I have done 7 entries/quarantines so far, half and half. Airport used to be a joke pre-February. Now I would only do land as I value my time and my freedom and have certain dietary restrictions that likely won�t be accommodated in a govt hotel.

So I scrapped the Quarantine hotel idea because the prices are insane and there are still no direct flights to YYZ.

I'm probably going to fly into buffalo, but wanted to ask a few questions on this forum to some of the better-versed travelers.

I haven't been able to find a rental car yet, as it seems one-way rentals are all booked up from checking a few of the agencies. And some don't seem to allow one way rentals at all. Has anyone had any luck booking at different locations?

Also, if not buffalo, are there any other suggested airports to fly to that I can look into, that could be cheaper and have available car rentals? I saw someone mention Syracuse, so will look into that as well. Any other suggested airports that people have had success with?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you!

Seems like everywhere I check, there is no availability. I'm not sure if they somehow maybe took that option off the websites to avoid people travelling. Does anyone know the fee that would be charged if it was dropped off at YYZ even though it was booked as dropping off at the same location?

Check Rochester also. Some people have had better success renting and returning in the city as opposed to airport locations. Others have also had success renting for 4-5 days and returning after one day and only charged for one day. YMMV.

looks like they've blocked off the one enterprise rental location in seattle which allowed for a reasonably priced one-way. any other locations? cheapest rental now $1100.

As noted upthread, my various friends are also unable to reserve a car in Buffalo for later this month or early May. I tried various NY state locations (originally), to no avail. I went as far afield as Albany.

At that time, I had luck with Columbus (OH) and Chicago. At the time I was researching this, Chicago was just over $100. Columbus was also “reasonable”. Don’t remember the exact amount. Columbus adds a 2 hr drive to the journey plus the NY state I90 toll. Chicago is a rather long drive.

Cleveland isn�t bad. Chicago is too far. Approximately 5 hours to GTA. Try also Erie, Detroit and Columbus. Also try city to city pickup and dropoff (instead of airports) and 4-5 day rental but return it in one day for rate adjustment.

Apologies. I originally wrote Cleveland above (now corrected) but I meant Columbus. Two months ago I did also check Cleveland but preferred Columbus since it's closer to Buffalo.

Fairly easy drive on the I90 to Buffalo from Columbus. Peace Bridge crossing is the closest to this route but you can easily access any of the 4 bridges if you are on the I90.

Another data point: I found a car for my friends (who have no car rental status) this morning from Columbus-YYZ for just over $200 US for a 24 hr rental. Hope this is helpful to others.

Finding a car may be a problem even for renters with a status on company accounts. I have a status with Avis and National and my employer has an account with both. Yet I wasn't able to secure anything from DTW for next Saturday (April 24). I wasn't able to book anything from BWI to drive home from here instead of flying either. I was, however, successful to book an one way from BUF with National. This may have to something with my complaint from January that created a chain of communication between my boss, his boss, procurement and National's sales. Since BUF is the closest US airport to our Oakville office, apparently they allow us to book one ways from there. However, when I tried to do the same without being logged on to Emerald Club, there was no availability.

[MENTION=374671]WildcatYXU[/MENTION], fascinating info.

Have been wondering if the rental car companies have an arrangement with the government or if something else (inventory control, etc) is going on. When I picked up at BUF there were at least 4 cars in the garage with ON plates. No way of knowing if they had more elsewhere. Surely National (in my case) would like these cars returned to ON. People like us are an easy way to do that.

Seems strange to have Ontario cars in BUF. No one can drive into USA unless essential or have US citizenship/status.

I expect there are at least some Americans driving that way just as there are Canadians driving this way�

Canadians have to be essential or have US status to drive to USA.

Right. I just meant that just as some Canadians are driving from the US to Canada, there are probably some Americans driving from Canada to the US.

Americans who could be renting cars in Canada to drive to USA could not have entered Canada by air or land unless they are essential, have some status in Canada or they arrived in Canada prior to mid-March 2020.