Summer Quebec (province) trip vs. Maine+NB/NS
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Anonymous
Off I realized my phone glitched while typing and my response is all over the place lol- woops. My kids are 6&9. It's possible they will be too young, it sounds like they are allowed though but if the weather is rough, kids under 8 aren't permitted. There are other whale-watching tours that allow younger kids but they aren't my favorite...huge boats and you don't see much. |
. 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
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OP here- I've gone down a rabbit hole lol. I could EASILY plan a 3 week trip with a mix of camping and other lodging but alas, my husband only has about 12 days but could *possibly* add 2 days onto the beginning of the trip for a full 2 weeks. I have 6 straight weeks off this summer and starting next summer will have 8 but we don't have unlimited funds.
My 9-year-old is interested in a mix of city life and the outdoors (30/70 mix) and my 6-year-old will be super happy to be on a boat, play on beaches, short, hikes, biking, and food. (I think about 4-5 flat miles in cooler weather is all he can do right now until he learns how to not stop-go and conserve energy). Here's one rough itinerary I've got. 1 night Lake George or Burlington, VT 3 nights QC 2 nights baie-st-paul 2 night Tadoussac 1 night Rimouski or National Park du Bic 2 nights gaspespie 2 night Perce 1 nights somewhere return I'm not sure about the Gaspe region part.... After reading more about the Zodiak tours, my kids are not ready so we have to stick with a regular tour, preferably late afternoon. We also want to do hiking, beach play (yes it will be cold), eat seafood, maybe some kayaking, and I'd love to go into Gaspesie National Park to look for Caribou. If we do this, we may try to make our way back down through Maine with at least 1 overnight (in Maine), maybe 2. My sis did a similar camping road trip with her kids so I'll def check with her too but if anyone has done something like this, I'd love suggestions. I also considered just going to National Park du Bic for 2 nights and turning around but at that point...you might as well keep going and see some other spectacular sites lol. |
Anonymous
What is the Airbnb you recommend in the old town? I’ve looked at several and haven’t found one yet without a lot of complaints! |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
What was the kid friendly bnb that was too stressful?? I’m planning a similar trip! |
Anonymous
We stayed in Auberge La Mansarde in La Malbaie. It was lovely, the owners were very polite and hospitable and the garden area was great (we spent most of our short time out there). What was challenging for us was that we were on the 2nd floor of an older home with wood, creaky floors and the host asked to be please be very mindful of the noise we make with our feet because the floors are loud. Our son had JUST turned 2 and so using "quiet feet" was REALLY hard. I think a child that can use a quiet voice and soft feet inside would be fine for a night. They NEVER complained about us but I just was really stressed trying to keep him quiet. |
Anonymous
Wow yes that’s tough for a little kid! I would also be super stressed. Does anyone have any recs for hotels or airbnbs for two small kids (4 and 6) in Quebec or in/around Charlevoix? We are doing Quebec but haven’t planned out our trips in the surrounding area yet (thinking about places like malbaie or Saint Paul, places not too far outside Quebec but enough to get into nature a bit). Bonus if they have two rooms or a separate space for kids to sleep or adults to relax after bedtime! |
Anonymous
| We went to Quebec this winter and I'd definitely skip Montreal. It's just OK and you're not missing out not going! Quebec City is a special, amazing city. Read Shadows on The Rock by Willa Cather. |
Anonymous
This looks like a great itinerary! I'm a PP from earlier who did Acadia/Maine last summer. I've planned something very similar to you for early this summer. Kids are 5 and 7: 2 nights Burlington (we can't leave until the afternoon of the first day so will need a full day to recharge after the long late drive) 4 nights at Malbaie, using it as a base to do day trips including to Tadoussac. We're splurging and staying at the Fairmont, which also seems to offer a lot to do on-site. 1 nights Quebec City 3 nights Lake George (we visit every summer and love it there) I looked into the Gaspe region and it looks gorgeous but feels like a lot for us to pull off given our time constraints (our trip is 11 days including departure and arrival home days, so really only 9 "vacation" days). We could cut a night in Malbaie or Lake George to allow some wiggle room around Gaspe, but I much prefer to not be getting back in the car every other day or so for long drives with the kids. Packing and unpacking itself takes a decent amount of time, hence why I'm leaning more towards day trips from Malbaie. But eager to hear from others who have done similar thought exercises! |
Anonymous
The one we stayed in and love is this one: https://air.tl/tsAWGc9H The location cannot be beat. It's a block or so from the stairs that go up to the top of the city near the fort, and maybe a 10-12 minute walk from lower city. It's across the street from a local pool and a short car ride or long walk to the new plage that has an infinity public pool There's another one in the same area. I will try and post later. |
Anonymous
Here are two others I've looked at and really liked, but we didn't stay in: https://air.tl/MTfi1B8v https://air.tl/mMyCjjim |
Anonymous
Thank you for posting specific recommendations! I’m so excited to go to Quebec this summer. Fun to see others are planning similar trips. |
Anonymous
You're most welcome. The one we stayed in is much more house than we need as we are a family of 4, plus an aunt who was supposed to visit with us last summer but didn't. However, the price per night was reasonable, the location was perfect, and the direct view of the Saint Lawrence River from the house was worth twice what we paid. So, we go back  .
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Anonymous
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New poster but we are from NJ and have done Canada quite a bit over the past few years since it’s such an easy drive from here, especially during COVID when international travel was difficult/impossible.
Montreal is nice but not nearly as nice and unique as Quebec City. Charlevoix is even nicer and has magnificent winding coastal roads (almost like a mini PCH) and adorable towns along the way. The Fairmont is amazing and our kids loved it. Jacques Cartier National Park is beautiful (bring bug spray) as are all of the Parks Canada parks nationwide. Le Buche is also one of our favorite restaurants (who knew so many people knew about it on DCUM?!) as is the crème molle from Chocolat Favoris throughout the region (soft serve ice cream dipped in chocolate but it forms a thick hard shell that we do not have in the US). The food in both Montreal (bagels, chocolate) and Quebec are way better than you would expect and in the summer, the fresh berries are amazing. The Ile is beautiful and has beautiful gardens/lavender fields that shouldn’t be missed as well as wineries, cideries and cheese shops. Canada is near and dear to our hearts (Banff is one of our favorite places on earth) and you will have a fabulous trip! |
Anonymous
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WE did Maine and then up to St Andrews by the Sea in New Brunswick. It was lovely. The hotel was very nice. We only spent a couple days up there but did whale watching, the aquarium, hiking, and tide pooling. Kids had fun.
My only complaint was the food. It felt like where we were in Maine (arcadia/bar harbor) and NB every restaurant served the same things. When we finally got to Canada my kid discovered the one non seafood/steak restaurant and ate curry for 3meals a day lol. I assume Quebec has more variety in food. |