Driving in and around Toronto

[kimblebee]

LOL Toronto in February will not be that cold. Of course, I’m biased. The driving won’t be that bad. I second what a pp said, their transportation system is quite good. You buy one ticket and it’s good for subway, bus, and streetcar.

Wonder why. I have a Florida area code and mine is used constantly for months at a time. $75 per month.

If you’re in Toronto, your phone could be using a US tower if it’s close enough. Or, you just don’t know your phone plan very well.

it seems like you spend a lot of time all over Canada. Every time a discussion comes up, you seem to have been there.

 

[Searc]

LOL Toronto in February will not be that cold. Of course, I’m biased. The driving won’t be that bad. I second what a pp said, their transportation system is quite good. You buy one ticket and it’s good for subway, bus, and streetcar.

February in Toronto will be the same as the weather here, which is cold. I am not worried about the temp, I'm worried about potentially driving for 12 hours in winter conditions.

 

[kimblebee]

February in Toronto will be the same as the weather here, which is cold. I am not worried about the temp, I'm worried about potentially driving for 12 hours in winter conditions.

I agree it wouldn’t be great to drive 12 hours in a blizzard.

 

[MamaLema]

I personally would not risk the drive from WI to Toronto in February. Bad weather could make for a long miserable trip.
Any possible way to fly?
Once you’re downtown, public transit can easily take you to top tourist attractions.

 

[Searc]

I personally would not risk the drive from WI to Toronto in February. Bad weather could make for a long miserable trip.
Any possible way to fly?
Once you’re downtown, public transit can easily take you to top tourist attractions.

We could fly, but it is $900 round trip for us for an hour and a half flight and we'd miss a previously scheduled family obligation (that DH disregarded when buying tickets) because of the limited availability of flights.

 

[ashley0139]

I drove around Toronto in November (though not through downtown) and it was totally fine. I am from LA though so used to bad traffic.

Also I have Verizon and there was no extra charge for text, calling, and data in Canada which was a nice surprise.

 

[Disneylover99]

How long are you staying and will you be staying in a hotel downtown? I do recommend the buses/subway or Uber/Lyft. Parking is pricey.

I used to drive downtown in Toronto quite a bit. Now I avoid it like the plague. It just seems stupid busy to me all the time. Crazy drivers, crazy pedestrians, crazy cyclists, ugh. I’m sure it’s like that in most major cities. My husband drives downtown all the time, so he’s used to it and he says it’s the same as it’s always been. I do find the highways easy to navigate and most streets downtown, fairly straightforward.

Do watch the weather as you travel. The area between Windsor/London on the 401 has the potential for snow squalls.

 

[bcla]

Anyway, I've never been to Toronto and since we'll be driving our personal vehicle, I'm wondering how easy or difficult it is to drive/navigate around there.

How are the tires, just in case you run into snow?

I know Quebec mandates dedicated winter tires during the period you're visiting, but not for visitors. If you had rented a car there, it would have to come with winter tires with adequate tread. But the conditions in Ontario might be similar.

 

[Searc]

How are the tires, just in case you run into snow?

I know Quebec mandates dedicated winter tires during the period you're visiting, but not for visitors. If you had rented a car there, it would have to come with winter tires with adequate tread. But the conditions in Ontario might be similar.

Literally brand new. New all-weather tires were put on a couple weeks ago. Folks in WI keep the same tires on all year.

 

[Searc]

How long are you staying and will you be staying in a hotel downtown? I do recommend the buses/subway or Uber/Lyft. Parking is pricey.

I used to drive downtown in Toronto quite a bit. Now I avoid it like the plague. It just seems stupid busy to me all the time. Crazy drivers, crazy pedestrians, crazy cyclists, ugh. I’m sure it’s like that in most major cities. My husband drives downtown all the time, so he’s used to it and he says it’s the same as it’s always been. I do find the highways easy to navigate and most streets downtown, fairly straightforward.

Do watch the weather as you travel. The area between Windsor/London on the 401 has the potential for snow squalls.

2-3 nights, downtown.

 

[bcla]

Literally brand new. New all-weather tires were put on a couple weeks ago. Folks in WI keep the same tires on all year.

Like a Nokian WR or a Toyo Celsius? If you're dealing with Wisconsin winters then I'd think Ontario winters would be pretty similar.

 

[elaine amj]

If u are staying downtown, uber/lyft is pretty simple.

The Ripley's aquarium is excellent. My favourite aquarium so far. Not much on education but the most amazing floor to ceiling glass and up close to everything.

The drive is fine unless u end up in bad weather conditions. Which can of course happen in winter. I would suggest making your plans with some flexibility in case of bad weather.

 

[Chrisizzle]

How difficult is driving around Toronto and in the downtown area? My husband has decided it is a great idea to take a road trip to Toronto, from WI, in February.

Two facts about Toronto driving from a Toronto citizen.

1) As I see posted above, the 401 highway through Toronto is the busiest in North America. DO NOT arrive during rush hour. Plan your drive to arrive at your hotel between 11am and 3pm, or after 7pm.

2) Well known quote, Toronto is a one hour drive from Toronto. No, that is not a typo. Urban sprawl, traffic and areas with highway inaccessibility mean I can sometimes drive to Niagara Falls faster than the other side of town.

Coming from Toronto, I have no problem driving in other infamous cities like New York and even wonder what their bad reputation is about. Meaning, Toronto is on par or worse than those towns.

