Via Rail or Bus???

[wandb]

Can anyone help me out with

a decision on two modes of transportation? We need to get from Montreal to Quebec City on the Sunday Morning of our cruise. Would you take Via Rail? Or the HAL bus?? Difference in scenery? I think the prices are pretty much the same. Hope someone out there has experience with this. Thanks!

[Gunner22aa]

Either way it is a short trip but my preference would be VIA in first class. Nice meal with wine is a great way to start/end a vacation. I like the idead of being able to get up and walk around as well. Not something as easily done on the bus. I have used VIA First a number of times and always enjoyed it.

[maryann ns]

A third alternative is a regular inter city bus. http://www.orleansexpress.com/Search.aspx

[trev71]

Take the BUS, trains are so hetic. There will be lots of wine on the cruise ships. and a meal it doesnt matter that is such a short drive you would barely be able to finish a combo and you would be there

[lamchops]

Can anyone help me out with

a decision on two modes of transportation? We need to get from Montreal to Quebec City on the Sunday Morning of our cruise. Would you take Via Rail? Or the HAL bus?? Difference in scenery? I think the prices are pretty much the same. Hope someone out there has experience with this. Thanks!

 

Take the bus as HAL will wait for the bus but not the train if something was to go wrong.

[jimbri]

We took the orleansexpress when we were there 3 years ago. They run very often and we had no problems. It was less expensive than the train.

[Jocecruise]

The regular bus (Orleans express) runs every hour I think. That's what I would choose, and probably very much cheaper than HAL:cool:

[Tweedy]

Can anyone help me out with

a decision on two modes of transportation? We need to get from Montreal to Quebec City on the Sunday Morning of our cruise. Would you take Via Rail? Or the HAL bus?? Difference in scenery? I think the prices are pretty much the same. Hope someone out there has experience with this. Thanks!

 

I'm going to go opposite to what everyone here has said and go with the Train. When we took it last October, we found it so relaxing and comfortable. It was such a great experience. I loved it! The only real hectic part was getting the luggage from the luggage car at the end of the ride. It seemed via rail employees couldn't pull the luggage off the car fast enough for all the passengers anxiously waiting to head to their cruiseship.

[Lil' Baba]

I reside in Ontario but most of my family lives in the province of Québec. Over the years I've taken many, many buses and trains for long distance travel, so I speak from experience.

 

My choice would be the train, by a long shot. It is much more relaxing and pleasant than riding in a somber and stuffy bus.

 

The train cars are bright and airy with much offer more elbow room. You can tap into their wi-fi access, order a meal and drinks and read a book comfortably. The air quality is much better than the bus, as are the 'facilities'.

 

Keep in mind that the journey between Montreal and Quebec City is over 3 hours long by train. It's roughly the same by bus as long as there are no traffic issues, such as construction.

 

Should you take the bus, make sure the schedule you choose is not a "milk run" where the bus stops at a few smaller towns along the way to pick up passengers, prolonging your journey.

 

Hands down, train travel wins. And if you want to splash out a bit, you can travel business class and treat yourself to perks such as access to a special lounge at the train terminal, priority boarding, newspapers and hot meal with wine. Makes the the 3+ hours just fly by.

 

Wether you choose economy or business class, here's a little tip : book your train ticket early online at http://www.viarail.ca. They offer "supersaver" rates at a considerable discount.

 

Hope this has helped in you decision making. Have a great trip !

[mauimary]

We took the train in Oct 2012 from Montreal to Old Quebec . It was very easy and enjoyable. No trouble at all. We checked the luggage for free so we did not have to deal with it. We rode in economy class and it was just fine. We had reserved seats for the 4 of us. We did go to Old Quebec the night before our cruise and the station was very close to our hotel. We even walked to the port. Booking was easy online.

[porsena]

Another vote for the train. It's more comfortable, less like a cattle-car. Like the poster above, I think the perks of a business class seat would be a nice lead-in to your cruise.

[wandb]

Thanks for all your wonderful insights and advice. You guys are great!!! I've never gotten so much info so quickly on any other site. I'm taking all this info to the other couples going with us. We'll sort it out and decide.

 

HAL bus would obviously drop us at the port. Can someone tell me how far from port the train station and the bus station are? Within walking distance? With luggage? Would taxi be better? Of course that adds more to the total cost of the trip.

[Tweedy]

Can someone tell me how far from port the train station and the bus station are? Within walking distance? With luggage? Would taxi be better? Of course that adds more to the total cost of the trip.

 

 

• 5 minutes by cab
  
• yes and yes (no hills)
  
• if you can manage your luggage, you can walk it (we saw a few)
  

 

There could be a wait for the taxi. We had to wait a bit (10-15 minutes) but everyone that was in line at the train station were heading to the port.

[Lighthouse Fan]

I reside in Ontario but most of my family lives in the province of Québec. Over the years I've taken many' date=' many buses and trains for long distance travel, so I speak from experience.

 

My choice would be the train, by a long shot. It is much more relaxing and pleasant than riding in a somber and stuffy bus.

 

The train cars are bright and airy with much offer more elbow room. You can tap into their wi-fi access, order a meal and drinks and read a book comfortably. The air quality is much better than the bus, as are the 'facilities'.

 

Keep in mind that the journey between Montreal and Quebec City is over 3 hours long by train. It's roughly the same by bus as long as there are no traffic issues, such as construction.

 

Should you take the bus, make sure the schedule you choose is not a "milk run" where the bus stops at a few smaller towns along the way to pick up passengers, prolonging your journey.

 

Hands down, train travel wins. And if you want to splash out a bit, you can travel business class and treat yourself to perks such as access to a special lounge at the train terminal, priority boarding, newspapers and hot meal with wine. Makes the the 3+ hours just fly by.

 

Wether you choose economy or business class, here's a little tip : book your train ticket early online at http://www.viarail.ca. They offer "supersaver" rates at a considerable discount.

 

Hope this has helped in you decision making. Have a great trip ![/quote']

 

Thanks for a great summary. We are traveling from Montreal to Quebec City in October. We are taking a quick tour around Montreal since we have never visited. We plan to take a later train to Quebec City that same day. The ship leaves port the day after we arrive in Quebec City.

 

Some questions:

Is there just one departure station in Montreal, The Central Train Station? There seem to be many stations in Quebec City. We want to stay in Old Quebec overnight and tour around the next morning before checking in at the ship.

 

What station did you arrive into? Which hotel did you choose? Any help would be appreciated. I want to pre-book as suggested but wanted some more info before I try to go online again or call.

Thanks.