Suggestion for Montreal/QC/Niagara Falls
 

I'm planning a trip in July--flying in & out of Buffalo--with visits to Niagara Falls, Montreal & Quebec. We'll have a rental car & will be traveling with 18y.o. and 17y.o. We'll have a total of 8 or 9 days. Recommendations for how to allot the time? Should we spend a day in Toronto? I'm thinking 2 nights in the Niagara area (Niagara-on-the-Lake?), 1 nt. Toronto, 3 nights Montreal, 1 night QC, and then back to Buffalo. Better ideas? Also, which area(s) of Montreal do you suggest--Vieux Montreal or Downtown? Thanks for any help!

One night shd do it for the Niagara area. I wld plan to end up there as it is very close to the Buffalo airport. When you arrive, head for Toronto for your first night. It's <2 hrs Buf/To. depending on time of day. Explore To.that night & the next day & stay that night in To.( so 2 nts in Toronto). The Sheraton on Queen St. West has a nice pool. Some families like the Holiday Inn on King St. Day 3 head for Montreal( about 6 hours To./Montreal). Spend Day 4 & Day 5 in Montreal( so 3 nts in Montreal). I like the Mont Royal Omni Hotel Dwontown Montreal & you can get a Suite there.Day 6 head for Quebec City( about 3 hour drive.) Spend Day 7 in Quebec City. Day 8 head back to Niagara area. This is going to be a long day of driving.....about 11 hours. Maybe you want to break it up & stay in Kingston, Ontario. If you drive straight through you will be in Niagara Falls/NOTL for the night of Day 8. Then spend Day 9 exploring Niagara area & fly home out of Buffalo the morning of Day 10.

Thanks wow--I didn't think of going to NF last. I don't know what times our flights will be, so that could make a difference, too. If we fly back home on the 9th day, which day would you eliminate? Thanks for the hotel suggestions--I was considering the MR Omni.

That is a huge amount of driving in a short period of time. At the very least I would skip QC. Another alternative is just to focus on Ontario this time around - there is a lot to do in Toronto for teenagers. You could spend a couple of nights in the Niagara area (NOTL much nicer than Niagara Falls), 3 nights in Toronto and then do outdoorsy stuff in a lodge in Algonquin Park, Muskoka or Georgian Bay.

I'll give those ideas some thought--thanks Snoopy. What are your suggestions for activities in Toronto? The kids have been to several big cities (including NYC, Chicago, LA, SF) and are probably only good for 1 or 2 museums.

A while ago we had a similar posting, and there were many voices suggesting Quebec City be skipped.

It's frther than you think from Montreal, so travel soaks up a lot of your somewhat limited time.

Do thekids have serious hobbies or interests? Knowingthat would help.

And think of a circle. Niagara Falls to Toronto to Kingston to Montreal to Ottawa to Huntsville to Toronto to Niagara FAlls.

BAK

The kids are into music, art, shopping, food, and hanging out. One likes history, the other doesn't. Everyone is up for adventure (but, not too wild). Not sure if that helps!
Do you recommend the Ottawa/Huntsville route over I-81/Syracuse? I figured we'd do the Toronto-Kingston-Montreal route one way.

BAK's suggested route doesn't involve any "backtracking"".

Toronto - Kingston - Montreal - ottawa - Huntsville is a really flat circle and probably your best option with the time you have.

I really second the choice to stay in niagara at the end so that you are close to the Buffalo airport.

Hi, Cindy: I wld cut Quebec City & focus on Brian's "circle". It's still a lot of driving. Curious as to why you are flying into Buf. Have you considered flying in/out of Toronto? (You cld do a "day trip" to the Niagara region.) Or, maybe even skip Niagara & focus on Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Algonquin Park.

With your kids' interests (music, shopping, food, art, hanging out) there are a few areas of Toronto they (and hopefully you) would enjoy: Kensington Market, Queen West (and especially West Queen West), the Distillery District, Yorkville. If they like international food you would probably enjoy checking out the different ethnic neighboorhoods of the city: Chinatown, Little India, Greektown, Little Italy etc. This TripAdvisor page gives a pretty nice overview of neighborhoods:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travelg15...hborhoods.html
It is also quite safe to let the kids stroll around on their own while you hit a museum. The Royal Ontario Museum will have its spectacular new addition open by then - it's a Daniel Libeskind-designed "crystal" and is looking great. The Art Gallery of Ontario has an excellent collection and great temporary shows. The Bata Shoe Museum may also be fun.

In the summer it is also fun to go to the eastern beaches and stroll the boardwalk or take the ferry to the Toronto Islands where you can bike or canoe, or just wander. There is an outdoor steet festival somewhere in the city just about any weekend in the summer, depending on when you are coming you might hit one of the big ones but they are all fun if you don't mind the crowds.

In Niagara see the falls of course, the Maid of the Mist boat ride is great. If your kids like theatre the Shaw Festival is excellent. It is also really nice to rent a bike and head along the wine route even if you're the only one tasting.

