Gray line tours and Using US Dollars question
 

Hi everyone,
I'm finalizing my plans for my Montreal trip at the end of this month. I had a couple of questions...

1 - Has anyone taken the one day tour with Gray Line to go to Montmorency Falls? I won't be renting a car, and wanted to know if this tour was good. I think it also goes to Quebec City. If yes, does anyone know how much time we have there?

2 - Will I be able to use my US dollars in Montreal/Quebec City? or is it better to get Canadian dollars?

Thanks so much for your help!

You are in Canada - use Canadian currency or else charge everything on your credit card.

I agree with Cruiseryyc. Many stores will eagerly take your US dollars, but it will cost you dearly in the exchange (it is an easy way for them to make a few $ on people too lazy to change their own money). Just go to any Canadian ATM and take out some Canadian dollars. Your bank will give you a reasonable exchange. You may want to call your bank in advance to ask if there will be any fees for this. They may charge a $ or two per withdrawl, so you might want to keep withdrals to a minimum.

The real exchange rate is about $1.35 to the US dollar. If you are real lucky, you'll find places that will give you $1.25 per US dollar; most I bet give $1.20 or worse. Or not...
Same advice as travelling in Europe - you ATM card will 99% likely work there, and you get local currency.

thanks everyone. :) The reason why I was asking is because I head read in many places that I can use US dollars. But I decided to just exchange my money into Canadian dollars.

Violettald: The other posters did not advise that you exchange your US dollars for Canadian currency. They recommended using an ATM card to withdraw Canadian cash once you arrive in Canada. That is good advice wherever you go in the industiralized world.

Withdraw only the cash you think you'll need so you won't have to change any back - or use any leftover Canadian currency toward your hotel bill. Pay for everything with your debit/credit card for the best rate of exchange.

As for the Gray Line tour, the one we took was a day trip to Quebec City with a brief visit to the falls along the way.

The trip was nicely paced with a break on the way, a drive by all the major sites, a brief walking tour, then several hours to explore the upper and lower towns on you own, have lunch, do a bit of shopping, before boarding the bus home. There was a break stop on the way back as well.

If you take this tour, don't opt for hotel pickup. You'll just have to board the bus an hour earlier to drive all over picking up others from their hotels. The Gray Line terminal is within walking distance of nearly all the downtown hotels.

Violetta, if you pay with Canadian currency you know how much it costs. If you offer USA currency you'll be at the mercy of the merchant - they will charge the exchange fee as much as they want. Ever thought of that?