Watching Whales in Quebec City Did you know that you can watch whales when you are visiting Quebec City? It is one of the more off the beaten path things to do. Not only can you see whales, but in addition you can see a plethora of birds and other animals. Who doesn’t love encountering on of Earth’s biggest mammals? Click and check out amazing photos and which whales we saw while we were in Quebec City. #OurCarpeDiem #Travel #Canada #QuebecCity #TravelTips #WhaleWatch

Best Kept Secrets Of Quebec: Watching Whales In The St Lawrence

Quebec City is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec in the North East of Canada. It has a very French vibe. When you are visiting, it feels like being in France without the inconvenience of travel to Europe. And you can go watch whales!

One of Quebec City's gates by night. Not only can you watch whales out of Quebec City, in addition there is tons of history to explore.
The Kent Gate

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Old Québec (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Before the pandemic, we went on a quick getaway to explore Vieux Québec (a Unesco World Heritage Site) AND to watch whales! A surprising combination. Who knew one could watch whales out of Quebec City?

After we checked our Hilton Honors points, we found out we had enough to stay for five nights but only pay for four. (a Hilton Diamond Status benefit). Free hotel stays for the win!

Vieux Quebec is the only North American city which still has its ramparts, and bastions, gates and defensive works which still surround Old Québec. The Upper Town, built on the cliff, with the Lower Town and its ancient districts, is one of the best remaining examples of a fortified colonial city.

When you are in Quebec City, don’t miss checking out their magnificent Parliament Building.

Are there really Whales in Québec City?

Chateau Frontenac is one of the top attractions in Quebec City. Everyone who visits knows about this historic railroad hotel, but do you know that you also can watch whales in Quebec City?
Chateau Frontenac

Well… two years ago, we were here to watch thousands of snow geese during their fall migration (future blog post). During that trip, we learned that whales come up the St Lawrence River, but only half believed it. I mean it’s a river, not an ocean! Who would believe whales would be there? No way we should be able to watch whales in Quebec City!

View over the St Lawrence when we were on our way to watch whales out of Quebec City

Shortly after we arrived, we talked to the concierge and expressed our doubts. He convinced us that “yes, you can go on a whale watch from Québec City. Reassured, we immediately booked a whale watching trip for the next day. We couldn’t wait to see for ourselves!

Actually We Took a Day Trip to Watch Whales in Quebec!

Fountain in front of the Parliament in Quebec City. Did you know that in addition to sights like this you also can watch whales in Quebec City? Though not in this fountain.
Beautiful Fountain in Quebec City

The next morning, a bus picked us up at the hotel. Although the drive to Baie-Sainte-Catherine was long (3 hours), it also was very scenic. The bus driver regaled us with tons of good information. It was interesting to drive past the Montmorency Falls, which are almost twice as high as the Niagara Falls! Sadly, I didn’t get a good picture of it, so we clearly will have to visit these falls some other time.

Sign "Laiterie Charlevoix, depuis 1948, Economusee du fromage" with a statue of a black and white cow underneath. Our stop on the way to watching whales out of Quebec City
Our Charlevoix stop

Halfway the ride we stopped in Charlevoix, one of Canada’s Unesco Biospheres Reserves. We picked up breakfast and/or lunch at a laiterie since there wasn’t going to be food on the whale watch. It also was nice to stretch our legs.

Karen in orange, black and yellow rain gear, ready to go see whether there are any whales to be found.
Karen is ready to roll float

After we arrived in Tadoussac, we got to dress up in funny clothes and sign our lives away. Of course, none of that dampened our excitement about searching for whales in a Zodiac boat.

Yellow zodiac boat, docked and ready for us to get in to find whales to watch! It took us about three hours from Quebec City to get here.
Our Zodiac boat for whale watching

Whales!

Soon after, we boarded and took off, speeding over the water of the St Lawrence. Nice to be out on the water, even if the speed and the noise were a bit overwhelming. No whales yet, but we saw gulls, cormorants and guillemots. Until suddenly, the first whale appeared!

Cormorant swimming, with reflection. We saw a lot of them on our whale watching cruise when we stayed in Quebec City.
Cormorant
TripAdvisor


Tic Tac Toe the Humpback Whale

The back of a humpback whale, spouting water from her blow hole. 
During our whale watching cruise out of Quebec City
Humpback whale spout

Wow! She was huge and beautiful and happily blowing and leisurely swimming. It was awe-inspiring to observe her hugeness. And even cooler when she arched her back and dove, showing off her tail, or technically her fluke.