In particular, pedestrians are worse than cars. The drivers are predictable but walkers don’t know the laws and think they always have right of way.

Parking is another issue. If you are anywhere downtown, expect parking costs to be between $25 and $45 CAD dollars per day... with the lower end only if your hotel has private parking.

If you have a hotel outside of town, expect event parking near concert venues to be $15 to $35 depending on it’s popularity.

Advice: Just accept the price and do not drive around looking for savings. All the nearest spots will cost the same and it could (without exaggeration) take 30 minutes to circle the block. In February, definitely take the first indoor parking garage you find.

Regarding temperature, it will be cold... but no worse than Wisconsin. In fact, we’ll probably be warmer... errr, less cold... than you if you’re from the the north end of your state.

As someone above said, a flight may save a tonne of stress and time with costs offset by parking. I’ve driven to Wisconsin once (in February during a -25C cold snap no less) and many drives to Chicago. The problem is driving around the Great Lakes. So, the drive is sooo much longer than the flight (which goes over the lakes).

PS. This advice comes from someone who loves Toronto AND loves to drive. So, what I say above is realistic and from experience.

 

[nkereina]

We live in Niagara Falls, NY and visit Toronto frequently. I agree with others in that driving around the city isn't too bad. Its relatively easy to navigate. We've never NOT hit traffic on the QEW, seems like its always rush hour! But once we get off the highway, we've never had any major traffic issues or delays. I would also recommend using the subway - we always try to do that when we can. Its very easy to use, and mostly clean and safe.

Have you considered flying into Buffalo and driving from there? Its about 2 hours, not including traffic. Hamilton is another popular airport, which is about an hour or so, not including traffic.

 

[Searc]

Two facts about Toronto driving from a Toronto citizen.

1) As I see posted above, the 401 highway through Toronto is the busiest in North America. DO NOT arrive during rush hour. Plan your drive to arrive at your hotel between 11am and 3pm, or after 7pm.

2) Well known quote, Toronto is a one hour drive from Toronto. No, that is not a typo. Urban sprawl, traffic and areas with highway inaccessibility mean I can sometimes drive to Niagara Falls faster than the other side of town.

Coming from Toronto, I have no problem driving in other infamous cities like New York and even wonder what their bad reputation is about. Meaning, Toronto is on par or worse than those towns.

In particular, pedestrians are worse than cars. The drivers are predictable but walkers don’t know the laws and think they always have right of way.

Parking is another issue. If you are anywhere downtown, expect parking costs to be between $25 and $45 CAD dollars per day... with the lower end only if your hotel has private parking.

If you have a hotel outside of town, expect event parking near concert venues to be $15 to $35 depending on it’s popularity.

Advice: Just accept the price and do not drive around looking for savings. All the nearest spots will cost the same and it could (without exaggeration) take 30 minutes to circle the block. In February, definitely take the first indoor parking garage you find.

Regarding temperature, it will be cold... but no worse than Wisconsin. In fact, we’ll probably be warmer... errr, less cold... than you if you’re from the the north end of your state.

As someone above said, a flight may save a tonne of stress and time with costs offset by parking. I’ve driven to Wisconsin once (in February during a -25C cold snap no less) and many drives to Chicago. The problem is driving around the Great Lakes. So, the drive is sooo much longer than the flight (which goes over the lakes).

PS. This advice comes from someone who loves Toronto AND loves to drive. So, what I say above is realistic and from experience.

Thanks for the advice. We'll be staying downtown and parking our car (knowing there is a daily hotel parking charge) and probably using Lyft/uber to get to the concert.

We won't really have time to do anything else, so we'll be there sometime on Thursday, concert stuff late afternoon Friday-Friday night and then leave Saturday.

I'm looking at this hotel, but I'm open to other suggestions. https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/h...A0CA1DT2PSH3H4BingPlaces6YTOCSDT7GW&WT.srch=1

 

[Searc]

We live in Niagara Falls, NY and visit Toronto frequently. I agree with others in that driving around the city isn't too bad. Its relatively easy to navigate. We've never NOT hit traffic on the QEW, seems like its always rush hour! But once we get off the highway, we've never had any major traffic issues or delays. I would also recommend using the subway - we always try to do that when we can. Its very easy to use, and mostly clean and safe.

Have you considered flying into Buffalo and driving from there? Its about 2 hours, not including traffic. Hamilton is another popular airport, which is about an hour or so, not including traffic.

It doesn't make sense for us to fly to Buffalo and then drive 2+ hours, when we can fly directly to Toronto in an hour and a half.

 

[nkereina]

It doesn't make sense for us to fly to Buffalo and then drive 2+ hours, when we can fly directly to Toronto in an hour and a half.

I thought the problem was that flights to Toronto were too expensive? I was just providing Hamilton/Buffalo as options to look into that may be more affordable.

 

[Searc]

I thought the problem was that flights to Toronto were too expensive? I was just providing Hamilton/Buffalo as options to look into that may be more affordable.

Flying into Buffalo is more expensive than straight to Toronto.

 

[nkereina]

Flying into Buffalo is more expensive than straight to Toronto.

Gotcha. I didn't check prices, just was throwing it out there as other options. I know first hand how winter driving can be around here!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Since you're staying downtown, I highly recommend The Senator for breakfast. I ate the best bacon I've ever had at this little joint.

https://thesenator.com/