Heading back home after a fantastic few days in Toronto. VS use the KLM Crowne lounge here in T3 at YYZ. It’s pretty good actually for a shared lounge. BA look to use the only other lounge which is a Plaza Premium lounge as I shared the lift up with 2 BA Club World pax; which you also can use if you have an AmEx Plat or Centurion card. Can’t be bothered checking the other lounge out.
One thing to look at for is that the priority security line entrance isn’t immediately obvious as it’s not well sign posted across from where VS check-in is located. It’s a white self service scanning gate plastered with AmEx marketing. Upper Class can use that entrance and don’t need to queue in the pretty long standard security entrance line.
It’s also still old school laptops/iPads out of bags with all the lanes still using the old style 2D X-ray machines. Very helpful and friendly staff though.
The VS148 is ~1hr delayed due to the late departure but I still should have enough time to visit Revivals when I land.
Arrival into Toronto / Immigration was quick and straightforward. All UK passport holders need an ETA (which is similar to the US ESTA system). Again you must have full approval for travel before your can check-in. Mine took about 24hrs to come back approved. It costs CA$7 and lasts for 5 years. You also need to use the ArriveCAN app less than 72hrs before departure to complete your customs declaration.
On arrival there are banks of self service machines which you just scan your passport with and complete a few final questions, take a picture then take the print out to one of the waiting officers and you are good to go. The whole process took <2mins. It’s very much like the US Global Entry system.
Toronto was amazing even if a little too hot as it’s been over 30’C here most days. The CN Tower edge walk was fantastic (much like the New York City Climb at The Edge). The ticket includes full access to both the ordinary observation deck and the extra top one as well. The good thing is you don’t have to visit the observation decks on the same day you do the edge walk; you have an extra 3 days to visit one more time at your leisure. You also get priority lane queuing once inside.
Niagara Falls was incredible and another tick on my bucket list. I booked a small 6 person all day trip which picked me up at 7am and dropped me back at the hotel around 16:00. It’s approx a 2hr drive from downtown Toronto to the falls. It was very well presented with an amazing driver/guide starting at the Skylon Tower, a trip behind the falls, the main event boat trip, stop at the whirlpool as well as a couple of other small stops on the way back. Be careful in that area as I found my mobile phone roaming on both Canada and USA networks. Luckily my plan includes both so it wasn’t an issue for me.
I used the UP Pearson Union Express train from/to the airport which is CA$24.70 for a return ticket. You can either buy the ticket before you travel or use the machines on the platforms. Union station is right in the downtown area and close to many hotels. The Intercontinental where I stayed was 2 blocks away from the station. The journey takes about 30mins each way and departs from T1 at YYZ so you need to use the free transit to get from T3 to T1.
Traffic in Toronto is manic so best avoided.
One thing to look at for is that the priority security line entrance isn’t immediately obvious as it’s not well sign posted across from where VS check-in is located. It’s a white self service scanning gate plastered with AmEx marketing. Upper Class can use that entrance and don’t need to queue in the pretty long standard security entrance line.
It’s also still old school laptops/iPads out of bags with all the lanes still using the old style 2D X-ray machines. Very helpful and friendly staff though.
The VS148 is ~1hr delayed due to the late departure but I still should have enough time to visit Revivals when I land.
Arrival into Toronto / Immigration was quick and straightforward. All UK passport holders need an ETA (which is similar to the US ESTA system). Again you must have full approval for travel before your can check-in. Mine took about 24hrs to come back approved. It costs CA$7 and lasts for 5 years. You also need to use the ArriveCAN app less than 72hrs before departure to complete your customs declaration.
On arrival there are banks of self service machines which you just scan your passport with and complete a few final questions, take a picture then take the print out to one of the waiting officers and you are good to go. The whole process took <2mins. It’s very much like the US Global Entry system.
Toronto was amazing even if a little too hot as it’s been over 30’C here most days. The CN Tower edge walk was fantastic (much like the New York City Climb at The Edge). The ticket includes full access to both the ordinary observation deck and the extra top one as well. The good thing is you don’t have to visit the observation decks on the same day you do the edge walk; you have an extra 3 days to visit one more time at your leisure. You also get priority lane queuing once inside.
Niagara Falls was incredible and another tick on my bucket list. I booked a small 6 person all day trip which picked me up at 7am and dropped me back at the hotel around 16:00. It’s approx a 2hr drive from downtown Toronto to the falls. It was very well presented with an amazing driver/guide starting at the Skylon Tower, a trip behind the falls, the main event boat trip, stop at the whirlpool as well as a couple of other small stops on the way back. Be careful in that area as I found my mobile phone roaming on both Canada and USA networks. Luckily my plan includes both so it wasn’t an issue for me.
I used the UP Pearson Union Express train from/to the airport which is CA$24.70 for a return ticket. You can either buy the ticket before you travel or use the machines on the platforms. Union station is right in the downtown area and close to many hotels. The Intercontinental where I stayed was 2 blocks away from the station. The journey takes about 30mins each way and departs from T1 at YYZ so you need to use the free transit to get from T3 to T1.
Traffic in Toronto is manic so best avoided.
Regards
James Mitchell
James Mitchell
We are there in a few weeks, would you mind sharing details on the company you booked your Niagara Falls trip with please ? It sounds ideal for us too
). The lunch options there were quite limited and very fast-food oriented (which I’m not a fan of). I ended getting a salad and soup for lunch which wasn’t bad actually.