Taking a bus from Toronto to Ottawa then on to Montreal and Quebec City
May 5th, 2015, 07:25 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Taking a bus from Toronto to Ottawa then on to Montreal and Quebec City
I and the wife are going to visit Canada and US in early July for 26 days. We are in our early 60’s. We will first visit Vancouver for 2 days then rent a car to drive to Bannf and Jasper & other nearby scenic places. This leg of the trip will be about 7-8 days.
Next we plan to take a plane from Calgary to Toronto. At Toronto, we plan to spend a couple of days then take a bus to Ottawa then Montreal then Quebec City, spending 2-3 nights at each place. In Ottawa, we will stay with a friend. We’ve learnt that renting a car to see central Canada (i.e. cities mentioned above) is not necessary as there are easy and convenience modes of transportation between those cities.
Since we plan not to rent a car to drive between Toronto and Quebec City, we wonder if it is necessary to book hotel rooms in advance of the trip (except in Ottawa) since this is the high season. The problem is that we are not sure exactly sure how many days we will stay at each places so we do not want to book hotel rooms in advance. If we rent a car, we figure that we can always drive around to search for a vacant room at a motel (or B&B etc.) in the suburbs of those cities in case they are not available in the city. We will then leave the car at the hotel (or B&B) and go see places by bus or bicycle.
Or we should rent a car during the trip from Toronto to Quebec City anyway as it will give us the flexibility to drive around to hunt for a hotel room keeping in mind the high season so the scarcity of rooms (at reasonable price) at such time. We prefer to save monies by traveling by bus but the peace of mind of having a car may be worth the extra cost. We also have two big luggages and a couple of smaller ones so moving around by bus may not be so convenient, especially if having to look for a place to stay when arriving at each city.
After that, we plan to spend the rest of the trip driving to NY City, renting a car at the border and driving down south to NYC i.e. the last 4-5 days of the trip.
We welcome your comment and suggestions. Thank you.
Next we plan to take a plane from Calgary to Toronto. At Toronto, we plan to spend a couple of days then take a bus to Ottawa then Montreal then Quebec City, spending 2-3 nights at each place. In Ottawa, we will stay with a friend. We’ve learnt that renting a car to see central Canada (i.e. cities mentioned above) is not necessary as there are easy and convenience modes of transportation between those cities.
Since we plan not to rent a car to drive between Toronto and Quebec City, we wonder if it is necessary to book hotel rooms in advance of the trip (except in Ottawa) since this is the high season. The problem is that we are not sure exactly sure how many days we will stay at each places so we do not want to book hotel rooms in advance. If we rent a car, we figure that we can always drive around to search for a vacant room at a motel (or B&B etc.) in the suburbs of those cities in case they are not available in the city. We will then leave the car at the hotel (or B&B) and go see places by bus or bicycle.
Or we should rent a car during the trip from Toronto to Quebec City anyway as it will give us the flexibility to drive around to hunt for a hotel room keeping in mind the high season so the scarcity of rooms (at reasonable price) at such time. We prefer to save monies by traveling by bus but the peace of mind of having a car may be worth the extra cost. We also have two big luggages and a couple of smaller ones so moving around by bus may not be so convenient, especially if having to look for a place to stay when arriving at each city.
After that, we plan to spend the rest of the trip driving to NY City, renting a car at the border and driving down south to NYC i.e. the last 4-5 days of the trip.
We welcome your comment and suggestions. Thank you.
May 5th, 2015, 11:24 AM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,412
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You won't need a car in Ottawa, Montréal or Québec to see the sights as you can walk or use public transit very conveniently.
I would want to reserve ahead in Montréal and Quebec at least a couple of days ahead of time, more if possible--driving around the suburbs looking for a place to stay would not be my idea of fun, and frankly getting back and forth from the suburbs would just be too much of a hassle. Summertime in Canada means construction, and getting around by car, especially in Montréal can become very frustrating.
Rather than driving around to find accommodation, use the official tourism website to search and book online:
http://www.bonjourquebec.com/ca-en/accueil0.html
Getting from city to city by bus is likely the cheapest means and there is a very good frequency of service between these locations. The bus stations are all centrally located.
As an alternative, you might look into the train. Via Rail has frequent service between these cities and depending on the day and time and how far in advance you book the price can be quite competitive with the bus, and it is a more pleasant way to travel in my opinion. The lowest train fares are $44 from Toronto to Montréal and $33 from Montréal to Québec.
Instead of renting a car to get to New York, where you really don't want to have one, you could also consider the train. Amtrak runs daily trains from Montréal to New York and it would be a lot easier than getting across the border to rent a car.
Enjoy your visit.
I would want to reserve ahead in Montréal and Quebec at least a couple of days ahead of time, more if possible--driving around the suburbs looking for a place to stay would not be my idea of fun, and frankly getting back and forth from the suburbs would just be too much of a hassle. Summertime in Canada means construction, and getting around by car, especially in Montréal can become very frustrating.
Rather than driving around to find accommodation, use the official tourism website to search and book online:
http://www.bonjourquebec.com/ca-en/accueil0.html
Getting from city to city by bus is likely the cheapest means and there is a very good frequency of service between these locations. The bus stations are all centrally located.
As an alternative, you might look into the train. Via Rail has frequent service between these cities and depending on the day and time and how far in advance you book the price can be quite competitive with the bus, and it is a more pleasant way to travel in my opinion. The lowest train fares are $44 from Toronto to Montréal and $33 from Montréal to Québec.
Instead of renting a car to get to New York, where you really don't want to have one, you could also consider the train. Amtrak runs daily trains from Montréal to New York and it would be a lot easier than getting across the border to rent a car.
Enjoy your visit.
May 6th, 2015, 08:41 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you. As suggested, we have decided to take the bus in getting around those cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City)for cost reason and it seems to make better sense taking everything else into consideration. Taking Amtrak train to NYC from Montreal is something we did not think of before and looks like another good option in case we want to get to NYC in one go without stopping at places in-between. That seem convenient. On Toronto, we will make sure to make advance booking as suggested.
May 7th, 2015, 03:53 PM
#5
There is also an Amtrak train from Toronto to New York (via Niagara Falls). Did you check the fare and comfort of the bus in Canada vs. ViaRail trains between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City?
Is there any drop off fee for renting in Vancouver and dropping in Calgary?
Is there any drop off fee for renting in Vancouver and dropping in Calgary?
May 8th, 2015, 06:47 AM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Good to know about the availability of Amtrak train from Toronto to NY as we may opt for this as well. On the drop off chaarge, I've heard that it should not be too high as there will be moderate traffic between Calgary and Vancouver during the high season when we'll be going, hopefully.
