are going to Cape Cod just for whale watching, you can just do a whale watch from Boston - they sail to the same place.

pieterb

Thanks all for the tips!
I'm starting to have a pretty good idea of the trip: few days around Boston/Cape Cod, then just up the Maine coast (maybe we won't have time to go all the way to Acadia), then driving up to Quebec City/Tadoussac.

You are right I will look for info on the first leg of the trip on the US forums.

Some questions about the Canadian part of the trip:
-My route planner gives two options to reach Canada: either first to Quebec and then Tadoussac; or first to Tadoussac via ferry in Rivière-du-Loup. What should we do? Any good stopping places on the way?
-Are there any must-sees in the direct vicinity of Tadoussac, Quebec City, Montreal?
-Any tips on not-too-expensive accommodation also appreciated.

Erick_L

Going to QC then Tadoussac is quite a detour. I suggest you cross the St-Lawrence in Trois-Pistoles or Rivière-du-Loup.

The Charlevoix region is nice. Take highway 362 between La Malbaie and Baie-St-Paul. Closer to Quebec City, you'll drive by Ste-Anne basilica and Montmorency Falls.

If you're into hiking, Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie and Grands-Jardins parks in Charlevoix are good.

pieterb

thanks!

NorthwestMale

I'm always hesitant to chime-in when such a priority is placed on <I>whales and/or bears</i>, because it is <b>such a hit-or-miss ordeal</b>.


I perceive there are ten days from point-A Boston to point-B Montreal.

Also, you say you're from <I>Europe</i>, but I can't tell from that whether the <I>French culture</i> of Quebec is insignificant to you. (those in North America might be going to Montreal or Quebec City to sort of immerse themselves in the French element).


Beyond <i>that</i>, do we have to save time/room in the 10-days FOR seeing some of Montreal??


Assuming you already have Montreal covered, I might <b>begin from the END of the trip</b> and work it backward like this:


Last two nights in Quebec City

Night before that near Tadoussac, Quebec


one-way ferry from Riviere-du-Loup to Tadoussac <b>(which seems to run about $120 one-way for a standard car and 4 people each paying full fare)</b>


Night before <b>that</b> in either Miramichi, NB OR Fredericton, NB <b>each 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours from Riviere-du-Loup without any traffic</b>


<b>Visit <u>Hopewell Cape, NB</u> for the very best intro to the world's highest tides in the <I>Bay of Fundy</i>.</b> Best timed to arrive at or near <b>low tide</b>.


<I>IF reading this, and going <b>backward</b> along with me, now you're not too far from Moncton, New Brunswick, where we'll go ahead and say <b>spend the night before THAT (in Moncton)</b>.</i>


(so I've now allocated <b>the last five</b> {of 9?} nights on the trip, the first <b>of those five</b> having you at <I>Moncton, New Brunswick</i


So myyyyyyyyyyyyy interest, given how I have laid-out my suggestion, is: <b>CAN YOU</B> get from Boston, to <I>Cape Breton, NS</i> (which is listed among the best spots in Canada for whale watching) in that remaining time?

With that in mind, along with the fact that it is <b>eight hundred miles / 12 hours of <U>driving</u> time from <u>Boston to Baddeck, NS</u></b>... are you capable of driving that path with a single night in between?

(most likely the first night would target <b>Fredericton, NB</b>... {after 430 miles and a border crossing} on that first day).

(much of that path is in lightly-populated Maine, where traffic is gen-er-al-ly dependable)

Usually I like to suggest to people that they book two nights in Baddeck, and circle the Cabot Trail in between, but as you are interested in whale watching, and potentially going on a whale watching cruise there, I'd target that initial night on Cape Breton for Baddeck, and the other along the Cabot Trail somewhere.


So lemme see, again, figuring NINE nights... and going backward, as I have been doing:


9 Quebec City
8 Quebec City
7 Tadoussac, QC
6 Miramichi, NB ???
5 Moncton, NB area
4
3 Cape Breton, NS
2 Baddeck, NS
1 Fredericton, NB



I just mapped out the path of my <I>vision</i> for such a trip, and it covers 1900 miles of driving and involves 35 hours on the road.


(*** that does NOT include the bit of added ground for the bear watching trip, in Quebec )

<b>There IS an <I>extra/available</b> night</i> on my list, suitable for adding in wherever you want...


And while I still don't know how much to bank on your seeing whales and/or bears, I made it a point to cover <b>Hopewell Cape, NB</b> (for the Fundy tides), <b>Cape Breton, NS</b> (among the most scenic areas in eastern Canada), while also prioritizing two nights in Quebec City, which is a very unique city boasting what it calls <I>"The most photographed hotel in the world"</i> (which is amusingly on a placemat here on my computer desk).


If I were made to name a spot for that odd night, I might consider Pictou, Nova Scotia... as it is along the path between night 3 and night 5, and could make for a day of less-demanding travel while still making progress. (if the Fundy Tides were of more interest, maybe spend that night in Truro, NS, walking out into the sand at low tide, and then taking a leisurely path from Truro to <b>Parrsboro, NS</b> (along the Fundy shore) and then up toward Moncton, NB)


Hope this at least gives you food for added thought...

pieterb

wow, very helpful, thanks!!