Saguenay and Perce off season?

[3rdGenCunarder]

We are on a repositioning cruise leaving Montreal Oct 15. Since it's past Canada's Thanksgiving, many sites are closed for the season.

 

I've done some research on Saguenay, and I think we'd be content to walk around the areas served by the HOHO bus. It's after tourist season. Does anyone know if the bus will run because of the ship in port? Are most shops and restaurants open this late in the season? I had thought about renting a car to go to Val-Jalbert but they will be closed. There is a ship tour that includes Val-Jalbert. The website says they open for tours, but doesn't say how much would be open. If most of the buildings are closed, I'm not sure its worth the cost of the tour.

 

From what I can see, the thing to do in Gaspe is go to Perce. It sounds like a charming town, but will shops and restaurants be open this late in the season?

 

I did a search on CC, but most of the info I found was more than a year old.

 

Thanks!

[maryann ns]

I don't have answers, but would suggest you ask on TripAdvisor.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks, Maryann, that was a good suggestion. It helped me get a sense of the places I'll be going to. Lots of great pictures to whet my appetite. I think we'll stick with Saguenay on our own. If we can't get the HOHO bus to Chicoutimi, La Baie has a lot of interesting old buildings to look at. I downloaded a good walking tour brochure. For Gaspe we'll do the tour to Perce that includes a walking tour. HAL also offers "Perce on your own," which is just the bus ride to and from Perce. In my experience, the "on your own" tours often fail to get the minimum signup and then get cancelled.

 

DH does NOT like to rent a car in port because we got stuck behind a HUGE accident in FL one time and nearly didn't get back to the ship in time. Any time I say "we could rent a car and..." I get reminded of that day on I95.

[CasaSmith]

We went to Gaspe on the repositioning Eurodam and it was so foggy that we did not see anything. We had the tour to Perce and did not see anything but fog. The town is small and there are only shops to see there. Hope you have better weather when you go there.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We went to Gaspe on the repositioning Eurodam and it was so foggy that we did not see anything. We had the tour to Perce and did not see anything but fog. The town is small and there are only shops to see there. Hope you have better weather when you go there.

 

Did you do the guided walk? Was there any time on your own? I'm looking at this as a photo-op tour. if it's foggy, I guess my pictures will have a lot of "atmosphere." Did any of the shops have locally made items?

[maryann ns]

We drove around Gaspe many years ago and it is very beautiful (if not foggy). I think your ideas are good.

[CasaSmith]

3rdGenCunarder, we did a tour with the cruise ship but once in Perce we had lunch all together and then they let us walk around on our own. There is numerous shops and some had locally made items. I also walked down to the water and the stones there were beautiful. I have some fog pictures as I call them. I will try to post them tonight as they are in my computer at home.

 

It is a very walkable area.