Travelling to Kingston, Ontario
There are three major international airports nearby: Toronto (YYZ, ~3 hrs away, Ottawa (YOW, ~2 hrs away) and Montreal (YUL, ~3 hours away). Kingston also has an airport (YGK), and you can connect to there, but it may bring up the airfare. A cheaper option may be to take the train (viarail.ca), or the bus (megabus.ca) from one of the larger airports. Book the bus and train a while in advance (at least > 1 month) and the prices will be nice. Book the flights as soon as possible, since July is high season.
Toronto
A general rule is to try to avoid Toronto if you would like to diminish transfer hassle. The large airport (YYZ) is not central, and you need to take a shuttle/taxi/subway to Union station to catch a train. At rush hour (3-7 pm), this is not a pleasant experience. However, at 2.7 million, Toronto is North America’s 4th largest city, and may be interesting for a hotel stay before taking the train to Kingston the next day. If many of you arrive at the same time, sharing a rental car to drive to Kingston (~3hrs) may be a good option (see below).
Montreal
Montreal on the other hand has a train station minutes away from the airport, with a free shuttle. Do keep an eye on train times though - for many arrivals from overseas, the last train may already have left, especially if you arrive on a weekend. Both Montreal and Toronto have nice Lufthansa connections (for our Germany based delegates).
Ottawa
Smaller airport -> quick and nice immigration procedures. As Canada’s capital, Ottawa is a very nice city to visit on the way in or out. The nearest train station to the airport, Fallowfield, is a bit away from the city center (taxi ~$20). There is also public transport.
Train
viarail.ca is easy to use for booking tickets. wifi onboard.
Bus
megabus.ca can give you bargain prices for bus tickets, and the bus is as quick as the train, also with wifi.
Kingston
From airport: The airport is located west of the city. Easiest is to take a taxi, 11 km, 17 min, and it should cost around $23.
From train station: Some time in Kingston’s past, someone thought it’d be clever to move away the railway station from downtown to a remote location in the north west. There is public transit, but it can take time. Taxi costs $15 to Queen’s U, or a few $ more to our downtown location. Taxi is recommended.
Rental car
It may be a good idea for delegates who travel to the same airport, to rent a car and drive to Kingston. For this purpose, there is a discussion forum available below (to sign in with other options, click the link to the far right). Try e.g. expedia.ca to find good deals on rental cars.
Toronto
A general rule is to try to avoid Toronto if you would like to diminish transfer hassle. The large airport (YYZ) is not central, and you need to take a shuttle/taxi/subway to Union station to catch a train. At rush hour (3-7 pm), this is not a pleasant experience. However, at 2.7 million, Toronto is North America’s 4th largest city, and may be interesting for a hotel stay before taking the train to Kingston the next day. If many of you arrive at the same time, sharing a rental car to drive to Kingston (~3hrs) may be a good option (see below).
Montreal
Montreal on the other hand has a train station minutes away from the airport, with a free shuttle. Do keep an eye on train times though - for many arrivals from overseas, the last train may already have left, especially if you arrive on a weekend. Both Montreal and Toronto have nice Lufthansa connections (for our Germany based delegates).
Ottawa
Smaller airport -> quick and nice immigration procedures. As Canada’s capital, Ottawa is a very nice city to visit on the way in or out. The nearest train station to the airport, Fallowfield, is a bit away from the city center (taxi ~$20). There is also public transport.
Train
viarail.ca is easy to use for booking tickets. wifi onboard.
Bus
megabus.ca can give you bargain prices for bus tickets, and the bus is as quick as the train, also with wifi.
Kingston
From airport: The airport is located west of the city. Easiest is to take a taxi, 11 km, 17 min, and it should cost around $23.
From train station: Some time in Kingston’s past, someone thought it’d be clever to move away the railway station from downtown to a remote location in the north west. There is public transit, but it can take time. Taxi costs $15 to Queen’s U, or a few $ more to our downtown location. Taxi is recommended.
Rental car
It may be a good idea for delegates who travel to the same airport, to rent a car and drive to Kingston. For this purpose, there is a discussion forum available below (to sign in with other options, click the link to the far right). Try e.g. expedia.ca to find good deals on rental cars.