u/Soriam

Hi everyone,

My friend and I are both 29 and we’ll be doing a road trip around Quebec from September 7 to September 17, 2026. We’ll have a rental car and we’re trying to find the right balance between seeing a lot and not spending the whole trip driving.

We like having fairly active days and tend to get bored if there isn’t much to do, but we also don’t want to turn the trip into a checklist.

Our current itinerary is:

• Sept 7: Arrive at Montreal airport around 11am → afternoon/evening in Montreal
• Sept 8: Full day in Montreal
• Sept 9: Montreal → La Mauricie National Park → hiking/lake activity → sleep in/near the park
• Sept 10: Mauricie → Quebec City for around 4–5 hours → continue through Charlevoix → sleep in La Malbaie
• Sept 11: Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie, probably Acropole des Draveurs
• Sept 12: Easier day around Charlevoix/La Malbaie + a concert in La Malbaie that evening
• Sept 13: La Malbaie → Tadoussac, whale watching + village/coast → sleep in Tadoussac
• Sept 14: Tadoussac → drive down the coast, possibly Port-au-Persil → Saint-Siméon ferry to Rivière-du-Loup → sleep in Rivière-du-Loup
• Sept 15: Rivière-du-Loup → Kamouraska for a short stop → drive back to Montreal
• Sept 16: Full day + evening in Montreal
• Sept 17: Montreal during the morning/early afternoon → flight at 7pm

A few things we’re especially unsure about:

1. Is one night in Mauricie worth it, or would you recommend another park between Montreal and Quebec City?
2. Is skipping an overnight stay in Quebec City a mistake? One of us has already visited, while the other hasn’t.
3. Does 3 nights around La Malbaie + 1 night in Tadoussac feel right, or is that too much time in Charlevoix?

We’d especially appreciate feedback from people who know Quebec/Charlevoix well. Feel free to be critical — we still have time to change the itinerary.

Thanks!