Our Magdalen Islands road trip itinerary
This summer, our vacation with the kids was planned for a while. We didn’t have an itinerary planned though (that was a first!). As we were going to visit people we knew, we knew that they had plans for us. So we went with the flow and just organized our trailer camper and our ferry reservation and we were ready to go!
The Magdalen Islands offer so many things to do that 5 days was very quick and we didn’t get to experience everything we wanted. However, I plan on returning someday! 5 days was a great amount of time to have a great overview of what the islands have to offer. Next time I go, I’ll know exactly where I want to go and what I haven’t had the time to see on this trip. So here is how our Magdalen Islands road trip itinerary went!
Our journey to the Magdalen Islands was seven days in total but two days out of the seven were traveling on the ferry and by car to get there. There are normally two ferries a day. One at night and one in the afternoon. Due to COVID, the night ferry has been canceled. As it is a five-hour crossing, once you set foot on land again, the day is almost gone. In the summertime though, there is still plenty of time to witness a great sunset.
If you don’t know me yet or it’s your first time on the blog, I love to travel and take my time. I am not a stressed-out easily kind of person. Especially on vacation, it’s nice to unwind from everyday life and just relax. So I guess you can say that this trip was really relaxing and not what we are used to!
On day one, we took our time in the morning to sleep in and get organized. Even if everything is always in our camper trailer, it gets messy when you’ve been traveling for a couple of days. Before getting to the Magdalen Islands, we had already been gone from home for a week.
The whole afternoon that day was spent enjoying the beach in Fatima, and getting the kids to play around. Because of the restriction to travel to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island this summer, we were not able to stop along the way except for gas. So the day before had been a long day of driving and a long time on the ferry as well. So it felt good for everyone to chill on the beach and play around with no restrictions.
We finished off the day with a drive on the beach. It was very nice but what had to happen happened and we got stuck turning around to come back. Everything went great except that we had to shovel for about two hours and use fishing nets to get the truck out! But hey! This was part of the adventure and the kids got to spend an extra two hours at the beach!
On the second day, we did a little bit more sightseeing. To give you a bit of a breakdown, Fatima and Cap-aux-Meules are somewhat in the center of the archipelago. At one end you have Havre-Aubert, and at the other end, is Grande Entrée. Driving from one end to the other takes about one hour and a half maybe two. It was a lot bigger than I first thought!
We decided to go to the historic site of la Grave to do a little bit of shopping. Most of the shops are local merchants that sell their own products. They have amazing stuff! From local spices, oils, seasonings, to products made with recycled items… The list goes on. La Grave is located in Havre-Aubert.
Since we were at the end of the islands, we started to drive route 199. (Route 199 is the route that goes from one end to the other) We first stopped at the lighthouse of l’Anse-à-la-Cabane. From there, we drove to Parc de Gros Cap in Cap-aux-Meules. There are beaches along the coast and red cliffs. We spent a little bit of time they’re playing in the water and walking along the beach to check out the cliffs.
After spending a bit of time there, we drove to Havre-aux-Maisons. We stopped at Le Pied-de-vent to buy some local cheese, went to Le Fumoir d’Antan, and bought some smoked stuff. (I can’t remember what meat we bought!) From there, we made a pit stop at the lighthouse at Cap-Alright. By then, the day was almost over so we headed back to our host’s house for dinner. We tried some sea bass and it was tasty.
Day three was a bit rainy. We actually went back to la Grave hoping to bring the kids to the Aquarium but unfortunately for us, it was closed due to COVID. We ended up driving a bit around l’Étang-du-Nord. It cleared towards the end of the day so we went to the beach before dinner. Even though it was still covered, we did go for ice cream at l’Étang-du-Nord to look at the sunset over the ocean.
The next day, we were out and exploring again as the weather was nicer. Our hosts came along with us and showed us some beautiful places along the way. We drove the other part of the island we hadn’t done yet. We drove from Fatima to Pointe-aux-Loups, Grosse-Ile, and Grande-Entrée.
In Pointe-aux-Loups we were actually very lucky to witness the bay as still as it was. Normally it is full of kite surfers. But that day, the water was so still that it mirrored the sky.
On Grosse-Ile, we stopped at another great spot with red cliffs and walked on top for a bit before going to Grande-Entrée. At the marina, there are nice little shops but again they were closed off for COVID.
We went to a beach at the end of the island that has rock formations further away from where you can do some cliff jumping. That water was surprisingly warm compared to other places on the islands.
To finish off the day, we went to a beach in Havre-aux-Maisons with red cliffs surrounding us. They also brought us to a great viewpoint of Havre-aux-Maisons before heading home. We then headed back for a little evening by the fire.
On our last day at the Magdalen Islands, we mostly spent the day at the beach before having to go back to reality the next day. We went to see some little shop at l’Étang-du-Nord and saw the Borgot lighthouse on the way back. We had a great dinner with a lot of people (they just love to have lots of people visit them!) before going to bed early for the ferry the next morning.
There are a couple of things we didn’t have time to do as our time was limited that next time we will for sure do!
L’île d’Entrée is the first thing you see of the Magdalen Islands when you get closer to the coast with the ferry. My first thought when I saw them from afar was: Am I going to Jurassic Park island? The island is 7square km. You can only access it via boat. There is a ferry that goes there. Once on the island, the only mode of transportation is walking or biking. Everyone that has been to this island has told us it’s the best thing you will see from the Magdalen Islands!
There is also a beautiful lighthouse on Brion island but you will need a boat to get there. No ferry service to get there.
Fishing on the ocean. We were supposed to go fishing but it fell through but apparently, it is quite the experience!
Overall, we had a great trip. 5 days wasn’t enough to do everything but at least we had an amazing time. Our trip was changed from our original plan for our summer vacation so our itinerary was quite shortened up.
Our original plan was to travel from Quebec City to New Brunswick and stop a couple of places there, then drive to Nova-Scotia and again stop along the way, cross to the Magdalen Islands and visit Prince-Edward Island before heading back home. Unfortunately for us, because of COVID, the maritime provinces are closed off to Quebec tourism. So our maritime road trip will be for another time. Maybe this original plan will get to come to life in the future! Who knows.
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Want to know how I organized all this trip?
Go check these out!
How to prepare a trip to the Magdalen Islands
20 photos to inspire you to visit the Magdalen Islands
