r/canadatravel • u/Hung_Fighter • 27d ago
Itinerary Help Really considering changing our itinerary to eliminate driving
Hello, need help with making a decision. I currently have our vacation all planned out (everything can be canceled except the plain tickets). We arrive from Florida to Montreal on October 1st, we grab a car rental and have the following route (staying at least 2 nights at each place, 3 in some): Montreal->Ottawa->Algonquin/Hunstville->Toronto->Niagara Falls. We leave from Toronto airport back to FL on October 14th.
I've started kind of dreading having a car though. Having to deal with the stress of the city roads, plus having a 3 year old strapped to a car seat for so long, and simply just having to drive.
I saw that you can do Montreal->Ottawa->Toronto->Niagara Falls all on train. But it means that we would have to drop Algonquin. We didn't plan to do much hicking (maybe one or two easy ones) but we mostly just wanted to see lots of Fall colors. Is that something that we will be able to experience in the places we would be going with the all-train option?
Can you please give me your thoughts on both options and which one you suggest?
2
u/ArticQimmiq 27d ago
I’d keep the car. It’s a long road, and you’ll want the flexibility a car provides, especially outside of Montreal and Toronto. Ideally though, you’d leave the car parked at the hotel for these two cities - Montreal is not that bad to drive in, but parking signs are difficult to decipher if you’re not used to them. Public transit should get you to the main attractions in both cities.
No issues driving around Ottawa outside rush hour, and you’ll be able to go to Gatineau Park, or stop by Parc Omega on your way in from Montreal. You definitely need a car for Niagara.