Toronto, Niagra & New York on the cheap?!

scotlass99

Right, thats the flights booked...£597 return for 2 of us!

Does anyone have any names for car hire? People keep saying we are mad to hire a car..but just weighing up options at the moment to see if it will be expensive or not..

hammy_the_hammer

scotlass99 wrote: »

Right, thats the flights booked...£597 return for 2 of us!

Does anyone have any names for car hire? People keep saying we are mad to hire a car..but just weighing up options at the moment to see if it will be expensive or not..

imho you'd be mad if you didn't hire a car ....with the car hire firms it's a case of checking the comparison sites for some idea. i can't help much as i use the companies that have discounts via work.
don't hire something too small

cazziebo

I always hire a car when I go to Canada - I have a lot of family in Caledon, Mississauga and Bramalea/Brampton. So maybe a dozen or so times.

I always order a compact - and on every single occasion been given a midsize car - I don't think Canadian hire companies keep smaller cars. Also petrol is dead cheap compared to here.

Used holidayautos (thru' Quidco) last time.

scotlass99

A woman from my work said you have to watch that the car hire includes insurance?? Or something like it will only include third party insurance? Any ideas??

Emms

If you are going to Canadas Wonderland, about 10minutes walk up the road is Vaughan Mills outlet shopping centre and its fab. Weve been to Toronto twice and went there each time. Its like McArthur Glen but soooooo much better and bigger.

http://vaughanmills.shopping.ca/cambridge/jsp/index_flash.jsp?mallid=vgm

We stayed in Days Inn Conference Centre on College street the first time we were there. It was a great location. College station two minute walk, Starbucks and Tim Hortons on the corner and maybe about 5 or 10 minutes walk from the Eaton Centre. The second time we went we stayed in the Downtown Sheraton which is also very handy for the underground and the Eaton Centre is 2 minutes walk away. Both times we booked the hotel through Canadian Affair and the prices were very reasonable. Price wise the second time there wasnt much difference between the Days and the Sheraton so thats why we paid the wee bit more for there, plus it was our honeymoon so was kinda worth it.

Would recommend the Toronto City Pass if your going to do some touristy things. http://www.citypass.com/city/toronto.html
The hockey hall of fame is ok, really mostly for folk who are interested in hockey. Wasnt overly impressed with the science centre either. The Zoo is fab, and massive. It gets really hot there and its a long walk round it.

Can also recommend the baseball games. On tuesday nights you can get some tickets for $2!

As someone said earlier the Old Spaghetti factory is great. Reasonably priced and lovely inside.

Wouldnt recommend the Steak House in the Sheraton. We went there one night and it was pretty horrible

We went to a very nice Irish Bar on Yonge Street for food one night and it was pretty reasonable too. http://www.irishembassypub.com/irish/contact.html

Emma

hammy_the_hammer

scotlass99 wrote: »

A woman from my work said you have to watch that the car hire includes insurance?? Or something like it will only include third party insurance? Any ideas??

you should be alright when booking with a large company or broker via a uk site....just check exactly what cover you have....it's more complicated when you book at a rental office in the states

john175bramley

scotlass99 wrote: »

A woman from my work said you have to watch that the car hire includes insurance?? Or something like it will only include third party insurance? Any ideas??

We paid an extra $20 for full insurance I think it's called a collision waiver or something. Good job we did, we crashed the car about 100 ft. from the hire place.:eek:

They were ok about it and gave us a replacement car immediately, although it wasn't as nice as the 1st one.:D

Toronto is a very nice place to go but has hardly any greenspace which really did my head in, I like to get away from it all occasionally. We were there in July and it can get incredibly hot and the city can feel a bit oppressive. We stayed on Toronto island for a few days which I loved because it was very quiet and even has a beach.

We stayed at a woman's house who rented out a room which was pretty cheap. We asked her for a key but she said not to worry because nobody locked their doors on the island which is really weird considering it's right next door to a big bad city.

It's worth taking the ferry to the island at night (costs about £3) because it's the only way to see the Toronto skyline properly.

Jem8472

Def go and see niagara on the lake. It is a really lovelly place. I have been to Toronto a couple of times and love it.

I would also visit the CN tower. If you book for an evening meal then you get to go up the tower for free just pay for the meal. Which is nice anyway!

Also keep an eye out for the black squirrels they are so cute and really friendly.

I made a video of our trip to Toronto. Cant remember if I am allowed to post it here but I will anyway!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=goqIciFSRHI

scotlass99

Jem what a great video! Looks like you had a great time, did you get engaged while you were there?

Did you go for a meal in the CN Tower? How much is it roughly?

Emms

The CN Tower restaurant menu is on their website

http://www.cntower.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1604

Its quite pricey tho!

Emma