World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Air Canada (AC) and other international carriers fly into Montréal. Commuter services between Montréal and Toronto, Québec City and New York also exist. Air Canada offers services from Montréal and Québec City to other Canadian business centres. Local air services operate between the cities in the south and float planes serve the lakes and parkland of the north. Other airlines serving Québec are Air Canada Jazz, Air Creebec, Air Inuit, Air Nova, Air Ontario, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, First Air, Northwest Airlines, Tango and US Airways.

International airports
Montréal has two international airports, Trudeau (YUL), 25km (16 miles) west of Montréal, and Mirabel (YMX), 53km (33 miles) northwest of Montréal (website for both airports: www.admtl.com). All international scheduled flights are from Montréal-Trudeau. Charter flights are from Montréal-Mirabel. Several daily trans-border US services also operate from Montréal-Trudeau. A regular shuttle service connects the two airports. Buses leave Trudeau every 30 minutes (0700-0100) and Mirabel every 90 minutes (0100-2330 and until 2200 Thurs) for Montréal and its major hotels. Taxi and limousine services are also available for a fixed flat fee.

Sea
Québec City and Montréal are the most important Canadian ports on the St Lawrence Seaway, which links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes and the industrial heartland of Canada and the USA. Several international passenger carriers sail to both ports; European carriers dock only at Montréal. Most of the province’s lakes and rivers (notably the Ouatouais, the Richelieu and the Saguenay) are served by local ferries, some of which are able to take heavy lorries. For schedules and fares, enquire locally.

Rail
VIA Rail connects Montréal and Québec City to Toronto with fast, regular services. It also offers services to Halifax from Montréal and Québec City. Links to the USA are with Amtrak and VIA Rail. VIA Rail connects all major provincial towns, and Amtrak operates two daily trains to the USA. VIA Rail services also connect the major cities in the south of the province, with thrice-daily mainline services from Montréal to Québec.

Road
The best way of travelling into and around Québec by road is by long-distance coach, especially Orléans Express (website: www.orleansexpress.com). The services in the southern region are especially frequent. Motorhomes and campers are best for seeing the northern parklands, and the area is connected to the south by several good highways, although the most extensive network is around the populous areas in the south.

Urban
Montréal’s bus and metro services are fully integrated and operate on a flat-fare system. Tickets for single journeys are not usually issued unless a transfer is required. For transfers from metro to bus, transfer-tickets should be obtained from machines before leaving the underground. If transferring from bus to metro, ask the bus driver for a ticket. Passes and multi-ticket books are sold and metro fares are the lowest in North America. Québec City’s bus services operate on a flat-fare system. No change is carried on board. Pre-purchase passes are available. There are good bus services in other towns.