Gaspe to Perce logistics

We are really hoping to see some whales and possibly some other wildlife/sea birds etc...at Bonaventure Island. Whales are number 1 but if that isn't possible then we will settle for the birds! 2 adults and a 4 and 6 yr old.

Port times listed for our NCL Dawn 8am arrival 4pm departure. I am estimating 830am getting off boat and getting back on ~2:30. Looks like a 1 hr drive to Perce (~64km but looks like a 2 lane road along the coast)

Have found this cruise that leaves at 10am from Perce.

http://www.croisieres-julien-cloutier.com/en/horaire/

Is it at all possible to get off the ship, get our rental car (at train station) and drive to Perce to catch the 10am boat? It is a 2 1/2 hr boat tour.

The other option is the Bonaventure Island one that leave every 1/2 hour and lasts 1hr 15 min RT with or without a stop at the island. I feel confident we can make one of those without a problem.

The rental car is located at the train station (budget) and does indicate they have a free pick up service.

The tourist sites are pretty limited and a lot of the reviews and travel info online is 2-4 yrs old.

I do not know this area well so cannot help. There have been previous posts which you can look for by going back to the Canada page and looking for the search feature to the right of the blue bar near the top of the page.

I would also go to Trip Advisor and search and/or ask questions there.

On the surface, it looks like you would not be likely to get to Perce on time for the boat tour you mention. You have to be picked up, taken to the train station and complete the procedures for renting your car and get on the road all in half an hour. Then you have to hope for no traffic. Then you have to find the right place for the boat tour, park and get to the boat.

http://*******/maps/zpj7m

Now if you took a taxi or arranged for a car and driver in advance you would save some time, but of course spend more money.

We are really hoping to see some whales and possibly some other wildlife/sea birds etc...at Bonaventure Island. Whales are number 1 but if that isn't possible then we will settle for the birds! 2 adults and a 4 and 6 yr old.

 

Port times listed for our NCL Dawn 8am arrival 4pm departure. I am estimating 830am getting off boat and getting back on ~2:30. Looks like a 1 hr drive to Perce (~64km but looks like a 2 lane road along the coast)

 

Have found this cruise that leaves at 10am from Perce.

http://www.croisieres-julien-cloutier.com/en/horaire/

 

Is it at all possible to get off the ship, get our rental car (at train station) and drive to Perce to catch the 10am boat? It is a 2 1/2 hr boat tour.

 

The other option is the Bonaventure Island one that leave every 1/2 hour and lasts 1hr 15 min RT with or without a stop at the island. I feel confident we can make one of those without a problem.

 

The rental car is located at the train station (budget) and does indicate they have a free pick up service.

 

The tourist sites are pretty limited and a lot of the reviews and travel info online is 2-4 yrs old.

Please post when you get back. I am trying to figure out if we have time to do this next year. I would rather not be herded around on the ship tour if I don't have to be.

IMHO whales can be seen in different parts of the world, but the Fous de bassan birds on Bonaventure Island is quite a unique and beautiful thing to see.

I wish you many of both !

IMHO whales can be seen in different parts of the world, but the Fous de bassan birds on Bonaventure Island is quite a unique and beautiful thing to see.

I wish you many of both !

I really want to go to the island and see the birds. We are supposed to get into port at 8am. We will need to be back on board by 3:30 pm. Will we have time to rent a car, drive to Perce and take a boat tour to the island without being overly stressed about missing the ship?

Also, the ship seems to have one tour more focused on the rock and one more focused on the island. Will we see enough of the rock if we choose the Bonaventure Island tour?

I really want to go to the island and see the birds. We are supposed to get into port at 8am. We will need to be back on board by 3:30 pm. Will we have time to rent a car, drive to Perce and take a boat tour to the island without being overly stressed about missing the ship?

 

Also, the ship seems to have one tour more focused on the rock and one more focused on the island. Will we see enough of the rock if we choose the Bonaventure Island tour?

I will have to check with family members who live in the area to give you more info about driving times ( are there road works etc ) . When is your cruise ?

As for seeing the rock, it is right next to the Island, and you can see it from land also. My uninformed guess, as I don't have info on both tours, would be to go for the Island one.

For more info on île Bonaventure and the area, here is the provincial park web site :http://www.sepaq.com/pq/bon/

Thank you for the information and the new link. My cruise is not until next year on Sept 27th, but I am so excited that I am already making plans. I just received the travel literature I requested from Gaspesie.

Unfortunately, the descriptions on the cruise web site and not at all specific. I think one of them is simply hikes near Perce while one or two of the others include boat trips.

Is there a boat from Gaspe to Perce? Some of the descriptions make it sound like you take a tender boat to Perce.

Thanks again for the info. It is great to have inside information.

We docked in Gaspe last fall, and our time frame was similar to yours. Because Perce is at least an hour's drive away, we did the ship's tour to Perce with a 1-hour walking tour and then time on our own. It was late in the year for whales, and we decided we didn't want a boat trip. I did see sightseeing tours leaving from Perce, but as we didn't have time for that, I didn't pay a lot of attention.

