Toronto to Buffalo Airport. Need so advice.

[Moerby]

I have a flight from Buffalo International Airport in a few weeks and I'm driving there from Scarborough. The flight is on a Friday and departs at 7:10pm.

Time is a little tight for me that day so I was wondering what you guys think would be the latest I'd be able to leave from Scarborough and still comfortably make the flight. The earliest I can leave is at about 3:15pm, giving me about 4 hours to drive there, find parking, go through security and what not, and check in. Is that do-able?

[IronMac]

No. Dude, you have soooo many factors that can go wrong!

A. I once sat in rush hour traffic in Scarborough for TWO hours on a Friday afternoon and I left at around 2 pm.
B. Border traffic.
C. Buffalo traffic.
D. Buffalo airport anomalies such as who-the-@#$$-knows?
E. Security.

Good luck.

[vinniereno]

Leave yourself some extra time for the border..
I once left for BUF 3.5 hrs early from North York only to have missed my flight being held up at the border.

[luvshopping]

I would leave in the morning and make sure you get across the border without hassle. Once across you can browse around the malls, have an early dinner and be stress free getting to your flight.

Good luck and leave early just so you don't have any worries

:lol:

[colllyj]

Hey.
i left DTWN once at 1 pm thinking i`d make my 5 pm flight... nope. i got tot he airport at 5 pm b/c traffic to buffalo was MADNESS.
It all started from downtown. took us 3 hours from Bay Street to Burlington, which usually takes about 45 minutes. it was madness. and it was a friday too.

if your leaving this friday, leave earlier b/c it's march break friday and there are probably alot of families driving across the boarder.

Parking? It's really fast. there's always shuttle buses waiting for you. if you see a bus when UR driving into the lot, flag him/her down and they'll fallow you to the car. i paid them a bit extra once (like 5 bucks when i boarded the bus) and they rushed us to the terminal.
Parking coupon: http://www.buffaloairport.com/pdfs/BNIA_Parking_Coupon.pdf
security? never had a problem with delays at the airport. probably 10 minutes from when you drop your bag, to lining up to passing through. @ the US CAD boarder, it could be tizzik. very unpredictable. check this site prior to going http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/general/times/menu-e.html

have a safe trip!

[Moerby]

Thanks for the advice folks, especially to collyj for those very helpful links!

Looks like I'm going to have to figure out a way to leave TO by 1pm'ish. :razz:

[Moerby]

Another quick question here ... which bridge do you guys think is normally the quickest to cross over on a Friday afternoon? Most people suggest Peace bridge, but I want to know if the esteemed RFD community concur? :razz:

[Carnage]

I'd suggest Rainbow.

Just don't take Queenston. That bridge can get pretty bad. I waited for 2.5 hours on Labour Day once.

Although even in light traffic Queenston is typically about 30 minutes.

[fireguy9]

call the border bridge traffic update line (1 800 715 6722) when in st catherines to gage the traffic at bridges. If no traffic, take fort erie,, otherwise whichever is least traffic.

Need to be in buffalo airport min 1hr prior,,,
once there its a breeze to get parked and shuttled in.

[Moerby]

Thanks for the suggestions folks! Calling that number just before I get there is a great idea also.

[S16]

Thanks for the suggestions folks! Calling that number just before I get there is a great idea also.

is it possible to rent a car in canada and return in buffalo?

[canadien99]

is it possible to rent a car in canada and return in buffalo?

Possible, but prepared to give arm and leg.

Hertz, Budget are possible culprits to possible agents who can.

[MrIcu]

Coach Canada actually has really good fares from Toronto to the Buffalo Airport. Sometimes you can get a ticket for only $7.00. Of course, it all depends on what time of the day the bus leaves and things like that. So I'd pass on renting a car and get on the bus.

[taxman95]

I work in Mississauga, live in Burlington and cross in Fort Erie almost everyweekend in winter to go to Ellicotville to ski.

