Better airport for connecting to USA

[LHT28]

Thinking of  a fall cruise from NYC  to YUL

 We can fly out of London ON  but  connect in either YYZ or YUL

 connection times are 1.5 hrs or almost 2 hrs in both

 

I know we go through US immigration  at both   no Nexus or special privledges

 

My question is  are either of them better  than the other  for  ease of finding your way around ?

 

 I am also thinking of just carry on  (probably have to gate check)

 Any opinions ??

[mrgabriel]

If it was me, I would consider driving to YYZ. One less missed connection to worry about. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, mrgabriel said:

If it was me, I would consider driving to YYZ. One less missed connection to worry about. 

yes  that was  another option

[Ex-Airbalancer]

How far are you from London airport ? 
park in London vs parking at YYZ 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

How far are you from London airport ? 
park in London vs parking at YYZ 

 

about  1 hr from London -parking less than $100 for 2 wks

2+ hrs to YYZ & traffic   plus parking is usually about $200 +

I try to avoid connections   but  the convenience  of YXU  may win  over the  401 traffic 😃

 

If it gets too complicated DH will not want to go anywhere  LOL

The more I research things

I am thinking  just connect in Toronto  leave  extra time to go through immigration & get to NYC late afternoon

then we do not need to get up in the wee hours  to get to the airport

 

 

[broberts]

Did you consider a limo service to Toronto?

[LHT28]

Just now, broberts said:

Did you consider a limo service to Toronto?

Cannot find transport  from PoDunk  even to London  

Yes I did check 

even thought of the train to Union Station  then YTZ

 

We are in a small town south of London not easy to get anywhere  without driving yourself

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Cannot find transport  from PoDunk  even to London  

Yes I did check 

even thought of the train to Union Station  then YTZ

 

We are in a small town south of London not easy to get anywhere  without driving yourself

 

If you sign up for emails at Skypark , you get a coupon for $150 for a month parking at YYZ 

At least you don’t have drive across the GTA to get to the airport 😳

 

[Graycruise]

Have you considered flying from DTW?  Easy drive on the 401.  You will already be in the US, clear customs at border.  DTW is a great airport, way less chaotic than YYZ.

[everbeentoseabilly]

1 hour ago, Graycruise said:

Have you considered flying from DTW?  Easy drive on the 401.  You will already be in the US, clear customs at border.  DTW is a great airport, way less chaotic than YYZ.

That’s what we used to do when we lived in London. Worked well

[Magicat]

You live here?  It's not as abandoned as advertised.  

 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Graycruise said:

Have you considered flying from DTW?  Easy drive on the 401.  You will already be in the US, clear customs at border.  DTW is a great airport, way less chaotic than YYZ.

Yes   but still a connection & 3 hr drive plus the  border crossing

 

Oh well  I regret moving here but  too late now  LOL

[LHT28]

22 minutes ago, Magicat said:

You live here?  It's not as abandoned as advertised.  

 

LOL  that actually might have been easier to get to YYZ 

[CaptFantastic]

Could you drive to YUL? That way you'd have a direct flight to NYC, plus you wouldn't have to worry about flights or connections to get home - just get to the car and drive home.

[LHT28]

48 minutes ago, CaptFantastic said:

Could you drive to YUL? That way you'd have a direct flight to NYC, plus you wouldn't have to worry about flights or connections to get home - just get to the car and drive home.

Probably  

Not going to happen  though 😉

 

[LHT28]

Thanks  for the all the suggestions

We would probably drive to YYZ  unless there is a non stop from London On to where  we need to embark

Coming home  I am OK with a connection  at least I will not be stressing about missing the ship or luggage  etc

 

The airlines  are still flaky  so may just wait until 2024 

 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, CaptFantastic said:

Could you drive to YUL? That way you'd have a direct flight to NYC, plus you wouldn't have to worry about flights or connections to get home - just get to the car and drive home.

