Getting to the Islands

Getting to the Îles de la Madeleine by Ferry

To travel to the Îles de la Madeleine by road, visitors must go to Souris (Prince Edward Island) and take a ferryboat to the archipelago. The ferry crossing takes 5 hours. Please note that all passengers must have a reservation to get on board (including pedestrians and cyclists). For more information, please contact CTMA Ferry or visit their website.

To get to the port of Souris

From the province of Québec : take Trans-Canada Highway (Québec Autoroute 20) to Rivière-du-Loup. From Rivière-du-Loup there are two possible routes :

• Through Edmundston: take Route 85/185 South (Québec), then Highway 2 (New Brunswick). In Moncton, take exit 467B to get onto Highway 11 North/15 East to Shediac (Edmundston-Shediac: 502 km).
• Through the Matapédia Valley - Please note that this is the longest route: take Route 132 East until you get to Matapédia. Then continue on to Pointe-à-la-Croix where you can cross the bridge to New Brunswick and take Route 11 from Campbellton until you reach Bathurst, then Route 8 to Miramichi, and then again Route 11 to Shediac (Campbellton-Shediac: 286 km).

From the United States : Take Interstate Highway 95 to Houlton, Maine and the Canadian border, then New Brunswick Highway 95 to Woodstock. Then take the Trans-Canada Highway (NB Highway 2 East). In Moncton, take exit 467B to get onto Highway 11 North/15 East to Shediac.

Common portion of the different paths : From Shediac: you can reach Cape Tormentine along Highway 15 East, then get onto Highway 16 East to take the Confederation Bridge to Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island. Highway 16 East becomes Highway 1 after the bridge. From Borden-Carleton, take Highway 1 to Charlottetown, and then Route 2 East to Souris (Borden-Carleton to Souris: 137 km).

Confederation Bridge : Toll to cross the Confederation Bridge: the toll varies according to the type of vehicle. Bridge tolls are collected when leaving Prince Edward Island. Attention: the bridge is closed to cyclists and pedestrians. A shuttle bus is provided.

For all requests related to stay in the Maritime Provinces, contact them directly :

New-Brunswick Tourism : 1-800-561-0123 - nbtourism@gnb.ca

Prince-Edward Island Tourism : 1-800-463-4734 - tourismpei@gov.pe.ca.

Nova-Scotia Tourism : 1-800-565-0000 - explore@novascotia.ca

Tips for the drive

• A few days before your departure, sign up to receive CTMA's notifications regarding possible changes of the ferry schedule.
• Don't forget to adjust your watch when entering New Brunswick by adding an extra hour (as the Atlantic Time Zone begins there).

 Accessing the Îles de la Madeleine by Plane

Visit the Getting to the Islands by airplane webpage for more informations.

All means are good for access "Les Îles". Here you will find all the necessary information for planning your trip to the archipelago.

Whether you arrive by plane or boat, remember that there are different ways to get around at destination, refer to the section Discover the Islands and specifically subsection Moving around for more information.

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  Ferry
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  Cruises
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  Airplane