Canada/New England Summer trip assistance
 

I am looking for our summer vacation.

I am looking for suggestions. I am looking to fly into Boston, spending about 4 nights there, then going to Quebec City (3 nights). I would like to go through Maine. I am just not sure where to stay in Maine (1 or 2 nights). Then from Quebec City, go to Montreal (2-3 nights), then to Ottawa (2 nights), then fly home to Ottawa.

I have already looked at airfare. I am just not sure of how to go from boston to Quebec. does anyone have any suggestions on the best route and where to stop in Maine, etc.

All suggestions are welcome.

A few years back we did a driving trip that included Montreal, Quebec City and Maine. We drove from Quebec City to Bar Harbor. As I recall, it took us most of a day. But it was a very nice drive. We didn't go to Boston on that trip. When we left Bar Harbor, we drove to Burlinton, VT. So I couldn't tell you how long it would take you to get from Boston to Bar Harbor.

Boston to Bar harbor is far...7 hours. I looked it up on mapquest. I should have added that we will be traveling with my 1 year old. So, I want to make shorter trips, just stopping frequently.

" then to Ottawa (2 nights), then fly home to Ottawa. "

?? Please clarify this itinerary. Though I must say that based on the information so far, it is a recipe for frustration and insanity -- 3 or 4 cities, 5 hotels, in less than 2 weeks with a toddler, yikes.

Consider skipping Maine - unless there is some specific thing you want to see. The most direct route Boston to Montreal is thru NH/VT, not Maine. That would save you some driving.


Also, do you mean fly home FROM Ottawa? Otherwise, I share confusion of above poster. If that is the case, I suspect you will find flying into Boston and out of Ottawa to be quite pricey.

Let me clarify; sorry I was not clear to begin with:

Leaving Detroit, fly to Boston...stay 4 nights.

drive to Quebec City...stay 3 nights
drive to Montreal...stay 3 nights
drive to Ottawa...stay 3 nights

Then fly home from Ottawa.

I have priced out air for this itinerary and it is about $350.

My question is, what is the best way to go from Boston to Quebec. Where should we stop for an overnight or 2 nights on the way to Quebec City?

The most direct routes would be through upstate New York I-87 or through Vermont I-89
In Vermont you could stay in Burlington, for example. In NEw yourk you have two great places, Saratoga and Lake Placid.

Unless you want to see the beautiful Maine Coast, it is much quicker to drive from Boston to Quebec City by taking I-93 to I-89 in Concord NH, then take I-89 to I-91 in White River Jct. Vermont, then continue due north into Canada. You may want to stop in the Sunapee New Hampshire area which is a very scenic lake resort town, or somewhere in the Hanover/Norwich/Lyme region which is also a nice area , and about 4 1/2 hours to Quebec City.

I am correcting myself here. The most direct route to Quebec is going to be through Vermont I-89. Stay in Burlington.
from Quebec it is an easy but not interesting drive to Montreal. Ottawa is an undiscovered gem, IMO. I agree about skiping Maine (1 night!). It is not on your way and with 1 year old baby I suggest not trying to cover too many places. If you really want to see Maine in one day take a day trip from Boston.

Am I missing something here?

The fastest and straightest route from Boston to Quebec City is I-93 to I-91, which becomes Autoroute 55 in Quebec, and then pick up Autoroute 20.

I have no idea why people tell you to take I-87 or I-89.

The route through Maine is slower, but if you want to do that, it's pretty scenic. Just takes quite a bit longer.

I know this isn't exactly the itinerary you had in mind, but thought I'd share anyway. A few summers ago, we flew into Boston. After staying there, we drove to Bar Harbor for a few nights and visited Acadia National Park (great place!). Then we drove to Moosehead Lake (near Rockwood, Maine) and stayed in a cabin right on the lake. Our kids still talk about our stay there. From there, we drove to Quebec City for the day (ate at Chateau Frontenac) and then drove through Montreal and into upstate New York. We stayed in Lake Placid (lots of fun), then visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (we're big baseball fans) and then drove back to Boston. It's one of our best vacations ever.

Yup, from Boston to Quebec City take I-93 north all the way until it ends at I-91 in St. Johnsbury VT. Follow I-91 north into Canada.

rkkwan, I corrected myself about I-87. I guess I did not read the above post carefully. This route would be visible only if you travel directly to Montreal and not to Quebec City first. I agree with your proposed route. however, it looks as Tina wants to spend only 1-2 nights and not longer.

My suggestion to Tina; before you buy this inexpensive ticket, make sure to check car rental rates. With one way rental and dropp off in Canada this may cost you a fortune. Good luck!

yeah...i already checked rental car rates. It is really expensive becasue of drop off in Canada and pick up in teh US. I have to rethink the trip. I am not sure what we are going to do now.

