Scenery between Montreal and Quebec City

[NancyC]

Planning for a cruise next year to see the fall leaves. Trying to decide if we should cruise to Quebec city or take a Holland America cruise that goes all the way to Montreal. Is the cruise from Quebec city to Montreal worth the extra time? If you have gone all the way to Montreal I would like to hear your opinion.

[Twickenham]

Note that when you cruise from QC to MTL, it will mostly be dark, so not much opportunity for sightseeing.

I would look at the cruises as a whole to make your decision - itinerary, ship, etc. It can often be much more expensive to fly out of YQB than YUL, so that could be a consideration as well.

[Steviewonder1]

You need to plan for mid October. Last year we did late September from Quebec City to NYC and only a few areas north of Quebec City had started to change. The amount of rain and temperature also plays into the changing of the leaves. If you are going to Montreal you will be on a smaller ship (like the Maasdam) because there is a bridge on the waterway that at low tide the larger ships cannot get under.

[ellieanne]

Sail-away from Quebec to Montreal is one of my favourite adventures. I will agree, it is not very scenic when you get past the bridge the previous poster mentioned. But by that time, you are usually eating dinner or doing final night packing and gathering, so it's not too bad to miss it.

 

I am always awake early when we come into Montreal. The sunrise trough Habitat has to be one of the best early morning experiences in the world to me.

 

 

[galavant3]

We are going the whole way to Montreal in October...I'd be very happy to report back.

 

As someone mentioned, we depart Quebec at 6 PM so it looks like a good portion of the trip will be dark. I'm still looking forward to it!

[Keith1010]

The cruise up to Montreal is indeed worth the extra time not for the Fall Color as much as taking in all that Montreal has to offer particularly by visiting the old area of Montreal.

 

Keith

[Jeff in Torrance]

We thought of taking such a cruise a few years ago; but, decided to just do a road trip in Quebec instead. We're happy with that decision.

 

We flew on Jet Blue to Burlington, Vt (from Long Beach, CA). Spent a couple of nights in beautiful Vermont; and, then crossed the border to Montreal for two or three nights. Then,we drove to Quebec City, spending a total of four nights on Ile d'Orleans, which is fairly large island in the ST. Lawrence River out of Quebec. Dozens of lovely B&B's and inns, in a beautiful setting. Even though we were there in peak "leaf season," we had no trouble finding lodging. There is a tourist office immediately after arriving on the island from the only bridge. I have not been able to find the link to the tourist agency; but, here is a commercial site that lists some of the lodging opportunities. The lodging hosts were all wonderful; the food fantastic; and lovely scenery......at our pace.

 

Ile d'Orleans

 

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/ile-dorleans-quebec.html

 

http://www.iledorleans.com/eng/hebergement/gites.asp

[ellieanne]

We are going the whole way to Montreal in October...I'd be very happy to report back.

 

As someone mentioned, we depart Quebec at 6 PM so it looks like a good portion of the trip will be dark. I'm still looking forward to it!

 

You might leave early. On two of my five cruises, we left Quebec for Montreal earlier than originally scheduled because the tide was coming in and if the tide came in, the boat would not be able to get under the bridge. On the last cruise, we just made it under.