There are many different ways to get to Montreal depending upon the country from which you are travelling to Montreal. You can choose the way you want depending upon your personal taste and your wallet. If you are coming from a far away place then the only option available is airplanes or maybe by freighter. But if you are coming from a nearby place then you can travel by car, bus, train, and airplane and even by boat in which cruise ship, sail boat and yacht are available easily.
Montreal has one main airport for international flights and North American flights. It is the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport which is also known as Montreal-Trudeau. There is another airport but it is mainly for some chartered flights. There is site called Airport way finder which helps the tourist to make a complete virtual visit of the Montréal-Trudeau airport. BY using this site, it is possible to prepare in advance your route way to the airport terminals.
There are many private companies which are managing both airports for flight schedules and also provide detailed information on the airports. The basic services are available in the airport for travelers' convenience. There are decent fast-food courts, bars, boutiques, different car rental companies and facilities to use wireless internet. Trudeau Airport (Dorval) is normally used if you want to reach western part of the island of Montreal. There are many private airlines that service the Montreal-Trudeau airport.
If you are coming from a place which is at a short distance from Montreal then you can use car option for getting here. In that case, you need to know the major auto routes, bridges and highways that go to Montreal. As we know that Montreal is on an island, so every tourist entering the Montreal by car have to cross a bridge at some point or go through a tunnel. The main bridges that link the south and west shore to the island are:
The Jacques-Cartier Bridge: this is Montreal's most beautiful bridge and most commonly used bridge for the entry into this place. You have to be a good driver to use this bridge because the direction changes with time of the day in the central lane of the bridge. It changes from south bound to north bound depending on the time. You need to check up the lights and direction properly before entering this bridge. Route 134 will directly take you to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, which can be further be taken through either route 116, or the 15. If you are coming from the US, highway 87 and highway 11 turns into route 15 in Quebec and highway 89 turns into the 133 which further intersects with the route 10.
The Champlain Bridge: You can also enter through this bridge in Montreal which starts with route 10 and take you directly to this bridge.
The Victoria Bridge: You can reach this bridge via route 112. It is good entry point but the only problem is its single lane which is crowded most of the time.
Hippolyte-Lafontaine pont-tunnel
: It is a tunnel cum bridge which can be chosen if you are coming from south shore. Its first part is a bridge which is built over St-Laurent river. After some distance it goes under the river in the form of a tunnel which is made out of concrete tube at the bottom of the river. You have to use route 20 to reach this bridge. You can also use this bridge to reach downtown by using route 138 if you are on the other side.
If you want to enter from the west then you can choose route 40 which is also known as Trans-Canada Highway. After crossing this bridge, you will then cross the Ile-aux-Tourtes Bridge or the route 20 to cross two little bridges to enter Montreal.
The most common and cheap option to enter Montreal is through bus. The main bus terminal is located on Berri street corner of de Maisonneuve. There are multiple companies which are running buses on different route at different timings. The main bus routes which can be chosen for reaching at far off places are:
For reaching Ottawa, you can choose bus service by Voyageur.
You can choose Coach Canada/Trentway-Wagar and Greyhound Canada for reaching Toronto and other locations to the west.
One of the best bus service is Orléans Express for reaching Trois-Rivières, Quebec city, Rivière-du-Loup and Gaspé, etc.
Along with all the other modes to enter Montreal, you can also use cruises that come to Montreal either from Quebec City or from the east coast of the US. Holland America offer cruises starting from or going to Montreal by the way of New York, Boston, Halifax, etc. If you own a yatch or sailboat, there are marinas where you can dock either in the old port or at Ile Ste-Hélène. There are also some shipping companies which have many ships and they allow tourist to take ride in their freight ships. It is very cheap way but as the ships are freight ships so the journey is not very comfortable.
