Whale Watching in Tadoussac, Canada

Small church overlooking Tadoussac Bay

The famous Tadoussac Hotel

Whale watching and a Fjord

Minke Whale feeding

In a beautiful little town called Tadoussac, people bundled in warm clothes sip lattes and read French newspapers before heading out on a whale watch. But this little slice of exotic paradise might not be as far away as you may think. Tadoussac is located at the mouth of a mighty fjord emptying into the St Lawrence river in Quebec, Canada.

Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

  After hearing there are whales in this very usual habitat we decided to undergo the seven hour drive from Vermont to see for ourselves. What we found was European experience and lots of whales. Being able to drive to a place where everyone speaks a different language made me feel like I was back in Europe, easily crossing borders into a new country. Little coffee bars serving up giant bowls of latte are hotspots from early morning until late afternoon. Summertime is the busy season, when the most whales are here, but it still feels far from busy. Somehow this area has escaped notice of most tourists, even those in the whale watching and researching world like me.

Minke Whale

Fin Whale

  Thinking height would be an advantage for getting pictures of the whales we decided to go with a big boat. There are several options of boat sizes from 600 pax triple deckers to small rigid inflatables. We chose the bigger which felt very uncrowded even with 200+ people on it! We staked out spots right at the bow which turned out to be prime viewing area. On the way out Heidi and I both spotted minke whales and beluga whales off in the distance. We kept going further to where other boats had already gathered and soon we saw why. Periodically coming up for breaths and slowly circling among the boats were three different species of whales! Humpbacks arched their back and brought their tail out of the water to the delight of all the whale watchers. Minke whales looked almost dolphin sized next to the humpbacks even though they are about 20ft long. And massive fin whales slowly rolled at the surface showing off a long back before their tall fin followed. Beluga whales were spotted coming out and going back in towards the mouth of the fjord. Their brilliant white contrasted starkly with the dark water as some dark storm clouds passed over. It started to rain just as we were nearing the dock. That is when I looked over at one of the small boats racing up with all the passengers totally drenched.

Beluga Whale

  A lighthouse guards the entry into the fjord. Due to the massive tides in this region the lighthouse is way offshore. During low tide rocks are exposed almost all the way out to the lighthouse. This would be even more dangerous during high tides when the rocks are covered but laying in wait just a few feet under.

Proof of beluga whales

  Alot of whale watching can be done from shore here in Tadoussac. We spotted belugas and minke whales from our campsite. It seemed that not many people thought to look for whales from shore. Heidi and I spotted a minke feeding in the bay about 20 yards behind some people on the beach who had no idea. Every time we would stop to look at whales from shore other people would catch on and also come look.

Looking up the fjord from the St. Lawrence River

Overlooking the beautiful town of Tadoussac, Quebec

10+ foot tides

Heidi checking the tide pools