I don't know where you're from, but to me Algonquin Park is the quintessential "Canadian" experience at least in this part of Canada. Canoeing through a silent lake, seeing moose and portaging over beaver dams, hearing the loons call as you fall asleep...wish it was July now! I really like staying at Arowhon Pines but it is rather expensive. There are other nice places which I am sure others will recommend.

Thanks for all the great info everyone. We're planning to fly in & out of Buffalo, because the airfare was (is?) considerably cheaper--we'll be flying out of Wichita, KS or Kansas City. Also, we definitely want to see Niagara Falls, because my husband & kids haven't been there before. We don't mind driving--we did a 3600 mi. roundtrip in 9 days a few years ago.
Is the drive through Ottawa, etc., nicer than going through Syracuse?
Thanks again everyone for the great suggestions.
Is King St. the best area for hotels in Toronto?

Cindy;

I don't mean to be rude, but what is the draw for Syracuse? Ottawa is Canada's capital and has parliament buildings, wolrd class museums, the Gatineau Hilss, and much more nearby. It's not the most "exciting" city oin the world but that is not what you are looking for with a family.

King St where HI is located is good. Queen St @ Bay (where the Sheraton is located) is good. There is a "condo/hotel" @ One King(I think it is one) that I have heard good things about. Bloor St/Avenue Rd is also very nice but you wld have to cab it to the theatre/sports district (or subway). King/Queen you can walk.

I know what you mean about Buffalo. Sometimes we fly out of Buf to go to Florida. But, keep in mind that this is very early to book flights on Air Canada for July. I wld try about mid-May for mid-July & see what Air Canada offers you (if they do that run). Niagara is about 1.5 hours from Toronto.

I asked about the Syracuse route as that is the suggested routing that comes up on aaa.com. It looks like the other route (i.e. Ottawa) would take a bit longer--which is o.k., as long as it's worth it for the sights, scenery, etc. I'm not booking air yet, but I also considered this trip last year and found that Buffalo was quite a bit lower than any other airport in the area. Southwest seems to have the best deal from KC, but they don't book that far out anyway. I would prefer Toronto, if I can find a reasonable fare. I'll keep checking the alternatives!

I would definately add the Whirlpool JetBoats, Cave of the Winds(US Side) and Maid of the Mist to your Niagara experience.... also for teens consider the Embassy Suites (canadian side) in Niagara and a couple of hours on Clifton hill...

also, when we did this trip, we left our car in Niagara and took the train to Montreal, and then a two day add on to Quebec City via a bus tour...we never missed the car and loved the train and bus trips... it is possible to do the entire trip without a car...
Buffalo airport to Niagara via shuttle... walking the Falls area... train to Toronto... train to Montreal(we traveled at night)... bus to and from QC and train back to Niagara...

Have fun

Gary: Great idea about the train. Cindy: It's called Via Rail.

I'll check into the Via Rail--thanks for the idea. How much time would you allow for the Falls? I assume it will be packed in the summer. Can you get tickets in advance for the various activities?

I did a similar trip last summer with my daughters; ages 22 and 14. We all really liked Ottawa. We only had a afternoon, night and the following morning to spend there and we all want to go back. The city has a very European feel to it. We stayed right downtown by the Parliament Buildings, loved the museums, government buildings, shopping, restaurants. It was great.

I think we will plan to include Ottawa in our itinerary. After checking the Via Rail website, I think we'll stick with the original plan to get a rental car. With 4 of us, it will cost considerably less and give us more flexibility.
Thanks everyone, for all of the great suggestions and information! Please feel free to offer up any "must sees"--in Toronto, Montreal, anywhere on "the loop".

Cindy, take a look at the city passes for Toronto, Niagara Falls and Montreal. You can find them on the city websites. They can save you a bit of money on the attractions if you plan on visiting all the ones included.

Montreal's pass has several different options for the Olympic Park sights. http://tinyurl.com/j2xtq

Toronto's is one set group of attractions, but they are the most popular (ROM, AGO, CN Tower). http://tinyurl.com/w3w98

Niagara Falls has an Adventure Pass and a Season Pass. For me, I found the Season Pass to be more cost effective - it includes the Whirlpool Aero Car and you can ride the People Mover every day you're there (not just on one day as with the Falls Pass). http://tinyurl.com/y6gea5 and http://tinyurl.com/y67adf

Enjoy your trip!

The bed and breakfast I stayed at sold us the Niagara Adventure Pass at his cost, rather than the retail price.

We left our car at the B&B and really took advantage of the People Mover part of the pass as there is little parking by the falls itself. The Whitewater Walk and the aero car were interesting after doing the boat ride and cave thing. Down the road, on the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake we enjoyed the Butterfly House in the Botanical Gardens. I think it is 1/2 price with the Adventure Pass.

While traveling be sure to stop at a Tim Horton's. My teens loved the iced coffee drinks and donuts. Sandwiches are pretty good also.