Given that your time is a bit tight, I'd bite the bullet and do the ship's tour. If you wanted to go to Perce and walk around on your own, that would probably work. But I wouldn't go on a boat trip that requires an hour drive at each end on my own. Too many "ifs" with a boat trip IMO. We tendered at Gaspe, and our busload were on the last tenders, with no time to see any of Gaspe. So if time was tight for a ship's land tour, I'd be nervous going on my own for a boat tour.

Not saying it can't be done. But I wouldn't do it. I'd be worried and DH would fret so much neither of us would have a good time.

Thank you for the information and the new link. My cruise is not until next year on Sept 27th, but I am so excited that I am already making plans. I just received the travel literature I requested from Gaspesie.

 

Unfortunately, the descriptions on the cruise web site and not at all specific. I think one of them is simply hikes near Perce while one or two of the others include boat trips.

 

Is there a boat from Gaspe to Perce? Some of the descriptions make it sound like you take a tender boat to Perce.

 

Thanks again for the info. It is great to have inside information.

What are you interested in ? History, ice cream, jewelery, wildlife etc ?

What are you interested in ? History, ice cream, jewelery, wildlife etc ?

History and nature. We're still debating what to do here.

NCL had two tours . We went on the late tour . 50 minutes in a school bus.

I so wish we rented a car. The car rental place is right there by the tender terminal . Take a left ,stay on that one road the whole way to Perce.

We were there to late in the season .

No whales , no puffins

237 of the 240 species of bird the visit the island already left for the winter as well as many of the local people.

Many shops and homes were already boarded up for the winter.

The rock is just off shore on the way to the Island.

We did make the best of the excursion even tho the weather was horrible with snow sleet and ruff seas.

NCL had two tours . We went on the late tour . 50 minutes in a school bus.

 

I so wish we rented a car. The car rental place is right there by the tender terminal . Take a left ,stay on that one road the whole way to Perce.

We were there to late in the season .

No whales , no puffins

237 of the 240 species of bird the visit the island already left for the winter as well as many of the local people.

Many shops and homes were already boarded up for the winter.

The rock is just off shore on the way to the Island.

We did make the best of the excursion even tho the weather was horrible with snow sleet and ruff seas.

Do you happen to remember the name of the rental place? I currently have a mini-van rented with Budget, supposedly near the train depot. I'm not sure where the tender terminal is to look at it on a map.

The tender docks next to the train station and rentals all in the same area.

The city is on the other side of the bridge.

School bus shuttle across the bridge cost $5.

History and nature. We're still debating what to do here.

Both can be interesting, let me know I will be glad to help if I can.

Both can be interesting, let me know I will be glad to help if I can.

I think we are going to get a rental car and do our own thing. Since our cruise is Oct of 2013, just in general terms, would you recommend heading to Perce or to Forillon National Park?

We enjoy both nature and history and it seems like both locations have both to offer. It looks like the NCL tours take a school bus over to Perce, which doesn't seem all that pleasant for $129/person.

I think we are going to get a rental car and do our own thing. Since our cruise is Oct of 2013, just in general terms, would you recommend heading to Perce or to Forillon National Park?

 

We enjoy both nature and history and it seems like both locations have both to offer. It looks like the NCL tours take a school bus over to Perce, which doesn't seem all that pleasant for $129/person.

Both destinations have different interests. Forillon would be interesting if you like wilderness , great walks by the ocean and also that park was created after villages were in the are so it includes some human elements too. Perce , nature wise is special if you make it to Bonaventure Island, short boat ride from Percé dock, to see the Fous de bassan bird colony, also a very nice island to enjoy a walk. You also see the Perce rock, if it is of interest to you. Depends on weather, how much you can walk, if you want to shop . There are also some nice restaurants in the area and local food producers where you can gather goodies for a nice lunch and to bring back on the ship.

We had a private tour over to Forillon. We saw the beautiful coastline, cliffs, lighthouses, a waterfall and beautiful colors. Would do it again.

We had a private tour over to Forillon. We saw the beautiful coastline, cliffs, lighthouses, a waterfall and beautiful colors. Would do it again.

Thanks for the info. How did you arrange for your private tour? We are not finding information on private tour groups for here.

Hi, I am going to Gaspe this fall. Could you share the private tour company that takes you to Forillon? Information is hard to come by. Thanks and have a Wonderful day!!

We were not able to find a private tour, but I am glad that we did not. We rented a mini-van from Budget and headed out on our own. I had printed very detailed road maps before the trip, but we really didn't need them.

We had a great day exploring Forillon. The park was already closed for the season, so we couldn't go into a visitor center or anything, but there were posters and information at several of the stops that we made. Again, I had downloaded all of the information from the National Park web site before the trip, so we didn't really miss the visitor center.

You can find my pictures at https://weberfamilytravels.shutterfly.com/2013canadanewenglandcruise

We totally loved Gaspe and hope to return when we have more time to explore. Enjoy your trip and let me know if you have any questions.