Magdalen Islands - Should we hire a driver?

[Jade13]

• Île d’Entrée (130 inhabitants)
  
• Île du Havre-Aubert (Bassin, Havre-Aubert)
  
• Île du Cap aux Meules (Cap-aux-Meules (1,594 inhabitants), Étang-du-Nord (3,047 inhabitants), Fatima (2,788 inhabitants)
  
• Île aux Loups (Pointe-aux-Loups)
  
• La Grosse Île (556 inhabitants)
  
• Île de la Grande-Entrée (646 inhabitants)
  
• Île Brion
  
• Île-du-Havre-aux-Maison
  

 

We are stopping here in July from 10-5.

Which area should we visit?

 

Ile d' Entree sounds interesting and if we went there it would be with the ships 5 hour tour as the ferry times do not work, so they obviously have a charter.

 

The other ship tours each go to a different Isle and all sound similar. Our other option would be to hire a driver who could probably drive us all around.

 

Any suggestions of where to go and with whom?

[maryann ns]

Hi Jade;

 

I can't help you as I have never been to the Magdelins. I am so impressed to hear it is a cruise stop. I have always wanted to go there and I would think renting a car would also work. Try TripAdvisor to get more information.

 

From what I have heard it is very rural, scenic and charming. I would look for great beaches and seafood.

[Jade13]

Hi Jade;

 

I can't help you as I have never been to the Magdelins. I am so impressed to hear it is a cruise stop. I have always wanted to go there and I would think renting a car would also work. Try TripAdvisor to get more information.

 

From what I have heard it is very rural, scenic and charming. I would look for great beaches and seafood.

 

Hi Maryann ns,

 

Thank you for the fast response. It is the first port stop on HAL's Voyage of the Vikings (VOV) this year. I could not find anything on Trip Advisor, but I will look again. There could be info on one specific Island so maybe I missed it.

 

Hopefully we will make it. Last year we missed both Sydney and Halifax (and also Bar Harbor).

[maryann ns]

You are right. There is nothing on TA. I just googled and found these sites which you probably found yourself:

 

http://www.tourismeilesdelamadeleine.com/magdalen-islands/atrim-ang-696-home.cfm

 

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/ilesmadeleine0.html

 

 

I do hope you have better luck this year. Since it is called Voyage of the Vikings to you get to go to L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland which has a replica of the original Viking settlement in North America?

[Jade13]

You are right. There is nothing on TA. I just googled and found these sites which you probably found yourself:

 

http://www.tourismeilesdelamadeleine.com/magdalen-islands/atrim-ang-696-home.cfm

 

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/ilesmadeleine0.html

 

I do hope you have better luck this year. Since it is called Voyage of the Vikings to you get to go to L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland which has a replica of the original Viking settlement in North America?

 

Thanks. I had found the one web site, but not the other.

 

We are stopping in Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. We are only doing half of the Voyage but the second half stops in St. Johns and St Anthony, Newfoundland. St Anthony is closest to L'Anse aux Meadows and HAL offers that tour. We do not have the time for the entire 35 day voyage and picked the half with 3 port stops in Iceland vs 1 port stop on the second half.

 

I see you will be on Quest in Asia. We were on her in Asia last year. This year we are scheduled to be on Quest in Egypt....

[maryann ns]

Hi Jade. Yes I have been following your posts. I hope you get to Alexandria. We were in Iceland in 2001 and loved it. Check out the great circle tour and the Blue Lagoon. Prices may be better now than they were then, but I love the sweaters I bought.

[Ephraim]

To be honest, I don't know that much about the Magdalen Islands, in spite of being a Quebecer. There is a regular cruise from Montreal to the Magdalen islands every Friday in the summer.

 

What I do know...

 

Only part of Quebec on Atlantic time. (GMT-4 instead of GMT-5).

Closer to PEI than to Quebec.

In Summer, daily ferry from Souris (PEI), once a week from Montreal/Quebec/Chandler. (In winter, it goes down to twice a week from PEI.)

Ferry to Entry Island, once a day except Sunday.

