Rental Car in Saguenay in mid-October/noon-7/Driving Route?

[MalibuCA]

Our ship will be in Saguenay on October 16 from noon to 7 pm. We have arranged for a rental car, and we would like to drive to the Saguenay Fjord National Park. Is this doable? Can you suggest specific places where we should drive within the park so that we can see beautiful parts of the park but still make it back to the ship on time? We are not looking for hiking paths specifically, but rather we would like to drive through the park where we can see beautiful fall foliage (hopefully!) However, we have no problem with getting out of the car and walking to see something worth seeing. We just don't want to chew up too much of our precious time with hiking trails. We are from Southern California, and we don't get to see the leaves change color very much, so this is a real treat for us. I welcome all suggestions and appreciate the help.

 

Thanks,

Shelley

[Kamloops50]

Our ship will be in Saguenay on October 16 from noon to 7 pm. We have arranged for a rental car, and we would like to drive to the Saguenay Fjord National Park. Is this doable? Can you suggest specific places where we should drive within the park so that we can see beautiful parts of the park but still make it back to the ship on time? We are not looking for hiking paths specifically, but rather we would like to drive through the park where we can see beautiful fall foliage (hopefully!) However, we have no problem with getting out of the car and walking to see something worth seeing. We just don't want to chew up too much of our precious time with hiking trails. We are from Southern California, and we don't get to see the leaves change color very much, so this is a real treat for us. I welcome all suggestions and appreciate the help.

 

Thanks,

Shelley

 

depending on the weather . the fall colors might be gone.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We'll be there a week or so before you. I haven't gotten much info about Saguenay except that there's an Enterprise car rental place there, which you might already know, as you've rented a car. However, if you go to tomsportguides.com, look under port guides, Canada, you'll find a free, downloadable guide for Saguenay written by an avid cruiser. I know Tom mentions the park, as I'm interested in it as well, but forget just what info he provides. His guides are usually very helpful, though, so I would definitely give it a look!

[CLOU]

I will be there about two weeks before you. Since I also intend to rent a car, I was curious as to which car rental company you are using and will the car be delivered to you at the port? I also highly recommend reading Tom's port guides. He goes into great detail and gives quite a lot of useful information.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I will be there about two weeks before you. Since I also intend to rent a car, I was curious as to which car rental company you are using and will the car be delivered to you at the port? I also highly recommend reading Tom's port guides. He goes into great detail and gives quite a lot of useful information.

 

I'm not the original poster, so I don't already have a car reserved. However, I started exploring rental a bit and can perhaps shed some light on car rental in the area. Saguenay is really the name for the area, not the actual town where cruise ships dock. Therefore, if you google for car rental places using La Baie, Canada, you MAY have better luck than using Saguenay. Here's what I've found out to date:

 

http://tourisme.saguenay.ca/en/media/viewst/promo/croisieres_internationales/horaire_des_navires_2016_en.pdf is port schedule (La Baie area). This is useful in seeing if there are other cruise ships visiting with you.

 

Info from another post on Cruise Critic; assume it's fairly up to date/accurate:

 

Enterprise

Address: 3380 AV DU PORT

Phone: (418) 697-0404

Approximate cost after tax: $CAD 48

Hours: 8am-5pm M-F, CLOSED WEEKENDS Can’t drive you back to port after 4pm, but can drop keys & take taxi back for about $12 CAD.

 

My info:

We’ll be there on a Sunday. Closest place open is Budget at airport, 6 miles, $40 on Expedia but forget if that's CDN or US, but probably US. Assume we'd need a cab to airport both ways.

 

Tom's Port Guide may include info on rental cars, but I have not read whole thing yet, so don't know.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Tom's Port Guide says: Car rental is best booked in advance with National Car Rental for car pick up at the Cruise Pavilion in La Baie. Contact information is Location Talbot, loctalbot@videotron.ca tel 418-549-3888 or 1-800-549-3888. If you rent a car, be sure to tell them you are arriving by cruise ship at the La Baie Terminal and want to pick up the car there or have them arrange transport for you to the car.

[CLOU]

Thanks, I knew I was looking at La Baie, and I too have done some internet investigation. I was just curious as to whether the original poster had arranged for dockside drop off. I have a worse Sunday problem in that I will be in Charlottetown, PEI on Sunday and it looks like all of the car rental agencies are closed on Sunday.

[roothy123]

Just to update this a little: I contacted National Car Rental, using the email address provided above, and asked if they would rent a car to me on a Sunday, and if so, if they would deliver it to the port at La Baie rather than make me go to the airport to pick it up. They said that was fine, and I made a reservation by email. They charge $76 Canadian plus for a mid-sized car (Toyota Corolla or similar) and that includes unlimited mileage. Once we get ashore, we just go to the National counter or kiosk inside the Welcome Center. Sounds quite easy.

 

To the poster who wondered about renting a car on a Sunday on PEI, I would recommend calling the rental companies to ask. Online, National's website showed that nothing was available at the cruise terminal in La Baie (Saguenay) on Sundays. However, that it NOT what I was told when I emailed the local National vendor. You just never know.

Edited April 20, 2016 by roothy123