SUNDAY DECEMBER 30 - MONTREAL AIRPORT (P.E. Trudeau Airoport )
ACTIVITY: SHOPPING
 Arrive at the airport and take possession of your 4WD vehicle. Welcome to the world's second-largest French-speaking city after Paris. For your first night we have chosen a comfortable downtown hotel, Tour Centre-Ville***. Your Authentik travel book will be waiting for you, with all the details of your adventure including a road map indicating your route, as well as a personalised roadbook, a host of practical tourist information, a tax refund form for foreign visitors, a toll-free assistance number, vouchers, etc. We wish you a great stay in the land of snow and winter sports!
Did you know that Montreal is the world's largest underground city? Your hotel is located right next to an entrance to this impressive underground world, with its thousand and one shops - perfect to get your shopping done and to purchase your winter equipment. Take advantage of Canada's lower prices on winter gear!
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES IN MONTREAL
Attend a Montreal Canadians hockey match
Guided tour of Montreal
Biodome (eco-museum)
Try the local cuisine
Authentik Advice: Do not transfer on to another destination directly after your arrival. The flight from Paris to Montreal, for example, is 8 hours long, and what with the 6-hour time change (at 5 pm in Canada it will feel like 11 pm), you will welcome a good night's sleep in Montreal. As well as being more rested, you will be able to do some last-minute shopping for winter gear in the world's largest underground shopping center.
MONDAY DECEMBER 31 - MONTREAL / LAURENTIANS (150 KM)
ACTIVITIES: SNOW TUBING AND NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION
 The morning is yours to enjoy in the city. Departure for the beautiful snowbound peaks of the Laurentians, located 150 Km north of Montreal (1:30 pm). The scenery is picture-postcard perfect as you approach the mountains. Enjoy an afternoon of snow tubing at the La Reserve ski resort, not far from Montcalm - you are sure to create family memories that will last a lifetime.
You will be spending the next few nights at the comfortable Montcalm Outfitters***, a hotel in the heart of the forest, nestled in an isolated valley on the shores of a frozen lake. 4-course dining in the sumptuous dining room and your choice of a room in the hotel or in the chalet.
 This evening, get ready to experience a typical Canadian New Year's eve celebration. The evening begins with a
5-course dinner, followed by dancing to traditional Quebecois music performed by a folk musician. At around 11:55 pm you will be invited to ring in the New Year with a glass of champagne.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!
TUESDAY JANUARY 1 - LAURENTIANS
ACTIVITIES: DOG SLEDDING AND LUNCH IN THE FOREST
 This morning you will enjoy a 45 Km dog sledding excursion, during which you will have the chance to learn to drive your own 6-dog team. See the richness and splendour of the vast snow-covered landscape unfold before your eyes. You will cross frozen lakes, climb mountains and discover, along the way, the habits of the wild animals of the forest, such as the beaver's dam.
On your return to Montcalm Outfitters, enjoy a 4-course dinner with a local flavour, then make the most of the facilities available to you - relax in the sauna, the swimming pool, the games room or even the pub where you can engage in a game of pool for the whole family.
* EXTEND YOUR DOG SLEDDING ADVENTURE (optional)
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2 - LAURENTIANS
ACTIVITY: SNOWMOBILING ON BLACK MOUNTAIN
 Today is a day for the parents. Enjoy a snowmobiling adventure while your children aged 7 and under spend the day with an activity leader building snowmen or skating on the frozen lake (children must be 8 years old to snowmobile). Meet your guide, who will provide you with your snowmobile and protective clothing against the extreme cold. Once you have been briefed on snowmobiling safety and driving techniques, you will set out to discover this winter wonderland.
And you are off on the most Authentik snowmobile excursion in Canada! For the midday meal, you will stop at a typical snowmobile rest stop where you can warm up by the fireplace. Take the time to rest a bit and talk with the locals before setting out again to tackle the panoramic trails of the legendary Mont Tremblant National Park. At the end of the day you return to Montcalm Outfitters, where you turn in your snowmobile and protective clothing. Dinner and a good night's sleep.