Tourism departments suggestions for guided tours... http://goo.gl/SNErM

Population is about 12K people (and they have one representative in the National Assembly, disproportionately.)

Originally had a number of Anglophone towns, but likely very little left.

 

I would pick up the telephone and call the local tourism office. They will likely bend over backwards to help you. Almost everyone in Quebec loves to help visitors.... just don't call us French.... they are on the other side of the pond.

[Jade13]

Hi Jade. Yes I have been following your posts. I hope you get to Alexandria. We were in Iceland in 2001 and loved it. Check out the great circle tour and the Blue Lagoon. Prices may be better now than they were then, but I love the sweaters I bought.

 

I have arranged a Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon combo tour for a group of 12 people in Reykjavik. So many wanted to join that someone else but another van together.

[Jade13]

To be honest, I don't know that much about the Magdalen Islands, in spite of being a Quebecer. There is a regular cruise from Montreal to the Magdalen islands every Friday in the summer.

 

What I do know...

 

Only part of Quebec on Atlantic time. (GMT-4 instead of GMT-5).

Closer to PEI than to Quebec.

In Summer, daily ferry from Souris (PEI), once a week from Montreal/Quebec/Chandler. (In winter, it goes down to twice a week from PEI.)

Ferry to Entry Island, once a day except Sunday.

Tourism departments suggestions for guided tours... http://goo.gl/SNErM

Population is about 12K people (and they have one representative in the National Assembly, disproportionately.)

Originally had a number of Anglophone towns, but likely very little left.

 

I would pick up the telephone and call the local tourism office. They will likely bend over backwards to help you. Almost everyone in Quebec loves to help visitors.... just don't call us French.... they are on the other side of the pond.

 

Ephraim,

 

Thank you for your help. We are deciding between spending the time on Entry Island (the ships tour which must have a charter so that the ferry schedule works), or something that includes La Grave.

 

Thank you for your help last year too. We had a very nice time in Montreal, boarded Maasdam, and had three great days before we headed directly to Boston because of a Hurricane Earl warning (which never happened). I had been to Quebec City before and PEI was new. We missed Sydney, Halifax, and Bar Harbor (Sydney was the only one we had not been to before).

 

Hopefully this will work out. Our cruise before the VOV is scheduled to go to Egypt and does need to transit the Suez Canal....

 

That is a great idea to contact the tourist office.

[MMDown Under]

Oops. Meant to start new thread above under Canada.

[GimmeADream]

I'm a full time resident of the Magdalen Islands. The highway system, although disconcerting by times (you drive on a sandbar with bodies of water on either side of you), is very good, very wide and paved shoulders and no potholes, for the most part. There are very few accidents involving visitors. If you drive a vehicle anywhere in the world, you can safely drive on Magdalen Islands roads. Locals are used to visitors watching the scenery, seal and Great Blue Heron basking in the bay, instead of watching the roads.

 

Entry Island (Ile d'Entree) has its own ferry, the Ivan Quinn, which can be had at Grindstone (Cap-aux-Meules) 8:00am and returns at 4:00pm. It is unlikely that you would take a car there since you can walk around the island is less time. It is inhabited by English speaking folk. The road system on Entry are graveled, not paved.

 

There are several excursion companies who take visitors there on a tour, which is very interesting since it might be by zodiac and exploring the caves as well as several hours on the island.

 

As for the rest of us, it is come as you are (almost) ;)

 

Three communities on the northern end are English speaking and under one Municipality, Grosse Ile. They are Old Harry (about 100 residents, give or take), East Cape (20-25 residents) and Grosse Isle (maybe 400 residents). The Municipality has kept the Northern end as natural as possible and has the only national and provincial parks. There are several Municipal parks through the islands. There is one French community which is part of the Iles de la Madeleine Municipality called Grand Entry which has just over 600 residents.

 

La Grave is very culturalistic of Islander Acadian life, but it doesn't demonstrate Magdalen Islander life and history as a whole. It would be impossible to do so in one area.

[jean s]

I'm enjoying reading the posts on this thread. i vacation in the Souris, PEI area every summer. I often watch the ferry as it leaves for the Magdelene Islands and have always wanted to visit there. I didn't realize that any cruise ships stopped there.

