By Plane
The Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW; www.ottawa-airport.com) is Ottawa's only public airport, located about 15 minutes by car from the downtown core. Within Canada, the city receives direct flights from Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com), WestJet (tel. 888/937-8538; www.westjet.com ) and Porter Airlines (tel. 888/619-8622; www.flyporter.com).
Air Canada operates year-round, nonstop flights from Las Vegas; Chicago; New York (LaGuardia); Washington, D.C. (Dulles and Reagan); and Boston, and seasonal nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) and United Express (tel. 800/864-8331; www.united.com) fly nonstop to Ottawa from Chicago. Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) operates nonstop flights from Atlanta. Continental Express (tel. 800/523-3273; www.continental.com) flies nonstop from Cleveland and Newark (Liberty). Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com) offers nonstop service from Detroit. US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com) operates nonstop flights from Philadelphia. From November to May, WestJet flies nonstop from Tampa and Orlando.
YOW Airporter (tel. 613/260-2359; www.yowshuttle.com) shuttle service departs for major hotels from Arrivals Level 1, Post 10, every half-hour from 5am to 11:55pm. The one-way fare is C$15, round-trip is C$25. An airport limo can be summoned by calling tel. 613/523-1560. You can also hop into a regular cab; the fare will be around C$25 to downtown. If you wish to use the public transit system, OC Transpo provides high-frequency rapid service along the scenic Transitway, a roadway built specifically for buses. Rte. 97 departs the terminal at the curb outside the arrivals area. Adult cash fare (exact change only) is C$3.25.
By Train
VIA Rail (tel. 888/842-7245; www.viarail.ca) trains arrive at the Ottawa Station at 200 Tremblay Rd. (at blvd. St-Laurent), in the southeastern quadrant of the city. From here, buses and taxis connect to downtown.
By Bus
Buses arrive at the Ottawa Bus Terminal, 265 Catherine St., between Kent and Lyon. Greyhound Canada (tel. 800/661-8747; www.greyhound.ca) provides coast-to-coast service with connections to Ottawa from most cities and Montreal's Pierre Trudeau International Airport.
By Car
Driving from New York, take Interstate 81 to Canada's Route 401 east, then continue to the new Route 416 north, which leads directly into the city. Coming from the west, come via Toronto on Route 401 east to Route 416 north. From Montréal, follow Route 17 west to Route 417.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