* EXTEND YOUR SNOWMOBILE ADVENTURE IN CANADA (optional)
THURSDAY JANUARY 3 - LAURENTIANS
ACTIVITY: DAY OFF
Breakfast. Today is a rest day. What could be better than the wide open spaces of Canada to recharge your batteries and escape the stress of urban life?
 To this end, you are invited to visit Montcalm Outfitters' thalassotherapy center. Magnificently situated on the banks of a frozen river, the thalassotherapy center will pamper you in ways you have only dreamed of. Will you dare to jump into the icy river after a session in the Finnish sauna? You will certainly come out reinvigorated!
And for the kids, always enthusiastic about sliding, feel free to head to La Reserve Ski Resort. The mountain, located 5 minutes from Montcalm, offers 19 ski trails over a maximum vertical drop of 305 metres. Whether you are a skier or a snowboarder, beginner, intermediate or advanced, you will find something to suit your style. Dinner and a good night's sleep at Montcalm Outfitters.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES AT MONTCALM OUTFITTERS
Thalassotherapy... Canadian style!
Downhill skiing or snowboarding
Horseback riding in the forest
Helicopter ride over Mont Tremblant
FRIDAY JANUARY 4 - LAURENTIANS
ACTIVITIES: ICE FISHING & MEETING AN INDIAN
This morning you will experience an Inuit tradition, ice fishing. You will cast your lines in a frozen pond, trying to tempt the trout just like the Eskimos of the Far North. Trout is on the menu for lunch, in a magnificent and well-heated wood cabin.
 In the afternoon you will set out by snowshoe to meet a member of the Algonquin nation. He will welcome you into his traditional dwelling, sharing his traditions and customs with you and your family. You will experience a healing circle ceremony; sample native herbal tea and bannock; learn about aboriginal spirituality, Algonquin history and the nomadic lifestyle; listen to singing and drumming, tales and legends.
He will also take you to meet an animal that is sacred to local aboriginal culture: the bison, earliest guide of the North American First Nations people. Have your camera ready to capture the magic of this day which will certainly take its place among your most cherished memories!
Return to Montcalm Outfitters for dinner.
SATURDAY JANUARY 5 - LAURENTIANS / MONTREAL
ACTIVITY: MEETING A TRAPPER
 The day begins with a short trek in a horse-drawn sleigh, leading to the trapper's house where you will find a team of Huskies waiting to take you dog sledding. To the sound of impatient barking, the trapper settles you in behind your team and you leave together on the snow-bound trails. What a magical experience! You will have the impression that you have been transported back in time, to live an adventure with a capital "A". Your exploration of the land of ice and snow continues with this legendary North American breed of hunter, the Trapper. He will explain his lifestyle, the 18th-century fur trade, and the survival techniques used by 18th-century trappers in this hostile land with its rigorous climate. You will travel by sleigh back out of this culturally rich and authentic site. Time to sample Caribou, a traditional Quebec drink, safe and warm with your friendly hosts.
Return to Montreal at the end of the day. Tonight's accommodation: Tour Centre-Ville hotel.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES BEFORE DEPARTURE
Lunch in an authentic Sugar Shack
Dine on the roof of Old Québec
A night in beautiful Quebec City
A night at the Ice Hotel or Tour of the Ice Hotel
A night in a country home
Sliding at Valcartier Vacation Village
Skiplane flight
Ice Safari in a hot air balloon
Crossing the ice of the St. Lawrence Seaway
SUNDAY JANUARY 6 - MONTREAL AIRPORT (P.E. Trudeau Airport )
Breakfast. Your last morning to enjoy Canada - you will have time for last-minute shopping in the nearby boutiques and shopping malls, an impressive network comprising more than 2000 businesses of all kinds. In the afternoon, you head to the airport to return your rented vehicle and check in your baggage. You return home full of lasting memories of the Canadian winter.
Authentik Advice: Count on an extra day for the return trip. For example, if you leave on Day 8, you will arrive in France on Day 9. The return flight is 6 hours long, to which you have to add the 6-hour time change. If you leave at 3 pm, you will arrive in France the next morning at 3 am.
 
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Snowmobile Quebec & Weather