[GimmeADream]

There are several cruise lines that anchor off shore and allow their clients to visit the islands. Off hand, I can't name even one of the exotic ships.

 

It is the Vacancier which is the islands cruise ship, normally sailing between Montreal and islands, one week round trip. During the winter months she sails to Souris, in place of the Madeleine and acts as a traveling motel for islanders and visitors alike. That way we can do all our shopping on PEI, see a movie or go to a bar and sleep on board ship, returning the next day to the islands.

 

Or visitors can visit the islands and watch the seal, I guess. I see a band of ice coming in today, so the seal may even birth on shore this year. All the vacation activities are open for the season, I think. Mi-careme festival will soon be starting and the ice sculpture activities are being done. I don't think there are any dog-sledding tours this year but there are kite skiing and buggying on the beach and skidooing party tours maybe. I haven't heard of any but there usually are.

[Jade13]

I'm a full time resident of the Magdalen Islands. The highway system, although disconcerting by times (you drive on a sandbar with bodies of water on either side of you), is very good, very wide and paved shoulders and no potholes, for the most part. There are very few accidents involving visitors. If you drive a vehicle anywhere in the world, you can safely drive on Magdalen Islands roads. Locals are used to visitors watching the scenery, seal and Great Blue Heron basking in the bay, instead of watching the roads.

 

Entry Island (Ile d'Entree) has its own ferry, the Ivan Quinn, which can be had at Grindstone (Cap-aux-Meules) 8:00am and returns at 4:00pm. It is unlikely that you would take a car there since you can walk around the island is less time. It is inhabited by English speaking folk. The road system on Entry are graveled, not paved.

 

There are several excursion companies who take visitors there on a tour, which is very interesting since it might be by zodiac and exploring the caves as well as several hours on the island.

 

As for the rest of us, it is come as you are (almost) ;)

 

Three communities on the northern end are English speaking and under one Municipality, Grosse Ile. They are Old Harry (about 100 residents, give or take), East Cape (20-25 residents) and Grosse Isle (maybe 400 residents). The Municipality has kept the Northern end as natural as possible and has the only national and provincial parks. There are several Municipal parks through the islands. There is one French community which is part of the Iles de la Madeleine Municipality called Grand Entry which has just over 600 residents.

 

La Grave is very culturalistic of Islander Acadian life, but it doesn't demonstrate Magdalen Islander life and history as a whole. It would be impossible to do so in one area.

 

Thank you for all the info! We are still not decided. It is most likely between going to La Grave or spending the time on Entry Island. I am leaning towards Entry, which will require the ships tour which must be chartered transportation. It is an overpriced excursion so it's too bad the ferry is not more frequent. I think it includes food/lunch, but will have to check.

 

How long does it take to get Ile d'Entree, and if we left the tour guide where should we go? The ships tour is listed at 5 hours total, and I would assume the transportation would meet right at the ship.

 

Maybe I can post the ships tour options and you can tell us which one/s sound the best. We usually use them for guidance for doing something on our own. In this case most sound very similar.

 

Which excursion company goes to Ile d'Entree and explores the caves, which sounds like a winner? However, I'm willing to bet it is the same company chartered by the ship.

 

Note, we will be there at the end of July.

 

Thanks.

[GimmeADream]

If as a visitor, I had only a choice between Entry Island and La Grave, I would choose La Grave, because it gives a greater experience of the artistic way of life of the Magdalen Islands. Entry Island would be more of a rural farming and fishing community and it requires a lot of energy to walk to the top of Big Hill.

 

Entry has a small museum, quite quaint, a small general store and restaurant. There is a lighthouse and elementary school. They don't cater greatly to tourists and tend to be shy, I think toward visitors. The community is only 78 persons at last count.

 

Whereas La Grave caters completely to visitors to the islands. The Islands Museum of the Sea and aquarium is there as well as numerous craft shops, cafe's, music, restaurants, information kiosks and the fishermen's wharf which caters to the fishermen and a small marina. The sand sculpture shop, Les Artisans de Sable (really quite famous) is at one end of La Grave and the walk up the hill, Les Demoiselles gives view points of the islands that rivals Entry Island's Big Hill.

