People travel to take vacations for all sorts of reasons. Most people just need to get away from “it” all.

Coming to the Magdalen Islands can be stress free for the most part. It is expensive to come by plane and rent a car for example, which can be stressful if the visitor is on a budget. However, by taking extra time and sailing with the ferry and enjoying the live islander’s talent on board, the financial stress can be minimized.

Do your research and set up your reservations before you come:

Ferries (Montreal or Souris, PEI) - CTMA : http://www.ctma.ca/

Plane – Air Canada (Jazz) : http://aircanada.com

Private Plan - partageonslaviation@hotmail.com

Accommodations

Rent a vehicle (if necessary)

Create a wish list the divide the list up in to two categories. 1 – a variable list and 2 – a definite list.

1 – Variable list – where activities can be scheduled at any time during your holidays and

2 – Definite List – where you call ahead and reserve the time of an experienced guide.

For example, suppose the visitor wants to see the Acadian culture “Mes Iles, Mon Pays” acted out on stage. This would be put on the definite list because reservations should be made prior to the curtain time. But if instead, the visitor wants to help the Acadians celebrate during their week-long festival, building small boats and sandcastles at the competitions, it would go on the variable list since no reservation or tour guides are necessary.

If the visitor wants to make it an islands vacation and explore it all, it would be best to plan to stay at least a full week, leaving one day per island. Mind you could stay a year and not see it all but a full week will wet anyone’s appetite and make them long to return.

One Possible Itinerary

A full day on Amherst Island would include a drive around the perimeter, stopping at quaint art shops, wharves and lighthouses. Walk up the mountain to see Lac Solitaire, a wondrous fresh water lake at the top of the hill, which is surrounded by the salt water Gulf. Don’t forget to spend some time at the Site d’Autrefois, a miniature village/ cultural world wind of the Madelinot past on the islands. Take the guided tour and savour the music and story-telling of creator Claude Bourque. Take the afternoon at the historical site, “La Grave”, browsing through the quaint little fishermen’s shops where everything artistic is sold. An hour and the local museum, Muse de la Mer and another at the aquarium pretty much makes an entire day. During the evening, settle in for some good local cuisine, good music and a lot of enjoyment. The unsuspecting visitor will find they will want to return another day to explore Amherst Island further.

Another full day, this time on Grindstone Island might include the outside plays and music at La Cote, where a visitor can browse shops, learn the practicalities of kite flying, doll making or other unusual activities. See an actual shipwreck which came ashore about thirty years ago and walk the pier looking at the sail boats bobbing in the marina. The visitor can drive the perimeter and see the sandstone capes and how they are eroding into fanciful shapes and points out of the sea. Play a game of golf, ride a horse or take a carriage ride with a guide giving the history of the people of the islands. Spend the evening hob-knobbing with local color in one of the many bistros, listening to stories and music and tasting the local beer. There is more to do on Grindstone Island than one day will allow.

The third day will take in House Harbour from the marina to Pointe-Basse, to South Beach. On this island, not only is the landscape beautiful and unusual, but it is a tasting feast for both the stomach and eyes. The cheese factory, Pieds du Vents offers a delightful variety of islands made cheeses, while the D’Antan Fumoir has smoked fish with a taste to die for, along with story-telling about how the fish are prepared. It is an absolute must to stop at the Barbocheux to get a bottle of bagosse, a unique island wine made for wild berries and don’t forget the old schoolhouse where beautiful works of art are always being created by the glass blowing technicians of La Meduse.

Don’t forget the camera because on the fourth day the tour will take the visitor to Pointe-aux-Loups, to see the seal clothing fabrication, Tante Emma, “from yesterday until today” and the artistic gift shop, La Maison du Heron. Go for a drive back in the hills of Grosse Isle and stop to see how they mine salt for the huge domes under the islands. A stop at the East Point Wildlife Reserve in Old Harry and a guided walk along the trails to learn about how life came to be on the island. A walk on the longest and widest beach of the Magdalen Islands is considered one of the most delightful parts of a Magdalen stay. Learn about the English-speaking population of the islands at the Little Red Schoolhouse and of the War effort put forth by our population at the War museum. Oh and don’t forget a tour of the pottery house, La Maison du Potier, where a visitor can learn and watch how the most amazing items can be produced by hand. Then it is off the Grand Entry, to the Oyster Bay Basin and the Ile Boudreau where mud baths are used to clean pores and make one feel like a million dollars. Explore caves by kayak or snorkel your way through under sea tunnels to come up on bright sunlight private beaches. Go up the hill to La Salicorne for a unique island meal and time spent in the Seal Interpretation Center. There might be time to stop at the harbour at Grand Entry Point to buy a souvenir or have a unique seafood meal. One day is just not enough to see all there is to see, on the eastern islands but there must be some limits made somewhere.

On day five, could be a boat or zodiac excursion of Entry Island and a three hour island walk-about and tour to the top of Big Hill, where the panoramic views of most of the islands will take your breath away.

On the sixth and final day a tour of Brion Island, an ecological reserve might be on the agenda, or a helicopter tour of the Bird Rocks. It could be a day of rest and relaxation on one of the Magdalen Islands 300 running kilometers of beach land, building sand castles. The visitor might choose to take in a lively festival or a relaxing spa bath.The activities are limitless on the Magdalen Islands because the choices between deep-sea fishing, swimming with the sealand scuba diving for shipwrecks to water and wind sports of all kinds, to ATV or horse-back riding, to following up on the Eco-museum circuit.