BEST U.S. AIRPORT CLOSEST TO QUEBEC CITY

[D & S]

Flying from the south is very expensive to fly directly to Quebec so thought about flying to the closest U.S. airport and taking a train into Quebec for the cruise .  Any suggestions or is better to rent a car from the nearest U.S. city into Quebec.  Thank you so much. 

[laverendrye]

Getting to Québec City from the US by rail is really not practical unless you have lots of time to spare. Amtrak service from NYC to Montreal takes 11 hours and arrives in Montreal after the last train for Québec, so you would need to spend overnight in Montreal. Even if you were to fly to Plattsburgh just south of Montreal, the train takes nearly 4 hours. 

 

A car rental is possible, but I think you might find the drop-off fees to be very high indeed and more than the cost of flying directly to Québec 

 

Québec City is not well served by international flights, but one option you might try is to fly to Montreal and then take the train to Québec There is direct Via Rail service from Dorval, where Montreal airport is located, to Québec City.  Via Rail provides a free shuttle service between the terminal and the Dorval Station.  The Gare du Palais station in Québec is a very short cab ride from the cruise terminal. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by laverendrye

[bubbamjs]

laverendrye, I am booked on RCI Vision next September and our debarkation is in Quebec City.  There will be 5 of us, all family.  I am thinking I can rent a Suburban or van there in Quebec City and drive to Plattsburgh and spend a night there, and visit family there, then drive down to Albany where we will all fly back home.  Do you think this is possible?  Or am I just wishing?  Seems travel options out of Quebec City are a bit limited.  Thanks

[laverendrye]

It’s possible, but you may have some difficulty finding a one-way rental to the US and the drop-off charges may be considerable. Still, for 5 people it’s worth searching for one. 

[Pepper0074]

1 hour ago, bubbamjs said:

laverendrye, I am booked on RCI Vision next September and our debarkation is in Quebec City.  There will be 5 of us, all family.  I am thinking I can rent a Suburban or van there in Quebec City and drive to Plattsburgh and spend a night there, and visit family there, then drive down to Albany where we will all fly back home.  Do you think this is possible?  Or am I just wishing?  Seems travel options out of Quebec City are a bit limited.  Thanks

We will be on a cruise that ends in Quebec in September of this year. There are four of us including two "older" ladies so this is very similar to what we are thinking of doing. My husband's initial research has show that it will be just over $400.00 for an SUV from Quebec City to Albany. For us it appears to be the most economical option. 

[laverendrye]

1 hour ago, Pepper0074 said:

We will be on a cruise that ends in Quebec in September of this year. There are four of us including two "older" ladies so this is very similar to what we are thinking of doing. My husband's initial research has show that it will be just over $400.00 for an SUV from Quebec City to Albany. For us it appears to be the most economical option. 

That sounds like a good deal

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, Pepper0074 said:

We will be on a cruise that ends in Quebec in September of this year. There are four of us including two "older" ladies so this is very similar to what we are thinking of doing. My husband's initial research has show that it will be just over $400.00 for an SUV from Quebec City to Albany. For us it appears to be the most economical option. 

If you’re planning on visiting somebody or there is something you really want to see this may seem to be a reasonable option.  Don’t forget though, you have the additional cost of car rental, gas, meals, accommodation {perhaps) and incidentals that ought to be factored in.  Also, the time it takes to drive from Quebec to Albany (or Burlingtion VT) is not inconsiderable.  For four people, I’d seriously consider flying out of YQB to wherever in the USA you need to go.

[KEN31VA]

We (4 of us) have decided to fly home from Burlington after spending a night just north of the border.  The one-way car rental from Quebec to Burlington is only about $100 US for one day.  The only minor issue is that we will need to go to the Quebec airport to get the car.

[Nitemare]

Where exactly are you starting from, D&S?

As mentioned, trains are expensive and very slow.  There are alternatives, but it helps to know your entire plan in order to help

[ddaz]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:06 PM, KEN31VA said:

We (4 of us) have decided to fly home from Burlington after spending a night just north of the border.  The one-way car rental from Quebec to Burlington is only about $100 US for one day.  The only minor issue is that we will need to go to the Quebec airport to get the car. 

 

Howdy KEN31VA,

 

Which rental car company did you utilize?  I am having troubles even locating a rental company.

 

Thanks

ddaz

GBY

[eclue]

We are flying to Portland, Maine and renting a car ( rented one from Costco for ( $250 for two days- unlimited miles and no drop charge - two drivers) - it is a 5.5 hour drive through Maine....and much more reasonable to fly from Houston to Portland than QC.....

[eclue]

Actually Burlington, VT is closer to QC - only a 4 hour drive so that is the new plan.

 

[KEN31VA]

I was able to get an Avis reservation through Costco.

[Jim40]

We are flying into Montreal and taking train to Quebec City .

[JuliaMS]

On 5/17/2019 at 10:15 PM, D & S said:

Flying from the south is very expensive to fly directly to Quebec so thought about flying to the closest U.S. airport and taking a train into Quebec for the cruise .  Any suggestions or is better to rent a car from the nearest U.S. city into Quebec.  Thank you so much. 

Flying from LA we have found the flights very expensive, very long (with transfers) or overnight, which my husband hates.  We have flown in to Albany or Boston (Other New England Airports are closer to Quebec, we just wanted Boston) and rented a car and added a few days of adventure to our trip in the past. This time we are flying to Albany and going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Them to Montreal for a few days then Quebec. The hotels and rental car was cheaper than the cost of a good flight and we get an extra 4 nights of vacation.

