Arriving at Montreal airport - how long to get out?

September 3, 2018 2:57 PM

I will soon be flying to Montreal (from Europe) arriving around 15:30. How long, roughly, will it take for me to complete the arrivals process? I am hoping to catch a bus from the airport to Quebec City and was wondering which bus I will likely end up catching. Thanks!
posted by iamsuper to Travel & Transportation around Montreal, QC (5 answers total)

You'll be catching the Orléans Express bus. This PDF schedule seems to be saying there are departures at 16:00, 17:00, 18:00 and 20:30. Tinkering with the website, an adult ticket seems to be about can$72.
posted by zadcat at 3:38 PM on September 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

It depends on what day of the week, your citizenship (are you European or just coming in from Europe?), what you're bringing with you, if you've got checked baggage and some luck. Expect a longer wait on a weekend afternoon than a weekday, IMHO. Based on what zadcat says, you might be able to catch the 5pm (17h) bus, but to be safe, go for the 6pm (18h) one, especially if it's on the weekend.

As a Canadian with a piece of checked baggage, the whole process can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, so I'd expect at least that long and probably longer for a non-Canadian. Particularly if there's a delay for the flight, I think the 6pm bus is the safe choice here.
posted by juliebug at 3:43 PM on September 3, 2018 [3 favorites]

I’d go with 6pm bus as well.
posted by furtive at 8:42 PM on September 3, 2018

Is it possible that a ticket holder of a later bus can embark on an earlier bus if there are seats available?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:27 AM on September 4, 2018

I agree with expecting it to take at least an hour. I regularly fly through Montreal from Europe and find that it varies widely and particularly depending on what other flights are arriving at the same time. We also always take the bus from Montreal to Ottawa (in particular using Air France/KLM's shuttle bus service, which they operate both to Ottawa and to Quebec City, each about 2 hours away) and usually leave ourselves 1.5 to 2 hours after our projected flight arrivals (and have often been late, but AF/KLM hold the buses for delayed flights, which is nice).

You can also help yourself by ensuring you know what you can and cannot bring into Canada, particularly foodwise, before you do your packing, since needing to go through baggage search and food seizure will add significant time.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:47 PM on September 4, 2018