europeannovice

There seems to be two places to catch a boat for whale watching. Either from Baie Sainte Catherine or Tadoussac. St Catherine appears to be a closer ride from Quebec City than is Tadoussac but is one a better take off point vs. the other?

Also St Catherine seems to be a two and half hour ride from Quebec City and Tadoussac seems to be a longer ride from QC. Are there any full day excursions that take off from Quebec City so you don't have to drive yourself over to either of these two locations? Can this be done as a day trip or is it better to just stay over night? Thanks in advance for your help.

Erick_L

Baie-Ste-Catherine and Tadoussac are on either side of the saguenay river. The ferry across is free but it can be a long wait in the summer.

AML does cruises from Quebec city, same day or overnight. There might be others. The same day cruise ends in Baie-Ste-Catherine and brings you back to QC on a bus.

I think it's better to drive and better to cross to Tadoussac. That's where all the activities are. There are trails for all kinds, an intrepetation center, and you can drive to Cap Bon-Désir where you have good chances of seeing whales from the shore. I've seen more whales from the shore than on tour boats. They follow the shore downriver as the tide go down, and upriver as the tide goes up.

I think it's worth staying overnight and take the time to visit along the way. On your way to Tadoussac, you'll across Montmorency Falls, île D'Orléans, Ste-Anne basilica, Ste-Anne canyon (a bit cheesy IMO), Cap Tourmente (if you like birds), Baie-st-Paul and its many galleries, Île-aux-Coudres. And you can take a look at Parc des Hautes-Gorges on your way back.

I suggest driving this route:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...74&ie=UTF8&z=8

kkukura

I agree with Erick. We drove to Tadoussac last summer for whale watching. It is a wonderful town (great seafood to eat) and we took a whale watching tour. We stayed in some cabins just outside the town that we loved!!!

Happytrav

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