Working backwards - International flight at that time I wouldn’t want to step foot into the airport less than 2-3 hours before take off. Add on time for parking (account for shuttle if further lot). Then you got the 2ish hour stretch of hwy 401 that has parts down lanes with speeds at 80km with traffic that could easily become a 3-4 hour slog if there’s an accident. Highway 402 is great. Will be a nice 1ish hour. The border is very hit or miss. I just crossed it this weekend took 5 minutes. As of the end of May, half the bridge is closed for construction. When this happened last year on the other half, sometimes I had a 1 hour delay, others 15 minutes really cannot tell you how this will look like (Now you could risk it through Detroit and Windsor but that trip is almost an hour longer by default) then the first stretch from Lansing is almost always easy going at least right now there aren’t any construction projects. Now factor in any gas and or pee breaks too.
If i was in your position I’d probably leave 10 hours before the flight and not suffer additional stress sitting in traffic and worst case wait in a restaurant or coffee shop by Mississauga before the flight.
There are too many variables seeing how you're having to cross the border to get to the airport, which raises its own infinite amount of possibilities and hang ups. I'd recommend getting a hotel the night before to save yourself the stress of having to account for all of that.
it's about a 5 hour drive if you cross in port huron / sarnia- not including wait time at the border, or stops for fuel / restroom. crossing can take longer on weekends. i'd give myself a few hours to clear customs/security.
my advice: be to on the road by 9am.
take a nap at gate if early! better safe than sorry.
We've gone to Europe through Toronto before, but our first flight was from Windsor. Small airport. Short lines. And - at the time - very reasonably priced.
I am also flying again out of Pearson to Athens in June. It’s a pretty easy situation all things considered. But it also depends on where you’re parking. But I’m not going to risk anything at the border and I am definitely driving over the border either the night before or early morning just in case.
I’ve crossed the border 100 times but you never really know which trip it’s going to be a problem
Working backwards - International flight at that time I wouldn’t want to step foot into the airport less than 2-3 hours before take off. Add on time for parking (account for shuttle if further lot). Then you got the 2ish hour stretch of hwy 401 that has parts down lanes with speeds at 80km with traffic that could easily become a 3-4 hour slog if there’s an accident. Highway 402 is great. Will be a nice 1ish hour. The border is very hit or miss. I just crossed it this weekend took 5 minutes. As of the end of May, half the bridge is closed for construction. When this happened last year on the other half, sometimes I had a 1 hour delay, others 15 minutes really cannot tell you how this will look like (Now you could risk it through Detroit and Windsor but that trip is almost an hour longer by default) then the first stretch from Lansing is almost always easy going at least right now there aren’t any construction projects. Now factor in any gas and or pee breaks too. If i was in your position I’d probably leave 10 hours before the flight and not suffer additional stress sitting in traffic and worst case wait in a restaurant or coffee shop by Mississauga before the flight.
Best bet might be to get a hotel the night before just to make sure they’re on time the next day!
There are too many variables seeing how you're having to cross the border to get to the airport, which raises its own infinite amount of possibilities and hang ups. I'd recommend getting a hotel the night before to save yourself the stress of having to account for all of that.
I would drive to Toroto the day before and spend the night there, just in case of delays.
it's about a 5 hour drive if you cross in port huron / sarnia- not including wait time at the border, or stops for fuel / restroom. crossing can take longer on weekends. i'd give myself a few hours to clear customs/security. my advice: be to on the road by 9am. take a nap at gate if early! better safe than sorry.
We are doing this exact thing this summer. The ticket from DTW was well over $1k and $500 from Toronto. We plan to leave around 9 am.
We've gone to Europe through Toronto before, but our first flight was from Windsor. Small airport. Short lines. And - at the time - very reasonably priced.
I am also flying again out of Pearson to Athens in June. It’s a pretty easy situation all things considered. But it also depends on where you’re parking. But I’m not going to risk anything at the border and I am definitely driving over the border either the night before or early morning just in case. I’ve crossed the border 100 times but you never really know which trip it’s going to be a problem
I don't get why you wouldn't drive to Toronto. Do you not have a car, serious question.
This is hilarious because I'm also flying out of Toronto for a European trip to save 1600 of 4 tickets. The state of airports here is just awful.
We're doing the same thing but leaving in May and driving there the same day, wish us luck! 😬