Can anyone give me any advice on an upcoming trip to Kingston,Ontario?
I would like to depart EWR and arrive YGK. Air Canada seems really high for a short trip. I'm looking at leaving Aug. 11th.Any economy carriers fly in there? Are there any airports close to Kingston that I can search as an alternate?
Also, what is required to get into Canada these days? Anything besides a USA drivers license?
Thanks, Rich

Flying to YGK is indeed an expensive proposition.

Your best bet is to fly either to Ottawa (YOW) or Toronto (YYZ) and then rent a car or take a train to Kingston. Unfortunately neither YOW or YYZ are adjacent to a train station so you will have to taxi it to the appropriate station.

If you are coming from EWR your cheapest flight option may be YYZ, with either a rental car or train. No low cost carriers fly to Kingston.

To get into Canada you need proof of US citizenship. A driver's licence is not sufficient. Make sure you have your birth certificate with you at a minimum... a passport is preferred but not required.

Enjoy your stay.

Thanks, MapleLeaf

What would you say is the driving distance/time from either Ottawa or Toronto?

Rich

It's about 3 hours (180 miles) from YYZ to Kingston and 2 hours (120 miles) from YOW. Depending on the time of day, it might take a bit longer making your way across Toronto through traffic.

Hope this helps,
Mark

Another choice of an alternate airport would be to fly into SYR and drive up I-81 to get to Kingston. The distance is comparable to flying into YYZ or YOW and the flight is probably considerably cheaper...

Thank You everyone,

Rich

Another vote for this idea. It would avoid a lot of fees and taxes payable on transborder flights.

I've done most of the drive/fly/train options. Nothing is really easy/fast/cheap, unfortunately.

EWR - YGK - you have to go through YYZ. Check your dates - the planes from YYZ-YGK are small and fills up quickly at end of term at Queen's, etc., driving prices up. If you have some flexibility of dates/times, that might help a bit. A cab from the airport to downtown is fairly cheap (approx. $12 CAD with tip) and quick.

YYZ --> downtown Kingston 2 hrs 45 min if no or light traffic on the 401. Add on a fair chunk at rush hour (took me 4 hours once at rush hour out of Toronto).

YOW --> downtown Kingston is about 1 hr 50 min taking Prince of Wales to the 416. The closest major airport to Kingston. You can take a city bus to the train station relatively easily if you prefer not to rent a car.

SYR - border crossing is usually fairly quick. Make certain your rental car company knows you're heading into Canada. The drive is about 2 hrs 30 min.

YUL --> downtown Kingston is about 3 hours. Some rush hour going in and out of Montreal (and the stop lights when the expressway ends just before Montreal), but the airport is on the west side of the city, so less of an issue than YYZ. The best plane - train connection is via YUL (if you prefer not to rent a car), as there is fairly easy access to the Via Rail station near the airport, and the station in Kingston is convenient.

If you plan on traveling to Canada on any kind of a regular basis, you should just go ahead and get a passport anyway. You'll be okay with your birth cert on this trip, but a passport will soon be a requirement:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html