 

The excursion company is called "Excursion en Mer" and they speak both official languages, accented English. They give several tours around the islands, which can be from 3 hours to all day, depending on the tour. The caves are interesting both at Entry and at Big Cape. They also give tours of the seal herd. I'm not sure if they are the company that swims with the seal though. There are several different companies which do different activities.

 

The Ivan Quinn is $9 for the day, I believe and is less than an hour one way. It is only 16 km to Entry from Cap-aux-Meules (Grindstone). But the excursion tours is quite a bit more and charge for the time invested.

 

There are no excursions to Entry from La Grave, that I know of. If you are on a cruise ship, than it is possible that Excursion en Mer will be hired to go directly to Entry from the ship, which might be half the distance and therefore half the time, I suppose. I must ask the owners of the company (good friends) how they work the cruise ships into their business. Owner, Nadine also is the tour guide on these large cruises, so she would be the one to ask.

[Jade13]

If as a visitor, I had only a choice between Entry Island and La Grave, I would choose La Grave, because it gives a greater experience of the artistic way of life of the Magdalen Islands. Entry Island would be more of a rural farming and fishing community and it requires a lot of energy to walk to the top of Big Hill.

 

Entry has a small museum, quite quaint, a small general store and restaurant. There is a lighthouse and elementary school. They don't cater greatly to tourists and tend to be shy, I think toward visitors. The community is only 78 persons at last count.

 

Whereas La Grave caters completely to visitors to the islands. The Islands Museum of the Sea and aquarium is there as well as numerous craft shops, cafe's, music, restaurants, information kiosks and the fishermen's wharf which caters to the fishermen and a small marina. The sand sculpture shop, Les Artisans de Sable (really quite famous) is at one end of La Grave and the walk up the hill, Les Demoiselles gives view points of the islands that rivals Entry Island's Big Hill.

 

The excursion company is called "Excursion en Mer" and they speak both official languages, accented English. They give several tours around the islands, which can be from 3 hours to all day, depending on the tour. The caves are interesting both at Entry and at Big Cape. They also give tours of the seal herd. I'm not sure if they are the company that swims with the seal though. There are several different companies which do different activities.

 

The Ivan Quinn is $9 for the day, I believe and is less than an hour one way. It is only 16 km to Entry from Cap-aux-Meules (Grindstone). But the excursion tours is quite a bit more and charge for the time invested.

 

There are no excursions to Entry from La Grave, that I know of. If you are on a cruise ship, than it is possible that Excursion en Mer will be hired to go directly to Entry from the ship, which might be half the distance and therefore half the time, I suppose. I must ask the owners of the company (good friends) how they work the cruise ships into their business. Owner, Nadine also is the tour guide on these large cruises, so she would be the one to ask.

 

Maasdam will be there on Monday July 25.

 

Can you ask you friend Nadine if she is available or if she is already doing the ships tours? We have a lot of people on our roll call and I am sure I could get a group together if I figured out the right tour. These are the three (below) that I thought sounded interesting. HAL appears to have pretty much one tour per Island, making it hard to get any kind of overview.

 

Fyi, we are runners, so walking up a big hill is not a problem. I also do a lot of photography.

 

 

Ile d'Entree By Boat (5 Hours) Travel by boat to Ile d'Entree, the only inhabited island not connected by road to the rest of the chain. This island will charm you with its friendly inhabitants and colorful, hilly landscape. Of Scottish and Irish descent, Ile d'Entree's 130 isolated English-speaking inhabitants live to the rhythm of the sea. In the summertime, the island is linked to the others by a ferry for pedestrians and during the winter, people come and go by light aircraft. The main economic activity of the island is fishing. Explore on foot with your guide, following paths that offer wonderful views. Some border the cliffs; one leads to the summit of Big Hill, the highest point of the archipelago at 570 feet. The breathtaking panorama is a favorite with photographers, and the island is a popular spot for bird watchers. The few roads on the island lead to a lighthouse, a small Anglican church, and a little museum where the island's history is on display. Spearheaded by the Entry Island Heritage Committee, the museum came into being through the generosity of local residents who have graciously donated their personal artifacts.

