Summer Quebec (province) trip vs. Maine+NB/NS

[Anonymous]

Our summer vacation plans for Colorado got scrapped so back to the drawing board! Looking at a 10-12 day driving trip late July for 2 adults, 2 kids (6&9). We have gone to Maine in the summer MANY times and actually spent our summer vacation there just last summer. We have been to QC twice -- once at Christmas 2.5 years ago and did essentially the same trip through quebec when my oldest was 2 so 7 years ago.

1) Quebec Province
-1 night somewhere along Lake George on the way up (we've been many times) OR perhaps stop in Vermont for the night (never been with kids)
-Montreal several nights (we didn't love it before but it was many years ago and our oldest was 2)
-Quebec City (we love QC and would stay in the old city and I'm kind of wondering about exploring Ile d'Orleans?? any recommendations?? This would also be over our wedding anniversary.
-Tadoussac 2 nights with a whale-watching tour
-stop somewhere along the way home

2) Maine + NB/NS
-MDI (probably would need to stay for 1 week for a cottage rental but I might find some okay options for 3-4 nights)
-Drive to Saint John and then to Nova Scotia (I looked at the Ferry but it's $900+ roundtrip!!) No idea what to do in Saint John or Nova Scotia besides obviously explore, seafood, hiking, probably some cool cultural stuff.....haven't researched fully.

I'm leaning towards Quebec since we haven't gone in the summer with both kids ever. We love cultural stuff, food, swimming, hiking, most of us love biking and we could possibly bring our bikes, and we are open to tent camping but NOT in Maine again because we were slightly scarred last June/July lol.

Recommendations?? Idk

[Anonymous]

We did Quebec City and Tadoussac last summer (plus a night in Montreal on the way up). It was great! But we have 3 teen boys, not little kids. They wished we'd spend more time in Montreal-- the night we were there we walked around Old Town. Around Quebec City we did Montmorency Falls just outside of town in the morning and a walking tour of Quebec City in the afternoon. Then that night we wandered around and enjoyed the street performers. The next day it rained in the morning so we did a tour of the old fort, which is underground under the boardwalk. When it stopped raining we walked around more. We stayed at the Hotel Palace Royale which was reasonably priced and had a cool indoor pool, available parking, and it was located right outside the old town's gates.

The next day we drove up to Tadoussac, stopping in a couple of small towns along the ways. It's a very pretty drive. The kids thought the little ferry over to Tadoussac was super cool (they'd never been on a ferry). That night we did a nice hike along the rocks by the water (it was a marked hike). There aren't many places to eat in Tadoussac that aren't super fancy, so we went to a food truck outside of town called Le Casse-Croute le Connoisseur (burgers and fries) for dinner. The next day we did a hike up a nearby mountain (it had gorgeous views) for the morning, and then we had a late lunch at a seafood place right by the harbor. We did the sunset whale boat tour, which was really great. We saw seals and 2 or 3 different kinds of whales. It's very cold though, dress warmly for that! We stayed at the Hotel Tadoussac, which was a bit worn for the price, and no a/c, but it's very cool looking and we had fun sitting in the Adirondack chairs that looked over the water. It had an outdoor pool the kids enjoyed, too.

That's all for now, have to run!

[Anonymous]

We did the Maine trip last summer and are doing the Canada trip this summer! Kids are 5 and 7 this year. Last year was great but I think I'm more excited about the Canada one. We're also doing Burlington on the way up and lake George on the way home-- we have been to lake George a bunch and love it.

Thanks for all the tadoussac tips! I first considered that route from a dcum suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Lake George - go to the Ticonderoga end and see Fort Ticonderoga. And also the Star Trek Tour.

https://startrektour.com/product-category/2024-07-shatner/

Maybe the Gore Mountain garnet mine tour.

https://bhumerang.com/GoreMountainGem/index

[Anonymous]

YES, we did the road trip to Quebec last summer and LOVED it! Ile de Orléans was amazing. Farm fresh strawberries, lavender fields, and more. Don't miss those only in quebec chocolate dipped ice cream cones. Why can't we have these in the US?

We did Vermont on the way and stopped at a kid friendly cheddar cheese farm in Burlington. Did NY the way back. It was a great trip. This is making me want to go back.

How was quebec over Christmas? Was it too cold?

[Anonymous]

NS is gawd awful boring and full of red-necks. Yes, Canada has red-necks. New Brunswick is even more boring. Go to Quebec!

[Anonymous]

We did a week in QC last week and are going back this summer for a week, followed by a week heading up towards Tadoussac and stopping along the way in Baie St. Paul.

A few things to share about QC before I ask questions about the Charlevoix region. In QC we did the Falls, Ille d'orleans, the aquarium, walking around QC, the fort. We went to the public pool one day and meant to go to the plage and the public pool there but didn't make it. There was so much we didn't see while there. We never made it to the island/area across the river (I think there was a ferris wheel there). We stayed in an airbnb in old Town QC and will be staying there again. One of out favorite places to eat there was a restaurant called la buche. I highly recommend it.

