Travel Tips for Montreal Day Trips
Most of the practical planning for a Montreal-based trip is about the day trips, not the city itself. Here’s what actually matters once you’re deciding how to get around and how much to budget.
Getting in
US citizens need a passport but no visa and no eTA. Other visa-exempt nationals (UK, EU, Australia, and similar) need an eTA, an electronic travel authorization, CAD $7, air travel only, still required in 2026. Everyone else needs a visa. ArriveCAN / Advance Declaration is optional, not required, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Money and tax
Currency is CAD, cards work almost everywhere. Quebec’s sales tax is 14.975% (GST 5% plus QST 9.975%), added at the register on top of every posted price, city or countryside. Tipping has crept to 18-20% pre-tax at restaurants. Budget roughly $80-115 CAD a day for a budget trip, $155-260 for mid-range, before day-trip transport and any overnight costs beyond Montreal itself.
Getting to the airport and around the city
Montreal-Trudeau (YUL) is about 20 kilometers west of downtown. The REM light-rail line does not reach the airport yet, commissioning is targeted for the end of 2027, so use the STM Bus 747 ($11.25, 24/7) or a flat-rate taxi (about $49.45 by day, $56.70 by night) instead. Inside the city, the metro ($3.75 a ride) covers everything, and no car is needed for Old Montreal, downtown, or the Plateau. A car, or VIA Rail, is only necessary once you’re headed out on a day trip.
Getting to the day trips
VIA Rail leaves from Gare Centrale, downtown, for Quebec City and Ottawa, both about 3 hours (Quebec City) and 2 to 2h20 (Ottawa), no driving required. Everything else, the Eastern Townships, the Laurentians, Trois-Rivières by road, Montebello, and Montérégie, needs a rental car or a guided tour. Quebec City specifically is honestly better as an overnight than a rushed day trip, roughly 3 hours each way eats most of a single day.
Language
Quebec is French-first outside the tourist core (Bill 96 governs business and workplace language), but Old Montreal, downtown, and the Plateau are comfortably bilingual, “Bonjour-Hi” is the standard local greeting. Once you’re on a day trip toward Quebec City or the Townships, a little French goes further, treat it as courtesy rather than a barrier you need to plan around.
Timing
Book VIA Rail seats and popular tours further ahead during festival weekends, the F1 Canadian Grand Prix (late May) spikes both train and hotel demand citywide. Sugar shacks (cabane à sucre) run late February through April only, and Eastern Townships wine tastings peak on weekends during fall foliage season, late September into October. Read more: our day-trips guide has the full breakdown of all 8 options with real costs.