I thought I’ve seen everything in winter tubing.  I was wrong.  Tubing traditionally has meant sliding down a modest hillside of snow with your butt on a tire-sized tube.  Quebec City’s Village Vacances Valcartier has taken that and amped it up 10x with massive drops, spin-o-rama’s, unconventional rafts, and air lifting bumps.

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Turn into a kid again

Tube Lift At Valcartier

I honestly don’t even need to sell it to any of you after you watch the video.  This is the kind of place where grown adults turn into hysterical kids and screams turn just a little higher pitched than normal.

With names like Himilayas, Everest, Avalanche, Snow Rafting and Tornado, you know Valcartier isn’t messing around.  What I loved about the whole experience was just how different each tube ride was.

I’ve never had this much fun tubing EVER.

Drift city

Oh did I forget to mention that they have go karts…but on ice?  Yes it exists!  And thank goodness it does because now I know what it’s like to drift wildly out of control on the track.

While I’d like to say I was awesome with the go kart but I must confess that I spun out so many times.  I really felt bad for the kid that had to find me every time to swing my kart back around.

Ironically you quickly learn that you really can’t drive fast because once you hit the corner there’s no way even those studded tires keep you in line.  Granny driving prevails.

A full service village

Anne-Marie and I are all smiles inside the Valcartier village.
Anne-Marie and I are all smiles inside the Valcartier village.

Another great thing about Valcartier is that they have its own indoor village to tend to your every need when you need a break from having too much fun.  The main building reminded me of Las Vegas in a lot of ways with their faux sky ceiling and its European chalet facades.

Watch the Six Flags of tubing

What To Pack For Snow Tubing

You obviously want to dress for the winter temperatures here so make sure you have your layers.

  • Base Layer: Start your base layer with merino tights, a wool long sleeve shirt and wool socks.
  • Mid Layer: You’ll want a fleece top like the Arc’teryx Kyanite AR Hoody. It’s so comfortable, light, highly breathable, velvety soft, and very warm. Pair that with these thicker weight fleece pants and a down jacket. This will easily be one of your favorite pieces of clothing in the winter. I could wear this as a stand-alone piece all day long. In below freezing temperatures, this’ll provide a bulk of the warmth. A Polartec fleece like this Polar BUFF provides the warmth around your neck while the rest of the BUFF gives your face protection.
  • Outer Layer: This shell jacket also doubles as a wonderful rain coat. It is superb all-around. Pair it with these shell pants, you’ll be waterproof top to bottom! Staying dry is key to having a good time while tubing!
  • Hat and Gloves: A must-have, and while you’d think for really cold weather you might need something extra, but your standard toque (what we call a beanie in Canada) is totally enough. If your head gets really cold though you can always layer with this layering beanie. The layering continues with this nifty glove system that has roots in the military but really taken up by the photography community. This liner glove has a pocket for hand warmers and is touch screen compatible. Throw a pair of The Heat Company Shell Full Leather gloves on top, which open up to reveal the liner gloves so you have full access to your fingers.
  • Shoes: These Sorel Glacier XT or Caribou Wool Boot are fully waterproof and rated for -32°C (-25.6°F).
  • Ski Goggles: I would highly recommend bringing ski googles or else your face will burn like mine.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Village Vacances Valcartier

  • Address – 1860, Valcartier Boulevard, Valcartier, Québec, G0A 4S0
  • Phone – 418-844-2200

Price

  • Price list is below in the photo but for the complete listing see the price list.
  • You may reserve tickets online but there are no cost savings in doing so.
  • Ice go karting used to be an extra at $4.35 + tax for 4 minutes but it appears they don’t have this anymore.
  • The below are a list of prices from 2015:
Valcartier Pricing Table

This article is part of the Quebec in the Winter series so make sure you check out my other posts on Ice Canoeing and Quebec Winter Carnival.


This trip to Quebec City was sponsored by the Quebec Region and Tourism Quebec, however the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Travel Resources For Your Next Trip

If you’re in the process of planning your trip and putting together your itinerary, these are genuinely the best resources that the Going Awesome Places team stands by 100%.

Credit cards: Don’t get burned by hidden fees on top of terrible exchange rates. When we travel now, we use the Wise Card. Simply load it with the currency you need before you go and use it as a regular VISA or their digital wallet card. Use their free app to track how much you have and top up when you need to.

Flights: Of all the booking search engines, Skyscanner is the most helpful and easy to use thanks to their Everywhere feature. Kayak is also another that’s we will often check as well.

Car Rental: If you’re looking to save money, these car rental coupon codes will be a true game-changer. Otherwise, DiscoverCars and RentalCars are great places to start.

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eSIM: Lately, we’ve really loved using eSIMs. We’ve tested several over the years and we have access to a few special promotions.

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Wifi Hotspot: We’ve been a huge fan of wifi hotspot devices such as PokeFi (use code GAP24300) because their rates are are hard to beat and it works globally. Solis is another that we recommend. Pros are that you can share the wifi with your whole group but cons are that you have to invest in a device and you have to charge it every night.

Hotels: Our go-to is Booking.com because they have the best inventory of properties including hotels and B&Bs plus they have their Genius tier discounts. Expedia is also worth using especially with their One Key rewards program which is basically like cash. The exception is Asia where Agoda always has the best prices. Always do a quick check on TripAdvisor as well.

Vacation Rentals: Your first instinct will be to check Airbnb but we always recommend checking VRBO as well if you’re looking for a vacation rental (now eligible for One Key).

Tours and Activities: When planning our trips, we always check both Viator and GetYourGuide to at least see what’s out there in the destination that we’re going to. They often have different offerings and prices so check both.

Travel Insurance: Learn how to buy the best travel insurance for you. This isn’t something you want to travel without.

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If you need more help planning your trip, make sure to check out our Travel Toolbox where we highlight all of the gear, resources, and tools we use when traveling.

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William Tang of Going Awesome Places
About The Author

Will Tang

Will Tang, founder of Going Awesome Places, has traveled to 51 countries. He shares his insanely detailed itineraries, travel guides, and packing lists. Will’s travels have been featured on Huffington Post, Men’s Journal, and Entrepreneur.

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The Discussion

  1. Hi , I’ll be on holidays in quebec winter , when the virus is finished. What are start and end dates for ice carts

  2. Wow, that’s hilarious! I almost want to try it despite my hate of winter. Of course I watched the video from my warm apartment. :)

    1. Hey Marie! LOL I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yes it was frightfully cold but the thrill definitely subdued any of that ;)

  3. Okay so first of all I love Quebec! With a passion that is hard to explain. We just returned from Tremblant for the first time ever where we learned to ski and loved it. Second of all my family would go nuts to do this. I think I might lose my mind in terror because it sounds that great BUT my kids and my husband would LOVE this!!

    1. Thanks for dropping by Paula! I SO know what you mean! Stay tuned for a lot more incredible things I got to try this time around. :D

  4. When you said tubing, I thought water. Haven’t sledded using an inner tube in more than 40 years. This looked like a blast!

    1. Good point I should’ve clarified that point up front haha. Up here in Canada I always think about the winter tubing first. Yes it was ridiculously fun!!