Edited June 20, 2019 by JuliaMS

[d9704011]

11 hours ago, JuliaMS said:

Flying from LA we have found the flights very expensive, very long (with transfers) or overnight, which my husband hates.  We have flown in to Albany or Boston (Other New England Airports are closer to Quebec, we just wanted Boston) and rented a car and added a few days of adventure to our trip in the past. This time we are flying to Albany and going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Them to Montreal for a few days then Quebec. The hotels and rental car was cheaper than the cost of a good flight and we get an extra 4 nights of vacation.

I’m all in favour of a good road trip and don’t wish to be disputatious but I would like to know what you think is too expensive or inconvenient for flying from LA to YQB?   Air Canada is offering a one way flight LAX/YQB on September 20 for 243 CAD.  For two people I don’t see how you can beat that by flying to Albany, renting a car, paying for gas and hotels and meals for three or four days.

[BarbinMich]

On 5/23/2019 at 9:59 AM, eclue said:

Actually Burlington, VT is closer to QC - only a 4 hour drive so that is the new plan.

 

That's probably a better route than your first one.  We drove from Michigan thru Quebec and then down thru Maine on US 201, stopping over night at Skowhegan (on your orig. route) and then to Bar Harbor ME.  A lot of the route in Maine was extremely isolated (i.e. no services, no people anywhere to be seen) so I'm glad we didn't have any car trouble/run out of gas, etc.!

[Ashland]

8 hours ago, d9704011 said:

I’m all in favour of a good road trip and don’t wish to be disputatious but I would like to know what you think is too expensive or inconvenient for flying from LA to YQB?   Air Canada is offering a one way flight LAX/YQB on September 20 for 243 CAD.  For two people I don’t see how you can beat that by flying to Albany, renting a car, paying for gas and hotels and meals for three or four days.

We're very happy with the times and cost of our LAX-YQB via Toronto for our Oct Snowbird cruise. I looked at all sorts of alternate combinations to get us there...nothing came close to our flights with Air Canada.

So I'm agreeing with you !!!

[JuliaMS]

On 6/20/2019 at 6:37 AM, d9704011 said:

I’m all in favour of a good road trip and don’t wish to be disputatious but I would like to know what you think is too expensive or inconvenient for flying from LA to YQB?   Air Canada is offering a one way flight LAX/YQB on September 20 for 243 CAD.  For two people I don’t see how you can beat that by flying to Albany, renting a car, paying for gas and hotels and meals for three or four days.

When we need to fly in October the cheapest flight on Air Canada is $650 and is overnight. With an additional charge if we want to select a seat.

[OBX-Cruisers]

Quebec City we found from previous trips is not served by great airline connections and is also very expensive. 

For our cruise from QC this October, I found that flying to Montreal from ORF (our small VA airport in Norfolk) was significantly less expensive and had much better itinerary options than flying directly to QC for the cruise.  There are several options for getting from Montreal to QC including a $10 pp CDN regular bus, rail  or a rental car.

Since we have never visited Montreal, 3 days there before heading to QC was a definite positive

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, OBX-Cruisers said:

Quebec City we found from previous trips is not served by great airline connections and is also very expensive. 

For our cruise from QC this October, I found that flying to Montreal from ORF (our small VA airport in Norfolk) was significantly less expensive and had much better itinerary options than flying directly to QC for the cruise.  There are several options for getting from Montreal to QC including a $10 pp CDN regular bus, rail  or a rental car.

Since we have never visited Montreal, 3 days there before heading to QC was a definite positive

Somewhat agree....For my cruise from Quebec this October it was a real challenge. I looked at many options but some had just so much involved it wasn't worth it in the long run for us.

 

I booked with Air Canada and was happy until a few days ago when a change was made for my connection in Toronto to Quebec...my business class seat (section) disappeared. Worked it out but still not happy.

[laverendrye]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Somewhat agree....For my cruise from Quebec this October it was a real challenge. I looked at many options but some had just so much involved it wasn't worth it in the long run for us.

 

I booked with Air Canada and was happy until a few days ago when a change was made for my connection in Toronto to Quebec...my business class seat (section) disappeared. Worked it out but still not happy.

It’s not entirely Air Canada’s fault. It’s all part of the fallout from the Boeing 737MAX fiasco. Air Canada has a fleet of 24 of them and is having to switch equipment and in some cases cancel flights, as do other airlines, while the 737MAX is grounded. I had a seating change 3 days ago, and not for the better, for a flight tomorrow, and a flight for January 2020 completely changed earlier this spring.  And I wouldn’t bet on the 737MAX being back in service by October or even next winter. 

 

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, laverendrye said:

It’s not entirely Air Canada’s fault. It’s all part of the fallout from the Boeing 737MAX fiasco. Air Canada has a fleet of 24 of them and is having to switch equipment and in some cases cancel flights, as do other airlines, while the 737MAX is grounded. I had a seating change 3 days ago, and not for the better, for a flight tomorrow, and a flight for January 2020 completely changed earlier this spring.  And I wouldn’t bet on the 737MAX being back in service by October or even next winter. 

 

Hmmm...It was Air Canada's fault to put me in the "last row of economy" rather than putting me near the front of the plane for there so called premium main class seats...which were empty and available to me at no extra charge. It took me over an hour on the phone and having to talk to two different CS Reps...who told me that they still considered me business class in that last row of economy...I disagreed !!

[laverendrye]

It certainly was AC's fault.  Much the same happened to me as my seat near the front was exchanged for one almost at the rear of the aircraft.  As I had booked the flight on points through Aeroplan, a quick phone call to Aeroplan rectified the situation.  But what happened to you is unacceptable.

[Kartgv]

All of these posts are why we decided to go with the Celebrity 14 day round-trip cruise, rather than one way (we looked at Princess & Holland America) cruises.    We might sacrifice a port or 2, but the ease of booking a round trip flight LAX>New York or Newark instead of figuring out how to get to or from Quebec was the deciding factor.