Humback whale arching her back just before she dives. We loved seeing Tic Tac Toe when we stayed in Quebec City
Tic Tac Toe arching her back

We have learned that the fluke is a very useful attribute in recognizing whales. Firstly they are relatively easy to see. Secondly they are very different for each whale. Our naturalist identified this particular humpback whale as Tic Tac Toe. Tic Tac Toe was born in the Caribbean around 1997/98, so she is about 25 years old now. She seems to regularly make the trek from down South to up North in the St Lawrence. We think she enjoys the abundance of food here. She has an X on the right part of her fluke, which earned her the Tic Tac Toe nickname

Tic Tac Toe's fluke. Mostly black but both sides have a white area. On the right part of the fluke, there is an X shaped marking. What a wonderful sight on our whale watch out of Quebec City.
Tic Tac Toe!

Over the years, she has been observed with two different calves. In addition, she even was part of the first mother – calf humpback pair to be observed in the St Lawrence. That first calf was Aramis. In March 2020, researchers from the Turks and Caicos Islands saw Tic Tac Toe’s daughter Aramis accompanied by her very first calf.

So Tic Tac Toe became a grandmother… at about 23 years old! But that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t still give birth again herself. Indeed, during the summer of 2020, Tic Tac Toe was observed with a much smaller individual. Was this her fourth calf? Maybe some day we will observe them as a grandmother – mother – daughter trio.

Humpback Whale Tic Tac Toe's tail, shaking off water while she dives down. You can see her when you go watch whales out of Quebec City.
Tic Tac Toe diving

Minke Whales

After we admired Tic Tac Toe for a while, we sped to another site. When we arrived we observed a a couple hunting minke whales. They dove very shallowly, so no good tail pictures.

Fin and back of a minke whale, one of our sights when we were on a whale watching trip out of Quebec City.
Minke Whale

A few years ago, I had seen a minke whale in Maine, but the ones here were more active. Not to mention that in Maine we just saw one, here they were more plentiful. Did you know that minke whales are the second-smallest of the baleen whales?

Baleen whales feed by first gulping up huge amounts of water. After their gulp, they sieve it all through their baleen, trapping the krill and the fish inside their mouth. We thoroughly enjoyed watching them swim and even saw one of them breach!

Orange and white light house surrounded by water. Haut-fond Prince (Prince Shoal) Lighthouse. Nowadays it is automated, but there used to be people working and living there.
Haut-fond Prince (Prince Shoal) Lighthouse

Anything Else Besides Whales to Watch?

We enjoyed the show until it was time to move into the Saguenay Fjord. Even before we spotted any wildlife, we admired the breath-taking beauty of this fjord. But of course we were even more fascinated when our boat got us to a group of seals.

Seals Sunning!

The seals were sunning themselves and we got to watch them for a bit. Very cute, very special!

Water and a rocky, steep and high shore line. Entering the Saguenay Fjord on our way to watch seals on our whale watching cruise out of Quebec City
Entering the Saguenay Fjord

Sadly enough this marked the time of return and we speedily made it back to the harbor. When we disembarked we realized that the concierge had been right. We did indeed watch whales out of Quebec City! What a wonderful adventure this was. We would like to encourage anyone to go on this amazing whale watch!

Seal on a rock with more rocky coast right behind it. Another mammal we saw while looking for whales in Quebec City
Sun Bathing Seal
TripAdvisor


Best Months to Watch Whales in Quebec City

From the Whales Online Website:

All along the St. Lawrence, boat-based whale-watching tours are generally offered daily from May to November. On land, several sites offer a chance to have quality marine mammal watching as well. In particular, the Whale Route from Tadoussac to Natashquan offers some of the very best spots to view them from shore.

On an average, the abundance of whales is the highest during September and October and they are generally quite active as they prepare for their long migrations to their breeding grounds.

Or Check Out Other Places to Watch Whales

Not only can you watch whales, you even can TOUCH them if you make it out to Magdalena Bay in Baja California where grey whales raise their babies.

Alternatively, there are great whale watches out of Victoria in British Columbia .

Conclusion on Watching Whales in Quebec City (technically Tadoussac)

It turned out that you can go watch whales and more on an easy day trip from Quebec City. Have you been to Quebec City? How did you like it? Have you ever seen whales? Where? Let us know in the comments, we would love more ideas for our travel bucket list.

Further Reading

  • Tic Tac Toe. Read more about my favorite whale that I saw in Quebec City. The Whales Online website;
  • Humpback Whales. From Whales Online. Telling about those whales in the St Lawrence and around the world.
  • Minke Whales. From Whales Online. Tells you when to find minke whales in the St Lawrence and show pictures of named individuals;
  • The 13 Species of Whales in the St Lawrence. Which other whales, dolphins and porpoises make their home close to Quebec City?
  • Croissieres AML Whale Watching cruises. Find information about whale watching cruises out of Quebec City and other locations. We used them and highly recommend the experience. They have both zodiacs and bigger boats available;
  • Québec’s ultimate road trip: into the wild on the Whale Route. Explore Québec’s wild north shore on a winding drive along the St. Lawrence River and through First Nation coastal communities. By National Geographic with Destination Canada;

Other UNESCO World Heritage Sites you Should Visit

World Heritage Sites in the Americas

World Heritage Sites in Europe

Pin Watching Whales in Quebec City

Pin this for later and share with your friend. What an amazing bucket list item this is!

