Tadoussac Road Trip from Québec: Whale Watching, Fjords, Tips & Experience

Québec is probably Canada’s coolest province, and asides from Montréal and Québec, there are other cool places to visit like Tadoussac where you can find Fjords and some of the best whale watching in the world. Tadoussac is known as one of the best whale-watching spots on the planet, and it lived up to the hype. It all happens because the freshwater from the Saguenay Fjord mixes with the salty water of the St. Lawrence River, creating a giant “whale buffet.” This unique underwater blender pushes tons of food to the surface, attracting up to 13 different species of marine mammals every summer. Because it’s such a massive hotspot, you get the chance to see everything from belugas to giant humpbacks.

And Tadoussac is just 3 hours north of Québec City and has gorgeous views of the St. Lawrence.  If you’re up for a long day, you can do a day trip, but for a less stressful experience I’d recommend going for a night or two if you’re travelling from Québec City.  That’s what we did; we kept our hotel in Québec City for the night, but headed off to Tadoussac for a night.  We had to double dip and pay for two different hotels on one night (one in Québec and one in Tadoussac) but it was worth the price so that we didn’t have to haul all of our luggage; we just brought a few small bags in our rental car.

The Ride to Tadoussac

The drive takes about 3 hours, but with traffic, stops, and crossing on the ferry, yes, you have to drive your car on a ferry, we gave ourselves extra time and left early.  We left Québec City at 7 am.  Our tour started at 1:00 pm but we had to get out tickets first and check in at 12:30 pm.

The drive was smooth, easy, and incredibly scenic. First, you pass the roaring Montmorency Falls, and then the ride gets even more beautiful as you enter the mountainous Charlevoix region. As you get closer to Tadoussac, the road becomes a roller coaster of hills, offering sweeping mountain views and stunning panoramas as you coast along the St. Lawrence River.

We stopped at a few viewpoints, for gas and snacks along the way.  It was a gorgeous ride, and leaving early allowed us to take our time and enjoy.  Baie-Saint Paul was a beautiful town we passed through and planned to stop on our drive back the next day.  We also stopped for freshly picked strawberries on the way and they were a delicious snack for the ride.

By about 10:30 am we were getting close, which was nice because we wanted to eat lunch before our 3 hour whale watching tour.  Before reaching Tadoussac, we passed through Baie-Sainte-Catherine which is a quite but nice town on the other side of the  Saguenay Fjord.  We were actually staying there, as it was much cheaper, but decided we would check in after whale watching.  We kept going another 5 minutes and arrived at the ferry.

The ferry crosses the Saguenay Fjord to get to Tadoussac from the Charlevoix region.  It is completely free but necessary to get to Tadoussac when driving from Québec City.  The ferry only takes 5-10 minutes, but I’ve heard there can be a lineup, hence part of the reason we left so early.  But when we got there, we didn’t have to wait.  We drove right on and crossed within a few minutes.  The ferry is very organized and there are workers guiding you where to park.  While only a 5–10-minute ride, you can get out of your car and enjoy the views as you cross.

By the time we arrived in Tadoussac it was just after 11:00 am, so we had plenty of time to spare which was good because we were starving.  First, we picked up our tickets at the AML Croisières ticket office and parked our car.  It cost $25 to park for the entire day.  It was about a 15-minute walk through the town and past the beach to the marina for the AML Croisières meeting point.  We stopped for lunch at Café Bohème a cool, charming little bistro housed in a historic building right on the main street. It was one of the few spots open early in the day, making it the perfect place to stop for lunch before a long day whale watching.  We ordered the Piggy Mac and Cheese and Fish and Chips.  Both were excellent: the fish was crispy and fresh and the mac and cheese was cheesy and loaded.  They were both served with a fresh salad to get some greens in us.

After lunch we headed through town to the marina.  The town is quite charming, with classic Victorian style historic buildings and plenty of other restaurant options.  The beach is beautiful and it would have been nice to enjoy if we had more time.  We enjoyed the views and walked past the beach to the marina which is where we met for our day of whale watching.

