Originally Posted by sheera67

hi folks
im going to be going to Ottawa march 1st,im thinking of flying into toronto and driving up to ottawa from there, give done this before in october,my worry is snow, could someone advise to the best of there experience if i will hit snow on the drive up there in march, i think if im going to then i might try to fly into ottawa, flying to ottawa from scotland is not a direct flight and dont fancy this route

thanks

Originally Posted by clynnog

I agree on the arriving at Dorval option...when leaving the airport head for Autoroute 40 and not 20 if going to Ottawa. Going on 20 takes you through that stop/start section in Dorion/L'ile Perot of traffic lights etc and Autoroute 40 is a non stop route. Take the 520 to the 13 to the 40...clear as mud. Autoroute 40 out of town in Montreal is pretty easy driving and then once you get off the island of Montreal it is pretty clear sailing on the 40 and then 417. Be aware, however, that once you get past Rigaud,QC there isn't much in the way of restaurants or other pit stops until you get to Casselman, Ont or Innes Road on the east edge of Ottawa.

Originally Posted by iaink

If you are considering living here, you might as well get used to dealing with snow. Unless its a complete blizzard, you will be OK even if it does snow. The country is set up to deal with it and snow clearance on major highways is pretty speedy. Highways are rarely closed due to weather alone, its only if there is a major pile up that progress is seriously hampered, so just drive according to the conditions.

Of course, if you are going to Ottawa, it makes more sense to fly to Ottawa, rather than deal with Toronto trafic and a longish drive after that. Are there no feeder hops from Toronto to Ottawa?

Originally Posted by dbd33

If you live in Canada you can't delay because there's a storm, in fact you have to drive more when there's a storm as the school buses don't run; you have to drive the kids to school and then go to work. You may as well start off we the realistic expectation that, in Ontario, you will often have to drive in snow.

Originally Posted by iaink

Funny, I do drive my kid to school, but when the busses are cancelled I dont as there is no bugger there and its basically a wasted day for her, and she cant get home as there are no busses to fetch her.

Originally Posted by iaink

Not everyone behaves the same way that you do Some of us can even see out of our vehicles in the snow as we clear the snow from them, defrost the windows and make sure we have enough washer fluid

Originally Posted by Souvenir

I sort of agree with you but I'd suggest that getting onto the 20 is easier and quicker. You can then pick up the 40 at Dorion, or continue to the 201 and then head up to Rigaud.

Originally Posted by Atlantic Xpat

Round these parts if the buses are cancelled it's because the schools are closed. Do the buses get cancelled before the schools close in ON?

Originally Posted by Atlantic Xpat

Round these parts if the buses are cancelled it's because the schools are closed. Do the buses get cancelled before the schools close in ON?

Originally Posted by clynnog

Isn't another option to head west on the 20 and then go north on Boulevard Morgan or get off the 20 at Blvd des Anciens-Combattants (hmm, seems like some sort of PC bi-lingual translation there) in Ste Anne de Bellevue. Getting off the 20 at either of those two is a quick trip NB to the 40 (the two highways are very close at that point). You then avoid the conjestion further to the west where the 20 has traffic lights.

Originally Posted by TrishB

Why not take a cheapy flight to Gatwick from Edinburgh and then fly with Air Transat direct to Ottawa?

Ignore post - Transat site looks a bit weird ... looks like a direct flight to Ottawa is possible on one page, but then decides not possible on another part of the site .. weird!