Montreal - Florida

[justincanada]

OK, am I crazy to try to rent a car and have 4-5 people drive to florida in 2 days each way?

Any thoughts on getting a car for cheap that I can a)rely on and b) afford.
Should I try to get from montreal to the US and rent in the US or should I rent in canada and just go?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks folks

Justin

[Mark Sedenquist]

OK, am I crazy to try to rent a car and have 4-5 people drive to florida in 2 days each way?

Welcome to the Forum! I hope these 4-5 friends are REAL, GOOD Friends! I don't know where in Florida you are headed for, but if it was Miami that would be 1654 miles (2663 Km) and these would be just about the most congested and traffic-challenged 2663 Kms you are ever likely to find in America. Even allowing for incredibly good traffic conditions, you are not likely to be able to average faster than 52 mph over that distance. So that would be 32 hours of continuous travel. So, technically it would be possible.

But you have a bigger problem. It is unclear whether or not your rental company would even allow such a trip. There are serious restrictions imposed when one crosses a national boundary in a rental car. If you have sufficient "coin" you can usually get around these issues, but it won't be cheap!

mark

[justincanada]

Thanks for the welcome and the good news :)

I was figuring on around 25 hours, guess I was off by a bit. Is there a way to get around the traffic - a longer costal route perhaps?

I am finding out that the cross border restrictions are...well....not fun. The backup plan is to bus to vermont and rent on the US side of the border...but I'm still waiting on some replies to come back.

This would be my and our first road trip...it looks like I have to research to do before I head out.

Thanks for the info. Anyother thoughts are of course welcome and very much wanted :)

Justin

[Quebec Gen]

Hi Justin,

When I was younger, along with many other Quebec snowbirds I used to "migrate" to Florida each year in the winter. So I made that magical trip several times and used lots of different roads and itineraries.

First, I always try to avoid I-95 between NYC and Washington, not because these places are not nice, but simply because they tend to resemble to huge parking lots at rush hours. From Montreal, I figure the fastest way is I-15, I-87 and I-95. Here's an alternative to avoid traffic : I-87, I-84 (or I-88) to I-81, I-70/270 and I-95. Second, Montreal-Miami non-stop takes about 30 to 32 hours depending mostly on traffic but also on the weather and on your endurance. So yes, you can make it in two days but I hope at least two of you guys enjoy to drive.

The backup plan is to bus to vermont and rent on the US side of the border

For the rental car issue, I don't know if you guys are over 25 but if not you usually have to pay an extra...Which makes it even more expensive than it already is and believe me it's not cheap! If you don't mind taking the bus to Vt, have you considered taking it all the way to Florida? It is another kind of roadtrip. You don't have the freedom of a car, but you were planning to do a speed run anyway, right? You could check out bus fares on bus companies websites like Greyhound. Another alternative would be to browse Cegeps and Universities boards. There are thousands of students going to Daytona Beach for the Springs Break each year. I'm sure many of them would be glad to share the gas or to make room for you guys on their bus.

Good luck!
Gen

[justincanada]

Hey Gen,

Thanks for the advice, good to know there are people around who have done this before. Thanks a bunch for the route advice, that will come in very handy. Is the 30-32 hours straight at the speedlimit or ar the spring break limit that some people (not me of course) drive at? :)

The point of the car was to avoid the bus the whole way. We were hoping to have the "freedom" to start and stop when we wanted and return when we wanted and avoid the bus mess. The joys of being able to get out and stretch or have a real food break were quite appealing. Then the having a car while there to get around appealing too. :)

And with the bus costing $210 for the "special spring break deals" with 4-5 people that gives us about $800-1000 for car rental and gas. But again, even that is pushing it cost wise. (approx $500 for the car and 400-500 for gas)

Anyhoo, seems like I have some weighing of options to do. Thanks a bunch again.

Justin

[Quebec Gen]

Justin,

Is the 30-32 hours straight at the speedlimit or ar the spring break limit that some people (not me of course) drive at? :)

I don't know how high the spring break speed limit actually is, but personally, I never drive more than ~5-7 mph above the limit. I-95 is crammed with cops with sharp radars, especially in Florida and Virginia so I wouldn't try to push it too much if I were you:-). The fines can be pretty severe too.

that gives us about $800-1000 for car rental and gas. But again, even that is pushing it cost wise. (approx $500 for the car and 400-500 for gas)

Unfortunately, I doubt you'll find any rental car for 500$ with unilimted mileage, but go ahead and shop around, you never know! I drove from Miami to Quebec just a few weeks ago in my brand new 2005 Honda Civic and the cost of gas for the whole trip was 216,38$ USD. If multiply that amount by 2 (roundtrip) and convert it into Canadian currency it'll give you an idea. We also have a fuel calculator to help you figure out the cost of gas on a given trip. So when you know what kind of rental car you will have for your trek down south, just fill in the blanks and you'll know how much to save for gas.

Is there anything else we might help you with? Attractions? Food? Nightlife?

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Gen

[Airkarat]

Hi,

With the help of this forum, I found a route down from Ontario to central Florida at Christmas down a more easterly route. We crossed the border at Niagara Falls and went east toward Syracuse, NY and then down to Philadelphia in one day. Then we went down through Delaware / Maryland, which was slow but beat sitting in Washington traffic. Night two was near Savannah, but we had done a day trip in Maryland.

But anyway, the point here is that we rented the car from Budget in Ontario. We needed it only for nine days, but it turned out cheaper to rent it for a full two weeks. We asked for a larger 6-cyl car and were upgraded to a Chrysler 300C class with a hemi ($60 per fill up!). And it was $600 CAD inc taxes for the two weeks. Unlimited miles and it had a GPS mapping thingy and heated leather seats.

So I don't know if you're getting dinged for being under 25, but Budget didn't care one bit if we were taking it into the States.

[Mark Sedenquist]

But anyway, the point here is that we rented the car from Budget in Ontario. We needed it only for nine days, but it turned out cheaper to rent it for a full two weeks. We asked for a larger 6-cyl car and were upgraded to a Chrysler 300C class with a hemi ($60 per fill up!). And it was $600 CAD inc taxes for the two weeks. Unlimited miles and it had a GPS mapping thingy and heated leather seats.

Good info. I have found that if I need to rent a car for more than three days it is ALWAYS a better deal to rent for a week.

So I don't know if you're getting dinged for being under 25, but Budget didn't care one bit if we were taking it into the States.

Interesting. Because when we have rented a vehicle in the states and then driven into Canada, we have always been charged a sur-charge.

Mark

[AZBuck]

With the help of this forum, I found a route down from Ontario to central Florida at Christmas down a more easterly route. We crossed the border at Niagara Falls and went east toward Syracuse, NY and then down to Philadelphia in one day. Then we went down through Delaware / Maryland, which was slow but beat sitting in Washington traffic. Night two was near Savannah, but we had done a day trip in Maryland.

So...(where) did you find the ponies?

AZBuck

[RoadDog]

I don't know if you've picked a place to visit in Florida yet, but you might want to consider Hollywood Beach, between Ft. Lauderdale nad Miami Beach. A lot of your countrymen are there and it is a really good time.

I haven't been there for about six years, but there was a great hotel with a rooftop pool located on A1A and a block from the beach. It was called the Beach House and had affordable rates. I don't know if it is still open. Within about a quarter mile, you will find a lot of places to go. I especially like the within walking distance.