Best way to travel from NYC to Montreal?

Airfare to and from Montreal tends to be very pricy, so if you have a budget in mind and don't mind it, I'd recommend the train. The "Adirondack" train from Amtrak travels from New York's Penn Station to Montreal's downtown Central Station on a regular basis. A plane ticket from Dallas to NYC will run you about US$200. The much shorter route from NYC to Montreal will still cost you US$200. And a ticket from Montreal to Dallas will be another US$400. That's $800 for DAL->NYC->MTL->DAL Instead, if you take a return flight DAL<->NYC, you can purchase a return train ticket NYC<->MTL for US$125, total $525 Now some may say "But I get to and from Montreal much faster by plane". Perhaps, but when you factor in the security clearance time (have to be there 2hrs before flight) and the restrictions on what you can bring on the plane, clearing customs at the end of the flight, and waiting at the baggage carousel for your luggage afterwards, you really may only be losing 2 or 3 hours. Another good thing about the train...Central Station in Montreal is in the downtown core. Penn Station is downtown NY near Madison Square Garden. To take a plane, you need to get out to La Guardia or JFK, and in Montreal, Dorval's Trudeau Airport is a 20 minute drive from downtown. If you have to take public transit, better factor that into your costs. EDIT: Just saw Thinking's answer and just wanted to clarify. Canada Border Services will not require you to have a return ticket. What they want to see is that you have an itinerary and plan to leave at the end of your trip. So you can certainly take a train or flight to Montreal from NYC and have a departing ticket to Dallas. It is known as a multiple-destination trip. People do it all the time.

I'd fly to NYC and take the train to and from Montreal. The Adirondack is quite scenic, running along the Hudson for the southern half of the trip, then near Lake Champlain and the foothills of the Adirondacks, and only $63 or $70 each way depending on the date. By the way, you do have a passport, which you'll need at the border, don't you?

I think the cheapest way is by bus. They are usually very long and have no leg space but it should not be that expensive. I think greyhound offers a deal when travelling with a friend. The other, would be to take the train. It is faster and comfortable but a little more expensive.