SenzaVyvaz

I am planning a trip to Greece in early October. I would like to stay 8 nights, however that all depends on if I am able to get a flight from the Toronto airport on Friday afternoon. I live in Buffalo, so I have to drive from there to the Toronto airport to get my flight (the flight is a lot cheaper from Toronto than from Buffalo).

So the flight I want to catch is a direct flight from Toronto to Athens at 4:40pm. The issue is that I have to work until noon on Friday afternoon. I don't have enough vacation days at work to take more than a half day on that Friday.

So - can I make my 4:40pm flight out of the Toronto airport if I leave the Amherst area at noon? Google maps says it will take 1 hour and 38 minutes, however that is not calculating border wait time. So how long will it take to cross the bridge from Buffalo to Canada on a Friday afternoon around 12:30pm?

Thanks in advance for your tips! I would really love to have an extra day in Greece, but obviously I don't want to end up missing my flight.

eliztravels2

That is cutting it close. You don’t say what airline you would be flying, but I expect all airlines are like Air Canada, which requires you to check in 2 hours before departure for an international flight, and Pearson airport website recommends 3 hours. If you leave at noon, you have a maximum of 2 hours 40 minutes to get there, one hour 40 minutes of which is the minimum amount it will take to drive. Add to that time at the border and time at the airport to park and likely wait in a lineup to check in. Parking in the garage right across from departures is quick, but expensive. Parking in one of the lots is cheaper, but you have to check in there as well and take a shuttle. Friday afternoon tends to be very busy both on the roads and at the airport.

Sorry, I can’t tell you much from personal experience about border crossing time. The formalities should be very quick if you have your ticket information handy but not much you can do about traffic back up. And if it is Oct. 7 you hope to fly, all bets are off. That is our Thanksgiving weekend.

Can’t your boss cut you a little slack, even if it a a half day without pay?

tomfuller

If anyone can answer your questions these guys can.
http://niagaraairbusblog.com/niagara...ttle-services/
At least you won't have a car sitting at the Toronto airport while you're in Greece.

laverendrye

eliztravels2 has given you good advice. There are many factors out of your control which could delay your arrival at Pearson airport enough to miss your flight.

It appears that the cost of the airfare was a consideration in choosing this flight, so I imagine that you have a non-flexible, non-refundable ticket. If you have to reschedule your flight because you didn't arrive in time, you could find yourself out of pocket for considerable additional expenses.

I would certainly advise you to find a way to leave a couple of hours earlier, say at at 10AM. But then, I am fairly risk-averse.

SenzaVyvaz

Thanks for all your advice, everyone. I decided to play it safe, and I'm just taking the entire day off Friday. I'm going to need to figure out how to get an extra half a day off in December, but I'll deal with that then!

eliztravels2

Good decision. Enjoy your trip.