Road trip: Montreal > Mont Tremblant > Quebec City > Tadoussac
 

Hi all, 

We (me and the girlfriend) are 2 weeks into our 1 year around the world trip. We are currently based in Montreal and have a place untill the end of July. 

Our initial plan was to travel accross canada but with the train pass costing around $1000 alone we have have decided against.  We have come up with this as an alternative.

Road trip: Montreal > Mont Tremblant > Quebec City > Tadoussac (Whale watching)


We  would really appreciate any infomation/pointers including do's, donts.

Firstly:  should we hire a 4x4 and drive (cheapest place to hire & approx how much would it cost in fuel?)
Or travel by bus/train? (which companies?)

What are peoples thoughts on the route? Should we leave anything out? Are there any other places we must see?

Also places to stay

Please not we are on a fairly tight budget.

Thanks in advance

Mont Tremblant is certainly out of the way if you are headed to Quebec City. In Quebec City you won't need a car, it's very walkable. There are several inexpensive hostels in Quebec City. Try and stay as close to (or in) the old city as possible. I would think you would want a car to get to Tadoussac, especially if you want to explore the beautiful countryside, which is great for hiking, kayaking, etc. Unless you are planning some off road driving, why a 4x4? Tadoussac is a little seaside resort type town with a nice beach, although the water is not too inviting for swimming. There are many inexpensive b&b's in the Tadoussac area.

Thank you very much advice. I was just going to ask if we actually need a 4x4 to.
Maybe we will miss out tremblant then.

Are there anyother sites/landmarks we should see on the way?

Cheers

You certainly don't need a 4x4. You can travel by bus with Orleans Express and intercar. You could visit Tadoussac by foot but there are many places to stop between Quebec City and Tadoussac, where a car would make more sense.

http://www.orleansexpress.com
http://www.intercar.qc.ca/

Personally, I'd skip Mont Tremblant. It's overly touristic and the nature is not any more interesting than La Mauricie park (north of Trois-Rivières) or Jacques-Cartier park (near Quebec City) or anywhere in Charlevoix.

I would take a full day or more going to Tadoussac and drive on highway 362 between Baie-St-Paul and La Malbaie. On the way back, I would stop at Hautes-Gorges park and drive the back roads (Route des Montagnes) to St-Urbain-de-Charlevoix.