We frequently drive from Ottawa to YUL for flights, and to YMX too while it lasted as an international passenger airport. Pre-pandemic, we drove to YUL, flew to Boston for a cruise back to Montreal, and drove home at the end, very much as you suggest. But, and that's a big BUT, the Ottawa-Montreal drive is so much shorter and quicker than what the OP would face driving from the London area.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, CaptFantastic said:

Could you drive to YUL? That way you'd have a direct flight to NYC, plus you wouldn't have to worry about flights or connections to get home - just get to the car and drive home.

It is a 7 hr drive from London to YUL 

2-1/2 hr to Detroit airport 

[CDNPolar]

Many YYZ airport hotels offer a park / fly option that can be cheaper than just paying for parking.  Depending on your flight departure time, this could be a much more relaxing way to depart?

 

You say that you are 1 hour to London, and 2'ish hours to YYZ, and if you fly through London you have a 2 hour stopover in Toronto...  To me, I would drive and stay at the Toronto airport and leave all the other considerations behind.  Leisurely drive to Toronto the day before, relaxing dinner, good sleep, and you just have to jump a shuttle to the airport in the morning.

 

My brother and wife live just outside London and this is often what they do and they find the stay/park/fly packages cheaper then parking alone. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Leisurely drive to Toronto
 

I think that is the funnest thing I read so far this year 🤣😁

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Many YYZ airport hotels offer a park / fly option that can be cheaper than just paying for parking.  Depending on your flight departure time, this could be a much more relaxing way to depart?

 

You say that you are 1 hour to London, and 2'ish hours to YYZ, and if you fly through London you have a 2 hour stopover in Toronto...  To me, I would drive and stay at the Toronto airport and leave all the other considerations behind.  Leisurely drive to Toronto the day before, relaxing dinner, good sleep, and you just have to jump a shuttle to the airport in the morning.

 

My brother and wife live just outside London and this is often what they do and they find the stay/park/fly packages cheaper then parking alone. 

We lived north of Toronto for 40 yrs   I know there are Park & stay packages  been there don that many times

 

Lived in Toronto for 30 yrs  we just took a limo service to the airport back in  those days

 

 Not sure where you live but the 401 is not Leisurely in any portion of it  once you hit  GTA  in any direction

Have you been on the 401 in the last 10 yrs ???

We have driven home from Family in Niagara  at 1 am  still not leisurely

 

My question was about the ease of connecting  in YYZ or YUL  we never connected in Toronto  because it was our final stop

I really do not need other options l do know  what they are

enjoy  the day

 

[CDNPolar]

6 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We lived north of Toronto for 40 yrs   I know there are Park & stay packages  been there don that many times

 

Lived in Toronto for 30 yrs  we just took a limo service to the airport back in  those days

 

 Not sure where you live but the 401 is not Leisurely in any portion of it  once you hit  GTA  in any direction

Have you been on the 401 in the last 10 yrs ???

We have driven home from Family in Niagara  at 1 am  still not leisurely

 

My question was about the ease of connecting  in YYZ or YUL  we never connected in Toronto  because it was our final stop

I really do not need other options l do know  what they are

enjoy  the day

 

 

Sorry that I offended you.  

[LHT28]

39 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Sorry that I offended you.  

not offended 😉

 

[CDNPolar]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

not offended 😉

 

Well the words you use certainly make it feel that way...

[Oceangoer2]

We live in London and use the 2 available airlines connecting through Toronto and have parked at the airport.  We try to book an early flight time with an approx. 2 hr layover time.  We haven't had a problem moving through the airport system, even though YYZ  is very busy.  Our next flight for our cruise leaves early afternoon (AC) as the London departure times are only once a day (right now) so I'd check the timing for dates when you expect to fly out.  If it's still early afternoon that may work for you driving from Podunk??(I thought you were kidding, we've never heard of it).  Have no experience with Montreal airport but some here prefer it (smaller) and as your embarkation location is NYC flight times may be better for you. Depends on when your cruise leaves and the flight times which connecting airport will be better for you IMO. The driving time on the 401 into Toronto MAY be 2 hrs as there are many new lanes opened recently but accidents happen often and the tie up would preclude you making your flight.  When driving into Toronto for a flight we leave late day before, stay at the airport hotel and pay for parking, chalking it up to part of our vacation expense and peace of mind.  Hope this helps.