You’re getting ready to come on over to my province, whether to Montreal or Quebec City or maybe some other amazing regions and you’ve surely got questions. From French road signs to travel insurance and parking solutions, your road trip to Quebec isn’t complete without making sure it’s stress-free and you are fully ready. After driving thousands of miles on our roads and highways and a few too many parking tickets, here are my best local tips to check out before coming to visit!
1. Travel With Proper Insurance Coverage
While your home state or province might allow digital documents, you’ll need more than that to make sure you’re covered while travelling. Having everything on your phone isn’t as reliable, so make sure to print important paperwork and have proof of insurance on you while driving.
Drivers in Quebec must be able to show valid proof of insurance upon request. One thing I’ve had happen to me before though is leaving the house without the newest version… Oops! I was lucky enough to not be stopped but make sure that you have this year’s version in the glove box before you travel to Quebec.
Another thing you’ll want to validate before crossing a provincial or country border is what your policy covers. Liability and collision are the most common, but what happens if you’re not at home? Are you still covered? What are the limitations? Better explore your car insurance details beforehand.
Confirm deductibles and coverage to prevent being surprised if something were to ever happen.
2. Hold a Valid Driver’s Licence
Who’s gonna do all the driving? Are you renting a car or coming with yours?
Once you figure it out, make sure you answer these 2 questions:
- Are you covered on this car? How about if it’s not yours?
- Is your driver’s licence still valid?
Once you get that out of the way, make sure your address is correct too!
You won’t strictly require an international driving permit (IDP) in Quebec if your licence is in French or English, but that’s only applicable if you’re here 6 months or less. If you stay longer, you’ll need to get a local Quebec driver’s licence and if it’s in another language, get the IDP before leaving home.
Most rental car companies don’t ask for the IDP, but read the fine print first, in case they do.
3. Is Everything Valid Long Enough?
One thing I’ve learned from travelling is how often plans change! You just never know when you might have to take a detour, extend your stay because of weather or just plain want to stay longer cause this place is AMAZING!
Make sure everything is valid long enough. Check your insurance expiry date. Make sure your documents are in order. Is your passport valid for at least 6 months after your stay?
Don’t get caught, prevent issues by double-checking.
4. Watch Out Where You Park
Compared to many cities I’ve driven in across my 50+ countries I’ve travelled to, I have to say Quebec province is easy to drive in, but the main hassle is parking in certain bigger cities.
Some places you can pay at the meter with a credit card. Others you need an app. Signs are easy when you’re used to them, but when you’re interpreting arrows and such, you might find it a bit trickier.
If you can, get parking included with your lodging or ask your concierge or host to tell you where to park. This way, you’re sure you won’t be bothered.
If not, I would recommend always using parking garages for simplicity. However, if you’re just going in and out of places, you’re going to have to learn how the parking meters work.
This guide on parking in Montreal should help, and here is the Quebec City parking version.
Here are some signs you’ll want to familiarize yourself with.
In winter, pay special attention to snow removal signs, as it’s prohibited to park in certain streets during removal operations.
5. Go Offline and Never Be Stranded
Coverage is good in the province, but you’ll always come across some zones where it’s spotty if you leave the big cities. I therefore recommend you download the offline versions of Google Maps for the regions you are travelling to.
This way, even if you’re stuck without a cellphone connexion, you’ll never be stranded.
Print out the places you’re driving too with full addresses. They’ll come in handy if you lose your phone or have no access. These backups can be overkill in certain situations, but better be safe than sorry, no?
6. Be Ready in Case Something Happens
I really hope you’ll never have to experience this, but if you ever do have an accident, here are some tips:
Make sure you stop in a safe zone. Never get out of your car in a normal lane on the highway. Move to the nearest safe spot if you can.
Call 911 if anyone is hurt. If everyone is OK, but you’ll need an incident report for insurance purposes, call the local police number on the non-urgent line.
Exchange contact and vehicle information. Most Quebecers drive around with blank incident reports in their car, which you’ll need to fill out together after the accident. It’s OK if you don’t have one, but jot everything down and document.
Take photos of the scene, the damage, etc. Don’t discuss whose fault it is, just gather information.
Call your insurance to find out the next steps.
7. Pack Your Car Properly
A lot of my friends make fun of me when they see the trunk of my car, but my preparedness has gotten me out of a few situations, as well as helped me help others when sadly passing accidents.
I leave an emergency kit in my car all year long with these elements:
- Old winter coat and gloves in case I get stuck in an unforeseen cold situation or I need to get dirty and don’t want to ruin mine
- Blanket
- Jumper cables
- Spare tire and everything I need to change it, including a tire gauge and 12V air compressor
- Phone charger
- Plastic bags
- Rags
- Extra oil
- Windshield washer fluid
- Bungee cords
- A miniature first aid kit
8. Get Proper Roadside Assistance
Gotta love technology, but nowadays, cars are harder than ever to fix on the side of the road should something happen. And when you’re travelling, you sure won’t want to change a spare tire or be stranded if you run out of gas.
Sure, I can hear you tell me the best way is to prevent this in the first place, but we all know the unexpected happens. That’s why I always buy roadside assistance, in my case with CAA. I even got the Plus version, where I get over 150 km of towing should I ever need it, which is enough to get myself to my dad’s if I break down near home.
If you don’t have the luxury of having a Quebecois dad, roadside assistance coverage may help with services such as towing, flat tire changes, battery boosts, or lockouts. Keep the number close and know what’s included this way you’ll experience fewer delays!
9. Prepare for Driving in Winter
Winter tires are mandatory from December 1st to March 15th in Quebec, so if you’re driving in with your car, take notice of this. However, if your car is not registered in the province this doesn’t apply.
I really would STRONGLY recommend winter tires though, as it would be unsafe to drive in most places. Our winters are awesome to play outside, but roads do get icy and snow-covered.
Read more about this in my article Quebec Road Conditions – Everything You Need to Know to Drive Here.
10. Extra Stuff to Think of Before Your Quebec Road Trip
- And yes, signs are mostly in French, although many are bilingual. Here’s a little bonus translation to have you on your way:
- Stop = Arrêt (not “STOP” everywhere)
- “Sortie” = Exit
- “Stationnement interdit” = No parking
- Get ready for construction. It’s not just a rumour… we do have a ton of construction going on, especially during the summer months. Orange cones are basically a national symbol…. Alas!
- Right turns are allowed on a red light only off the island of Montreal.
- Beware of photo radars.
Safe travels! Quebec is an incredible place to explore by car; once you know the rules, it’s one of the easiest road trips you’ll ever do.
Here are some complimentary articles I wrote to help you plan your Quebec road trip:
- How to Get to the Magdalen Islands: Local Tips for Every Budget
- Best Quebec Road Trips
- Quebec Road Conditions – Everything You Need to Know to Drive Here
- Is Montreal Safe?
- How to Get from Montreal to Quebec City
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