Crossing the US/Canada border near to Montreal. How much time will it take.

[Greg]

I'm planning to go to New York for our 25th wedding anniversary as I have clients to see in late September early October and we are going to leave our children at home as the youngest one will be 9 years old.  Probably be there for a week.

I am thinking 2 or 3 days in New York meeting new clients, then 1 or 2 days in Vermont to see the leaves changing colour (something I have never seen) then I have a choice between going to Niagara Falls (a fairly hard 8 hour drive from Vermont) or up to Montreal, Canada which is a much easier drive.

Does anyone know what crossing that US/Canada border by car is like given that I will have 1 or 2 nights in Montreal then have to come back again. Am I letting myself in for a world of delay?

I am considering a one way hire in the USA as this use to be cheap and easy to do and taking a train back from Montreal or Niagara.  Is that still viable.  I assume that if I leave the car in Canada the hire car company will charge me a lot more money for the one-way fee.

My other option is just to go to Las Vegas from New York as my wife likes it.

[LausTibiChriste]

I crossed driving from Montreal-Burlington-Montreal back in 2018. It was January though, but it was very easy.

The only issue was because my wife was on a visa with a Russian passport, they made us pullover and she had to pay some $12 fee and get some piece of paper stapled into her passport. But other than that, it was a very easy and smooth process.

We had a great time in Burlington, lovely town. And Montreal is fantastic...best city in Canada by a mile.


Edit: Just to clarify, that visa paper issue was entering the US

[AlNg]

And Montreal is fantastic...best city in Canada by a mile.

Montreal is fantastic, but so is Vancouver.

[LausTibiChriste]

And Montreal is fantastic...best city in Canada by a mile.

Montreal is fantastic, but so is Vancouver.

Incorrect.

Vancouver is a shithole

[Mushroom]

I stayed in Montreal for two nights on separate occasions and it was so-so, I took the bus and Uber. I did wish I did more tourism and visited the churches because I heard they have some beautiful ones. I prefer walking around Toronto (not living there) tbh but I think it's because I spent way more time there compared to other cities. Winnipeg is very run-down, I think because they're constantly having flooding problems.

[Greg]

Ok, thanks, I will go to Montreal in that case.  I thought it might be a pain in the rear.

[AlNg]

And Montreal is fantastic...best city in Canada by a mile.

Montreal is fantastic, but so is Vancouver.

Incorrect.

Vancouver is a shithole

I liked Vancouver when I was there. Anyway I read some recent public statistics on homelessness in a few places:
Vancouver  4821 homeless
Montreal  10,000 homeless
Los Angeles  75,518 homeless.

[ChairmanJoeAintMyPrez]

Ok, thanks, I will go to Montreal in that case.  I thought it might be a pain in the rear.

I think you would be astounded at how poorly maintained the roads are in the United States.  If I were you, regardless of where I'm going, I would just fly.

[LausTibiChriste]

Ok, thanks, I will go to Montreal in that case.  I thought it might be a pain in the rear.

I think you would be astounded at how poorly maintained the roads are in the United States.  If I were you, regardless of where I'm going, I would just fly.

Just wait until he gets to Montreal

(Greg - Montreal roads are shit as is traffic. I recommend driving to the hotel, keeping the car there and using metro/taxis to explore the city while there)

[Greg]

I've visited every US state by car.

Roads are rubbish but I hate airports even more.  I like stopping in small towns, eating steak, seeing the world go by.

[The Curt Jester]

Once in awhile you encounter a good road in the US.  They usually last a year or two.