 

 

 

=======

 

Historic La Grave (3 Hours)

 

Travel to La Grave located on the island of Havre-Aubert. Havre-Aubert is a member of the Association des Plus Beaux Villages du Québec (an association of the most beautiful villages of the province). The first Acadians to arrive on the Islands settled in Havre-Aubert and their influence can still be seen today in the architecture of fishing huts, boutiques and the courthouse. Havre-Aubert is a natural fishing and yachting harbor with a modern fish-processing plant. Its most interesting attraction is without a doubt the Historical Site at La Grave (from the French word la grève meaning pebbly and sandy terrain). La Grave is a privileged heritage site where traditional architecture is showcased. The beach was a favorite spot for fishing and commerce and still maintains its maritime flavor. There is plenty to do in La Grave. Meet artists and craftspeople at the historical site, visit the salt works, soak up the area’s history in the Musée de la Mer, learn about sea life at the aquarium, relax at the café, in the pub or on the terrace, take a walk along the promenade, savor the multitude of tasty dishes offered in the restaurants, dream of sailing and adventures on the marina dock, or chat with the friendly locals.

 

 

=====

Caves and Cliffs By Boat (1.2 hours)

Travel by boat to see the Madeleine Islands' magnificent caves and cliffs and to learn about lobster fishing. Ride the coastline and admire the islands' fascinating red cliffs sculpted by the sea. Guides will share a bit of history and when possible point out various species of birds. You will also get to learn about lobster fishing and watch as fishermen bring up their traps.

Notes: You will stay on the boat for the duration of this tour.

[GimmeADream]

No need to ask Nadine since it is she who does the guiding on board the Maasdam and it is her company who runs the smaller crafts to shore.

 

I can understand your reason for swaying toward Entry Island, by the way the description is written. All is correct there however it is only true during fine weather. If the weather isn't really nice, then La Grave is best. There is beautiful landscapes and seascapes in both places. Five hours on Entry island is just about right to see everything and learn some of the quaint stories of the villagers, but if there is any fog or even low clouds, the photography aspect would drop considerably. There would be more marine species of birds there also.

 

But as I've already said, the views of the cliffs, capes and La Grave are stunning from Les Demoiselles, a hill not quite as high as Big Hill on Entry but closer views of the islands, since Entry Island is 16km off shore. Both are a hiking tour but the La Grave tour doesn't go as far as Les Demoiselles. It is not very far, but the amount of time, 3 hours, at La Grave makes me think that the guide doesn't walk up the hill.

 

I guess it depends on what you want to do with your time. If you like nature and hiking then Entry Island is the place to go under the circumstances of the cruise ship. But if you like art and culture and interesting food and drink along with history then La Grave is the place to go.

 

In the meantime, I'll try to get a hold of Nadine and see what she thinks. It might be a while, since my best contact with her at this time is FaceBook. She spends much of her time away from the islands, during the winter and summer months, touring or giving tours .

[maryann ns]

My husband and I just got back from three nights and two days on the wonderful Iles de la Madeleine. They are beautiful, with miles of sand dunes and wildly pained wooded houses in a stark landscape. There are restaurants and shops all over, but a large cluster of them in La Grave.

 

We took our car over via the ferry from Souris, PEI and the first day drove the entire length of the archipelago as well as taking some of the scenic loups around the various islands. The second day was very windy with some rain. We drove around some more and visited the fromagerie (wonderful cheeses) and many shops.

 

I hope you read this Jade, and have a wonderful visit. You can find me on TripAdvisor if you wish to contact me.

 

We stayed walked distance from La Grave and took several walks there.

 

If you have to choose between La Grave and Ile d'Entree, I would chose the former. My first choice would be to rent a car and drive.

 

I corresponded with three car rental companies and got replies from two:

location.honda at duclos dot net

 

leblanc.locationdautos at gmail dot com (Leblanc Location D'Autos)

 

"location" means rental in French

 

The second one had a better price and you should be able to get them to pick you up at the ship.