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Shared itinerary · Tadoussac and the Saguenay Fjord, Quebec

Tadoussac and the Saguenay Fjord in 3 days

Three days where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence, three hours from Quebec City: Baie-Saint-Paul on the way, the free ferry into Tadoussac, a morning on the water with minke, fin and humpback whales, belugas from the shore at Pointe-Noire, then the fjord villages of Sainte-Rose-du-Nord and L’Anse-Saint-Jean and the statue trail at Baie-Éternité. 13 stops with times and notes. The whale boats run from May to October and are best from July to September.

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Updated

Distance

281 km

Baie-Saint-Paul → L’Anse-Saint-Jean

Days

3

Stops

13

Each day of Tadoussac and the Saguenay Fjord in 3 days: route, stops and distance
DayRouteStopsDistance
Day 1Baie-Saint-Paul to Café Bohème6141 km
Day 2Croisières AML to Pointe-Noire43.7 km
Day 3Sainte-Rose-du-Nord to L’Anse-Saint-Jean3136 km

Day 1: Baie-Saint-Paul to Café Bohème

141 km

Up Highway 138 through Charlevoix, then over the mouth of the Saguenay.

  1. 10:30

    Baie-Saint-Paul

    Sight

    An arts town at the mouth of the Gouffre valley, where the Cirque du Soleil began. Galleries line Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

    4.8 km · 10m drive to next

  2. 12:15

    Laiterie Charlevoix

    Food & drink

    Cheese from the valley’s own milk, for a picnic lunch.

    122 km · 2h drive to next

  3. 15:00

    Baie-Sainte-Catherine–Tadoussac Ferry

    Activity

    Free, about ten minutes across the mouth of the Saguenay, running all day. Watch for belugas from the deck.

    2.6 km · 10m drive to next

  4. 15:30

    Hôtel Tadoussac

    Sight

    The red-roofed hotel on the bay, rebuilt in 1942. Walk the beach in front of it.

    5.7 km · 10m drive to next

  5. 16:45

    Maison des dunes

    Park & nature

    Sand terraces high above the St. Lawrence, a short drive east of the village.

    5.5 km · 10m drive to next

  6. 19:00

    Café Bohème

    Food & drink

    Dinner in the village.

Day 2: Croisières AML to Pointe-Noire

3.7 km

The whales in the morning, then the village and the point, and belugas across the water at dusk.

  1. 09:00

    Croisières AML

    Activity

    Three hours on the St. Lawrence for minke, fin and humpback whales, and the belugas that live in the estuary all year. Zodiacs are faster and wetter; the big boats are steadier.

    776 m · 5m walk to next

  2. 13:00

    Centre d’interprétation des mammifères marins

    Sight

    Whale skeletons and the research behind them, on the waterfront.

    499 m · 10m walk to next

  3. 14:30

    Pointe-de-l’Islet

    Park & nature

    A short trail around the rocky point where the fjord meets the river. Seals and belugas surface off it.

    1.8 km · 30m drive to next

  4. 16:30

    Pointe-Noire

    Park & nature

    Back across the ferry, a lookout at Baie-Sainte-Catherine where belugas pass close to shore.

Day 3: Sainte-Rose-du-Nord to L’Anse-Saint-Jean

136 km

Up the fjord: the north shore to Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, round through Chicoutimi and back down the south shore.

  1. 09:30

    Sainte-Rose-du-Nord

    Sight

    A village of 400 in a cove of the fjord, one of the prettiest in Quebec.

    28.4 km · 2h drive to next

  2. 13:00

    Baie-Éternité

    Park & nature

    The heart of Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay. The Statue trail climbs to the Virgin set on Cap Trinité in 1881, high over the fjord.

    15.4 km · 30m drive to next

  3. 16:30

    L’Anse-Saint-Jean

    Sight

    A fjord village with a covered bridge of 1929 and a wharf on the water.