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fly to Burlington then bus to Montreal?

fly to Burlington then bus to Montreal?

Old Sep 30, 2013, 4:25 am
  #16  
 
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So to preface, I went to school in Burlington so I know what I am talking about and I traveled to YUL a lot. It is hella cheap to fly into BTV v YUL.

1. Plattsburg is not a great option. It's much more "regional" than BTV. And BTV has a pretty nice Airport. At least with BTV tons of JFK/ORD/EWR flights. JetBlue mainline from NYC. Solid DL/UA presence.
2. As far as I know there is no direct bus from BTV airport to YUL airport.
3. Once on arrival to BTV you hail a cab to drive u to the Burlington Bus Terminal, a 7-10 dollar ride. You board Greyhound and within 2-2.5 hrs with a border crossing you are dropped off in semi central Montreal, not the far away YUL airport. From there you can take le Metro to get whereever you want. Bus fare is affordable. The bus is actually quite comfortable as well.
4. Montreal is congested and parking is expensive. If you can do without a car just take the bus there. From there for inner city transport, Le Metro is awesome.
5. Amtrak from NYC to Montreal Central takes 8 hrs I think and it is not cheap.

And by the way if you have a few hrs or days to spend in Burlington it really is a charming city that is very enjoyable. PM me if you have any more questions about it!

Last edited by mrkymark; Sep 30, 2013 at 4:34 am
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 11:32 am
  #17  
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I've used BTV in leiu of YUL before...I love it. Our destination is usually right near Chambly (a little east of Montreal), so from the time we exit the plane to the time we're at our destination is probably not that much longer than if we'd flown into YUL. Nice airport, quick & easy rental cars, no traffic or border issues that we've ever encountered. (YUL to/from the east side of Montreal can entail very bad traffic if you hit it at the wrong time.)

Never done a bus...that sounds like torture. On a weekender, the rental cars should be cheap...I know my weekly rates out of BTV have been very good in the past. Yes, parking can be a problem if you're staying directly in downtown Montreal...maybe if I planned to be downtown all weekend, I'd look at a train option.

Every now and then, when I'm searching for flights, I'll see Plattsburg as a potential option. But I've never seen a cheap flight into there that would tempt me to book it.
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 3:37 pm
  #18  
 
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I fly out of BTV a few times a month - check JetBlue from JFK. I have found flights for as little as $49 1 way.. then rent a car and drive it. The airport has upgraded and the cars are on the lot, no shuttle. They have Avis, Hertz, National - all the big boys.

The airport is 10-15 minutes from 89, the border is about 45-50 minutes, then depending on the time of day, maybe another 60 minutes to Montreal.

BTV is my home airport, so if you have any questions PM me....

Last edited by irockfm2; Sep 30, 2013 at 3:39 pm Reason: not done
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 3:40 pm
  #19  
 
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I've done the Amtrak, and it was a terrible experience. Mostly, because we had to wait for over 2 hours for 2 agents to walk through and individually check everyone's passports. Total waste of time. On the bus, you get out, stand in line for 10 mins, and cross the border.
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 5:24 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by guv1976
There will be some Canadian departure taxes on the flight from YUL to NYC. For 8,500 Chase UR points, you could fly to YUL, and take Amtrak back from YUL to NYP. (Chase UR points transfer to Amtrak Guest Rewards.) The only thing I'm not sure of is whether you can transfer just 4,500 UR points to BA, or whether you would have to transfer an even 5,000 points.
Some taxes yes. But you can still do the return trip for 9k avios and $58.

Depends on your personal money-to-time ratio.

The JFK/LGA-YUL usually have plenty of award space: looking at a random weekend in about four weeks I get availability for 7 flights (LGA/JFK together), first one around 7am, last one around 9pm for the outbound, and 6 options for the return, first one at 7am, last one at 7pm.

ETA: another advantage of flying is that you do US customs at YUL which (unlike YYZ) is a really quick and painless process, and you arrive at LGA/JFK as a domestic passener.
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 7:02 pm
  #21  
 
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Though Greyhound may have changed its schedule in the past eight months, there was definitely a stop at BTV on the Boston-Montreal bus route when I last took it.

It would probably be pretty nice to get on the bus there if one flew into the airport, since it's less than 2.5 hours one way from the airport to the city, but it made an already interminable bus ride even worse for me.

There's also always that one person who has issues at the border and makes the entire bus late. I got a "Why were you in Canada last week?" but that was easily answerable and I didn't cause a delay.
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 7:52 pm
  #22  
 
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The Trailways bus goes directly between NYC and Montreal and back a few times a night. Very well reviewed and a good price.

I would do that before flying to Burlington and then taking the bus.

Get to airport two hours ahead. Fly whenever the plane gets a slot at LGA. Deplane at BTV, taxi to bus station. Greyhound, border crossing, continue to Montreal. Ugh.
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Old Sep 30, 2013, 8:49 pm
  #23  
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fly to Burlington then bus to Montreal?

Thanks everyone. I think i'm gonna go with the avios option non-stop AA out of lga.

I love Amtrak rides especially for getting around the northeast corridor between DC, Boston and Philly but I don't think I have the patience for a 10 hr train ride, plus flying would give me more time at my destination.
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