Traveling from NYC to Montreal

IamNY · Jan 28, 2007

I usually travel to Motreal with a friend of mine who doesn't have a license and has no interest in getting one.

Since it is a long drive for one person and my friend only gives me grief when I suggest we take a plane, does anyone have a creative and affordable way to get to Montreal?

We have traveled via Amtrak from Penn Station and although that was pretty cheap, it was a really long ride.

A bus is out of the question, I would prefer to drive than put up with riding on a bus.

I was thinking of flying into Bufalo and then taking a train or something like that.

I just cant seem to find a way to Montreal for any less than $300 +.

Any suggestions?

shyppl · Jan 29, 2007

may need a new friend that willing to drive with you

thegreatwalooo said:
I usually travel to Motreal with a friend of mine who doesn't have a license and has no interest in getting one.

Since it is a long drive for one person and my friend only gives me grief when I suggest we take a plane, does anyone have a creative and affordable way to get to Montreal?

We have traveled via Amtrak from Penn Station and although that was pretty cheap, it was a really long ride.

A bus is out of the question, I would prefer to drive than put up with riding on a bus.

I was thinking of flying into Bufalo and then taking a train or something like that.

I just cant seem to find a way to Montreal for any less than $300 +.

Any suggestions?

I don't think there's a better way to go, but you can either get a friend willing to drive with you or spend the money that suppose to be. If you still don't wants to pay the money for plane, then only choice is bus. You have to think about it.

smuler · Jan 29, 2007

Driving is much cheaper

Regards

Smuler

EagerBeaver · Jan 29, 2007

Drive

the greatwaloo,

I live almost equally distant from Montreal and I always drive. Not sure I could justify any other mode of transportation, plus I kind of enjoy the drive through Vermont.

NJDude · Jan 29, 2007

I fly US Air from Philly to Montreal if the fares go on sale on wednesday. They are about $225 including tax. The only thing is you have to fly within the next 3 days on a saturday and return in 3 days. I have also seen Continental having similar sale fares from Newark which are even cheaper than US Air with similar restrictions. I think Continental's fare sale go on every tuesday.

bond_james_bond · Jan 29, 2007

I have noticed good deals non-stop from Philly and Newark as well.

Sometimes, even Air Canada has a good sale on fares from Newark.

IamNY · Jan 30, 2007

Where are you finding the sale prices? Directly on the airlines website, or somewhere else like Kayak.com?

If I was able to find airfare in the $225 range it might be worth flying.

Driving through Vermont may be more scenic than the NY route, I will give that a try the next time.

bond_james_bond · Jan 30, 2007

I have found itasoftware.com to be a good tool for finding the lowest air fares.

For example, I just used it to punch in random dates from EWR to YUL.

It came up with an air fare of $198 for Continental, non-stop.

The only thing with itasoftware.com is that you cannot book from their website.

Their website will give you the booking codes. Then, you call the airline with those booking codes to get the airfare you saw. A bit of a hassle, but well worth the low fares you find.

And of course, you should also check the airlines' web sites and other search engines such as Orbitz to find the best deal.

Suffice it to say, the more web sites you check, the better your chances of getting a good deal.

mass1965 · Jan 30, 2007

You can fly from NY to Burlington Vermont for cheap, not sure but las time I looked it was $100. Burlington is 30 miles from Canadian border and about 1 1/2 hours to Montreal. Rent a car and go up from there. There are places to stop on the way up if you are interested in FS type SCs

Wombat2 · Jan 30, 2007

thegreatwalooo said:
I was thinking of flying into Bufalo and then taking a train [to Montreal] or something like that.

You'd be doing two sides of a triangle roughly 829 miles (1,326 kilometers) of travel as opposed to the straight line distance of roughly 375 miles (600 kilometers). Flying to Buffalo is not a bad idea at all if you're traveling to Toronto but not when your destination is Montreal.

From the City of New York to Montreal, as others have already mentioned, your only viable option other than flying directly, driving, taking Amtrak’s Adirondack, or taking a bus, is to fly into Burlington, Vermont (which is served by Jet Blue from JFK [roughly $118 to $158 rt mid-week]) and then renting a car. You'd have to look at the time, cost and convience factors involved since driving from the New Jersey side of the Hudson to Montreal is but six hours.

IamNY · Jan 30, 2007

The Buffalo idea was a stretch, I was only trying to think out of the box.

The itasoftware.com website was really good and flying into Burlington VT and then renting a car is another great idea.

