BC --> Toronto with a bunch of kids!

[lurking 101]

My hubby and I will be travelling to Ontario this summer to see the attractions and visit family and I am trying to figure out the most cost effective and easiest way to travel with kids.... 7 of them, ranging from 3 to 15. Anyone who knows of any airlines that typically have specials for the summer months and or RV rental type ideas please post. Basically we will be travelling from Vancouver Island to Windsor.

[rss15]

My hubby and I will be travelling to Ontario this summer to see the attractions and visit family and I am trying to figure out the most cost effective and easiest way to travel with kids.... 7 of them, ranging from 3 to 15. Anyone who knows of any airlines that typically have specials for the summer months and or RV rental type ideas please post. Basically we will be travelling from Vancouver Island to Windsor.

My cousin came visiting from BC with his family 2 summers ago, and they obviously stayed with us which helped cost wise but along with that they found it most cost effective to rent a car, in your case probably a bigger vehicle to see all the sites. You may also want to keep in mind that by road, its a 4 hour drive from Windsor to Toronto, while only about an hour by plane. It really depends on your schedule. As for airlines, I'm originally from BC and I go back and forth a lot during the summer. I find that there are a lot more direct flights from Toronto-Vancouver and the cheapest ones are often charter airlines, like Skyservice. However, if you book early, you may get a deal or some type of group discount. Hope this helps!

[Pete_Coach]

Summer, as you are aware, is high season. Getting a deal will be tough. You will have to wait until late spring to find out what deals they will be giving during the summer.
You may wish to call the airlines and speak to them about group rates. 9 people (2 adults and 7 kids) constitute a group to me.
Geez, I cannot imagine any way of doing this cheaply. There are very few 9 passenger vehicles so 2 vehicles may be in order. Perhaps you may wish to consider driving the distance as opposed to flying. I have done this from Comox a few times. The math may work out quite a bit better, although there is a time issue to take into account.
As a former Vancouver Islander, I am taking a few friends from the East to visit the Comox Valley and Campbell River this summer so I am glad it will be a little less full when we get there ;)

[CoffeeAddict]

That is indeed one big group!
It might seem ludicrous but you might wanna look into chartered planes as well. You're planning so far in advance that your group might be able to tag along with another group on a small charter aircraft. My friend in the film industry does this sometimes with some luck. But this is a serious YMMV situation of course.

for hotels and car rentals remember that hotwire is your friend :D car rentals shoud be in the $14 range per day if you book right now. The booking is also a reservation ONLY on hotwire so you don't really have anything to lose (at least last time i checked).

Any way you guys can fly from Washington state to detroit? Over 9 people that should net some serious savings on commercial aircraft!

[CSK'sMom]

Any way you guys can fly from Washington state to detroit? Over 9 people that should net some serious savings on commercial aircraft!


I'm thinking the same thing. When we went to Vancouver for my brothers wedding with the kids we saved over $2500 bt flying on the US side. I would seriously suggest checking flights from Seattle to Detroit...

[lurking 101]

Keep the ideas coming guys! I was looking on Westjet the other day and it is $378/per person ONE WAY and that is before taxes and surcharges... one thing we are thinking about is renting a 15 passenger van and bringing tents... but man oh man... 2 weeks in a van with 7 kids.... YIKES! Bring on the airline discounts! lol

[CoffeeAddict]

Yeah I would suspect a drive isn't gonna be the best solution
You might wanna see what a travel agent can do for you
This is the kind of area where they would shine... getting discounts for a large group.

I just looked into a one week flight return from Seattle -> Buffalo and you're looking at $249 USD each way. Not much of a discount right now but i've definetely seen it cheaper.

you might wanna get yourself on a big travel forum like flyertalk and get the experts in flying to craft you an itinerary for cheap travel. It might involve some wierd connections but it'll be a load easier than a van/bus!!!!

[dealguy2]

+1 for Seattle->some US city near Toronto. Try priceline, have a look at betterbiddding.com and biddingfortravel.com.