I would NOT cut out Quebec City. It is a rare world class destination of world class historical significance.
9 days is doable unless you are the lingering type that spends forever just hanging around. Get in, see it and move on and it can work.
I would do day 1 traveling to and remainder in NF. Day 2 seeing more of NF. Clifton Hill amusements at night. Butterfly conservatory. Maid of the mist and Journey Behind the Falls. (take people mover to the end and see sights on the return trip to Clifton Hill and you can see everything in 1 1\2 days.)
Day 3 travel to Ottawa (highly recommended) with a stop in Toronto on the trip, Bata Shoe Museum or CN tower or both. (long day but ok) leave early and get there in time for the sound and light show, it may rain out the 2nd night and you will miss it. (I was all set to see it again because it was so good but it rained out) Day 4 in Ottawa seeing changing of the guard\Parliament hill and Byward market. Day 5 travel to Quebec City, the remainder of the travel day and day 6 in QC. Day 7 travel to Montreal. Remainder of travel day in Montreal and Day 8. Walk around the old town Take the subway to Laronde 6 flags and watch the International Fireworks Competition. Maybe go to the top of the mountain (recommended but not at expense of FW or old town) Day 9 day travel to Buffalo with a stop in Kingston or Toronto depending on if something interest you is going on. Leave very late from buffalo on day 9 (arrive early on day 1)
I pretty much spent these amount of times in these places and I saw a lot and was not hurried. I recommend staying in old town and in QC the http://www.gitedelamontagne.com/english/home_en.php It is half way up the cliff and the roof top patio view at night alone is reason enough.
YOU CAN FIND OUT AND PLAN EVERY DETAIL IN TERMS OF TIME COST SEQUENCE ETC. FOR THESE PLACES VIA THE INTERNET. DO YOUR HOME WORK AND THE PLAN I SUGGEST CAN BE PIULLED OFF WITH CLOCKWORK PRECISION. RELYING ON RANDOM HAPPENSTANCE AND YOU ARE IN FOR UNNESSASARY HASSLES. YOU CAN PICK AND CHOOSE FROM WHATS AVAILABLE TO SUIT YOU AND THE TEENS INTEREST BEFORE EVER GETTING THERE.

As seen by the responses here, the time you should spend in each city depends on your likes and dislikes, etc. Rather than arbitrarily choosing one unkown person's itinerary over another, try this:

Look at the city websites for various activities, sights, etc. Write down which ones hold an interest for your family and include the "minimum" time frames (usually will read "minimum 2 hours", etc.). Add all those minimums up and add a couple hours for travel to and from each one. Add 3-6 hours per day for meals (how much depends on your eating habits). Divide that by how many hours in the day you want to be active. That will tell you how many days you should spend in each place.

To show an example, take Niagara Falls:

Say you want to see

MofM 1 hour
JbtF 30 minutes
AeroCar 30 minutes
White Water Walk 30 minutes
Butterfly 1 hour

That is 3.5 hours for the activities. Add another 1-2 hours for lines, getting from one to another, etc. and that's say 5 hours. If you like to relax and enjoy your meals, figure 2 hours for each and you have 11 hours. Now figure how many hours each day to be active: say 8 hours to sleep, 2 hours to get up and get going (you have teenagers), 2 hours to wind down in the evening before going to bed and you have 12 hours of "dead time". Do you want to spend 11 hours on the go in one day, or do you want to split that between 2 days and have time to wander around, shop, or just relax somewhere?

I use this formula for all my trips and it works well for me.

Great suggestions, everyone! I will definitely do my homework, as I'm fairly obsessed w/ trip planning. It's good to have 1st-hand recommendations & timetables. That helps a lot. I just wish we could spend more time--there's so much to see & do. Thank you all :0)

Can't help but throw another answer in here - Itinerary

"That is a huge amount of driving in a short period of time. At the very least I would skip QC." NONESENSE I could see all you mention easily and then some the secret is planning ahead as you are doing. get in see what you are there for and get out. What I suggest will keep the 17 and 18 year old sensory antenna working overtime and they definitely won’t be bored or whine. Let them share driving duties. This is what I would do. (certain leg of 16 day trip was actually very similar in 2005)

Forget Niagara on the lake it is for people watchers and those like to experience the esoteric vibes of what ever it is they are determined to experience. It is not for 17 and 18 year olds.
(day 1)Travel day to Niagara and see some Niagara sights.
(day2) Most of Niagara can be seen in 1 day and that evening.
(day 3) Travel day and pick up a sight or 2 in Toronto while passing through. CN Tower and backside hot dog stand is a good stop. Then I would ADD AND GO TO THE CAPITAL OF CANADA! Ottawa and spend 2 nights. Try to catch the sound and light show the evening you arrive as it could get rained out the next day.
(day 4) See the changing of the Guard ceremony, Parliament hill, open top bus tour, and sound and light show after dark proclaiming the glories of Canada (awesome) before and after dark go to the Byward market for street performers. If missed previous day next day see the changing of the Guard ceremony. most everything is either on one side of the Chateau (Castle) or the other - not far. Much can be seen in one day (2 nights)
(day5) travel day to Quebec City and see some QC sights.
(day6) see QC most of the old Town can be seen in one day. Do all of the interpretation centers and the Château tour.
(day 7) Travel day and see some sights either in QC or Montreal.
(day 8) Montreal old town. If Saturday do not miss International Fireworks Competition it is awesome.
(day 9) travel day pick up a sight in Montreal depending on flight time.. Montreal to Buffalo is a long drive but not unbearable.