Thanks all!

incognito_NYC · Jan 30, 2007

Wombat2 said:
You'd have to look at the time, cost and convience factors involved since driving from the New Jersey side of the Hudson to Montreal is but six hours.

Exactly! That's why I decided that driving si still the cheapest easiest way from NYC. And it takes the same amount of time as flying when you stop to think about it :

1 Hour = trip to airport (anyone familiar with traffic in the NYC metro area knows you need to figure it's gonna take an hour to get there no matter how you try to get there ... unless you have a private helicpoter

2 Hours = security and baggage check-in that airlines request for an international flight

1 Hour = flying time

1 Hour = getting through customs, getting out of the airport, and travelling to your hotel.

That's a total of 5 hours asssuming there's no delays in any of those four steps. And out of all that, the only relaxation you get is the 1 hour flight where maybe you'll get a soda and a bag of chips or peanuts or something.

The drive is 6 hours barring any major traffic disruption. You need to plan the time you leave to miss rush hour in NYC, Albany, and when you arrive in Montreal (now I know ... I sat on the Pont Champlain at 4:30PM trying to get across the river for 45 minutes. My first scheduled "appointment" was in 1 hour. Got to my room 5 minutes before the knock on the door!)

But I can take any kind of liquid refreshment I want, and as much as I want.

I can pack whatever I can fit in my car as opposed to what'll fit in an overhead bin. I can pack whatever I want - as long as it's not contraband or illegal. Hell - for Jazz Fest last year I brought a cooler full of frozen margarita ingredients and a blender - try getrting that on a plane

And I've never had a problem with the border crossing. Driving your own vehicle is alot less likely to draw suspicion than being in a rental.

*IMPORTANT NOTE : After several driving trips last year, I found out just by coincidence while onto my auto insurance web site that there is a separate insurance card you need to get if you're driving your car in Canada. Never knew that! Not sure if the cops would give you a ticket for that but if you're in an accident I can imagine that making a claim might be. There's no extra cost - just request the paperwork from your insurance carrier and they'll mail it to you.

NOTE #2 : Watch out for the speed trap at the Chestertown exit northbound! Troopers are always posted at or around that exit! I think it's Exit #30 and about mile marker 130.

IamNY · Jan 30, 2007

incognito_NYC said:
Exactly! That's why I decided that driving si still the cheapest easiest way from NYC. And it takes the same amount of time as flying when you stop to think about it :

1 Hour = trip to airport (anyone familiar with traffic in the NYC metro area knows you need to figure it's gonna take an hour to get there no matter how you try to get there ... unless you have a private helicpoter

2 Hours = security and baggage check-in that airlines request for an international flight

1 Hour = flying time

1 Hour = getting through customs, getting out of the airport, and travelling to your hotel.

That's a total of 5 hours asssuming there's no delays in any of those four steps. And out of all that, the only relaxation you get is the 1 hour flight where maybe you'll get a soda and a bag of chips or peanuts or something.

The drive is 6 hours barring any major traffic disruption. You need to plan the time you leave to miss rush hour in NYC, Albany, and when you arrive in Montreal (now I know ... I sat on the Pont Champlain at 4:30PM trying to get across the river for 45 minutes. My first scheduled "appointment" was in 1 hour. Got to my room 5 minutes before the knock on the door!)

But I can take any kind of liquid refreshment I want, and as much as I want.

I can pack whatever I can fit in my car as opposed to what'll fit in an overhead bin. I can pack whatever I want - as long as it's not contraband or illegal. Hell - for Jazz Fest last year I brought a cooler full of frozen margarita ingredients and a blender - try getrting that on a plane

And I've never had a problem with the border crossing. Driving your own vehicle is alot less likely to draw suspicion than being in a rental.

*IMPORTANT NOTE : After several driving trips last year, I found out just by coincidence while onto my auto insurance web site that there is a separate insurance card you need to get if you're driving your car in Canada. Never knew that! Not sure if the cops would give you a ticket for that but if you're in an accident I can imagine that making a claim might be. There's no extra cost - just request the paperwork from your insurance carrier and they'll mail it to you.

NOTE #2 : Watch out for the speed trap at the Chestertown exit northbound! Troopers are always posted at or around that exit! I think it's Exit #30 and about mile marker 130.

The problem is driving solo for 6+ hours.

Dropping $200 for a flight to Montreal sounds like a pretty good deal instead of sitting in a car for over 6 hours.