I have a few suggestions if you want to try this.

Do NOT take the QEW between Oakville and Burlington on a Friday afternoon as you never know how long it will take on a Friday. Take the 401 to the 407 and get off at the QEW in Burlington. Believe me its worth the toll on a Friday.

After that you should be fine to the border.

Unless there is a Leaf Sabers game, Bills game or long weekend the border shouldn't be an issue. As noted check the web sites and phone number to be safe.

If you are going to do this a couple of times a year get a Nexus pass to even eliminate most of that risk. You won't be able to get it for this flight, but consider it for the future.

Parking at Buffalo airport and security are ususally no issue (holidays such as spring break and Thanksgiving the exception). I'm normally can park, check in and clear security in less than 10 minutes at the time of day you are talking about.

[f00kie]

I just wanted to confirm something. I have a flight out of BUF at 8pm on Friday, and I'm driving right from downtown Toronto. With your suggestions, I plan on taking QEW to 403 (to avoid Oakville - Burlington stretch), then 407 back to QEW (in Burlignton) to Buffalo. I also have a NEXUS pass and will be travelling alone in the car, so I can actually use the pass.

Is leaving at 4pm alright? Is there a better route? What's the best bridge for NEXUS?

[Chrispy]

Peace Bridge is best for all around use as it's the closest to the airport and usually the least busy.

No, 4PM is way too late. Friday regardless of travel methods are always busy and you have to leave yourself sufficient amount of time for things to go wrong.

The Airline can deny you boarding if you arrive too late (especially if you have checked luggage with you).

[f00kie]

Well I'm going to have: NEXUS, 407 for part of the way (can do the whole way, just need to figure out how best to get to it from downtown), carryon-only, and a boarding pass from the site. I was hoping 4 hours for all of that would be fine.

[mr_toast]

It's a little farfetched and you'll need to do a bit more American road navigating, but there's a NEXUS-only border crossing smack-dab in the middle of Niagara Falls, a little south of the Queenston bridge. It's called the Whirlpool Bridge; no idea how to enter, but you can Google Map it: it's at the intersection of Bridge and River in Niagara Falls, ON. Speeds customs right along if you don't have anything at all to declare. Only open between 7am and 11pm, though.

Any passengers without NEXUS, and you need to go to a different crossing.

[canadien99]

It's a little farfetched and you'll need to do a bit more American road navigating, but there's a NEXUS-only border crossing smack-dab in the middle of Niagara Falls, a little south of the Queenston bridge. It's called the Whirlpool Bridge; no idea how to enter, but you can Google Map it: it's at the intersection of Bridge and River in Niagara Falls, ON. Speeds customs right along if you don't have anything at all to declare. Only open between 7am and 11pm, though.

Any passengers without NEXUS, and you need to go to a different crossing.

It's a "b/tch" to get to I-190 from the whirlpool bridge as it dumps you right onto the Robert Moses Parkway. If you head north, you get to the I-190 just after the Queenston/Lewiston. If you head south, you deal with a couple of traffic lights in downtown Niagara USA, before hading back to Robert Moses and to the I-190.

I would definitely recommend QEW as it takes you straight to the Peace Bridge and there is no equivalent traffic on that segment of QEW whereas you might deal with I-190 Grand Island traffic and I-290 Tonawanda traffic.

I'm not sure about the I-190 traffic from Peace Bridge to I-90, and the rest of I-90 to the 33, but it's a small distance compared to the potential of I-190/I-290.

If you don't have Ez-pass, you might need to wait at the Grand Island Toll Bridge as well. It's the only toll bridge... but still ... it can get busy sometimes.

