Marcia

I have asked for help from you wonderful people before when I went to Europe, traveled in the US & now it is time for some help in Canada. My husband & I will be attending a wedding in Kincardine (does ANYONE know where that is?) Ontario. We will be arriving in Detrot on June 14 and leaving on the 16th. My niece just had a baby (she lives near Ann Arbor) so we want to visit with her before we go to Canada. We will be renting a car at the Detroit Metro Airport. Okay, here is what I would like critiqued:
June 14-16: Michigan
Jume 16-19: Kincardine (I think it's about a 4 hour drive from Toronto)
June 19-22: Quebec City (I figured we'd work our way down so we can leave from Detroit Metro to go back to Florida)
June 22-25: Montreal
June 25-26: Toronto
June 26-27: Niagara Falls
June 27: Drive back to Detroit
June 28: Drop rental car at Detroit Metro & fly home.

Is this doable? And how many hours between each city? Right now this is up in the air..I've made the plane reservations but can't make up my mind as to how long in each city. Please help me. Thanks very much.

rkkwan

Kincardine is on Lake Huron. About 190 (or 2.5 hours) north of Port Huron/Sarnia. So, about 3.5 hours from Detroit.

It'll be too much of a drive from Kincardine to Quebec City in one day. So you may want to vist Montreal first. Then Quebec City, then back to Toronto.

Marcia

Thank you rkkwan for your response. Can you or anyone else tell me how long a drive (in hours) from each city we plan to visit? This will be most helpful in planning my trip. Also, how many days should we plan to spend in each city?

rkkwan

Marcia - You can use one of the mapping websites to figure out your distance and travel time. www.mapquest.com, maps.google.com, AAA, etc. On the freeways (the 40x in Ontario and the "Autoroutes" in Quebec), speed limit is about 110km/h (or 68mph); it'll be quite a bit slower on the regular routes to/from Kincardine, where there's no freeway.

I say the number of days in your itinerary are generally okay, except cut a day in Quebec City and give it to Toronto. QC isn't very big and you don't need 3-4 days there.

sobolik

Do a map quest for driving distances et. and then tweek the actual days in each location allowing 3/4 day of driving each leg, I would add (easily) Ottawa.
Kincardine to Quebec City is a no way I would do it. I would rather just go to Montreal which is a very doable trip, BUT the rest of you itenerary looks mighty fine therfore to make the trip to Quebec city work out pleasantly I would split QC into 2 seperate stops I would add Ottawa. It is a full day long drive almost 1/2 way point, it is very worth 1 to 1 1/2 days attention and Quebec City is very doable at 1 1/2 day ( allowing 1/2 -3/4 day travel to each)

looks very doable except add Ottawa.

sobolik

ps I went to all these places and Ottawa is one of the Highlights, it is after all the Capital. Sound and light show is awesome, changing of the guard, museum of Civilization, Parliament Hill, the cat sanctuary which also has very confused wood chucks and squirrels that think they are cats. Ottawa is worth it.

Marcia

Thanks so much for your responses. So from Kincardine, I go to Montreal & then Quebec City?

rkkwan

The reason we tell you to go to Montreal before Quebec City is that it's too far to drive from Kincardine to QC in one day.

But if you want to visit Ottawa too, then you can do Kincardine - Ottawa - Quebec City - Montreal - Toronto; or Kincardine - Montreal - Quebec City - Ottawa - Toronto. Doesn't matter. Just try to break up your drive, so you won't be on the road continuous for 10 hours.

Marcia

Okay, I realize that it's too far to drive from Toronto to Quebec City. I don't want to be driving more than 4 hours between cities...but I really want to see Quebec City. Is there a low cost commuter plane that we could take from Toronto to Quebec City?

Marcia

anyone?

rkkwan

No low-cost, I don't think. But there's always Air Canada.

I still don't quite understand what your issues are. Go look at a map and see the relative distances between the cities. You have two groups of cities: Detroit/Kincardine/Toronto/Niagara Falls in the west, all within 4 hours of driving of each other; Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec City in the east, all within 4 hours of driving of each other. Now, between the two groups, it's 4.5 hours from Toronto to Ottawa, or 5.5 hours from Toronto to Montreal. Can you drive those distances?

And if you're flying to Quebec City, what are you doing with your rental car? Park it at the Toronto Airport and then rent another one in Quebec City?

Marcia

Since it's only 4.5 hrs to each city, that is certainly doable. Can you tell me how many hrs it is from Toronto to Ottawa? Would it be longer since I'll be going west to east? Thanks again for your patience.
(I was going to leave the rental car at the hotel if we took a commuter plane, but I don't see anything listed on the internet...only air canada.)

rkkwan

Marcia - As I said, you need to look at the map, and draw out the places you need to visit. That way, you can have an idea the relative distance among them.