[CSK'sMom]

And don't forget when checking US side airline tickets the price you see is the price you pay. Unlike tickets on the Canadian side where taxes could be as much as the ticket price you see. ;)

Honestly, with the price of gas and they way it's already rising and projected to be at all time highs by the summer, I don't think RV'ing or driving would be worth it....

[CanadaSweetheart]

Totally agree. Fly Seattle - Buffalo, NY. The other option is to rent a van (I recommend using Argus Car hire - it's intended for European visitors to Canada - you get rock bottom prices and no limitations as to where you can travel within Canada, with the vehicle). When I was a sprout, my family did a a cross-Canada drive with us and it is amazing how many wonderfully Canadian things there is to see via the Trans-Canada. You could take 5 days and make an adventure out of it!

[CSK'sMom]

Because she's going to visit family in Windsor, Detroit would be the closest US major aiport and just a hop and skip from their final destination.

lurking.... If you fly into Detroit you could take one of the airport shuttle services across the border to your final destination and then rent a vehicle here on the Canadian side. Technically a Canadian cannot drive a US plated vehicle in Canada.

[lurking 101]

I will follow up on some of the other ideas posted but the flights on the US side are not going to work for us. We have one of them new springer families lol... which would involve noterized letters from the other parents, hassles blah blah, PLUS he has an un pardoned DUI from years ago and I would sure hate to get into any border disputes with a bunch of kids!

[CoffeeAddict]

I did a sample via rail intinerary in supsersaver class thinking it MIGHT be comparable to a flight but.... nope!
Passenger 1 (Adult) $1,182.30
Passenger 2 (Adult) $1,182.30
Passenger 3 (Child) $590.10
Passenger 4 (Child) $590.10
Passenger 5 (Child) $590.10
Passenger 6 (Child) $590.10
Fare: $4,500.00 G.S.T./H.S.T.: $225.00 P.S.T.: $0.00 Total CAD$: $4,725.00

That's vancouver -> toronto roundtrip. That's pretty hurting. Especially those adult fares!

[lurking 101]

Not that it will make THAT much of a difference, but now we could all fit in one vehicle should we choose to drive one/both ways... I decided that bringing the 3 and 6 year old was too much of a hassle, they can come next time when the teens are out of the house lol! Now it will just be the 2 adults and 5 kids. Still crazy but maybe workable?

[CSK'sMom]

Depends on what your budget is and what you're willing to spend. Summer is generally one of the most expensive times to fly. Who knows what gas prices will be this summer but if they go as high as the current predictions it's going to be costly.... Has hubby ever tried to cross the border before? It may be well worth the money to get the pardon if you see the savings by flying on the US side. See the other thread about flying out west and the saving ($2500) by flying the US side.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Not that it will make THAT much of a difference, but now we could all fit in one vehicle should we choose to drive one/both ways... I decided that bringing the 3 and 6 year old was too much of a hassle, they can come next time when the teens are out of the house lol! Now it will just be the 2 adults and 5 kids. Still crazy but maybe workable?

Yes, it *does* make a difference because now you can all fit into one large van (although it's going to be really cramped, and don't forget about luggage too!) so only have to pay for one van's worth of gas.

Your cheapest route, unless the airlines have one of their really crazy cheap seat sales (which is unlikely in summer peak season), is to drive there with pit stops at McDonalds etc. (hopefully you already have a van or can get one from friends/family to use for free so that it's only gas you're paying for as transportation cost). This will of course take a *lot* of time (with you and spouse swapping driving - if you do shifts and drive through the night, you'll save on motels too) so you have to consider that as well (day's flying vs. almost a week's driving). Add in accommodations (2 bedrooms at a cheap motel for 4 nights total?).

The more I write, the more I think that it will only be marginally cheaper to drive and the headaches in a road trip ("Are we there yet?" x infinity) will be enormous. I think that the airport hell you'll endure would be less painful than days of this?

[lurking 101]

trust me, the more I re read this thread the more I think I must be insane lol. Maybe we should just give grama some sedatives and put her on a plane (terrified of flying) and hit the PNE in August lol!