Our Tour: AML Croisières

We booked our tour with AML Croisières, the largest whale-watching cruise operator in Tadoussac.  There are a few options to choose from, but we chose the basic cruise.  The cruise is about 3 hours and is predominantly for whale watching, although you get to see some of the Saguenay Fjords and cool scenery along the way.  There are other tours that focus on the Fjords if that is something that interests you.   There were also more expensive whale watching cruises that are less crowded, have exclusive lounge access in the boat, etc.  We didn’t need that, we just wanted a nice ride in the St. Lawrence and to hopefully see some whales. The entire tour lasted 3 hours.

The boat was large with lots of seating space, but it was also packed.  I worried about getting a good spot, only to find out that I’d end up standing along the deck for most of the time.  The ship had two levels, both with interior seating areas and windows to look out, good if you were getting too cold or just wanted to relax.  But like I said, I mostly stood on the outer deck.  There were washrooms on board and a bar.  Of course I had to get a beer.  We headed out from the marina around 1:00 pm and out guide began to provide information as we cruised in search of whales.

Whale Watching, Fjords and Lighthouses

The guide was informative and the ride along the St. Lawrence was beautiful.  We saw some cool landscapes along the way and after some time cruising, we finally made it to a whale watching spot.

At first, it seemed to take forever and I’ve heard you have to be patient, so I began to get restless.  But after some time, we began spotting whales.  We spotted many whales on the cruise, most were out in the distance, but a few swam right up close, though the best part was the incredible moment we watched a Humpback Whale blast a massive spout of air straight out of its blowhole.  This happened a few times on the trip and it was also cool to watch them dive deep into the water and see their tails lifted into the air.  I tried to capture these moments on camera and video, but it was just too hard, eventually I just gave up and enjoyed the moment.

We mostly saw Humpback Whales, but we also saw Minke Whales and a few Belugas.  I think we probably spotted between 10-15 total whales.  And throughout our cruise we also saw several seals.  In addition to the whales, we saw the famous red-and-white Haut-Fond-Prince Lighthouse, which withstood a terrifying Christmas storm in 1966 that trapped its keepers inside. There was even a viral rumour that it was sold for just one dollar, though it turns out the Coast Guard still keeps this legendary landmark fully operational!  This was a cool sight and made for some of the days best photos.

We ended our tour for a short bit exploring the Saguenay Fjord in search of Belugas. While we only caught a glimpse of a single beluga in the fjord, the scenery was worth it; especially the towering cliffs and a beautiful cascading waterfall (fact: a cascade differs from a standard waterfall because the water tumbles down stepped rock layers!).  After three hours we were dropped off at the marina, we did a short hike near the beach but then instead of exploring more of Tadoussac, we got our car and headed to our Airbnb style accommodation.

Where we Stayed: Baie-Sainte Catherine

It was hard to get a family friendly affordable accommodation in Tadoussac so we stayed in Baie-Sainte Catherine.  Baie-Sainte Catherine was just on the other side of the Saguenay Fjord so we had to take the ferry back after our day whale watching.  It was a bit busier leaving, but we only ended up waiting about 5 minutes until we were able to drive on.

Our accommodation, À Fleur de Baie, was only a 5-minute ride from the ferry and was a nice and quiet house across the street from Baie-Saint Catherine’s beach.  We had the basement suite, and it had everything we needed.  A living room, a kitchen, laundry room, bathroom and a large bedroom.  For everything it had, and the quiet, but convenient and peaceful location, it was an incredibly affordable price.  We paid $214 after taxes.  To check prices and book, CLICK HERE.

À Fleur de Baie is near the beach and it’s also across from a couple of restaurants.  But, we decided to take advantage of the kitchen and save some money.  We headed to the small grocery store which was only a couple minutes away.   We bought some food for dinner and breakfast and headed back to cook.  While my wife cooked dinner, my daughter and I snuck across the street to the local beach. It had this incredibly cool, rugged wilderness vibe that felt completely peaceful and untamed. While there, we watched the tide come in and despite being slightly cold, we swam a bit topping of our long day with a chilly but relaxing swim.

After dinner we enjoy enjoyed a nice sunset on the patio of the property; it was also a nice place to relax the next morning with a coffee.  After our breakfast we packed up and slowly began to make our way back to Québec City.  It was nice not having to rush and we stopped at several scenic viewpoints along the way.  We stopped in Baie-Sainte Paul, a gorgeous town with a beautiful viewpoint of the Saint Lawrence, for lunch.  We decided we didn’t want to have a sit-down meal, so we grabbed subway and enjoyed our food with a view.