Now on to Tadoussac. We plan on staying in the hotel motel Beluga for a few days, in the cabin part of it. We also plan on staying in Baie St. Paul for a night or two as well as visiting Malbaie. I'd love suggestions on must do things in the area. Our boys are 7 and 10 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a week in QC last week and are going back this summer for a week, followed by a week heading up towards Tadoussac and stopping along the way in Baie St. Paul.

A few things to share about QC before I ask questions about the Charlevoix region. In QC we did the Falls, Ille d'orleans, the aquarium, walking around QC, the fort. We went to the public pool one day and meant to go to the plage and the public pool there but didn't make it. There was so much we didn't see while there. We never made it to the island/area across the river (I think there was a ferris wheel there). We stayed in an airbnb in old Town QC and will be staying there again. One of out favorite places to eat there was a restaurant called la buche. I highly recommend it.

Now on to Tadoussac. We plan on staying in the hotel motel Beluga for a few days, in the cabin part of it. We also plan on staying in Baie St. Paul for a night or two as well as visiting Malbaie. I'd love suggestions on must do things in the area. Our boys are 7 and 10 years old.

PP here - correction. We did a week in QC last summer/August.

[Anonymous]

I always do QB in the winter with skiing and Montreal
Love love maritime provinces on the summer and fall. The berries are so good and love seeing whales

[Anonymous]

Trip #1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a week in QC last week and are going back this summer for a week, followed by a week heading up towards Tadoussac and stopping along the way in Baie St. Paul.

A few things to share about QC before I ask questions about the Charlevoix region. In QC we did the Falls, Ille d'orleans, the aquarium, walking around QC, the fort. We went to the public pool one day and meant to go to the plage and the public pool there but didn't make it. There was so much we didn't see while there. We never made it to the island/area across the river (I think there was a ferris wheel there). We stayed in an airbnb in old Town QC and will be staying there again. One of out favorite places to eat there was a restaurant called la buche. I highly recommend it.

Now on to Tadoussac. We plan on staying in the hotel motel Beluga for a few days, in the cabin part of it. We also plan on staying in Baie St. Paul for a night or two as well as visiting Malbaie. I'd love suggestions on must do things in the area. Our boys are 7 and 10 years old.

Op here- thanks for sharing about your experience and to the other posters! We decided Quebec it is!!! I don’t know if we will include Montreal or not. We didn’t love it last time (9 yr old was 2 though) and the biodome was blah.

We visited Malbaie back during our first Quebec road trip!!! We spent 1 night at a b&b that was “kid friendly” i don’t recommend, sooo stressful but la malbaie was gorgeous!!! We walked around a bit and went to a nice playground so not real helpful to you. I saw a beautiful town with lots of bikers on the way, I think Baie St. Paul. We stopped and grabbed lunch and tasted cider, cheese and icecream along the way (I’ll have to really dig to find the names) I might consider stopping there overnight though.

We want to bring our bikes. We all have good bikes but our 9 yr old has balance/coordination issues and cannot ride a bike but our 6 yr old is almost gifted with biking lol. We are looking into an option to attach our 9 yr olds bike to my husbands so we can all enjoy the trails.

We are also considering national park La mauricie for 1-2 nights or day tripping to Jacque Cartier national park.

We actually have been to La Buche and it’s also our favorite!!! 😬 we’ve not been to a ton of places in QC since there were still covid restrictions but I’m excited to explore!!!

Someone asked about QC at Christmas: we absolutely loved it!!! We rented a lovely airbnb right in the old city with parking- super important, especially in winter!!! Snow tires a MUST. Go before the markets close; 23rd is the last day i think. More is open now because there were covid restrictions so no indoor activities then but we still loved it!! Gorgeous, utterly magical and snowy. We went snow hiking in Jacque Cartier and it was also magical. It was extremely cold a few days and we had purchased super warm clothes and were fine. We brought a big thermos for hot chocolate with our mugs and it was perfect. 10/10 recommend. Probably not with babies very young toddlers though unless you have some good options to keep them warm.

I’m so excited everyone!!! Thanks for helping me get excited after losing our Colorado trip.

When we were in tadoussac in 2017, we tent camped at camping tadoussac overlooking the fjord!!! Gorgeous sunsets. Playground overlooking it too. I won’t pick that site again because 6 yr old is a major climber so we’ll have to pick a spot without a view..boo. I prefer ready-to-camp sites but they are all booked.

We are interested in going on a zodiac whale watching tour and maybe trying kayaking somewhere.

I’m

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NS is gawd awful boring and full of red-necks. Yes, Canada has red-necks. New Brunswick is even more boring. Go to Quebec!

