DAY 1 - MONTREAL AIRPORT (P.E. Trudeau)
 Welcome to the world's second-largest French-speaking city after Paris. For your first night we have chosen a comfortable downtown hotel, the Delta Montreal ***, conveniently located at the heart of an urban fervour that is typically North American. You will receive your Authentik travel book, with all the details of your adventure including a road map indicating your route, as well as a personalised roadbook, a host of practical tourist information, a toll-free assistance number, vouchers, etc.
We wish you a great family holiday in the land of lakes and rivers!
DAY 2 - MONTREAL
After breakfast, the day is yours to explore the metropolis. Like any other big city, Montreal has 1001 attractions to offer the visitor. But Montreal is unique, inventive, caught up in whirlwind of cultural creativity, both classical and avant-garde. The downtown center teems with life at the foot of the mountain, while the city's history is firmly rooted in the older areas by the river.
Explore its main points of interest by bicycle, or take a guided bus tour of the city. See Montreal from the top of the Olympic Park Observation Tower (the tallest leaning tower in the world), followed by a fascinating visit to the Biodome. Night at the Delta Montreal ***.
DAY 3, 4 & 5 - MONTREAL / MAURICIE (347 Km/4 hrs 15 mins)
 Following a hearty breakfast, pick up your vehicle and set out to explore Canada's wide open spaces. Your scenic route will take you along the historic St-Maurice River, where in days of old, the hardy raftsmen would unblock log jams, balanced precariously on their logs in the middle of the angry river, tossed and sprayed by the icy foam. The St-Maurice River was, without a doubt, at the heart of the economic development of the Mauricie region.
For nature lovers, we invite you to explore our great outdoors during a 2-day guided camping/canoeing excursion in Mauricie National Park - an activity well-suited to families.
Optional activities along the way
Seaplane flight over the wide open countryside
Cité de l'Énergie
2 days of canoeing and camping (+1 night)
At the end of the day, you will head to Triton Outfitter in Haute-Mauricie, on an exclusive territory of more than 45 square km, including 12 lakes and a river. The outfitter's territory is only accessible by waterway, which protects its access and helps to preserve the wilderness of the area. You will feel the stress of your daily life ebb away, to be replaced by the peace and quiet of these beautiful natural surroundings.
STAY IN AN OUTFITTER BETWEEN MONTREAL AND MAURICIE (OPTIONAL) |
Name of the Outfitter |
List of activities |
Destination |
BALUCHON OUTFITTER
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Theatre by the river, kayak, canoe, horseback riding, cycling, archery, horse-drawn carriage ride, whirlpool, sauna, tennis, hiking, spa and Mauricie National Park. |
Mauricie National Park |
DAY 6 - MAURICIE NATIONAL PARK / LAC ST-JEAN (158 Km/2 hrs 12 mins)
How wonderful it is to be greeted by the splendour of nature when you look out of your window first thing in the morning! After spending the morning at Triton Outfitters, you set out for Lac St-Jean - a lake so vast, it is almost an inland sea.
Optional activities along the way
Val Jalbert Village
 You have a rendezvous with a local Lac St-Jean family for a typical meal, followed by two nights in a local home. What better way to get to know the French Canadian people, their customs and their traditions!
For an equally enriching family experience, take an excursion into the heart of the Innu Nation. You will receive a warm welcome from a real Innu family - discover true Amerindian culture and the secrets of their traditional way of life!
* The night in a local home can be replaced by a stay in a Bed and Breakfast
DAY 7 & 8 - LAC ST-JEAN / SAGUENAY FJORD (148 Km/1 hr 47 mins)
 Following a traditional hearty breakfast, you take leave of your warm Quebec hosts and head for the majestic Saguenay Fjord. The little-known landscapes of this grandiose fjord will create lasting memories. Here you will discover the immensity of time and space in a place where the colossal forces of nature are imprinted indelibly on the landscape. For hiking aficionados, the hiking trails of Saguenay National Park are among the most beautiful in Quebec, offering breathtaking views of the great Canadian wilderness.
Optional activity along the way
New France Village
In order to make the most of this majestic and serene natural setting, you will be spending the next three nights in a typical wooden cottage at Village-Vacances Petit-Saguenay at the edge of Saguenay Fjord.
DAY 9- EXCURSION TO TADOUSSAC (188 Km/3 hrs 5 mins round trip)
This morning, departure for Tadoussac Bay, listed as one of the 50 most beautiful bays in the world.
 When you arrive in Tadoussac, experience the thrill of a whale-watching safari, either by Zodiac, by boat or by sea kayak. You will be accompanied by a naturalist guide, who will help you to identify various species including rorqual whales and whitecoats (baby seals). At the head of the Laurentian Channel, in the St-Lawrence River Estuary, where deep, cold Arctic waters rise to the surface, marine mammals abound and can be observed for eight months of the year, making the Tadoussac region a whale-watching site of international renown. You return to Village-Vacances Petit-Saguenay for dinner and the night.
DAY 10 & 11 - SAGUENAY FJORD / CHARLEVOIX (122 Km/1 hr 44 mins)
 After breakfast you set out along a bucolic road that follows the majestic St-Lawrence River. It is said that this is the part of Quebec where you are at once so close to the river and so high above it. Your destination: Charlevoix, a hospitable region with magnificent scenery that captivates painters, poets, writers, musicians and visitors alike.
Optional activity along the way
Via Ferrata
Covering 6000 km² in the Canadian Shield, where the most ancient rocks on Earth are found, Charlevoix conceals unique attractions. The crystal waters of the Laurentians, that majestic chain of mountains, cascade into the salty flow of the Saint-Lawrence. Here and there, pretty little villages perch on the sides of mountains. All of these elements come together to create landscapes in which water and mountains figure side by side.
You will bask in this magnificent scenery for the next 48 hours, during your stay at Auberge Beauséjour***, on the banks of the St-Lawrence, in one of Québec's most attractive villages, St-Joseph-de-la-Rive.
 Charlevoix's mountainous landscape owes its spectacular appearance to the impact of a 15 billion ton meteorite 350 million years ago. This collision created a crater 56 km in diameter, making Charlevoix one of the largest inhabited craters on the planet. Adventurers, photographers and nature lovers, don't miss your chance to visit Parc des Hautes-Gorges.
DAY 12, 13 & 14 - CHARLEVOIX / QUEBEC CITY (107 Km/1 hr 27 mins)
Today, you reach the birthplace of North America's French culture, the beautiful Quebec City. Take the time to explore this old city with its many historic sites, recognized and protected by UNESCO. From Place Royale and Petit Champlain to Dufferin Terrace and Château Frontenac, follow winding alleys that will lead you to hidden places where you will have the impression that you are the first to discover them.
Optional activity along the way
Ste-Anne Canyon
 Nature lovers won't want to miss a visit to Jacques-Cartier Park, whose remarkable landscape is characterized by contrasts: mountainous uplands fractured by steep-sided valleys. A multi-faceted river winds through the most spectacular of them, the Vallée de la Jacques-Cartier, a trench more than 550 m deep. At only 25 minutes from Quebec City, the whole family will enjoy spending one last day in Canada's great outdoors!
Your 3 nights in Quebec City will be spent in the luxurious Château Laurier*** hotel at the gates of Old Quebec.
DAY 15 - QUEBEC CITY/ MONTREAL AIRPORT (252 Km/2 hrs 44 mins)
Last morning in the old Capital before leaving for Montreal. Drop off your vehicle at the Montreal Airport and board your return flight home.
And you leave the land of lakes and rivers, your heart full of lasting memories!!!
 
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Family Travel & Weather
