georgec

We are from the UK and by using our air miles we hope to visit relatives in London, Ontario in May/June/July 2012. We would like to extend our trip with a visit to Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa etc. We are looking for a 7/12 day coach tour or possible cruise?? We would like the trip to start and finish in London or Toronto if possible but we are open to any idea? if its a cruise maybe we could return to UK from another city ie NYC, Boston, Montreal tec.

almcd

It is difficult to get to any of these places from London(I live there). You might consider using the train. Train to Toronto from London is OK, but from Toronto to Montreal is long. London to Montreal by train takes close to 10 hours. Flying from Toronto to Montreal using Porter Air would be a good but expensive choice. You could fly from London, changing in Toronto via Air Canada. Again, it would be expensive but cheap compared to a cruise. I don't think a bus tour exists for these locations, but I would be happy to be proved wrong.

garyt22

I would recommend London to Toronto vis train with a stop for at least two nights in Toronto...

Then take the overnight train from toronto to Montreal in the Sleeper car... with a few nights in Montreal and then bus from Montreal to Quebec for a few days... in each city you can plan package stays with tours/hotel/some meals...

I will search my old files for the company we used to make the trip described above a few years ago...

eliztravels

Do you intend to fly into London, or Toronto? Getting from the airport to the train station is a hassle and expense, so probably arriving in London (which would mean a change of planes in TO) then take the train back to Toronto for a stay and onward to Montreal/Ottawa/Quebec would work well. I've never taken the sleeper on these routes but can recommend Via rail, both business and economy, for comfort. It's a good way to get a sense of the Canadian landscape. Alternately, as suggested, you could fly from the downtown Toronto airport with either Porter Airlines or Air Canada to Ottawa, Quebec or Montreal. This is a very small airport easily accessible by a free ferry that goes every 15 minutes. Much less hassle that Pearson (YYZ) and lots of competition between the two airlines so you might get a good deal. No need to book months in advance as there are frequent flights, geared to business travel. Easy to fly back to the UK from ay of these cities, I would think.

eliztravels

www.stlawrencecruiselines.com lists cruises out of Kingston to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. Kingston can be reached by train or Greyhound coach from Toronto. If you Google "thousand island cruises" you may find other options.

kodi

There is a company called Hanover that might be what you are looking for. www.hanoverholidays.com
They have pick up in London and Toronto and various other cities. I have never been on any of their tours, but the company is local and has been around for a number of years. I think they have a good reputation.

The bigger companies like Trafalgar and globus Gateway might have a tour that would interest you , but would most likely not have pick up from London.

I agree with others that you could easily do it yourself. I would not take the overnight train, but would prefer to do the trip during the day to see the scenery. It might not be breathtaking in parts, but still.. it would give you a change to see it.

cantw82go

It is my understanding that while there are overnight trains between Toronto and Montreal, there are no sleeper accomodations. You are sleeping in the standard coach seats. The train during the day is nice if you have the time, otherwise I would fly. If you are going to do a self directed tour, I would consider taking the train to Kingston and spend a day or two in the Thousand Island Area before carrying on to Montreal and Quebec City.

Daniel_Williams

I'd go by train before bus; plane is fast if that's most important to you.

There are no more overnight trains from Toronto-Montreal, something VIA Rail was offering a few years back (check the VIA rail website: http://www.viarail.ca/en). The fastest of the Toronto-Montreal trains is the train departing at 17:00 (takes between 4 and 5 hours). If you feel like splurging, go VIA1 where you'll get a pretty good meal & alcohol as you watch the shores of Lake Ontario/Saint Lawrence River to the right... the time passes for me quickly between looking at scenery, reading a book and eating/drinking .

Have fun whatever you decide! Daniel