[Zuton28]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone could give me a few tips?

At the end of May I am planning on hiring a car for two weeks, starting in Toronto or Hamilton, Canada. Driving to New York (staying outside Manhattan and communting in for a few days) and then back to Toronto, allowing a few days at the end for sight seeing in Toronto. There will be me and my girlfriend on the trip one of whom is under 25 but both eligible to drive.

The questions I have are as follows:

Will car hire in Canada allow me to travel over the border into the USA?
Best companies for car hire?
Will I have any problems crossing the border (both people are British)?
Where are nice places to see and stay along the way in that area (obviously Niagara Falls)?
Does anyone know that if the young driver surcharge also includes the cost of an additional driver or is that added on top?
Do both drivers have to be present when obtaining the hire car, even if I have relevent documents for both drivers (my girlfriend is meeting up with me later)?
Any other useful tips about traveling around Canada and USA?


Many thanks in advance for any tips.

[Tim Uden]

I've taken rental cars across the US/Canada border in the past with no problems but most rental companies seem to have a problem with it. It is best to check with different rental companies to see what their policy is. You will also need to check with the rental companies about insurance.

You may find that it is easiest to take a bus to Niagara Falls and then cross the border and rent a car there.

It's only a relatively short trip (only 8½ hours). It is worth stopping at Niagara Falls and Buffalo but no other must see destinations en route, although there are some nice college towns in upstate New York and the Catskills are nice.

If you took more time you could make the trip into a more circular route such as: Toronto - Detroit/Windsor - Cleveland - Pittsburgh - Lancaster County, PA - Gettysburg - Philadelphia - New York City - Catskills Park - Ithaca - Buffalo - Niagara Falls - Toronto. This longer route makes it more of a road trip and it means that you aren't backtracking but it assumes that you have a rental car that you can take across the border (although you have the option of renting the car from Detroit to Niagara Falls, NY).

You would probably best best seeing New York City without a car. Does the place that you're staying outside Manhattan have parking?