Help w/ Transportation from Niagara Falls to Montreal
 

We are taking a cruise from Montreal, Canada, to NY, in Oct., '06, and have the time to include a pre-cruise adventure to Buffalo to see Niagara Falls (a lifetime dream of mine!). We would really appreciate any suggestions....car, rail, etc., on the different ways to get from NFalls (Canadian Side, Marriott Fallsview, our big splurge!) to Montreal. We are fine with stopping along the way, if there are sites not to be missed.

Also, any reasonable hotel suggestions near the cruise port in Montreal?

Many thanks for any suggestion concerning these quandries, or, really, anything in these two areas.

I want to say take the train. But it departs Niagara Falls, ON at 6:45am, which may be too early for you.

I'm a little confused. How are you getting to Buffalo? Will you have a car there?

And how are you getting from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, Canada?

Assuming no car; Once yuou get to niagara Falls, you can get around the city and see the attractions via an efficient tourist bus system.

Then take the highway-style bus from Niagara Falls to Toronto. There are lots of buses every day, and it's a better system than the train.

From Toronto, I think one good way to get to Montreal is by train, from the station in downtown Toronto to the station in downtown Montreal.

The alternative is to drive. You can spend an entire day ont he road, with stops in Port Hope, Cobourg, Kingston, and perhaps some other places -- Prince Edward County, for instance...

In Niagra Falls, make sure you take the Maid of the Mist

I would not worry particularly about the location of a Montreal Hotel with respect to the cruise terminal. Whether you are downtown or old port is trivial in terms of time and taxi costs.

Train info is at www.viarail.ca. The train service is very limited from Niagara Falls to Toronto. Monday to Friday, as rkkwan said, the train to Toronto leaves at 6:45 AM. It conects nicely with a train to Montreal arriving at 14:26. Saturdays and Sunday are each different. Sunday has a nice conection to the 5 PM express to Montreal.

Here's a link for Buffalo-NIagara Falls-Toronto scheduled bus service:

http://www.coachcanada.com/coachcanada/

As BAK mentioned, because of the limited VIA rail service from NF, you might want to consider taking a bus to Toronto and then VIA rail from Toronto to Montreal.

Hello, Again,

Many thanks for your input. After reading your suggestions, we are seriously thinking of renting a car (flying into Buffalo), and dropping it off in Montreal.

Do you know of any car rental company that lets you cross the border with a one-way rental? Are the drop off fees outrageous?

Are there rental cars available in Niagara Falls, Canadian side? We have even considered taking a taxi from BUF to the Marriott Fallsview, then renting a car to get to Montreal, but I haven't been able to find NF locations....

HELP!! Appreciate all comments! Thanks!

I don't know exact locations, but all major car rental companies definitely have locations in Niagara Falls, ON.

We decided to fly in to Buffalo where we booked a car with Avis. From there we will visit Niagara, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec city. We will fly out of Montreal back home. Avis seemed to have the best rates and availability picking up in buffalo and dropping off in Montreal. Rail seemed nice but there really is no cost advantage, would be slower and you are relegated to their schedules. We also like see what's in between cities.