Saguenay Has HOHO Bus at Port

[Firstin87]

We recently returned from a lovely Quebec to Baltimore cruise on NCL that stopped in Saguenay.  We looked for non-ship excursions to do and found limited and outdated information about a Hop On Hop Off bus at the port, but we couldn't tell if it still existed.  Luckily, it does!  Cost was $30 (CAD) each, ran the whole day, and had good narration.  I'm attaching a scan of it's stops.  Hope others enjoy it as much as we did.

 

 

Saguenay HOHO Bus.pdf

[GTJ]

Is the narration pre-recorded or live? If live, were you able to ascertain if the English narration was identical to the French? Sometimes French narration is more thorough or animated, while the English version that follows is abbreviated. How often do the buses operate along the circuit? That is, if one should alight one bus, how long before the next bus arrives?

[Firstin87]

The narration is live.  The language and amount of narration varied by driver.  Some drivers spoke only English and some were bilingual.  Some were more 'talkative' than others, but passengers were always clearly told what stop they were at and where to meet the next bus.  FYI - the bus does not stop at the Little White House - it stops below the hill the house is on and you can walk up to the building.  This was clearly explained to passengers upon embarkation at the port and during the ride.  The time between buses at each stop was about 20 minutes.

[meadowlander]

27 minutes ago, Firstin87 said:

The narration is live.  The language and amount of narration varied by driver.  Some drivers spoke only English and some were bilingual.  Some were more 'talkative' than others, but passengers were always clearly told what stop they were at and where to meet the next bus.  FYI - the bus does not stop at the Little White House - it stops below the hill the house is on and you can walk up to the building.  This was clearly explained to passengers upon embarkation at the port and during the ride.  The time between buses at each stop was about 20 minutes.

Recently used the same hop on/off bus at the terminal in La Baie which is the location of the Saguenay cruise port. At stop 4 (Racine Street in Saguenay) all on the bus we’re told to get off. The bus then left. A rep gave a brief talk, explaining the next stop was a 10-12 minute walk down Racine Street.

 

I had planned to exit at stop 4 but not all on the bus we’re going to exit there, the rep had us all exit.  He also caused confusion among a few (myself included) who thought we had to walk to stop 5 to reboard, not allowed to reboard at stop 4 - which I eventually did.

 

Did you encounter this forced exit at stop 4 which was not explained when purchasing the ticket outside of the terminal?

Edited October 19, 2023 by meadowlander

[Firstin87]

that's right... you jogged my memory.  Got off at Stop 4, across the street from a church that was a popular site, and someone from the HOHO company gave a short talk about the church.  You could catch the next HOHO at that stop, or walk to Stop 5, Tourism Information.  We tried to walk to Stop 5, could not find it, so returned to Stop 4 and boarded the next bus.  I recommend browsing the area of stop 4, lots of stores, and returning to where you disembarked the bus.  We could not find the Tourism Information site's name on our phone to get walking directions, so some wasted time and energy there.

[meadowlander]

For those who may use this hop on hop off bus, stop #5 is located at the tourist info center located at 295 Rue Racine just past the intersection of Rue du Havre, about 600 yards from stop # 4 near Saint Francois Xavier Catherderal.

[craftsrdkc]

Hello, just curious...did you purchase your tickets to the bus before your cruise or did you purchase when you got off the ship? How long a wait if you purchased when you got there? We are sailing to Saguenay next fall and since we are in port for less than we first thought, I would like to make sure my mom and I make the most of our time there.  Thanks

[Firstin87]

Tickets did not appear to be available for purchase in advance.  We bought them when we arrived - quick and easy.  Their booth is right at the end of the port, right at the parking lot by their buses.  We waited for less than a minute.  I can't remember if they were finishing with another customer when we walked up or if there was no one in line.  No problem buying when you get there.  Hope you have a great trip!  

[craftsrdkc]

Thank you so much for the info!  Looking forward to it. 

[ErLee]

On 10/19/2023 at 6:02 PM, Firstin87 said:

We recently returned from a lovely Quebec to Baltimore cruise on NCL that stopped in Saguenay.  We looked for non-ship excursions to do and found limited and outdated information about a Hop On Hop Off bus at the port, but we couldn't tell if it still existed.  Luckily, it does!  Cost was $30 (CAD) each, ran the whole day, and had good narration.  I'm attaching a scan of it's stops.  Hope others enjoy it as much as we did.

 

 

Saguenay HOHO Bus.pdf 402.23 kB · 157 downloads

Thank you for the info on the HOHO in Saguenay! We're doing the same cruise in October 2024. I would love to hear your insight on the various ports. Did you do a review anywhere of your trip?