Tips for our Québec itinerary

Hello, We’re a couple in our 70s planning to visit Québec this summer. We only do short hikes of about 6 km round trip. What do you think of our itinerary? Thanks so much for your advice! Day 1: FRANCE/MONTREAL Days 2 & 3: MONTREAL Day 4: MONTREAL/BAIE ST PAUL – 2 nights Day 5: BAIE ST PAUL Day 6: BAIE ST PAUL/La Malbaie/Port-au-Persil/BAIE STE CATHERINE – 2 nights Day 7: BAIE STE CATHERINE/TADOUSSAC/BAIE STE CATHERINE Day 8: BAIE STE CATHERINE/SACRÉ-CŒUR/LES BERGERONNES – 2 nights Day 9: LES BERGERONNES/ferry LES ESCOUMINS/BIC NATIONAL PARK – 2 nights in Rimouski Day 10: BIC NATIONAL PARK Day 11: BIC NATIONAL PARK/CARLETON-SUR-MER – 1 night Day 12: CARLETON-SUR-MER/PERCÉ – 2 nights Day 13: PERCÉ Day 14: PERCÉ/GASPÉ/CAP DES ROSIERS – 1 night

Visit Forillon Park

Day 15: CAP DES ROSIERS/GASPÉSIE PARK – 2 nights in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts Day 16: GASPÉSIE PARK Day 17: GASPÉSIE PARK/KAMOURASKA – 1 night Day 17: KAMOURASKA/QUÉBEC CITY Days 18 & 19: QUÉBEC CITY Day 20: QUÉBEC CITY/AIRPORT MONTREAL for France

hi there—just a heads-up, as you might’ve guessed, distances are huge in Québec and you’ll probably end up driving a lot. Just Montréal to Mont-Laurier alone took a good 3–4 hours. If you want to experience Québec’s nature, Mont-Tremblant isn’t too far from Montréal and might be enough.

Hello Odiji, I really like your itinerary. Personally, I find it realistic. You’re not trying to visit the capital Ottawa, Niagara Falls, etc., all in one trip. I see you’re focusing on the North Shore and the Gaspé Peninsula. 🙂

Depending on the time you leave Montreal for Baie-Saint-Paul (Day 4), I’d recommend taking the Chemin du Roi between Montreal and Quebec City. It’s a great historical route with a few mills and attractions along the way—on the north side of the river.

Also, I personally love visiting Montreal. There’s so much to do and see, you’ll have tough choices to make. Depending on when you’re there in the summer, keep an eye out for events or festivals. That might influence your dates if you haven’t finalized them yet. Let us know what your interests are—there are plenty of us who can definitely help you improve your trip. For example, do you like beer? There are so many microbreweries now. Or are you interested in learning more about Montreal’s history, Quebec’s, or even New France? Want to visit an Indigenous territory?

Lastly, don’t forget to make your reservations in advance. Quebecers travel a lot during the summer, especially in Gaspésie.

I’ll be following your post and the replies. I’ll try to add to the conversation 😉

Happy planning, and welcome to Quebec in advance! 🙂

For you, 2 places to visit for a totally unique sleep experience along the lower part of the river:

https://www.vieuxloupdemer.com/ In Rimouski Auberge du Vieux Loup de Mer. This site is enchanting. The owners have preserved old heritage and non-heritage buildings to create a little village just steps from Bic. For anyone wanting to live the "My Cabin in Canada" adventure, it’s a must-visit.😉

And

https://duvetnor.com/ Rivière-du-Loup

The Duvetnor Society lets you sleep on an island right in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. To get there, you leave your car on the mainland and take a boat to reach the island. You’ll experience the tides firsthand. An exceptional nature break. I recommend staying 2 nights if possible.

For both places, it’s highly recommended to book in advance—think February or March. Check the websites for reservation opening dates.

Cheers

Hi Odijili, I’ve got a few questions to help you with your planning. When you say summer, do you have more specific dates in mind? Just so you know, from July 20 to August 2, 2025, it’s a major vacation period here (the "famous" Construction Holidays), so tourist spots—including Gaspésie—will be pretty crowded. If your trip falls during those dates, you’ll definitely want to book your accommodations as soon as possible.

What’s the reason for stopping 2 nights in Baie-Saint-Paul? Sure, it’s a lovely village with lots of art galleries, but personally, I’d start to find 2 nights there a bit long...

Same for Baie-Sainte-Catherine—I’m guessing you’re choosing to stay there instead of Tadoussac, but is there even lodging available in Baie-Sainte-Catherine? From what I remember, it’s mostly just the ferry dock to Tadoussac (though I haven’t been there in ages ;-)).

In my opinion, you could spend an extra night in Cap-des-Rosiers to potentially do a whale-watching cruise in Forillon.

For your last day, I’d suggest ending your trip in Montreal instead of heading straight to the airport. Why? First, because it’s risky to fly out directly from Quebec City if there’s any issue on the road (like construction or an accident causing delays). On the other hand, flights to Europe usually leave in the evening, so you’d need to be at the airport by early afternoon for check-in.

But the other thing is, since you’re spending your first 2 days in Montreal, I assume you’ll be picking up your rental car downtown. In that case, you’d have drop-off fees if you return it at the airport!

Anyway, your current route has a solid foundation, but there’s room for improvement 😛, and the forum crew will help you out with that!

Hello, We’re a couple in our 70s and we’d like to visit Quebec this summer. We only do short hikes of about 6 km round trip. What do you think of our itinerary? Thanks so much for your advice!

Day 13: PERCE Day 14: PERCE/GASPÉ/CAP DES ROSIERS – 1 night Day 20: QUEBEC/AIRPORT MONTREAL for France

No walk on Bonaventure Island (Percé) to see the northern gannets? What a shame!

Yes, of course we’ll go to Bonaventure Island.

For accommodation, we’re looking at Baie-Sainte-Catherine since there’s nothing affordable in Tadoussac. But it’s not easy to cross over for visits in the middle of summer with a car. I found places in Sacré-Cœur and Bergeronnes. Is that better? Thanks so much

Sure, we’ll definitely go to Bonaventure Island. Because there’s nothing cheap in Tadoussac. Thanks a lot

Really?

hi, Sometimes there can be a wait for the ferry between Baie Ste Catherine and Tadoussac, so I’d recommend staying around Bergeronnes instead if you don’t want to stay in Tadoussac. Check out Essipit—they’ve got a pretty varied selection: https://vacancesessipit.com/

happy planning

Thanks so much

We stayed in Sacré-Coeur, very close to Tadoussac and also near a lovely spot to see the fjord... in short, a great location.