EagerBeaver · Jan 30, 2007

thegreatwalooo said:
Dropping $200 for a flight to Montreal sounds like a pretty good deal instead of sitting in a car for over 6 hours.

Good luck finding such an airfare from anywhere in the USA.

IamNY · Jan 30, 2007

I took bond_james_bond's advice and found it on itasoftware.com.

Wombat2 · Jan 31, 2007

incognito_NYC said:
I sat on the Pont Champlain at 4:30PM trying to get across the river for 45 minutes.

In terms of crossing the St. Lawrence at rush hour, if you're going to Center City Montreal (which most of us are) give thought to the Pont Victoria which often - due to being the oldest bridge across the river and only having three traffic lanes - is frequently not as jammed as the other crossings. The only problem is occasionally when a ship is locking through on the Seaway (south bank of the River) which will delay things for a while since there is a lift bridge across the canal before you get to the Pont Victoria.

incognito_NYC said:
*IMPORTANT NOTE : After several driving trips last year, I found out just by coincidence while onto my auto insurance web site that there is a separate insurance card you need to get if you're driving your car in Canada. Never knew that! Not sure if the cops would give you a ticket for that but if you're in an accident I can imagine that making a claim might be. There's no extra cost - just request the paperwork from your insurance carrier and they'll mail it to you.

Good reminder regarding the Interprovincial Non-Resident Insurance Liability Card a.k.a. "The Canada Card." If your car is registered in the U.S. "don't leave home without it" if you're going to be driving in Canada. If you're ever in a motor vehicle accident and can't produce it, there will be problems. I don't think it's at all deliberate, at the same time it's somewhat like a submarine just lying in wait for you - I've very seldom seem any mention of it, and they never ask about it at the border but ask any Canadian Police Officer if you need it and the answer is emphatic.

ck_nj · Mar 7, 2007

Wombat2,
Thanks for the 'Canada Card' info. I will definitely get one now.

Dee,
Thanks for the links! Very helpful.

I appreciate both because I almost exclusively drive whenever I visit.

smuler · Mar 7, 2007

I am almost positive that if you carry 15/30/5 coverage (as in the minimum liability limits required in NJ ), you CANNOT get this insurance card. You must carry at least 50/100/50 . Canada requires REAL coverage on vehicles.

In the USA, if someone has this " cheap ass" insurance, and hits you and causes major damage, good luck !!

The insurance company is only liable for what the driver asks . After that, you have to personally sue the driver for the balance.

That is why I highly recommend having a high amount of " UIM " on YOUR policy. That means uninsured/ underinsured motorist.

If the fuck that hits you has no money, or any future possibility of making money, your own policy will cover you. You would be surprised how many people I know drive very expensive cars with minimum coverage.

No- I do not do this for a living.. just knowledge from a job many years ago.

If I am wrong, I stand corrected

Best Regards

Smuler

daydreamer41 · Mar 7, 2007

smuler said:
I am almost positive that if you carry 15/30/5 coverage (as in the minimum liability limits required in NJ ), you CANNOT get this insurance card. You must carry at least 50/100/50 . Canada requires REAL coverage on vehicles.

In the USA, if someone has this " cheap ass" insurance, and hits you and causes major damage, good luck !!

The insurance company is only liable for what the driver asks . After that, you have to personally sue the driver for the balance.

That is why I highly recommend having a high amount of " UIM " on YOUR policy. That means uninsured/ underinsured motorist.

If the fuck that hits you has no money, or any future possibility of making money, your own policy will cover you. You would be surprised how many people I know drive very expensive cars with minimum coverage.

No- I do not do this for a living.. just knowledge from a job many years ago.

If I am wrong, I stand corrected

Best Regards

Smuler

If someone has very low coverage, they better not have any assets other than the car. You can sue them for every penny that they have and future earnings.

HarmonyNYC · Mar 31, 2007

Anyone know better entertainment options along the rout - Vermont to Montreal?

mass1965 said:
You can fly from NY to Burlington Vermont for cheap, not sure but las time I looked it was $100. Burlington is 30 miles from Canadian border and about 1 1/2 hours to Montreal. Rent a car and go up from there. There are places to stop on the way up if you are interested in FS type SCs

This plan may be my next rout to montreal, but I am figuring that it would be foolish to try and find entertainment "on the way".

The idea of a FS strip clubs excites me but the reality of what these girls want for "quicky" service in a booth is insane. No way am I spending 180/200 plus lap dance per song charges for a 15 to 20 minute bang in a booth.

Does anyone know better entertainment options along the rout from Vermont to Montreal?

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