Hockey trip to Montreal

[Busverpasser]

Hi guys,

I finally managed to finish the booking of my second hockey trip. I am currently thinking about what to do on the days where there are no games in MTL. The "What to do in MTL" thread is pretty great, but I have a question on a different matter. I thought about picking up a rental car and driving to Buffalo for one game. Can you tell me about the road conditions in early Feb? Are the roads clear or do traffic jams occur more often than not in case there is e.g. snow? I thought about driving down and watching the game and coming back the next day. That wouldn't probably be the best idea if there were huge delays to be expected. I assume that some of you live in that region so maybe one of you would be so kind to share his/her experiences .

Best regards from Germany

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[Agnostic]

Hi guys,

I finally managed to finish the booking of my second hockey trip. I am currently thinking about what to do on the days where there are no games in MTL. The "What to do in MTL" thread is pretty great, but I have a question on a different matter. I thought about picking up a rental car and driving to Buffalo for one game. Can you tell me about the road conditions in early Feb? Are the roads clear or do traffic jams occur more often than not in case there is e.g. snow? I thought about driving down and watching the game and coming back the next day. That wouldn't probably be the best idea if there were huge delays to be expected. I assume that some of you live in that region so maybe one of you would be so kind to share his/her experiences .

Best regards from Germany

Weather conditions are unpredictable in February, especially as you get into the golden horseshoe area nearing Buffalo. Watch your forecasts that's all I can say. Border crossing at Fort Erie is heavy on Friday and Saturday nights , there is a border times app for your smartphone that can give you estimated wait times at all major US/Canada borders.

If you have the time for a longer route, cross at Niagara Falls NY. Eat at a place called Gagsters on Pine St., best chicken wings and pizza you will ever have. Dinner only. Mmmmm, now I want to come with you.

This might be obvious to you but check your car rental agreement about restrictions for crossing into US. Some of them are tricky.

MTO Traffic cameras here ---> http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/traffic_cameras_list.shtml#Niagara



Hope this helps.

 

[Busverpasser]

Thank you Agnostic for the detailed information. I already made a note about your recommendation for the food and the border crossings. When I checked google for directions, I was surprised that they suggested driving through Niagara Falls but apparently that's better.

I will check on the weather shortly before going. That leaves the risk of not getting a ticket anymore but it's still better than buying the ticket and not arriving there on time . Hopefully it works out. Jochen Hecht plays for my home team and I'd like to get an impression of where he spent the largest part of his career.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Agnostic]

Thank you Agnostic for the detailed information. I already made a note about your recommendation for the food and the border crossings. When I checked google for directions, I was surprised that they suggested driving through Niagara Falls but apparently that's better.

I will check on the weather shortly before going. That leaves the risk of not getting a ticket anymore but it's still better than buying the ticket and not arriving there on time . Hopefully it works out. Jochen Hecht plays for my home team and I'd like to get an impression of where he spent the largest part of his career.

Thank you for your help!

One more thing, I assume you are driving from Montreal, I may be wrong about that but if you are, give lots of time for travelling the 401 across Toronto. It's the busiest stretch of highway in North America and there are almost always delays there. The only alternative is to take the 407ETR which is a toll highway, it takes you all the way to the QEW Niagara and will save you time, but at about a $15 toll cost.

 

[Adriatic]

I've been to Buffalo on many occasions and I would recommend crossing at the Thousand Islands border if traffic or time is an issue for you.

 

[Busverpasser]

Thanks guys for your help. I will check the wheather after my arrival in MTL on Jan 30th and decide whether a trip to Buffalo makes sense or not. I noted that crossing borders either in Niagara Falls or Thousand Islands makes sense. So I'll discard the third option Google offered me with Dundee/Fort Covington.

I am looking forward to freezing early next year . But at least that way, I get to feel that winter is there... Over here, we rarely have had any snow over the last couple of years - at least not where I'm from.

 

[jaffy27]

Don't gas up in Quebec!!

 

[jaffy27]

Thanks guys for your help. I will check the wheather after my arrival in MTL on Jan 30th and decide whether a trip to Buffalo makes sense or not. I noted that crossing borders either in Niagara Falls or Thousand Islands makes sense. So I'll discard the third option Google offered me with Dundee/Fort Covington.

I am looking forward to freezing early next year . But at least that way, I get to feel that winter is there... Over here, we rarely have had any snow over the last couple of years - at least not where I'm from.

Cross at Thousand Islands, that's what we do when we drive down to Florida, and go early, like 6am early, anything pass that your looking for trouble with the line ups plus you don't want to drive through Toronto midday, it's like Montreal traffic on bigger scale. You Germans are crazy, I used to fly with contract pilots from Air Berlin, and they told me the main reason why they accepted the contract ( besides the money of course) was to see Canadian winter...the colder it got the better it was lol

Good luck

 

[Habssupporter]

Personnally i would think about getting a flight from montreal to buffalo because thats a heck of a drive especially in winter time...im not sure you are going to save all that much by driving over there...

but if you end up driving, absolutely gas up in the US.Easily 30% cheaper.