If the airfares work in your favor, I'd suggest flying into Boston, spend your time there, then fly into Burlington, Vt. There are lots of Jetblue flights from Boston to Burlington and they seem to be relatively inexpensive, if you book ahead in time.

Drive out of Burlington to Montreal. It's only a couple of hours' drive, if recollection serves me correctly.

Rent the car in Burlington, return the car in Burlington. Hope the fares work in your favor with this option!

When you are in Ottawa, as you are facing the Parliament Buildings, on the right there's a wonderful section of town where people go to dine and it's a wonderfully touristy/local area that is very alive.

Love Canada! :)

I don't think B6 (Jetblue) flies non-stop from Boston to Burlington.

Only airline that flies that route is Comair (Delta Connection).

rkkwan is correct. It's Delta that flies nonstop from Boston to Burlington.

Jetblue flies the New York - Burlington route.

Tina, how many days you have all together? Maybe you need to concentrate only on Canada. In Canada what cities do really want to visit? Do you need to fly to Boston? Sometime there are less expensive air fares to Burlington, VT or Albany, NY. Would you consider visiting only MA, Maine and/or add New Hampshire on this visit?

Tina, one more question. Did you already purchase your tickets?

No, I did not purchase my tickets. I have to rethink the itinerary. We may just be doing Canada now.

If you want to go to Boston, go to Boston. Your original itinerary is just fine. Montreal-Boston is only about a 5.5 hour drive, through beautiful VT and NH, and while Boston-Quebec is slightly longer, it's also quite scenic through the White Mountains in NH.

Don't let people discourage you. It's a more than acceptable itinerary, as the rest of the driving days are relatively short.

Too bad with one way rental cars, Tina. Lets us know what decission you made and many of us will be more than happy to help you out with your trip to Maine on New hampshire or Boston or Canada.

Montreal-Boston is only about a 5.5 hour drive.
Detroit-Ottawa is only 7.5 hours drive

Rkkwan, nobody here tried to discouraged Tina. Tina's concerns is an expensive car rental from Boston airport with drop off in Ottawa.

Tina, would you consider a round trip? Fly to Boston, stay in Boston. Rent a car and drive to Maine, stay there for a couple days, then drive to Quebec for a couple days. From there drive for a couple days to Montreal. Then from Montreal drive through Vermont, stay overnight or two in Burlington and finally return to Boston. Leave Ottawa for another trip. Maybe you could take a long weekend off sometime and just drive from Detroit to Ottawa. You could stay overnight somewhere between Detroit and Ottawa.

This is what we have decided. We will fly to Boston from Detroit. Stay 4 nights in Boston.

Then rent a car and drive to Quebec. We still might fly from Boston to Quebec, it is $125. one way. The rental car is (86.00). Then stay in Quebec for 3 nights.

From Quebec take the VIA rail and take the trail to Montreal. Stay 3 nights there.

From Montreal, take the tran to Ottawa for 2 or 3 nights, then fly out of Ottawa.

The air fare from DTW to BOS; Ottawa to Detroit is $340.00 round trip.

Our tentative itinerary is to stay at the Hyatt in Boston
Hilton Bonaventura in Montreal
Westin in Ottawa
Quebec is still not decided. The Chateau Frontnec is too expensive.

This new itinerary will save us $300 as we do not need to rent a car and will utilize the train.

Tina, you got a great itinerary. There are many more places to stay in Quebec than Chateau Frontenec. Are you still traveling with your 1 year old baby?

Yes, we are still taking our 1 year old son. I think that this will be a good trip with him.

Now, seeing that you're from Detroit, I have to agree with Pat2003 that you may want to just do Ottawa on a different trip.

Since you're already spending the money to fly to Boston, why not tour Maine as you seem to have wanted in the first place? And I don't know about you, but if I were bringing a one-year old, I'd like to just make it all a car-trip, instead of doing all the plane and train stuff. Taking a plane or train means taxi ride from hotel to airport or train station, the ride itself, and another taxi. Is that really fun with an one-year old?

Seriously, I'd really want to reconsider. Fly to Boston. Drive Boston-Maine-Quebec-Montreal-Boston. Fly back home. You have 9 nights left after your 4 nights in Boston. That's enough to make it a relatively easy trip by car, if you cancel out Ottawa.

Don't forget that with 1 year old and a plane, rental car and train you still going have to bring your car seat. Think about taking this on a plane, then train.

Read Rkkwan's great sugestions. With your rental car you will have more options, more possibilities to relax and more freedom for your baby. The best option would be a round trip as rkkwan sugested.

I did remember the car seat....I am still not sure what now...

I do not want to overthink this...however, I want to do the best thing for everyone.

I realize that traveling now will not be like it was with just my DH and I, however, I want to be logical but allow enough flexibility in our schedule to accommodate our then 1 year old.