Whale Watching Zodiac Tour Tadoussac

Tadoussac and its pier

Tadoussac is a village of a few hundred people at the point where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence, about three hours northeast of Quebec City. It is the oldest French settlement in Canada, founded as a fur trading post in 1600, and today its wooden houses, red-roofed hotel and small chapel of 1747 sit around a sandy bay that opens onto the whale grounds. Things to do in Tadoussac beyond the boats include the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre, the dunes east of the village and the walking paths along the fjord cliffs.

The Zodiac leaves from the Tadoussac pier at 122 Rue de la Cale Sèche, a few minutes' walk from the centre, with departures at 10:15 AM and 1:30 PM. You arrive early to collect your waterproof jacket and trousers and attend the safety briefing. Tadoussac is reached from the Charlevoix side by a free ferry from Baie-Sainte-Catherine, which runs around the clock and takes about ten minutes across the mouth of the fjord.

Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park

The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park was created in 1998 to protect the marine life where the fjord joins the estuary. It is a protected area of water rather than land, managed jointly by Canada and Quebec, and the rules that govern every whale watching boat in Tadoussac come from it: minimum distances from each species, speed limits, a cap on the number of boats around a group of whales and a complete exclusion zone around belugas, which are a protected resident population.

For the visitor the park is the reason the whales are here. At its heart, the deep Laurentian Channel ends abruptly near Tadoussac and cold water from the depths is pushed to the surface, carrying krill and small fish that the whales feed on from May to October. Our naturalist guide explains the science as you go, pointing out the way the water changes colour at the fronts where the animals gather.

The whale feeding grounds of the St. Lawrence estuary

Most of the excursion is spent on the open estuary off Tadoussac and Les Escoumins, where the whales feed. Minke whales are the most common sight, surfacing fast and close; fin whales, the second-largest animal on Earth, roll through the water in groups; humpbacks show their tails before a deep dive; and in late summer and autumn blue whales are seen on some trips. Harbour porpoises, grey seals and harbour seals appear around the boat, and belugas, white and unmistakable, are often watched from the regulated distance.

Whale watching in Quebec runs from May to October, with the greatest variety from July to September. Sightings are never guaranteed because these are wild animals, but the guide and captain are in radio contact with other boats and know where the whales have been feeding that day. The Zodiac sits low on the water, so a surfacing whale a few boat lengths away is a thrilling experience.

The mouth of the Saguenay Fjord

The Saguenay Fjord is a deep glacial valley flooded by the sea, running about 100 kilometres inland between cliffs that rise hundreds of metres straight from the water. Its mouth at Tadoussac is where the dark, fresh water of the fjord meets the cold salt water of the St. Lawrence, a boundary you can see as a line on the surface. When sea conditions allow, the Zodiac runs into the lower fjord, where the cliffs close in and the water calms, for a different landscape from the open estuary.

Belugas use the fjord as a nursery in summer, so boats stay well back here; grey seals haul out on the rocks and peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs. The fjord section is weather dependent and is included only when it is safe, but the view back out to the estuary from inside the fjord is one of the highlights of a Tadoussac Zodiac tour.

The Zodiac experience and how to prepare

A Zodiac is a rigid-hulled inflatable boat with a powerful engine: it is fast, stable and low to the water, with passengers seated on benches in the open. The vessels used carry 24 or 60 passengers and are built for this estuary. The boat moves quickly between sightings and stops dead to drift beside the whales, which means spray, wind and cold even on a warm day; the waterproof jacket and trousers provided over your own warm clothes are essential.

Dress in layers with a hat, gloves and closed shoes, bring sunglasses and sunscreen, and keep your camera on a strap. There is no shelter and no toilet on board, so use the facilities at the pier before the 2.5-hour trip. The excursion accepts children from the age of 6; pregnant women and people with back problems should choose a larger boat instead. Binoculars are not provided, and a pair helps for distant blows.

Baie-Sainte-Catherine and the Charlevoix shore

Baie-Sainte-Catherine is the village facing Tadoussac across the mouth of the fjord, on the Charlevoix side of the Saguenay. The second option of this product departs from its pier at 159 Route 138 at the same times, 10:15 AM and 1:30 PM, and follows the same excursion into the marine park, so travellers staying in Charlevoix, La Malbaie or Baie-Saint-Paul can avoid the ferry crossing. The pier has parking, and the whale grounds are just as close.

Charlevoix whale watching is often combined with the drive along Route 138, one of the most scenic roads in Quebec, with the Laurentian mountains dropping to the river and viewpoints at Pointe-Noire, where an interpretation centre overlooks the fjord mouth and belugas are sometimes seen from the land. Whether you start in Tadoussac or Baie-Sainte-Catherine, the boat, the guide and the time on the water are the same.