 

[Uber Coca]

Personnally i would think about getting a flight from montreal to buffalo because thats a heck of a drive especially in winter time...im not sure you are going to save all that much by driving over there...

but if you end up driving, absolutely gas up in the US.Easily 30% cheaper.

I'd consider this option too. A quick search on Google Flights shows that flight tickets from Montreal to Buffalo are cheap in February (something around 300$ for the round trip). It may end up cheaper to fly than to rent a car (rental, gaz prices, insurance, etc).

 

[Agnostic]

Four feet of snow in Buffalo today. Expecting 2 more.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...alo-under-three-feet-of-snow/article21635672/

 

[Burke the Legend]

Definitely fly... The rental will be like 120-150 + 3-4 tanks of gas another 150-200 + insurance if you don't have it on your credit card, will be $300 or close easily. Add to that the fatigue of 8 hours driving each way which is a bummer ontop of the danger of a nasty snowstorm.

 

[Brainiac]

Yeah, don't do that drive from Montreal to Buffalo. Even in the summer, it would be a huge waste of your time. In February, I'd say that's about 7-8h if everything goes according to plan. Add just a little bit of snowfall that day, and you're looking more at 9-10 hours.

And you're an Euro, in Canada, driving to the States to go in Buffalo, of all places. Looks fishy. They might bother you at the border.

And you're probably not saving much money either.

It's funny because I spent some time in Europe and we had the opposite problem. Like we didn't believe it was possible to drive through a couple of countries in just a few hours.

 

[29dryden29]

You can always fly into Toronto or Hamilton and drive over or even see if there is a but tour going over for the game. I know going to Detroit you can go to Windsor and grab the tunnel bus for 7 bucks and go to the game and come back you never have to take your car across.

 

[Busverpasser]

Thanks guys for your help. I probably think about heading to the Senators - Capitals game instead. Thanks for all your help.

...It's funny because I spent some time in Europe and we had the opposite problem. Like we didn't believe it was possible to drive through a couple of countries in just a few hours.

I can definitely see that. If we plan to visit an away game of our home team, we have no problem to start in the morning and come back the same evening even if it's 600km away. Including short stops it's four hours one direction which is feasible. But than again, that's not possible during all times of the day here either. That's the reason why I thought that Buffalo might be an idea =).

 

[Burke the Legend]

No autobahns here, 150kmph will get your car towed away on the highway to Toronto. Gotta stick to 120 to safely avoid ticket.

 

[Busverpasser]

I already learnt that traffic in North America is more relaxed but your cars do have an advantage.. At least the last two rentals we had in Canada came with a mini fridge between the driver's and the passenger's seat. If you are not used to that it's so great that you could get a cold beverage while driving.

Gotta check if there are any kind of outlet malls near Montreal/Ottawa or anywhere in between. Even though those prices might look expensive to you in comparison to the US, they are most likely pretty low from what we are used to =).

 

[Brainiac]

Thanks guys for your help. I probably think about heading to the Senators - Capitals game instead. Thanks for all your help.

I can definitely see that. If we plan to visit an away game of our home team, we have no problem to start in the morning and come back the same evening even if it's 600km away. Including short stops it's four hours one direction which is feasible. But than again, that's not possible during all times of the day here either. That's the reason why I thought that Buffalo might be an idea =).

As somebody else said, no autobahns here.

600km is like a 4h drive for you guys. Not that bad. You'll never do Montreal-Buffalo in 4-5h without getting arrested.

 

[Kenny Powders]

With the 10 inches of snow in Buffalo, you can already scratch that destination rofl

 

[Agnostic]

With the 10 inches of snow in Buffalo, you can already scratch that destination rofl

10 inches? They've got 4 feet of snow and getting deeper.

 

[Alexdaman]

Winter driving is fun... Well if you know how. Id love to do a car trip down to NY myself. Snow on autoroutes get cleared usually in less than 12 hours so no worries there, unless you are actually driving in a snowstorm. If you havent seen toronto id suggest going by there and then entering NY by Niagara Falls, if you have lots of time you could even go back to Montreal by going through Albany, Burlington and Plattsburgh since its a much more scenic route than the boring 401.

 

[ottawa]

With the 10 inches of snow in Buffalo, you can already scratch that destination rofl

They wish

 

[Kenny Powders]

10 inches? They've got 4 feet of snow and getting deeper.

meant feet not inches lawl

 

[HuGo Sham]

not a bad idea to either take train or bus to TO - not that expensive. no more than 200$ return and then bus it to buffalo from Toronto.
There are 4 hour express trains from montreal to toronto

 

[Bob Cole]

I can definitely see that. If we plan to visit an away game of our home team, we have no problem to start in the morning and come back the same evening even if it's 600km away. Including short stops it's four hours one direction which is feasible. But than again, that's not possible during all times of the day here either. That's the reason why I thought that Buffalo might be an idea =).

are you really European

the drive to Buffalo is extremely boring, its a grind