[Drew_W]

QEW is consistently good if not during Oakville rush hour periods. Otherwise, take the 407 even if it takes you out of the way - doing 130-140 the entire way to Burlington is gold. Never had HUGE delays at Peace even before I got my NEXUS. 20 mins to do I190/90 to the airport. Park car, walk to airport in about 5 minutes. I don't check bags, but I've arrived a half hour before flights (just in time for boarding), security takes mere minutes, and it's a short walk to the gates. It takes maybe 5 minutes from when I walk into the terminal to when I sit down at the gate. Incredible efficiency.

[tribal09]

I'm taking a bus on the day before Christmas. I'm leaving at 8:00 am from toronto and expected to arrive there at 10 30 pm. Flight leaves at 3 pm. Any chance i might get stuck at the border with the bus and miss my flight?

[Drew_W]

I'm taking a bus on the day before Christmas. I'm leaving at 8:00 am from toronto and expected to arrive there at 10 30 pm. Flight leaves at 3 pm. Any chance i might get stuck at the border with the bus and miss my flight?

I assume you mean 10:30am.

It's a 2-2.5 hour drive from Toronto to the Airport. I can mow down Peace Bridge to 401/Victoria Park in about 1:20-1:30 but that's averaging 130+. In a bus, I figure you take that entire 2.5 hours to actually travel. Border time is on top of that, but with dedicated bus lanes, I doubt you'll see a huge delay, and surely not one that will cause you to miss a flight some 4 hours later.

[tribal09]

I assume you mean 10:30am.

It's a 2-2.5 hour drive from Toronto to the Airport. I can mow down Peace Bridge to 401/Victoria Park in about 1:20-1:30 but that's averaging 130+. In a bus, I figure you take that entire 2.5 hours to actually travel. Border time is on top of that, but with dedicated bus lanes, I doubt you'll see a huge delay, and surely not one that will cause you to miss a flight some 4 hours later.

Yup, sorry about that it's AM. Thanks a lot for your feedback. Never took a bus to Buffalo Airport. Also hoping there is no storm like last Christmas :evil:

[mkjr]

gotta love Nexus...best money i ever spent.

[canadien99]

Coach Canada actually has really good fares from Toronto to the Buffalo Airport. Sometimes you can get a ticket for only $7.00. Of course, it all depends on what time of the day the bus leaves and things like that. So I'd pass on renting a car and get on the bus.

Bus can be very unreliable if you're tight for time. I took an evening bus once and when we go to Fort Erie, although there was 3 buses ahead of us there wasn't even a line up of cars (meaning we never had to wait on the bridge, before the bridge or after the bridge) we went directly on the dedicated HOV bus lane ...

The bus was supposed to arrive BUF airport at 11:30pm, but because each bus had to be inspected one at a time, we didn't get to BUF airport until around 2:30-3AM or so. The border to Buffalo downtown and to the airport took maybe 15 minutes max.

One of the buses had some shaddy ID people and our bus even had a hooker or something that had to be inspected twice ... we were all watching the comotion from inside the megabus.

Got cleared without a problem but went thru literally every piece of luggage that guy/girl had.

[canadien99]

I'm taking a bus on the day before Christmas. I'm leaving at 8:00 am from toronto and expected to arrive there at 10 30 pm. Flight leaves at 3 pm. Any chance i might get stuck at the border with the bus and miss my flight?

Read my posting. Lots of people have had successes. I don't know if it was because it was midnight and there is only one bus counter working, but at Fort Erie, i can't see them being able to process more than one bus at a time especially with the renovations and all.

And each bus has to be processed in its entirety before the next bus can get inspected.

After the bus driver talks to the customs booth, we are instructed to park at some standby parking lot (since there were 3 buses ahead of us). Each bus drives to the bus processing building one at a time. All the people get off the bus with all their stuff, and wait in line one at a time to get questions asked. I think there were 4 people processing the passengers at the time i was there.

It's a slow manual process.

If it was delayed like the way i was ... you'll make the 3pm flight... only if the border condition was the only factor. If you've got snowstorm, fort erie border jam, traffic, QEW accident.... prepare to miss your flight.