NORTH AMERICAN SOJOURN 2017 – THE PLANNING
How It All Began
In mid 2016, my very good friend, KP, got posted to Montreal, Canada, for work. As he would be there for a year, he asked if I would like to visit him in Montreal sometime in 2017. That was when he would be more settled and a bit freer by then. He offered to let me stay at his apartment and we could even travel together if his schedule permitted.
I kept his invitation in mind and considered it seriously, because I have never been to Canada before and I was very keen to visit the country. My parents had never been to the eastern part of Canada either (they had visited Vancouver some 30 years ago) so they were keen as well. In February this year, we decided to go for it.
Where To Visit
We shortlisted the places we wanted to visit – Niagara Falls, New York City, Montreal and Toronto. Canada is known for its great outdoors so I wanted to visit a nice national park and do some hiking and outdoor activities too. After doing my research, I managed to incorporate a short stay at Algonquin Provincial Park into the itinerary. For the United States, I also considered visiting Boston or Washington D.C. but eventually dropped them in favour of spending more time in New York City and Canada, so we added Ottawa and Quebec City into the final mix.
When To Visit
In terms of the weather, I decided that May would be an ideal time to visit because the temperature would be more favourable (not too cold) and better suited for hiking. After last December’s freezing Hokkaido experience, I learned that travelling in extreme cold (subzero temperatures) was not as comfortable or productive. KP was also available in May so he could host us at his apartment. As a bonus, KP managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and he was able to join us at Algonquin for two nights, so the timing was perfect.
Flights
As it was going to be a super long flight to the other side of the world, we decided to fly with Singapore Airlines. I managed to redeem my Krisflyer miles to offset the fare partially, so our air tickets came up to be S$1,376.40 per person, including Preferred Seats (with extra legroom) for both the outgoing and incoming flights. It was a necessary luxury to get the Preferred Seats because of the long flight – 13 hrs 25 min from Singapore to Frankfurt, followed by another 8 hrs 55 min from Frankfurt to New York, which equates to almost one full day of flying.
In terms of the routing, from Singapore, we would fly to New York, then catch a short domestic flight to Buffalo, NY, followed by a land transfer across the border to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, all within the same day. From Niagara, we would rent a car and travel by land to Toronto, Algonquin, Ottawa and Montreal, and make a day trip to Quebec City. We would then fly from Montreal to New York City, before flying back to Singapore.
For the domestic flight from New York to Buffalo, we took JetBlue airlines and the ticket cost US$161.20 (S$232.37) per person. From Montreal to New York, we took Delta Airlines and it cost US$185.35 (S$204.41) per person. So we each spent a total of S$1,813.18 on the four flights.
Car Rental
For car rental, we use a company called Enterprise, as recommended by KP. For the 6 days from Niagara to Montreal, we rented a Mitsubishi RVR SUV and the final price was CAD$827.91 (S$875.07), which works out to S$145.85 per day, or S$48.62 per person per day. For the day trip from Montreal to Quebec City, we made a separate booking and rented a Toyota Corolla for CAD$77.29 (S$81.47). In all, we each spent S$318.85 on car rental.
Petrol
For the 6 days that we drove, we pumped petrol 3 times altogether, amounting to about 111 litres of petrol and CAD$123.91 (S$128.25). The average price of petrol was therefore CAD$1.11 or S$1.15 per litre, much cheaper than in Singapore.
Accommodation
For this trip, we stayed at a mix of hotels and Airbnb apartments. For Niagara, KP recommended Marriott Fallsview Hotel & Spa because he had stayed there on a previous occasion and it had a fantastic view of the Horseshoe Falls. So I heeded his recommendation and booked a night at Marriott Fallsview for CAD$226.98 (S$251.96). Do note that confusingly, there is another Marriott hotel at Niagara Falls called Marriott On The Falls, located just two minutes away. However, Marriott Fallsview is closer to the Horseshoe Falls than Marriott On The Falls, so be careful when you make your hotel reservation. It’s easy to get them mixed up!
We stayed at Airbnb apartments in Toronto (S$448 for 2 nights) and Ottawa (S$195 for 1 night). For Algonquin, I found a really nice wooden cabin at Wolf Den Nature Retreat and it cost CAD$418.10 (S$428) for 2 nights for 4 persons, which was affordable.
For New York, there were not many options for Airbnb so we had no choice but to stay in a hotel. I wanted one in a central and convenient location so that we could save on transport by walking. I settled on Hyatt Centric Times Square and it turned out to be perfect because it was less than two minutes’ walk away from the heart of Times Square. It was located on a relatively quiet side street on 135 W 45th Street so it was not as chaotic and noisy, just near enough to be close to the action but away from the bustle. We paid a total of S$2,690.55 for the 5 nights. It was quite pricey but that’s the standard rate for hotels in New York City, especially if you want to stay at the Times Square area.
So in the end, our accommodation cost us S$1,405.97 per person, or an average of S$100.43 per person per night for the 14 nights. Of course, we saved three nights of accommodation by staying at KP’s apartment in Montreal (thanks KP!), so that helped trim our costs by quite a bit.
