ICE HOTEL & QUÉBEC WINTER CARNIVAL

Québec Winter Carnival: The Carnival has grown since 1955 into the largest winter festival in the world, but is now the largest in the Western Hemisphere after being supplanted by the Harbin Festival in China. throughout the 10 days, the most popular attractions are the nighttime and daytime parades led by mascot Bonhomme Carnaval. The parades wind through the upper city, decorated for the occasion with lights and ice sculptures. Bonhomme – short for bonhomme de neige (“snowman”) is the official ambassador of the festivities, the castle lord of the Ice Palace. Bonhomme is described as a seven-foot-tall, 400-pound snowman sporting a red cap, black buttons, and a ceinture fléchée that gives acknowledgement to French-Canadian and Métis style clothing. Red clothing, carnival songs, the arrow sash, Bonhomme’s Effigy, and the caribou are all time-honoured traditions dating back to the origins of the Carnival.

Ice Hotel: The first ice hotel opened in 2001 and was located in Montmorency Falls Park. Since 2017, it has been in Valcartier, about 40 minutes north of Québec City in the Laurentian Mountains. It was the first and is still the only ice hotel in North America that is built each December for an opening date in early January. The hotel has a three-month lifespan each year before being brought down in April. It had only 11 double beds in 2001, but is now much larger with 51 double beds, all made of ice with a solid wood base and comfortable mattress. When bedtime comes, a cozy sleeping bag, an insulating bed sheet, and a pillow are delivered to your room. Only the bathrooms are heated and located in a separate insulated structure. The Ice Hotel takes about 1½ months to build with 50 workers. The hotel makes its own snow using a special mixture to adjust the humidity. It is built with metal frames, then allowed to harden for a few days when the frames are removed. The hotel is made of 30,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice and the walls are up to four feet thick. The hotel is usually made in arches of 5 metres (16 feet) over rooms, with larger and higher spaces for a grand hall, a chapel, a bar, and a grand ice slide. All furniture is made of ice. A sauna and outdoor hot tubs are close by. The bar serves drinks and cocktails in ice glasses. Our reservation includes a regular hotel room at the adjacent Hotel Valcartier, so if you are uncomfortable during the night, you can go back to a “normal” hotel. A “behind the scenes” tour is included so you can learn all about this unique structure.

Please book early: The Québec Winter Carnival is very popular. The hotels, especially the Ice Hotel with only 51 rooms, are in high demand and have strict policies about our commitment to the number of rooms needed. Unsold rooms may be recalled from our original reservation if they can sell the rooms to other visitors. If this happens, we have to consider the tour full, even though seats are available on the motorcoach. Therefore, waiting too long to book usually means “Sorry, wait until next year.”

Flight seating: We are unable to take requests for window or aisle seating on the planes. The airline will not accept them, as group seating is assigned as a block. If this is important to you, we suggest you take the “No Flight” option with a fare reduction of $810 and book your own flight which allows seat selection.

Flight upgrades: Please enquire about current prices for upgrades on the flights. Premium economy and business class may be available.

Food Allergies: You must notify us no later than at final payment if you have a food allergy. An allergy causes medical distress, a preference does not. For some allergies, please consider bringing your own snacks or food items so you are not dependent on what restaurants are able to serve.

Payments: deposit of $400 per person is requested at the time of booking and balance is due December 2, 2025. By paying the deposit, you agree to the Terms & Conditions, Activity Level and Cancellation Policy outlined. Payments can be made by online banking or cheque (1.5% discount on tour fare), or by Visa or Mastercard ($5,000 limit per person on credit cards).

Early Booking Bonus: Receive a $220 discount on the first 12 seats and $110 on the next 8 seats for booking early with deposit. The discount is not offered after December 2, 2025.

Cancellation Policy: Up to November 3, 2025, the cancellation charge is $100 per person. From November 4 to December 2, the cancellation charge is $300 per person. From December 3, 2025 to January 2, 2026, the cancellation charge is 40% of the tour fare. After January 2, there is no refund.

Flight delays or cancellations: In the event flights are delayed or cancelled by airlines due to weather or other reasons, there may be additional costs to you. Wells Gray Tours will not pay for hotel rooms and meals during the delay. Most travel insurance policies cover expenses incurred for flight delays.

Itinerary and Fare Changes: Our many suppliers may notify us about changes to the itinerary prior to departure and sometimes during the tour. We do our best to substitute a similar service if something cancels, but occasionally the only alternative is to provide a refund for the missed activity. Please note that if e are forced to cancel a tour component due to an issue beyond our control, the current penalties still apply if you choose to cancel the entire tour. Fuel surcharges and changes to taxes or other tour costs can occur at any time, therefore Wells Gray Tours reserves the right to increase fares due to such changes up to departure.

Travel Insurance: A Comprehensive Insurance policy is available through Wells Gray Tours and coverage is provided by Travel Guard. Policies purchased at deposit include a waiver of the pre-existing condition clause for medical and cancellation claims, otherwise policies can be purchased no later than at final payment. This tour stays in Canada, but medical costs can vary wildly from one province to another. While your BC Services Card may partly cover you for a medical issue that arises during the tour, you will probably benefit from trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage in case of illness or a mishap before or during the tour. Many other benefits such as luggage insurance are included. Medical questionnaire is not needed. Please contact us for details. If you have your own travel insurance, please read the policy carefully to be sure that you are adequately covered for medical, cancellation, interruption, and luggage.

Photo Credits: Région de Québec © GouvQc Benoit Cecile (Ice Hotel), tour director Marion (Wells Gray Travellers at Ice Hotel 2023, pages 4, 7, and 8), Frédéric Lavoie & Destination Québec cité (Ice Sculpture), Simon Clark & Destination Québec cité (Ice Canoe Race), Étienne Dionne & Destination Québec cité Québec Winter Carnival).

Experience Points or E-points: This tour earns 98 e-points. Each time you travel on a Wells Gray tour, you earn e-points that are added to your account after the tour returns. One e-point equals $1. Redeem your earned points on select tours or accumulate enough points to earn a free tour! Redemptions offered until December 2, 2025.

Consumer Protection BC Licences: Consumer Protection BC Licences: Kamloops 178, Vernon 655, Kelowna 588, Penticton 924, Victoria 65842