Use an online mapping page like mapquest.com or maps.google.com to find out distance and driving times. Those things you can do it on your own; no need to ask us.

You'll have a much clear idea about your itinerary by doing some homework, instead of relying on what WE tell you here.

PXYca

Hi Marcia,

I live in Toronto and I've done the drive roundtrip to both Montreal and Ottawa. I can tell you that the trips might be longer once you hit Toronto traffic to the east on 401 @ Oshawa all the way in to Toronto depending on the time of day you hit. Think of a large US city without the "circle highway" and you'll get an idea. Our rush hour starts @ 3pm in the afternoon and clears @6:30. So plan to hit Toronto earlier or later than those times. Hwy 401 east flow of traffic is usually @120km an hour (about 20 over the 100 posted limit)

At that speed My drives from Ottawa are generally 5 to 5 1/2 hours with a 15 - 20 minute break at the gasbar for coffee/bathroom

Montreal is about the same (depending on where in the city you are coming from)

Kincardine is an awkward drive to reach Ottawa or the Province of Quebec in one day. I think Quebec City is a great place but your itinerary is very tight pretty much more driving than visiting. I would cut out Quebec City this trip and lengthn your stays in other cities. I also revised your driving dates so your longest drive (montreal to Niagara) is on a Sunday - light traffic day.

I suggest the following:

June 14-16: Michigan
Jume 16-19: Kincardine
June 19-23: Toronto
June 23-25: Montreal ( - Friday night in Montreal will be the most fun! - drive state side from kingston to Niagara - it's a nicer drive on the I90)
June 25-27: Niagara Falls
June 27: Drive back to Detroit
June 28: Drop rental car at Detroit Metro & fly home.

lolly

Hi Marcia,
I would like to comment on the first leg of your journey from Detroit to Kincardine. Take the I-94 to Port Huron /Sarnia and cross into Canada on the Bluewater Bridge. (This will be a much shorter drive than crossing at Windsor). Take the 402 eastbound to Highway 21 North. You will have a beautiful drive up 21 through Forest, past Kettle Point (a first nation which has interesting "kettles" which are rock formations in Lake Huron) You will pass Pinery Provincial Park, a great spot for a day trip. Look it up on ontarioparks.ca Next you will go through Grand Bend which has a fabulous public beach. About half an hour from there is Bayfield, a nice little town with a lot of touristy shops etc. After that is Goderich which bills itself as Canada's prettiest town. (The tourist info centre in Goderich has a large fountain on the lawn and a nice clean bathroom). Next you will go through a tiny place called Pine River which has a great cheese factory and a retail store. (They also have a nice clean bathroom). After that you will be in Kincardine. If you will be doing some travelling during your stay in Kincardine you could go to Sauble falls or Tobermory. Have fun!

Marcia

rkkwan, thank you for your suggestion re: google map...I had never used it before & it was quite helpful.
pxyca, thanks very much for your suggested itinerary. Sadly, I have decided not to go to Montreal or Quebec City...it is just too much driving. What do you think of this itinerary:
June 14-15: Michigan
June 15-18: Kincardine
June 18-22: Toronto
June 22-26: ????? (more than 1 place?)
June 26-27: Niagara Falls
June 27-28 Michigan (I would see my niece again)
Lolly, thanks so much for your suggestion. I appreciate both of your kind responses.

Marcia

From June 22-26 can you suggest some small but quaint cities that are on the way from Toronto to Niagara Falls?

laverendrye

Missisauga, Hamilton and St Catharines are all quaint cities.

Seriously, though, you might want to stop at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, and Dundurn Castle there as well.

In the Niagara peninsula, both Jordan and Niagara on the Lake have some interesting shops and wineries.

PXYca

Hi Marcie - I do not consider Hamilton, Missisauga or St Catherines to be all that quaint. Although the poster's suggestion regarding Dundurn Castle and Royal Botanical Gardens (in Burlington) to be good choices.

Here is my suggested revised itinerary:


June 14-15: Michigan
June 15-18: Kincardine
June 18-19: Stratford - there is a showing of the Glass Menagerie at 2pm which you could easily make from Kincardine
June 19-23: Toronto
June 23-24: set out early on Saturday and take the wine route to Niagara on the lake instead of QEW
June 24-26: Niagara Falls
June 26-27: Port Stanley (a good 1/2 way point from Niagara to Michigan)
June 27-28 Michigan

With this itinerary you won't drive longer than 2-3 hours at a time and you will see a good cross section of the quaint towns that Ontario has to offer.

librarianlady

Speaking of Niagara on the Lake, does anyone have experience with hotels, motels there? Is the Hilton in the Garden within walking distance of the Old Town and the theaters?
Thanks for any tips.