Whale watching weekend getaway 

This time I was thinking of something simple to do for this weekend, like whale watching. We might not share the same definition of what simple activity means, but whale watching is one of the best wildlife activities you can do in Quebec and it's easy to do during Whale season. In fact, Quebec province is super known for this activity. Yep, we can easily go whale watching from May to October  from the sea or from the shore, for cheap or even for free. WHAAAT?? FRREEEE?? Calm your broke ass, but yes, you can do it for free when it’s the Whale season. 

Tadoussac, the start point of the Whale route is a world known place for whale watching in Quebec, and it’s only three hours away by car from Quebec City. Although we can do it as a day trip, we decided to spend the weekend specifically for whale watching so we could at the same time enjoy the scenic coastal route. We also went up further north to Escoumins because Tadoussac during the peak of the Whale season can be packed with visitors. 

The scenery from Quebec City up to the beginning of the Whale route is amazing. We'd started first thing in the morning and drove through mountains and passed quaint villages all the way to the coastal part of the route 138. Right before noon, we arrived at the mouth of the Saguenay fjord at Baie Sainte Catherine village. This is where we haveto take a ferry to go across the Sainte Catherine bay to Tadoussac, the first village of the famous touristic Route of the Whales. The 10 minute ferry ride from/to Baie Sainte Catherine is free and it runs 24 hours all year long with a few departures every hour. 

After recharging our energy at Tadoussac, we drove a tiny bit further from Tadoussac to have an afternoon walk by the beach at the giant dunes. Tadoussac dunes or locally known as Les Dunes is a desert-like hill of sand dunes. IMHO, the scenery from these dunes felt like I was somewhere else. It almost looks tropical with the yellow sand and  blue water.  

Lodging around Tadoussac can be expensive and hard to get a room unless you book it a lot in advance. We decided to go further north to Escoumins and rent a cottage or chalet at Chalet Shipek. Shipek means saltwater in Innuit language. That explains why the tap water isn’t drinkable there. 

The cottage sits on the banks of St. Lawrence river. The view of sunset and sunrise from the cottage patio was spectacular. It was so relaxing to watch the sky and the river from this spot. From time to time we saw big fishes and or seals passing by in the water, waving their fins or popping their heads above the water for air. -free whale watching alert-

Whale watching sea excursions can be done with cruise boats, kayaks, or zodiac boats.  We chose to take a zodiac boat tour. Zodiac boat, although it looks like a motorised inflatable boat, it’s very very fast. Okay, it runs up to 30mph but it feels so fast especially when the boat hits the water, and it gets very bumpy. The wind, the water splashing, and the bumpy ride made quite the adventure by itself. Our boat was small and fitted 12 passengers and the captain. The good thing about taking a zodiac compared to a much larger vessel is that the zodiac can get much closer to the whales without bothering them too much, and it is much safer than getting closer to a whale on kayak. Obvi. 

We went on the whale watching sea excursion with Les Escumeurs and departed from Les Escoumins first thing in the morning. For 65$ per person, we got a 3 hours excursion with (almost) guarantee that we’d see some whales. They also provide clean fisherman suits to keep us warm (splash proof trousers and jackets) because even on peak summer, the temperature drops as much as teen degrees or lower when we’re out on the water. 

Yep, you can even see whales or belugas during the ferry crossing or while waiting to get to the ferry, especially during the peak of their active season. No, I’m not kidding. I’ve seen it myself; I saw two belugas and some seals when we were lining up to get to the ferry. But I’m not one of those fast thinking people, so instead of grabbing my cam to take pictures, I just stood there watching them belugas, cheering, waving and fangirling at them. 

On the way back to Québec after our sea excursion, we stopped at the Cap de Bon-Désir, an interpretation and observation for marine mammals of the St Lawrence estuary. Upon arrival, you can explore the lighthouse station, than take the Harbour Porpoise trail to the shores of St. Lawrence river estuary. I really enjoyed spending time at the massive flat rocks lookout. The scenery from this look out is incredible. Naturalists from the observation center will go around and share interesting facts and knowlegde about marine mammals, including how to spot whales and better understand what you are looking out. 

The ticket costs around 8,5$ per adult and free for kids below 17 years old. The ticket is valid for visiting other marine mammals observations centres on the same day including : Centre d'interprétation et d'observation de Pointe-Noire and Marine Environment Discovery Centre (Centre de découverte du milieu marin (Marine Environment Discovery Centre)). These observations centres open only from mid-June to early October, check their website for schedule before visiting.

La Point-Islet trail is a looped footpath by the Tadoussac marina. You can access this trail for free. The trail starts with a short walk in the forest that leads to a massive rock lookout point facing the St. Lawrence river and the edge of the Fjord Saguenay. If you’re lucky you can spot white belugas, seals, and even whales! Pack a blanket and food, and just hang out on the massive rocks with the stunning scenery Tadoussac is famous for. 

So there you go. No wonder why the north shore of Quebec (Côte nord) is famous for whale watching. I guess naming the route as
The Whale Route or Route des Baleines is appropriate, because for 6 months a year from May to October, you can easily spot whales and other marine mammals throughout this route.