Airport Transfers in Canada: Private Cars and Limousines from Coast to Coast

How do airport transfers work across Canada?

Canada is the second-largest country in the world, and its airports are far apart. A traveller landing in Halifax, Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver faces the same question: what is the best way to get from this airport to where I am going, and how much of the trip do I want to plan? Onroutz.ca answers that for the whole country from one desk in Toronto.

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That model has a practical benefit: you learn one booking process and use it from Pearson to Vancouver. One booking, one confirmation, one invoice and one 24/7 contact follow you from city to city. Partner vehicles are no more than four model years old, and up to seven for Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Maybach. For how the whole system works, see how private airport transfers work and the airport transfers hub.

Canadian airports at a glance

These are the airports with their own page. Each page covers the terminal, pickup points, the real public options with verified fares and a comparison with the private car.

The distances come from each airport's own published figures where they exist, and are standard road figures otherwise. Our airport pages give the detail.

Toronto and the GTA

Toronto is where Onroutz.ca is based and where the cars are our own. Start with the Toronto and GTA overview, then the two airports: Toronto Pearson, the main international gateway, and Billy Bishop on the waterfront. For the suburbs, the GTA airport limo hub lists each town, including the three covered in this section:

• Richmond Hill, about 30 to 37 km from Pearson, with the 404 and 407 as the main route.
• Vaughan, from Woodbridge to Kleinburg, 16 to 34 km out.
• Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke, three very different drives, from 9 km to nearly 50 km.

Southern Ontario beyond Toronto

Southern Ontario is the part of Canada where the Onroutz.ca fleet drives itself. The big intercity trips start here. Toronto to Niagara Falls is the most requested, with Niagara Falls limousine hire for the town itself. Other pages cover Hamilton Airport to Toronto, Pearson to Kitchener-Waterloo, Pearson to London, Pearson to Barrie, Pearson to Kingston and Pearson to Muskoka. For resort and casino weekends, see Toronto to Blue Mountain and Toronto to Casino Rama.

The land border has its own cluster. Buffalo Airport to Niagara Falls, Toronto to Buffalo Airport and Detroit Airport to Windsor cover the cross-border runs, where a private car saves a change of vehicle at the bridge. Longer cross-border trips, such as Toronto to New York City, run from Toronto.

Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec

The Quebec–Ottawa corridor is the second major cluster. Montréal-Trudeau is the busiest, with the 747 bus as the public option and the REM airport branch, still in testing according to rem.info, to follow. Ottawa airport serves government and diplomatic travel. The long corporate drives are Toronto to Montreal and Toronto to Ottawa. Race fans should read the Canadian Grand Prix page.

Alberta and the Rockies

Calgary International is 17 km from downtown, per YYC, and the starting point for the mountains, with dedicated pages for Calgary Airport to Banff and Calgary Airport to Canmore. Edmonton International is farther out and the gateway to Jasper and the north. Both cities have cold winters, and a driver who knows the roads makes a difference.

British Columbia and the prairies

Vancouver International is the Pacific gateway, with the Vancouver Airport to Whistler mountain run. Winnipeg is the hub of the prairies.

Atlantic Canada

Halifax Stanfield is the main airport of the Maritimes. The airport publishes zone-based taxi fares, and Halifax Transit's Route 320 runs to downtown, as listed on the airport's bus page. Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg are the day trips, and in the cruise season the harbour is a few minutes from downtown.

Entry rules for visitors to Canada

Rules differ by passport, so check the official sources before you fly.

• eTA. Visa-exempt foreign nationals who fly to Canada need an electronic travel authorization, which costs CAN$7 and is applied for online. See the official eTA page. US citizens do not need one, and travellers arriving by land or sea do not need one either.
• Advance declaration. The Canada Border Services Agency lets you submit your customs and immigration declaration before flying through ArriveCAN, and major airports have kiosks and eGates. See the CBSA traveller page.
• Connections. If you connect through a Canadian hub, you clear customs at your first point of entry and arrive at your final airport as a domestic passenger.

Our guide for international travellers arriving in Toronto goes through the steps at Pearson in detail.

When a train or bus beats a car in Canada

Canada is not Europe. Rail is limited, and few airports have a train. In Toronto the UP Express is a real alternative to a car, and in some cities a public bus takes you to the centre for a few dollars. In the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, VIA Rail connects Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal city centre to city centre, which can beat a long drive for a solo traveller.

A private car wins when you have three or more travellers, heavy luggage or ski gear, a late arrival, children, or a business schedule, and outside the cities, where there is no public alternative at all. For the long drives, the routes hub compares driving, train and plane.

Limousine service across Canada for events and business

Events drive demand in Canada. The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the Toronto film festival, conventions in Calgary and Vancouver and winter sports weekends all stretch local supply. The events hub shows how we handle group moves, and the corporate events page covers business programmes. For executives, a corporate account sets up monthly invoicing and multi-leg itineraries on one booking. See the travel desk.

Vehicles, booking and cancellation

The vehicle classes are Executive Sedan (Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac or similar, up to 3 passengers), First Class Sedan (S-Class, BMW 7 Series or similar, up to 3), Luxury SUV (Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon Denali, Chevrolet Suburban or similar, up to 6) and Executive Sprinter (Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, up to 12 passengers and 12 bags). Mini-coaches and coaches of 20 to 56 seats are on request, as are Maybach, Rolls-Royce, stretch limousine and armoured vehicles, with availability confirmed at booking. See the fleet page.

Every airport pickup includes flight tracking, with 60 minutes of free waiting after international landings and 30 after domestic ones. Cancellation, counted from the scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours' notice, no charge; 72 hours or less, 10%; 48 hours or less, 50%; 24 hours or less or a no-show, 100%. For large events the cut-off can differ, and the confirmation says so.

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