Getting To and From Canada
Before we get into any of the cool transportation details...
Don't forget that no matter how you are traveling, to enter Canada you need either a current passport or a REAL I.D. enhanced driver's license/I.D. card. If you don't have a REAL I.D. and want one, check with your local DMV.
The DMV in my town is actually pretty good, but I would not say that speed is their greatest asset. In other words, don't wait until the last minute to get your documents in order.
You can NOT get into Canada with an expired document, a standard driver's license (one that is NOT REAL I.D.) or your Costco membership card. (Apparently people have been trying this: "But my photo is on my Costco card!")
We love you and we care, but if you get stuck at the border because you didn't bring the proper I.D. after we asked you to ever-so-nicely there is nothing we can do, and we will not be making a U-turn to try to break you out of jail.
• • •
NOW THEN... how to get to Montreal and back again?
Don't forget that we will take your fully-assembled bike and your luggage for free r/t from:
• Albany
• Brooklyn
• Elizabeth, NJ
• Manhattan
• Monticello, NY (Catskills)
• Nyack, NY (Near Westchester)
• Paramus, NJ
• Saratoga Springs
The first hotel night included in the price of the trip is Saturday May 30th. (Want to arrive earlier and stay in the same hotel? Contact us and we'll help.)
We will be picking up bikes and luggage headed to Montreal on Friday May 29th.
Why Friday? Because you will probably be traveling on Saturday May 30th and you don't want to wait around for us to show up with the bike and luggage truck!
We leave Canada on Friday June 5th. We'll meet up with you to return your bikes and luggage on Saturday June 6th.
Be sure to see our tips on getting home at the very end of this page.
FLYING
Price: ABOUT $225 round trip
Travel Time One Way: 1.5 - 5 hours. (Faster flights cost more. Longer flights often cost less and include a stop in Toronto).
An Uber from the airport to our hotel will run you ABOUT $27 plus tip per car. (Not per person).
TRAIN
Price: ABOUT $160 round trip from Manhattan
Travel Tme One Way: 11-13 hours.
I love the train. Some folks hate the train. OK. I like that on Amtrak there is usually electricity at your seat and mostly-reliable wifi, interesting views, the ability to get up and walk around, bathroom on board... I usually bring about 10,000 snacks... From the train station to our hotel in Montreal is about a $20 plus tip Uber ride. (That's per car, not per person.)
Note that the train home on Friday June 5th departs from Montreal at 11:10 a.m. We will get you to the train on time!
AND...
There is a supermarket about a two minute bike ride from our last hotel in Sherbrooke:
IGA Extra St-Pierre
775 Rue Galt O
Sherbrooke, QC J1H 1Z1, Canada
We strongly recommend that you stop there when you arrive in Sherbooke to stock up on too-many snacks for the train ride home -- you won't have time to shop when you get back to Montreal to catch your train.
Continued below
Photo credit: Tourisme Monteregie
DRIVING YOUR OWN CAR
Price: ABOUT $100 in gas plus tolls total round-trip.
Travel Time One Way: ABOUT 6 hours/15 minutes from NYC, not including stops for food and bathroom.
BONUS -- if you drive your car to our first Montreal hotel you can leave it parked there for free until we return from the Veloroute Gourmande. We are not responsible for theft, damage, etc. etc.
RENTING A CAR
Price: ABOUT $275 - $350 for rental, plus $100 for gas total round trip. Add on tolls and snacks.
Travel Time One Way: ABOUT 6 hours/15 minutes from NYC, not including stops for food and bathroom.
Not as crazy as it sounds -- you can rent a car in NYC for roughly $275 - $350 for the entire trip, and leave it parked for free at our first hotel. If there are four of you (and we're already transporting your bikes and luggage for free in our truck...) it's not a bad deal.
THE BUS
Price:ABOUT $160 r/t from Manhattan
Travel Time: Forever
This is a tough one -- it can take 13 hours to do the same trip you can do in a car in under seven. More to the point, the bus tends to get you in later in the evening in Montreal, and you have a big bike ride the next day.
OUR VAN
Well now... we need to rent a van in Manhattan and take it with us on the entire trip so we can shuttle people as needed.
That means that this van is empty going to and from Montreal -- why not come with!
Depart Manhattan Saturday morning June 6 about 7 a.m.; back in Manhattan at ABOUT 8 p.m. on June 5th. (We will leave and return from W. 31st and 8th Avenue. Much as we love you, we can NOT swing by your apartment to pick you up.
Of course we'll make plenty of stops along the way for bathroom breaks, snacks, and junk food, but we will not be stopping for a sit-down meal. Feel free to bring your own lunch and snacks along if you prefer.
Your bike and luggage travel separately in our large truck.
Price: $125 per person round trip. That does not include food or snacks, which you pay for.
Travel Time: About 6 hours/15 minutes each way plus additional time for bathroom breaks and snack stops.
This is a 15-passenger van, but to keep it comfortable we never like to put in more than 11 people (10 guests plus the driver), so there will be very limited availability.
Sign up for the van trip while supplies last during online registration.
TRIVIA: We expect the van spots to sell out, and we also expect nice people to ask us if we can add a second van. Alas, we can not. At least not at a sane price. Our cost would be about $250 per person; personally I think the other transportation options (above) are a better deal for you.
GETTING HOME
The pedaling on this trip ends when we reach the town of Sherbrooke, Quebec, about 100 miles east of Montreal. (That's 100 miles by car -- longer by bike because we pedal the beautiful back roads).
On the morning of Friday June 5th we will all depart from Sherbooke and you'll arrive in downtown Montreal at about 11:00 a.m. (The bikes and luggage will already be in our private truck).
We WILL make a stop at our very first Montreal hotel for everyone who left their car there. We can drop off your bike and luggage there too. No extra fee.
We will NOT be going to the Montreal airport -- too many flights at different times. Plan on $27 - $35 plus tip or so for a Lyft or Uber back to the airport. (That $27 is per car and not per person.)
Taxi or Uber time to the airport is ABOUT 30 minutes.
TRIVIA NOTE: If you are taking the Amtrak home, you'll need to depart Sherbrooke a bit earlier to catch your train home out of downtown Montreal in time. (The train departs at 11:10 a.m.). Got you covered! Be SURE to let us know WELL in advance and we'll get you to the train in time -- no extra fee.
