Jetboating on the St. Lawrence/Lachine Rapids
I had a chance to meet up with one of the managers who tells me that this has become Montreal’s top tourist attraction. The shallow-draft boats for 27 years have been riding up the rapids and then careening down through the waves.
Prices are around $65 for an hour-long adventure. Actually plan on spending at least two-and-a-half hours. Get there early. Dress in the the warm sweaters and foul-weather gear then, board the boat. The 15-minute ride up the river is calm with great views, then there are about 30 minutes of crashing and splashing through the rapids followed by a 15-minute cruise back to the dock.
It is a blast. Everyone I know who has taken the trip, wants to come back for more.
Speedboating is far more affordable but without the rapids’ thrills. However, it has its own thrills.
Saute Moutons, 47, rue de la Commune Ouest, Montreal (Quebec) H2Y 2C3 Tel: 514-284-9607.
Taking the Metro (Underground/Subway) in Montreal
Montreal has an excellent subway/metro system that links most of the city with speedy trains and the occasional bus here and there. In the winter this system is wonderful when the temperatures drop and no normal human being wants to be wandering the streets.
This is a vintage video shot back in 1976 when the Metro first opened. It still gives visitors a sense of the metro system and provides a fun throwback to the 70s.
Bixi Bikes in Montreal — 300 places to rent bikes for $5 a day
May 2009 saw the inauguration of North America’s first bike rental and sharing program. This bike system is modeled after the Paris experience that has been a grand success. Three thousand bikes are standing at 300 stations and usage is excellent, if my September experience is anything like the rest of the year.
The bikes cost a minimum of C$5 per day. (Your credit card will be charged a deposit of C$287.50 in case you decide not to bring the bike back). If each of your rides is less than 30 minutes, you pay nothing more, but additional time for longer rides on the bikes can get expensive.
• an additional C$1.50 for the second 30 minutes
• plus, C$3 for the third 30 minutes (which equals an additional C$4.50 for 60 to 90 minutes of use)
• then, C$6 for the fourth and subsequent 30 minutes (which equals C$10.50 for 90 to 120 minutes of use or more on top of the original C$5 daily usage fee)
• If you kept the bike for 6 hours, for instance, the total cost would be C$5 + C$58.50 — renting a luxury car is cheaper!
Bikes can be picked up in one part of town and dropped off at another. If visitors limit their rides to 30-minute stints, the cost of the bike will stay at $5/day. Obviously, the system is designed to encourage multiple short trips.
If a couple decided to take two bikes off for a picnic and spent an hour riding and two hours knoodling on the picnic blanket, the cost would soar to C$55 for the two bikes. So be careful about how you use these convenient two-wheelers.
Each of the $2,000 bikes come with various anti-theft features, including a GPS tracking device and a braking system that will automatically lock the brakes if the bike isn’t returned to a BIXI station. So, stealing it wouldn’t be productive.
This video is a bit long, but provides an overview of the Bixi Bikes and some bike touring tips for Montreal.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
