Ottawa to Montréal Car Service

An Ottawa to Montréal car service solves a very particular problem. The two cities are close enough that the journey looks easy, yet far enough apart that the details decide whether the day goes well: which station, which terminal, which side of the river your meeting is on, and how you get from the platform to the door. A private chauffeur removes those handoffs. You are collected from a Parliament Hill hotel, an embassy, a Gatineau office or the airport and delivered to a Montréal address in about two to two and a half hours.

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How much is an Ottawa to Montréal car service?

{answer}Ottawa to Montréal is about 200 km. On the LimousineCanada.ca rate card that is roughly $930–$1,110 in an Executive Sedan, $1,170–$1,410 in a Luxury SUV and $1,650–$1,980 in an Executive Sprinter, before tax. The online booker returns the exact all-in fare once you enter your pickup and drop-off addresses.{/answer}

The fare follows distance and vehicle, so the same trip costs the same price on a quiet Tuesday and on a holiday Friday. Tolls are added at cost where a route has them, and gratuity is left to you.

The route from Ottawa to Montréal, kilometre by kilometre

The direct route leaves the capital on Highway 417 heading east. The highway crosses into Québec at the provincial line, where Highway 417 becomes Autoroute 40, and the road continues to downtown Montréal. A reference source gives the Québec-side stretch as about 70 km. A Montréal transfer operator quotes 196 km for the trip from the Ottawa airport, and the trip as a whole is generally accepted as about 200 km.

Ottawa media have documented the alternatives drivers use when construction or a crash closes the main highway near Vankleek Hill. The routes include Highway 50 on the Québec side through Gatineau and a county-road detour that rejoins Highway 417. Estimates for all three options published at the time clustered around two and a half hours. That is a sensible planning figure for anything other than a light-traffic morning.

Rush hours matter at the Montréal end. A weekday arrival between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. can add up to half an hour as the road splits toward the downtown bridges and the western suburbs. Chauffeurs choose the entry point to the island according to where you are going, not according to a habit.

Ottawa to Montréal: train, coach, flight and private car compared

On a purely financial basis, the coach or the train wins for a single traveller. A private car is competitive when three to six people share the fare, when you are going between addresses that are not at a station, or when you are carrying kit. At about 200 km the cities are close enough that driving or rail is the sensible choice, and flying adds security and transfers at both ends. A fixed fare with a booked vehicle is also different from an app that sets the price on the night; our comparison with rideshare explains where each makes sense.

VIA Rail on the Ottawa–Montréal corridor

VIA Rail's route page lists an average trip of two hours over 185 km, with 34 departures a week from Ottawa. A sample day on the schedule shows trains running from the early morning through the evening, and the individual running times are close to two hours. The trains stop at Ottawa station on Tremblay Road, about four kilometres from downtown, and at Montréal Central Station.

Because the Ottawa station is out of the centre, a rail traveller still needs a ride or transit link to Parliament Hill or the airport. A pre-booked car from the station to your hotel is part of what we do, and so is the reverse: a chauffeur who meets you at Central Station for the last part of your journey. Check VIA Rail's Ottawa–Montréal page for the current timetable.

Coach services between Ottawa and Montréal

Orléans Express operates a Montréal–Ottawa service, and its page lists a pickup at the Ottawa station on Tremblay Road. Aggregators give a trip time of about 1 hour 55 minutes, though the schedule is the only reliable guide. The page for the Montréal–Ottawa service has the current departures.

The coach is a legitimate choice if you are travelling alone, you do not mind the station connection at each end and you want the lowest fare. It stops being convenient when the pickup is a hotel in the ByWard Market, the drop-off is a client in the Quartier des spectacles and you have a laptop bag, a suitcase and a presentation to give in the afternoon.

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Pickup in Ottawa: Parliament Hill, embassies, YOW and the station

The capital's pickup points are concentrated. In the downtown core, Parliament Hill and the hotels around it are reached from Wellington Street and the Sparks Street area. Embassies and diplomatic residences are spread across several neighbourhoods, and your chauffeur will go to the correct gate if you give the name and address.

At the Ottawa airport (YOW), the chauffeur tracks your flight and meets you after you have cleared arrivals, with a free wait of 60 minutes on international flights and 30 on domestic ones. Private jet passengers can be collected at the Ottawa business aviation terminal. Gatineau is a short hop across the river, and trips that start in Gatineau are priced from the actual address in the booker.

