croisieres aml day tours

I went to Canada 4 years ago for 1 month. It has been a wonderful holiday experience. I visited a lot of famous cities (Montreal, Québec, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver) and famous places ( Niagara Falls, The Old Section of Quebec, The Canadian museum for Human Rights, the National Olympic Park of Montreal and different protected National parks through the country). My best memory stays the zodiac whale watching experience In Tadoussac! I really enjoyed everytime the whales surfaced! Some whales dove so close to our zodiac that I was able to tape it for an exciting memory! Definitely a once in a lifetime trip

We took the zodiac tour from Tadoussac and had high expectations to see whales in the golf. The weather was clear and cold with about 10 Celsius degrees. There was kind of fog on the water although generally it was clear and that made the whales finding a hard work. The wind while riding the zodiac was very cold. During the 3 hours ride we've found 3 or 4 times whales and we could see their back, upper fin and tail. I can't say that it's realy to see a whale. At the bottom line it is a unique experience with an atmosphere of adventure but it's hard to really see a major part of a whale.

We took the 3 hour tour on a zodiac boat to go look for and watch the whales. They also offer tours on a ship, but the zodiac is for more action. Be prepared to get wet. The company provides you with "waterproof" bibs and a jacket but the bib did little to prevent my pants from getting soaked. The best part was seeing beluga, blue and minke whales in their environment. With the 3 hour tour we also went up into the fjord where we saw a seal and a black bear. The is a MUST in Tadoussac and was the highlight of my trip to Quebec!

It was such a delight to finally do some whale watching in Tadoussac on my recent visit to Quebec. We choose the motorized small boat seating approximately 24 people. It gave us an 'up close and personal' view of any whales sighted. And, yes, many were seen. The captain/driver took us to several points for specific whales. It wasn't a long wait once there. Even though you are 'suited' for the cold, be sure to wear something warm underneath this outer layer because it does get quite brisk as we were driven to certain points.Many people brought all kinds of cameras. A steady eye and hand are needed, too. I decided to enjoy the experience without preserving it except in my memory.

The bus-whale express package is the best way to travel to see the whales. The bus driver entertained us with his French/English commentary. It was a great way to enjoy the scenic 3-hour drive to the whale excursion without worrying about driving off the road! My family and I enjoyed the 24-person Zodiac whale watching excursion. Although you can't pick the weather when you book your cruise, we had a beautiful, sunny, calm day. We saw Minke whales, humpback whales, beluga whales, porpoises, and sea lions. Our captain was a young man who demonstrated a wonderful joie de vivre every time the whales surfaced. His excitement was contagious! A once in a lifetime trip!

Driving up to tadoussac is already a great experience. The view along the high way is one of the I have ever seen. Then the bonus was the cruise. I thought the tickets were expensive. They in the boat they were saying it's seasonal thing and there are a lot of people involved to keep it safe and . Then it make sense.On boat time passes really fast. We had hard time to follow the 9 O clock or 3' O clock direction to see whales. I got some nice shot on my tele lens, after many tries.You cant blame the ship for bad luck. I actually think how wise is it to disturb these beautiful and smart animals?I would suggest to take this ride and keep the ship away.

My husband, fourteen year old daughter and I made the very scenic, four hour drive from Quebec City to Tadoussac for an afternoon whale watching cruise. Having been disappointed by a similar cruise departing from Tofino, British Columbia a few years ago (we didn't see any whales), my husband and I were apprehensive whether our time and vacation dollars had been well invested. We chose the AML Suroit, the medium-sized of the three boat sizes they offer because it ensured we would be protected from the weather if the day turned out to be bad weather, yet it was small enough to be able to respond quickly if another boat radioed a location where they were currently seeing whales. A window seat on the lower level at the fixed, tables for four was ideal for the sightings on our side of the boat...and there were several. The guide was knowledgeable and provided explanations in both French and English. At one point a humpbacked whale exhaled a spout of water, then dove so close to our boat I was able to video tape it for an exciting memory for our family. Reservations for your whale cruise can be made online on the company's website and must be paid for at the time.Two tips I wish we had known: there are very few public washrooms in the town of Tadoussac. We found a very tiny, old one in the small gas station on main street. Secondly, you do not need to park at the Croisieres office location on Main Street Tadoussac and wait for their shuttle bus. When our bus arrived at the Pier (that almost forgot to pick us up) we discovered other passengers had parked at the Pier and were already boarded.

My 6-year old doesn't like to be near water but she wanted to see whales with the rest of us. So the 2-hr cruise in a mid-sized boat with an open deck and glass-enclosed lower deck seemed suitable. Our b&b booked us for the 12:30 pm excursion the day before and it wasn't packed on the boat, even when we had to pick up more people at Baie-Ste.-Catherine. We too, saw 5 kinds of whales plus grey seals. Our bilingual guide was very informative and really knew her stuff about the sea animals and their habits and identified particular whales by first name(!) that frequent the St. Lawrence annually. She spent the first half hour telling us the safety rules of the boat. We stayed on the deck the entire time. Dress warmly (extra sweater, windbreaker) if you plan to stay on the deck as the temperature drops a good 10C once you are in the middle of the breezy St. Lawrence. The next group to get on the cruise definitely had more people. We were very pleased with our experience. We have no need to be up close to the whales like in the zodiac and some whales did venture close to our boat, about 40 ft away. We would definitely recommend the excursion on this boat for families with young children.

