This trip came about like many others I go on, semi-randomly. I had gotten the itch to go to Montreal some time ago. I tend to think of northern Vermont (where I was born) as the ends of the earth in terms of snowiness and coldness. The fact that such a large city lies just beyond Vermont’s bounds was and still is somewhat mind blowing to me. That and the fact that Montreal is only 5ish hours away from Boston made it seem like it could be an easy trip, and fit the bill for a fall baecation. We had also both heard such great things about Quebec City so we figured why not do both while we were up there. Josh had never been to Burlington, VT so we added a day there on the way back, since we would have to drive through that vicinity anyways. Each city could be done individually, but the combo we did worked out well. 

Length of Time: Monday 10/8/18- Sunday 10/14/18 6 Days/Nights

Agenda:

• Quebec City – 3 Nights – Monday – Thursday
• Montreal – 2 Nights – Thursday – Saturday
• Burlington VT – 1 Night – Saturday – Sunday

Logistics:

Drove from Boston to Quebec City: 6.5 Hours

The drive wasn’t terrible. Maybe that’s because I didn’t drive most of the time and was napping a significant portion. There was a little traffic when we got to Quebec City, but otherwise smooth sailing. We had also considered taking a flight and then buses from city to city. SO GLAD we didn’t do that. I don’t always do great on long car rides, but driving was much easier and allowed us to be on our own schedule in terms of departures.

Crossing the Border: Was easy for us both ways. There was no back up on the way in, or on the way out. They asked us like 2 questions on the way into Canada, about where we were headed and for how long. On the way back into the United States we also answered like two basic questions and were on our way. Remember to bring your passport!

Drove from Quebec City to Montreal: Around 3 Hours

Montreal to Burlington: Less than 2 hours

Burlington to Boston: 3 hours 15 mins

Total Costs:

• Quebec City (3 Days, 3 Nights): ~$1500
• Montreal: (2 Days, 2 Nights):~$1000
• Burlington, VT: (1 Day, 1 Night): ~$550 
• Transportation: Basically all this was was the driving costs. Too lazy to actually calculate/the amount is not that much, but filled up a the car with gas a couple of times and took some ubers.

Total: ~$3000 in Total. $1500 per person for about a week.This trip seemed pretty cheap, but when I look at the total costs it seems to be a bit more then I thought. When dealing with a different currency, it can feel somewhat like you aren’t dealing with real money. So, sometimes it’s hard to have an exact idea of where things will end up cost wise. Canadian food prices seemed comparable to Boston food prices or slightly cheaper, then the exchange rate brought things down. AirBnBs in Quebec City and Montreal were not too expensive. The most expensive part was the Air BNB in Burlington. Food was a big expense as usual, and the activities we did in Canada were a chunk as well. I always do consider though that I would be spending some on food if I were at home, so sometimes that cost seems more inflated than it should be. It would be pretty easy to cut down on this total by a lot, by cutting out some of the activities (for example the Spa may not be essential for some) and cutting out some of the dining expenses. 

Individual Posts on Each City:

Much more info at each link below!

• Quebec City
• Montreal
• Burlington, VT