Did you know that you can watch whales when you are visiting Quebec City? It is one of the more off the beaten path things to do. Not only can you see whales, but in addition you can see a plethora of birds and other animals. Who doesn’t love encountering one of Earth’s biggest mammals? Click and check out amazing photos and which whales we saw while we were in Quebec City. #OurCarpeDiem #Travel #Canada #QuebecCity #TravelTips #WhaleWatch

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34 responses to “Best Kept Secrets Of Quebec: Watching Whales In The St Lawrence”

  1. Bekah Avatar

    Lovely whale photos! Sound like a marvelous trip!!

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, Bekah!
      Yes, it was great. Just wait till I get around to writing about the changing of the guard and Batisse the goat 😀
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  2. Ashley Firth Avatar
    Ashley Firth

    Wow your pictures are amazing – what an adventure, thank you for sharing 🙂

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, Ashley! Yes, we had such a wonderful time. Would go back in a heartbeat!
      Some day 😀

  3. simplydivinethoughts Avatar

    This is definitely on my bucket list! I would love to be able to go whale watching one day! Living down in FL we don’t get to experience breathtaking moments like these but I one day hope to go on this similar adventure.

    Thanks for sharing this moment with us!
    Much Love,

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, simplydivinethoughts!
      I still have not made it to Florida, but I bet you have cool nature there too. Still, if you get the opportunity to go whale watching, go for it!
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  4. Natasha MacFarlane Avatar
    Natasha MacFarlane

    Looks stunning!!

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, Natasha! I still smile every time I think back at it!

  5. Batmom85 Avatar
    Batmom85

    WHALLLLLEEEEESSSSSSSS😍❤️ How beautiful! Looks like an amazing trip. I always enjoy your post so much. I feel like I’m on the trip with you, you describe the trip so beautifully.

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, batmom! Yes, we loved the whales and other wildlife. Stay tuned till I get around to writing up whale watching in Victoria BC, including bald eagles!

  6. onemorelightlb Avatar

    Wow, looks amazing! I am a little jealous for sure! Great pics 💕💕

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you! I hope you get to go on a whale watching trip one day, it is amazing!

  7. Zena T. Avatar
    Zena T.

    What an awesome opportunity. Going whale watching and seeing some dolphins in person is definitely on my bucket list. It’s something I have always wanted to do. What amazing pictures you have to cherish the memory of that day.

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Thank you, Zena! I hope you get to see them some day, it is an amazing experience!

  8. paddockfamily4 Avatar

    This is amazing! Once my husband and I drove from Detroit to the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec and the road we drove for over two hours to the tip of the peninsula was along the water and this whale swam with us nearly the whole way! It’d pop up every few minutes or so! We kept pace with him and it was just incredible!!

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Wow wow wow!!! What an incredible experience, seeing him for such a long time!
      Thank you for stopping by and sharing that beautiful story!

  9. yorkshiremumof4 Avatar

    Looks beautiful. I love the Hilton Honours as well although a few of there hotels need an upgrade I have found recently. Definitely something for the bucket list that experience

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Glad you have found the usefulness of the Hilton Honours points. Yup, sometimes the hotels need some updating, but we always seem to have a good experience. And when we have issues, they always get solved. Not to mention that we love free stays! 😀

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  10. […] seeing Le Château Frontenac (another Fairmont hotel) in Quebec City, we were curious to visit the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. The outside exterior less […]

  11. Pints, Pounds, and Pâté Avatar

    This is incredible!! We were just in Quebec City this last summer and I wish we had done it! Guess we’ll have to go back

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      We loved every moment of this whale watching trip. Yup, you definitely will have to go back and check out these whales and seals.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  12. […] our way back from Quebec City, we decided to make a stop at the Maine state house in Augusta. This was the fourth capitol in our […]

  13. […] Hilton, where we based ourselves to see snow geese and to go on a whale watch! We saved […]

  14. Marisa Avatar

    I had no idea you could see whales here!! Thanks for sharing because now I know what I am going to add to my itinerary when I visit!!

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Yes, go for it! Watching whales is such an amazing experience. I would go back tomorrow if I didn’t have too many commitments right now 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  15. Karis | Don't Dream, Just Travel Avatar

    I had no idea you could go whale watching from Quebec! Thank you for sharing!

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Very welcome. It was such an unexpected and unlikely find!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  16. Nat Wanderlust Avatar
    Nat Wanderlust

    Oh wow! Whales are my favourite sea animal! This post is wonderful. I’ve bookmarked it for the future. Thank you 🙂

    1. Karen Lanzetta Avatar

      Very welcome! I hope you get to go and see these whales, it was an amazing cruise!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my whales post,

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