Drop-off in Montréal: Old Montréal, Central Station, the airport and the hotels

In Montréal, the common drop-offs are the downtown hotels, Old Montréal, the Quartier des spectacles and the airport. For a rail connection, we can finish at Central Station, where the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth sits directly above the station according to the hotel's own site. Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth states 950 rooms, and the hotel quotes about 20 minutes by car from the airport; LimousineCanada.ca is not affiliated with it.

For the Ritz-Carlton Montréal on Sherbrooke Street West, the hotel states that it opened in 1912. For flights, we serve Montréal-Trudeau (YUL) and the business aviation terminal.

Events, festivals and the busy weekends

Montréal fills up on the weekends that matter, and the road from Ottawa fills up with it. The Montréal International Jazz Festival, Osheaga and Just for Laughs all draw Ottawa residents, and the Canadian Grand Prix is the single hardest weekend for hotel and road capacity. On those days a Friday departure out of Ottawa at 3 p.m. is a different trip from one at 10 a.m.

In the other direction, Montréal visitors come to Ottawa for Winterlude and Canada Day. For the cluster of dates, we recommend booking at least a week out so the vehicle and chauffeur are held. The online booker shows availability as you enter the date.

Ottawa to Montréal for government, embassy and corporate work

The capital's business is formal, and a lot of it is on the road. A policy briefing in Ottawa that finishes at 11 a.m. and a client meeting in Montréal at 2 p.m. is a booking that a train cannot reliably meet. A chauffeur with a Sedan or SUV gives a quiet cabin for calls, and a booking on account produces an itemised receipt for expense claims.

For delegations, one Sprinter can move twelve to fourteen people with luggage in a single vehicle. See our corporate car service page for account terms, and the hourly chauffeur page if the day involves several stops. Security-conscious clients should ask about vehicle assignment when they book.

A same-day loop: Ottawa and Montréal on the hourly rate

Some trips are not point to point. A client in Ottawa at 9 a.m., a lunch in Montréal and a return to the capital in the evening is better served by an hourly booking than by two separate transfers. A Luxury SUV is $175–$210 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and an Executive Sedan is $135–$165 per hour on the same minimum. The vehicle stays with you, which means your coat, your documents and your charger do not move between cars.

Do the arithmetic before you choose. Four hours on the road in total, plus two hours of waiting at the Montréal end, is six billable hours, and that can be more or less than two one-way transfers at the distance rates above. The booker shows both versions for the same date so you can decide which is lower.

Stops worth making between the capital and the island

The shortest route is also the least scenic, but a detour is easy to arrange when you are not in a rush. Gatineau Park is a short drive from the capital and works as a morning stop before you head east. The Ottawa weekend guide and the Montréal weekend guide list where visitors tend to spend their time at each end.

Tell the chauffeur if you would like a coffee stop, a photo stop or a short visit en route. A stop of fifteen minutes is rarely a problem; a long detour changes the plan, so mention it when you book and the booker can price it in hours.

Luggage and the right vehicle

A couple with two suitcases fits an Executive Sedan, which holds three passengers, two large bags and two carry-ons. A family weekending in Montréal is better in the Luxury SUV, with six seats and room for five or six large bags. A delegation fills an Executive Sprinter, which carries twelve to fourteen passengers and twelve or more bags.

If you have specialist equipment, such as camera cases, a pop-up display or sports bags, tell us when you book. Car seats cost nothing when you ask for them in the booking: give the age and weight, and the right one will be installed.

Winter driving on Highway 417

Winter on the corridor is mostly ordinary, which means it is occasionally difficult. A winter storm can cut visibility quickly on this open highway, and freezing rain or heavy snow can slow traffic for hours. Allow extra time on days with a weather warning, and let us know the latest time you can arrive. For current Ontario road conditions, consult Ontario 511.

What is included and what to know about cancellation

The fare covers the chauffeur, the vehicle and flight tracking for airport pickups. A name-board meet-and-greet inside the arrivals hall is an optional add-on of $100–$150. The online booker returns the all-in fare for your exact addresses, so there is nothing to negotiate on the day.

Counting back from the scheduled pickup time, a cancellation with more than 72 hours' notice has no charge. At 72 hours or less the charge is 10%, at 48 hours or less 50%, and at 24 hours or less, or for a no-show, 100%.

Related transfers

For travellers who connect with other cities, see Montréal to Québec City, Toronto to Ottawa, Toronto to Montréal and the local pages for Ottawa limo service and Montréal limo service. Our rates page shows the full rate card.