It's crazy that I have been to so many places in the United State, Europe, and Asia, but I have not been to Canada. Perhaps, I am just like those travelers out there that think Canada is just another North America and therefore take it for granted. A true traveler will Not think that way!
I have always wanted to go see the Niagara Falls from both the American side (Buffalo) and the Canadian side. With that in mind, I started brainstorming....
After my research, Niagara Falls in Ontario Canada is close to Toronto. I was told that there's also a train Via Rail (similar to US Amtrak) that goes to Montreal which is nothing like New Orleans. So I want to see Toronto and Montreal. Besides those two, Quebec City is the second best destination in Canada according to TripAdvisor. I looked at the map and QC is just a few hours away from Montreal via train. So I squeeze QC in my itinerary. I wish I have more time to see Ottawa too, but next time! I usually intentionally leave some places out so that I can come back again.
At first, I thought it would be interesting to check out Buffalo town. I could fly into Buffalo, then fly out of Canada. But given time and money, I had to change my itinerary a little bit. By flying out of Canada, it costs more than flying from US to Canada with all the taxes and surcharges. So here's my itinerary:
- Flight from BOI to Montreal - $266 (excludes seat selection fee of Air Canada). I decided to use Alaska Air's 12,500 miles to book this award ticket. It costs me $18.10 ($5.60 for taxes and other fees, $12.50 for partner award booking fee)
- From Montreal to Quebec City - Via Rail's total fare with taxes comes to $56.34 CAD (~$46.22 USD)
- From Quebec City to Toronto - Via Rail costs me $111.53 CAD (~$91.49 USD) with a layover in Montreal. I didn't want to fly into Quebec City first as it's much more expensive than Montreal. I enjoy train ride, so this will be fun!
- From Toronto to Niagara Falls - My friend who lives in Toronto said she'll take me there.
- From Niagara Falls Ontario to US side - Cross the border via the Rainbow Bridge.
- Flight from BUF to BOI - $180.60. I used my Arrival+ MasterCard miles to redeem the cost of this ticket, and I get 10% miles back. I put all my travel expenses for this trip on my Arrival+ card and plan on redeeming the above costs some time.
