Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula is the kind of place Montrealers drive eight hours for and everyone else skips entirely — which is exactly why its coastal villages, whale-filled bay, and the sea-pierced silhouette of Percé Rock still feel undiscovered. Flying straight into the peninsula’s own small airport cuts the trip to a genuine long weekend: three days looping from Gaspé town through Forillon National Park to Percé and one of North America’s largest, most accessible seabird colonies.
Day 1Fly In & Gaspé Bay
Fly into the peninsula’s only airport, pick up a rental car, and settle into the harbor town that anchors the whole loop.
✈️ PAL Airlines — Québec City to Gaspé
~1h10m flight · from $280 CAD (~$205 USD)/person round-trip
The only practical way in without a two-day drive from Montreal — PAL’s turboprops land at tiny Michel-Pouliot Gaspé Airport (YGP), a 10-minute drive from downtown.
PAL Airlines · +1 800 563 2800 · palairlines.ca
🚗 Rental Car Pickup — National Car Rental, Gaspé Airport
~15 min · from $65 CAD (~$48 USD)/day
A compact SUV handles Route 132’s curves fine; the airport counter is the only practical pickup point on this trip, so reserve ahead in peak summer weeks.
National Car Rental — Gaspé Airport · +1 418 368 2440 · nationalcar.ca
🏨 Check-In — Riôtel Gaspé
Check-in 3pm · from $155 CAD (~$113 USD)/night
A straightforward, comfortable hotel right on Gaspé Bay, five minutes from downtown — the reliable option on a peninsula with few hotel chains.
Riôtel Gaspé · +1 418 368 5283 · riotel.com
🍽️ Dinner — Brise-Bise
Dinner · $25–40 CAD (~$18–30 USD)/person
A lively downtown bistro-bar in a converted general store, known for fresh Gaspé shrimp and a terrace that fills up on summer evenings.
Brise-Bise · +1 418 368 1456 · brisebise.ca
Day 2Whales, Forillon National Park & On to Percé
A long day covering the peninsula’s wild tip, from a boat full of whales to a cliff walk at its easternmost point, before the drive down to Percé.
🐋 Whale-Watching Zodiac — Croisières Baie de Gaspé
~2.5 hrs · $89 CAD (~$65 USD)/person
A small-boat tour out of Gaspé Bay into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where minke and humpback whales — occasionally blue whales — feed through the summer.
Croisières Baie de Gaspé · +1 418 892 5500 · baleines-gaspe.com
🏞️ Forillon National Park — Cap-Bon-Ami to Cap Gaspé
Half day · $10.50 CAD (~$7.70 USD)/person peak season
Parks Canada’s fee covers every trail in the park — drive to Cap-Bon-Ami’s limestone cliffs, then walk the flat, 1.5-hour Les Graves Trail out to the lighthouse at Cap Gaspé, the easternmost point of the peninsula, with a real shot at spotting whales or seals from the bluffs.
🚗 Drive — Forillon to Percé
~1.5 hrs via Route 132
A coastal drive past fishing villages and roadside poissonneries, with Percé Rock’s silhouette appearing and disappearing around every headland for the last 20 minutes.
🏨 Check-In — Hôtel La Normandie
Check-in 3pm · from $175 CAD (~$128 USD)/night
A 45-room waterfront hotel on Route 132 with a dining room looking straight out at Percé Rock — ask for a sea-view room on the upper floors, and eat dinner in on your first night here.
Hôtel La Normandie · +1 418 782 2112 · hotelnormandie.ca
Day 3Percé Rock & Bonaventure Island
The trip’s payoff — the sea-pierced rock the peninsula is named for, and a hike into one of the continent’s largest gannet colonies — before the drive back to the airport.
⛵ Les Bateliers de Percé — Bonaventure Island & Percé Rock Cruise
~3 hrs, several daily departures · $36 CAD (~$26 USD)/person
A boat circles the 300-foot sea-carved arch of Percé Rock, then lands on Bonaventure Island, home to roughly 116,000 northern gannets — the largest, most accessible colony of its kind in North America. From the dock, it’s a 2.5-mile walk to the cliffside colony.
Les Bateliers de Percé · +1 418 782 2974 · lesbateliersdeperce.com
🍽️ Lunch — La Maison du Pêcheur
Lunch · $25–40 CAD (~$18–30 USD)/person
Percé’s best-known seafood table, in a century-old fisherman’s house right on the water — the seafood platter and the lobster guedille (a Quebec lobster roll) are both worth ordering.
La Maison du Pêcheur · +1 418 782 5331 · maisondupecheur.ca
🚗 Drive & Flight Home — Gaspé Airport
~45 min drive, then PAL Airlines departure
The same Route 132 drive back to Michel-Pouliot Gaspé Airport for the return flight — build in buffer time, since there’s little reason to rush the last look at the coast on the way out.
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