Montreal Travel Forum

I will be visiting Montreal & Ottawa in July (1st week). I will be flying to Montreal airport and flying out of Ottawa.

Hence I need transportation - going from Montreal to Ottawa (I suppose driving i am not sure)

My question --

Should I rent a car for the whole week? I checked on Orbitz and car will cost me 600USD for a week?

Or should I just use CAB (Montreal airport - Montreal Downtown)
and then Rent 1 time car (1 day) to travel (Montreal - Ottawa)
and then use a CAB (Ottawa Downtown - Ottawa Airport)

reason why I am asking this is I was wondering If I want to see both cities do I need a car? or their is ample public transportation? I was thinking of saving few buck by not renting a car for the whole week. I read few post that Parking is not free in either cities and I will be spending roughly 10 USD a day for parking.

Please guide..

Thanks

Hi! You really don't need a car to get around Montreal, it's often much easier to get around by metro, especially if you're staying downtown. To travel between Montreal and Ottawa, I would recommend going by train (www.viarail.ca). It's quite a short ride and if you book ahead of time you should be able to get a ticket at a very reasonable price. Most of the attractions in Ottawa are located within walking distance, and you should be able to use public transportation (I'm assuming that the public transportation strike will be over by then) to visit attractions that are a bit further away, or perhaps you could rent a car for a day or two but I doubt you'll need more than that. Hope this helps!

You do not need and do not want a car in Montreal. Walking and the metro will take you everywhere.

As Jefie suggested, take the train to go to Ottawa and if possible, book early to get their superdiscount rates. Ottawa is also quite manageable by foot (Parliament, By Ward Market etc).

A cab from downtown to the airport will set you back around 30$.

Enjoy both cities

We did have a car in Montreal and while we used it the 1st day, we didn't move it after that until we were ready to leave for Quebec City, I think it was about $10 per day to park. If you're not looking to stop anywhere between Montreal and Ottawa, I think that Jefie has given you excellent advice on taking the train thus avoiding the need to rent a car altogether.

We walked a lot in Montreal but the metro there is also good. The places we drove to we could have also gotten to on the metro.

When I went to Montreal I made the mistake of renting a car, and I did not need it at all! Public transportation is very good there. I can't comment on Ottawa because I've never been there. I did take the Via Rail from Montreal to Quebec City and I quite liked it and would definitely do it again. Doesn't take long and it's nice to look at the window and see the countryside a little bit.

Thank You all for your responses.

1 follow up question I had is you guys mentioned to book tickets for train.. By any chance can you provide the URL for booking tickets for train?

Thanks again for all your helpful responses.

Yes, all the above responses are correct. I visit Montreal regularly and our biggest hassle is finding a place to park. The metro is very good and easy to figure out. http://www.montreal.com/tourism/general.html
also: http://gocanada.about.com/od/monthbymonthmontreal/p/July_in_Montrea.htm
The metro is slightly limited - in that there is no direct stop in Old Montreal, but only a few blocks away. You could easily spend a whole day strolling around the Old Port and Old Montreal. If you like amusement parks - LaRonde is a Six Flags Park.
Please check out: http://www.internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/EN/programmation/calendrier.aspx Every year they have an international fireworks competition in Montreal - definitely a must see since your there during it. You can either buy a ticket that allows you to watch from under the Jaques Cartier Bridge at LaRonde - or even easier is to watch it from the Old Port - walk toward the tall clock tower (there is also a maze there). They start whenever it gets dark obviously - but it's usually around 9or 930pm. So go out to dinner in Old Montreal then take a walk to the pier.
For transport from Montreal Trudeau Airport to downtown: http://www.admtl.com/passager/acces_et_stationnement/home.aspx
It's only 2 hours drive between the 2 cities or you can travel by VIA Rail. Ottawa is walkable or you can get a taxi to the museums in Hull. Stay near Byward Market or the Parliament and your within a mile of most of the sites. There is an INFO office across the street from Parliament. There is also a pedestrian shopping street 1 block behind the info center. Check out the Rideau Canal, the gorgeous architecture and Byward Market area for lunch or dinner.
If you need more info on sights in either city, I'd be glad to help!

To book train tickets online: http://www.viarail.ca

I would also recommend Public transportation a they have all mentionned here . Although if you want privacy , i would recomend doing as we did to go from edmunston to montreal to go see a hockey game not too long ago . We had rented a limo company from New-Brunswick and they served us well ( www.landrylimousines.com ) Although i very much doubt that they would be going from Montreal to Ottawa . We were lucky enough to have them brig us to montrea but i very much doubt they would want to go any farther . Although if they don't , there is also plenty of limo services in montreal or ottawa . it can't be that much more for a limo if you aren't by yourself .

And yes the parking is hard to find and when you do find it , it can cost you more money . therefore either train and is you want a private ride i would recomend a limousine service