As wildlife enthusiasts we were trilled to see five different species of whales in one 3-hour zodiac cruise: Beluga, Humpback, Blue, Fin, and Minke. The Blues are massive, the Humpbacks entertaining, and the Belugas cute. It was definitely the highlight of our 9-day trip to Quebec. It was a clear, warm day, good for photos. There was still a cold chill coming up from the water but AML supplied everyone with a very warm and water resistant coat and pants. There were several other boats in the St. Lawrence river and they all congregated around the whales. I'm sure you would have a similar whale-watching experience no matter which boat you were on but I'd recommend the smaller boats you can find so you can have a more intimate experience with less noise and fewer people jostling for a good view. Our captain was cheerful and enthusiastic. My wife and I were the only English speakers on the boat so the commentary was 75% in French. He did mention the name of each species and a few facts in English for our sake. We were in a large zodiac with about twenty people. We bought our ticket at a gift shop in Tadoussac and paid a steep $75 a person. I would recommend going directly to the AML office where you will have more options. If you take a trip to Tadoussac I strongly recommend a zodiac trip.

We went to Baie-Ste-Catherine for the 3 hour zodiac tour. My thoughts were the zodiac will give us a more intimate look at the whales. There were a lot of zodiacs out at the same time and a few larger boats. Our captain would stop with the sighting of a few whales. We had to stay away 400 m from the belugas - they are now protected, which is totally understandable. However, when we stopped for a humpback sighting and there were only 2 - we were in a circle of 7-8 zodiacs. We got a few pictures, but never stayed long enough to get that intimate look I was hoping for. We saw a few minke whales, a fin whale, many seals but mostly from far away. A couple in a double kayak seemed to be followed by the belugas and I was so envious. We learned a lot about the region and the number of whales since whaling has been banned, and it is nice to see how Quebec protects and knows their whales. I only wished to have had more time with the motor off to get a closer look at them. This did not compare at all to our trip to Gloucester, MA where we went in a bigger boat but saw 5-6 humpbacks -so closely that we could nearly touch them... If you go, the region is breathtaking, the weather was fabulous.... Make sure that you do book on a sunny and calm day or else you could get sick. Dress warmly...I could have used a tuque or something to protect my ears from the wind. If you don't mind not getting up and close, then you will not be disappointed. We still saw different species of whales. The belugas are so special and you will probably see more of those than any other species. We also visited the fjords with their waterfalls! Quite impressive!

We enjoyed our 3-hour Zodiak tour today tremendously. The captain/guide was fantastic, providing informative explanations with a good sense of humour in French and English. We saw about ten minke whales; one humpback (named Gaspar); one fin whale; four (!!!) blue whales; and dozens of grey seals swimming right next to our boat.It can be cold out on the St. Lawrence, even in warm and sunny weather. So wear an extra layer of clothing.

So please do not take me wrong, we as a group of 9 people, mostly visitors from Europe we enjoyed the sightseeing and amazing description and guiding of our captain Simon. I booked the 3 hr zodiac cruise on line three months ahead and had to pay in full for 10 people. That was what we planned at the time. One of the group members could not come being ill. The office people in the the Croisieres AML Tadoussac would NOT honer a refund nor they would offer a credit. I would understand if the situation was that walk-in tourists buy a ticket at 10 AM for 1:30 PM cruise and when they see A cloud in the sky they will change their mind, won't want to go and demand a refund. But for someone who books on-line more then 90 day ahead, brings a group bigger then 4 people. Someone who comes from far away like Europe with 10 people, someone who is risking to get a bouncy ride in the cold conditions of a Zodiac boat and not to see a whale at all, now being a group of 9 instead of 10, should get at least a credit if not a refund! Well think about it, a credit would only show a good will because those Europeans will not likely hope on a plane to Quebec to see or not to see one or two whales just because they had a credit from while ago. But they sure will feel much better if they received a full attention and honest care for their money. SO BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT BUY TICKETS ON LINE WITH the Croisieres AML Tours, DO NOT BUY TICKET WITH the Croisieres AML AS LONG AS THEY HAVE THE NO CREDIT NO REFUND POLICY. LOOK FOR OTHER COMPANIES AND CHECK THEIR POLICIES.And I know the Croisieres AML will change one day. Not long after they will see no people buying tickets.

We just came back from a vacation in the Charlevoix. Going on the boat to see the whales was our highlight! WOW! We got to see a humpback, some belugas and a couple of minkes. The boat was OK and a bit expensive, but what made this amazing was our guide (Rachel) - she was incredible. Very interesting, professional and knowledgeable with perfect French and English. And seeing those majestic animals was incredible.... Total magic! Recommended!

We enjoyed this trip quite a bit. The information was fantastic. We had lady who did great translations and we had a good time. I wish we could have had a better view of the whales. WE managed to see 2 humpbacks and a Minke whale. Next time I would do a longer tour and take the adventurer boat? We decided to drive and take the ferry over to todoussac rather than get on at baie st. catherines.. if no traffice. it is only an additional 15 mins. todoussac bay is gorgeous and more restuarants and shops. The ferry is 10 mins. and it is free. Really stunning view over there.. You need a jacket as it can get quite cold.

Good sightings of three species of whale Informative commentary by naturalist ( Chantal?). Mainly in french but enough english and spanish Boat not too full ( but we saw an afternoon trip that was absolutely rammed so if space important it may be worth checking). One small niggle:When paying $70 each it seems churlish to charge a booking fee ( when I did all the work online!) and a parking charge of $5.