ESTA
For Singapore Citizens travelling to the United States, we are eligible to apply for admission under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). However, we still need to obtain an ESTA, or Electronic System for Travel Authorization. You may apply for the ESTA via this link here. The ESTA is valid for one year from the date of application.
The ESTA costs US$14 (S$19.60) per application (per person) and it should be approved in less than three days’ time. Be sure to print out the confirmation document and present it together with your passport at the American Customs. You NEED to obtain the ESTA before you arrive in the United States, or you will be denied entry. So remember to apply it at least a couple of weeks before your trip!
With all our flights and accommodation booked, we had everything sorted out, and it was time to go. North America, here we come!
(Exchange rates: CAD$1 = S$1.035; US$1 = S$1.40)
(Time difference: Canada and New York are 12 hours behind Singapore)
Day 1: 10 May 2017, Wednesday
Our Singapore Airlines flight departed Singapore at 11:55pm on 9 May 2017, with a transit of less than two hours at Frankfurt, Germany. When we touched down at New York’s JFK airport, Terminal 4, it was 10:05am on 10 May 2017. We had arrived about an hour ahead of schedule. We then walked a short distance to Terminal 5 to catch our 2:55pm domestic JetBlue flight to Buffalo, NY, which is still in the United States territory. We touched down at 4:06pm, some 25 minutes ahead of schedule. After that, we hopped on an airport taxi to Niagara Falls.
For the airport taxi, I had pre-booked it from a company called AAA Taxi And Tours. From Buffalo airport to Niagara Falls (Canada), it cost US$88.56 (S$124), inclusive of 8% New York State tax. The ride took just under an hour and we arrived at Marriott Fallsview at about 5:30pm. That includes the time taken to cross the border at Rainbow Bridge, which was relatively quick and easy. We didn’t have to get out of the vehicle but the immigration officer asked quite a few questions.
Marriott Fallsview Hotel & Spa
Address: 6740 Fallsview Boulevard, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2G 3W6, Canada
Website: www.niagarafallsmarriott.com
Room Type: Superior Fallsview, High Floor
Price: CAD$226.98 (S$251.96) for 1 night
The room was as KP had described to me. It had an astounding view of the Horseshoe Falls. It was really near and it felt like we could just reach out and touch it. It was so beautiful we just sat there for a while and enjoyed the view from the comfort of our room. Super nice!
As it was evening time already, we quickly made use of the last hours of sunshine to go up close to the falls to take some photos before it turned dark. From our hotel, we took a pleasant walk along Fallsview Boulevard and Murray Street to get to Niagara Parkway, where the falls were. From there, we had a good view of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. It was even more beautiful up close, and I was not disappointed with the view. Bucket list checked!
Trivia time: If you read the previous paragraph carefully, you will know that Niagara Falls actually consists of three waterfalls, not two. Most people (myself included) are not aware of Bridal Veil Falls because it is much smaller and it is separated from the American Falls only by Luna Island, which is very small. So Bridal Veil Falls appears very similar to the American Falls, and most people will lump them together since they are in close proximity, but in fact, they are considered two separate waterfalls.
Another fact: The American and Bridal Veil Falls lie entirely on the American side while the Horseshoe Falls straddles both sides of the American and Canadian border, but more on the Canadian side. And 90% of the Niagara River flows over the Horseshoe Falls.
Before the trip, I had read about how commercialised Niagara Falls is, with an overwhelming number of hotels sprouting up, creeping ever closer to the falls. However, now that I was there in person, I was surprised that it didn’t feel that way. Yes, there were many hotels around but due to the vastness of the area, it didn’t like they were encroaching too close to the falls. Maybe it was also because it wasn’t the peak season yet, so there were not as many tourists around. It didn’t feel too crowded and I actually enjoyed the atmosphere there.
As we would be exploring the falls again tomorrow morning, we didn’t spend too much time there for now. We took a taxi to the nearby Canada One Brand Name Outlets, which was a premium outlet mall. As it was only the first day, we just wanted to check out the prices first so we didn’t do much shopping yet. Anyway, it was a very small outlet mall with only 31 stores. There were only a few of the usual brands like Coach and Adidas but it wasn’t fantastic. And many of the stores were closed too. We spent about an hour there before heading back to our hotel area for dinner.
By then, we were starting to feel the effects of jet lag so we decided to have a quick dinner at Tony Roma’s, which was just across the road from our hotel. Bearing in mind the huge portions of meals here, we ordered just two main courses to share – a rack of ribs and a burger, which was more than enough for the three of us.
After dinner, we went back to our hotel to unwind and enjoy the light show from our room. I read that there would be a firework display at 10pm but unfortunately, it didn’t happen for some reason. Nevertheless, the falls were lighted up in shades of green, blue, pink and white at different times and they looked pretty spectacular.
It had been a super long day of travelling. From Singapore to Niagara Falls, we were up in the air for almost a full day and had not slept much. But it was all worth it. End of Day 1, more adventures ahead tomorrow!