Nova Scotia is beautiful. Definitely for active nature loving people. There isn’t much in the artificial entertainment area like water parks etc. it’s about hiking, swimming in frigid waters, finding the perfect site to see the stars without light pollution. The weather in august is cooler and humidity-free. Probably about 70 degrees with clean crisp air.

As for “red necks” I don’t know about that but you can talk to anyone and they are very friendly. We didn’t go long enough but we saw was worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NS is gawd awful boring and full of red-necks. Yes, Canada has red-necks. New Brunswick is even more boring. Go to Quebec!

Nova Scotia is beautiful. Definitely for active nature loving people. There isn’t much in the artificial entertainment area like water parks etc. it’s about hiking, swimming in frigid waters, finding the perfect site to see the stars without light pollution. The weather in august is cooler and humidity-free. Probably about 70 degrees with clean crisp air.

As for “red necks” I don’t know about that but you can talk to anyone and they are very friendly. We didn’t go long enough but we saw was worth it.

Didn't see any rednecks when I was there, either, but best to fly there and rent a car in Halifax, since NS is BIG and requires a lot of driving to see. Cape Breton is lovely, with whale and puffin watching, beautiful hikes with ocean views and waterfalls. Tide bore rafting and mud sliding on the Shubie river is great fun for kids. Restaurants have limited hours in the rural areas..be aware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a week in QC last week and are going back this summer for a week, followed by a week heading up towards Tadoussac and stopping along the way in Baie St. Paul.

A few things to share about QC before I ask questions about the Charlevoix region. In QC we did the Falls, Ille d'orleans, the aquarium, walking around QC, the fort. We went to the public pool one day and meant to go to the plage and the public pool there but didn't make it. There was so much we didn't see while there. We never made it to the island/area across the river (I think there was a ferris wheel there). We stayed in an airbnb in old Town QC and will be staying there again. One of out favorite places to eat there was a restaurant called la buche. I highly recommend it.

Now on to Tadoussac. We plan on staying in the hotel motel Beluga for a few days, in the cabin part of it. We also plan on staying in Baie St. Paul for a night or two as well as visiting Malbaie. I'd love suggestions on must do things in the area. Our boys are 7 and 10 years old.

Op here- thanks for sharing about your experience and to the other posters! We decided Quebec it is!!! I don’t know if we will include Montreal or not. We didn’t love it last time (9 yr old was 2 though) and the biodome was blah.

We visited Malbaie back during our first Quebec road trip!!! We spent 1 night at a b&b that was “kid friendly” i don’t recommend, sooo stressful but la malbaie was gorgeous!!! We walked around a bit and went to a nice playground so not real helpful to you. I saw a beautiful town with lots of bikers on the way, I think Baie St. Paul. We stopped and grabbed lunch and tasted cider, cheese and icecream along the way (I’ll have to really dig to find the names) I might consider stopping there overnight though.

We want to bring our bikes. We all have good bikes but our 9 yr old has balance/coordination issues and cannot ride a bike but our 6 yr old is almost gifted with biking lol. We are looking into an option to attach our 9 yr olds bike to my husbands so we can all enjoy the trails.

We are also considering national park La mauricie for 1-2 nights or day tripping to Jacque Cartier national park.

We actually have been to La Buche and it’s also our favorite!!! 😬 we’ve not been to a ton of places in QC since there were still covid restrictions but I’m excited to explore!!!

Someone asked about QC at Christmas: we absolutely loved it!!! We rented a lovely airbnb right in the old city with parking- super important, especially in winter!!! Snow tires a MUST. Go before the markets close; 23rd is the last day i think. More is open now because there were covid restrictions so no indoor activities then but we still loved it!! Gorgeous, utterly magical and snowy. We went snow hiking in Jacque Cartier and it was also magical. It was extremely cold a few days and we had purchased super warm clothes and were fine. We brought a big thermos for hot chocolate with our mugs and it was perfect. 10/10 recommend. Probably not with babies very young toddlers though unless you have some good options to keep them warm.

I’m so excited everyone!!! Thanks for helping me get excited after losing our Colorado trip.

When we were in tadoussac in 2017, we tent camped at camping tadoussac overlooking the fjord!!! Gorgeous sunsets. Playground overlooking it too. I won’t pick that site again because 6 yr old is a major climber so we’ll have to pick a spot without a view..boo. I prefer ready-to-camp sites but they are all booked.

We are interested in going on a zodiac whale watching tour and maybe trying kayaking somewhere.

I’m

I'm the poster who loves la buche as well . We are planning on doing the zodiac whale tour as well this summer with our 7 and 10 year olds. How old are your kids? I'm trying to determine if my kids are old enough to handle it. I love your idea of take your bikes. I'm hopefully We will be able to rent bikes somewhere, but perhaps we could take the kids bikes with us.

[Anonymous]

Pp here - I also meant to mention that we will be staying at a hotel called maison otis in Baie St. Paul. This will be our first time there but as you mentioned possibly staying there instead of Malbaie, I thought to mention it. They have two rooms that can sleep 4.