The best months for whales
AML's boats sail from early May to late October, and each part of that season looks different on the water. Belugas stay all year, while the big rorquals arrive and leave on their own calendar. This guide goes month by month, then turns to the hour you sail and the weather that can spoil it.
A six-month season
Whale trips from Quebec City run from early May to late October. Outside those months the boats stay in port, and the bus trip from the city stops too. Inside them every month has whales, because the belugas never leave and minkes arrive with the first boats. What changes from month to month is the mix of species and the weather on the water.
The water barely warms. Its temperature sits around 35–50 °F (2–10 °C) from spring to fall, and even when Quebec City reaches about 77 °F (25 °C), a cruise often feels like 50–60 °F (10–15 °C) once the wind gets going. What to wear on the river deals with that side of things.
Month by month
May
The first weeks bring few departures and cold days on the water. Minkes and belugas are the usual sightings, and the boats are quiet. Come in May if you dislike crowds and own a warm coat.
June
More species arrive as the month goes on, and fin whales begin to appear in the reports. June also brings fog more often than later months, so a June trip carries more risk of a grey morning with few sightings.
July and August
This is the busy heart of the season. Days are at their warmest and departures at their most frequent. The boats fill to match. Families travel now, so the big boat's rails get crowded and summer weekends sell out first. More departures also mean more chances to move a trip if the weather turns.
Late August and September
If we could pick one stretch, it would be this one. The most species are around, and blue whales become possible, usually far out. With schools back, fewer families crowd the rails, and the air on the water starts to bite again in the evenings.
October
The last departures run in October, on colder and shorter days. The reward is on land. In late September and early October the hills of Charlevoix turn red and gold, and the road from Quebec City becomes half the pleasure of the trip. Check that your date still has departures, since the schedule may thin toward the end.
The hour you sail
If you drive to the wharf, the time of day is yours to choose. The Zodiac tour lists four slots.
- Early tour, 8–10 am. Soft light and, on many days, a calmer river before the wind gets up;
- Late morning, 10:15 am to 12:45 pm. The easiest slot to reach after breakfast, with the sun high and plenty of glare;
- Afternoon, 1:30–4 pm. The warmest part of the day, though on breezy days the wind has had hours to build;
- Sunset tour, 4:30–6:30 pm. Low, warm light behind the whales, and a chill that grows as the sun drops.
Light matters for photos. In the morning and near sunset the sun sits low, so the glare off the water is gentler and blows stand out against the shore. Wind matters for comfort, and on many summer days it picks up after midday. The bus day trip has no such choice. The coach leaves Quebec City at 9 am and the cruise follows a one-hour lunch at Baie-Sainte-Catherine, so you sail in the afternoon whatever the light. Bus tour or drive yourself? explains how a night in the region opens up the early and sunset slots.
Choose your hour on the water
The Zodiac sails from early morning to sunset from both wharves, so you can book the light you want, from ~$130. Cancel free until 24 hours before if the forecast turns.
When the weather turns
The boats sail in rain. AML cancels only when a trip would be unsafe, and on a windy day Zodiac riders may find themselves moved to the big boat. Fog is the bigger risk to your sightings. It comes most often in early summer and can sit on the estuary for hours. A trip in thick fog may hear more blows than it sees.
The whale guarantee, AML's offer of a second boat tour after a trip with no sightings, covers an empty trip, not a disappointing one. Reviewers who saw only one faint minke through the fog were not offered it. If your days are flexible, watch the forecast and use the free cancellation on the main listings to move a booking away from a foggy or windy day. Waves bother some people more than fog does, and seasickness on the St. Lawrence has advice for them.
How far ahead to book
For July and August weekends, book a few weeks ahead. Outside those weekends you can often book closer to the date, though the bus trip needs a margin. One reviewer's booking made the day before never reached AML's passenger list, and there was no room left on the coach. With free cancellation up to a day out and nothing to pay at booking, an early reservation costs you little and holds the time you want.
Prices for every option sit in the cost guide. Once the date is set, Zodiac or big boat? helps you pick the boat, while which whales you will see goes species by species.
Another bus from Quebec City
If AML's day trip is full on your date, Unitours' whale watching day trip from Quebec City runs a 10-hour day from 12 rue Sainte-Anne in Old Quebec, with a driver-guide narrating the road before a boat cruise on the estuary near Charlevoix. Its catch starts with the reviews, since it has only five. It also shows no price until the season opens. The listing does not name the boat company or the boat type, so you would not know before booking whether you will ride a Zodiac or a big boat. We would try other dates for AML's trip first.