Need travel help from Toronto to Vermont!
Aug 16th, 2016, 02:53 PM
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Need travel help from Toronto to Vermont!
My friend is attending a conference in Toronto in September and invited me to join her for one of the weekends. I am flying out of Austin, Texas to Toronto on the 16th of September and leaving Toronto on the 19th. Was talking to a friend about this and asked if she wanted to extend this little vacation for a few more days and she does. Neither of us have ever been to northern New York. I have been to Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Boston, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, although it was in 1984...
We definitely want to see Niagara Falls -- probably in Canada and again in New York. We'd love to go through Buffalo or Rochester New York and then travel down to Vermont, hopefully as far as Arlington Vermont because I stayed at a fabulous B&B there on my 40th birthday, called the West Mountain Inn. The rest of our trip is totally up in the air. We don't know if we can rent a car and drive it to New York IF we drive it back to Toronto and fly out of there, or if it is cost prohibitive or we just aren't allowed to do that.
Anything we MUST try to see along the way? I think we're going to drive and stop when we want to, so that's why I don't think we want to take a bus or a train, unless we need to do that to get out of Canada and then rent a car in New York. Our trip will last from the 19th until the 23rd. We just want to see some pretty scenery and quaint little towns. Not interested in wineries as neither of us drink much at all.
Any suggestions? Especially on how we get from Toronto to Buffalo and whether or not we should go see Ottawa and Montreal before we head south to New York? It also appears we can travel from Burlington Vermont to Lake Champlain?
It's sort of surprising inasmuch as we are from Texas and it takes 15 hours to drive from the west border of Texas to the East.
Thank you so much!!
Melissa
We definitely want to see Niagara Falls -- probably in Canada and again in New York. We'd love to go through Buffalo or Rochester New York and then travel down to Vermont, hopefully as far as Arlington Vermont because I stayed at a fabulous B&B there on my 40th birthday, called the West Mountain Inn. The rest of our trip is totally up in the air. We don't know if we can rent a car and drive it to New York IF we drive it back to Toronto and fly out of there, or if it is cost prohibitive or we just aren't allowed to do that.
Anything we MUST try to see along the way? I think we're going to drive and stop when we want to, so that's why I don't think we want to take a bus or a train, unless we need to do that to get out of Canada and then rent a car in New York. Our trip will last from the 19th until the 23rd. We just want to see some pretty scenery and quaint little towns. Not interested in wineries as neither of us drink much at all.
Any suggestions? Especially on how we get from Toronto to Buffalo and whether or not we should go see Ottawa and Montreal before we head south to New York? It also appears we can travel from Burlington Vermont to Lake Champlain?
It's sort of surprising inasmuch as we are from Texas and it takes 15 hours to drive from the west border of Texas to the East.
Thank you so much!!
Melissa
Aug 17th, 2016, 10:05 AM
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Take the Via train from Toronto to Niagara Falls Ontario...you can then use the Wego public shuttle busses to see the Falls area... when you are ready to drive, get a taxi to Buffalo Airport (use the website for Buffalo/Niagara International Airport under ground transportation). Rent your car there...
You should look into flying home from Buffalo and it will be easier to return your rental car...
Drive down to Rt20 and head east... this will take you on the perfect ride through rural NY along the top of the Finger Lakes... quaint towns, historical sites,and also Letchworth State Park... the route is designated one of America's best Scenic Routes... plenty of stops and places to stay... you can ride it to Albany and then jump on the highway for the rest of your trip...
On the way back to Buffalo, you can take a faster route by using I 90 west, or returning on rt20...
You should look into flying home from Buffalo and it will be easier to return your rental car...
Drive down to Rt20 and head east... this will take you on the perfect ride through rural NY along the top of the Finger Lakes... quaint towns, historical sites,and also Letchworth State Park... the route is designated one of America's best Scenic Routes... plenty of stops and places to stay... you can ride it to Albany and then jump on the highway for the rest of your trip...
On the way back to Buffalo, you can take a faster route by using I 90 west, or returning on rt20...
Aug 22nd, 2016, 06:50 AM
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Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it!
Our plans have changed a bit... Now, we are thinking about spending a night or two in Canada and driving up to Montreal and then crossing over.... Not sure where we will end up? Is it Maine or Vermont or New Hampshire?
Sorry, never been this way before....and the maps don't really show everything.... and I am geographically challenged!
We want to go to Maine, but only have 5 days, so we may not make it.... Vermont is a must.
Our plans have changed a bit... Now, we are thinking about spending a night or two in Canada and driving up to Montreal and then crossing over.... Not sure where we will end up? Is it Maine or Vermont or New Hampshire?
Sorry, never been this way before....and the maps don't really show everything.... and I am geographically challenged!
We want to go to Maine, but only have 5 days, so we may not make it.... Vermont is a must.
Aug 22nd, 2016, 07:56 AM
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From Montreal you can cross the border into all three and NY as well. However, the best would be to take Autoroute 10 east towards Sherbrooke and then Autoroute 55 south to the border at Stanstead QC/Derby Line VT where it becomes I-91.
The border runs right through the middle of the two towns, and in fact right through the middle of the Library and Opera House which were built on the border in 1904 so that residents of each side could enjoy them. Since 2001, US Homeland Security has been making changes that have complicated the lives of residents on both sides of the border.
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/art...ad-town-border
The border runs right through the middle of the two towns, and in fact right through the middle of the Library and Opera House which were built on the border in 1904 so that residents of each side could enjoy them. Since 2001, US Homeland Security has been making changes that have complicated the lives of residents on both sides of the border.
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/art...ad-town-border
Aug 28th, 2016, 11:09 AM
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Well.... our vacation is growing. My friend and I are getting on up there and decided we should see as much as we can while we still can, SO, we are staying another 6 days.
Right now, our plans are to go from Toronto to Niagara Falls, and then drive to Kingston, and then to Ottawa and then to Montreal. We are planning on taking the train from Montreal to Quebec and then crossing over into Maine. We will have a rental car that we rented in Toronto and need to drop off in Montreal...
THEN, we need to figure out how to get from Quebec into Maine and then rent a car and return that car in Buffalo New York.
SO, I feel really bad about asking yet another question, but we are stumped.
Thanks so much for your advice. You are all wonderful to take time to help us out.
If you ever come to Texas, please post and I'll respond!
Melissa
Right now, our plans are to go from Toronto to Niagara Falls, and then drive to Kingston, and then to Ottawa and then to Montreal. We are planning on taking the train from Montreal to Quebec and then crossing over into Maine. We will have a rental car that we rented in Toronto and need to drop off in Montreal...
THEN, we need to figure out how to get from Quebec into Maine and then rent a car and return that car in Buffalo New York.
SO, I feel really bad about asking yet another question, but we are stumped.
Thanks so much for your advice. You are all wonderful to take time to help us out.
If you ever come to Texas, please post and I'll respond!
Melissa
Aug 30th, 2016, 03:16 AM
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If you can get a rental that you can take into the US, it would be done more easily. Rent in Toronto, then do Kingston/Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec and loop back through Maine and Buffalo. See Niagara as you pass through on your way to drop the car off before flying home from Toronto.
