New Years Eve Planning 2023

New Year’s Eve planning can be frustrating especially if you leave it to last minute. Where to go on New Year’s Eve? What to do on New Year’s Eve?

Are you thinking of maybe visiting another city? Or just staying at home to save some money on hotels? I have done some research on my favourite Canadian cities: Toronto, Montreal, Windsor, and Niagara Falls.

I have looked at hotels, flights, and activities both free and paid. Don’t be shocked when I say that prices go up substantially for everything on New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Ideas on Where to Stay

If you are travelling to another city to celebrate, one of your biggest expenses is going to be hotels. While I am not including information on BnB style sites, as there are too many listings to filter through. The prices that I am seeing follow the same pattern.

As an illustration, one BnB listing for this weekend when I am writing this (mid-October) was $127.00 CAD per night. When you search for the night of December 31^st only, it is listed at $195.00 Cad for the night.

My methodology is pulling this together was to go to each of the hotels own websites and requested the price for one night only – which was December 31^st, 2023. I selected the lowest price that was shown out to me.

CAVEAT: As stated, this check was performed in mid October. Between now and the 31^st of December, the prices will fluctuate depending on market conditions. But in many cases, the major hotel chains will be sold out by mid-November.

Finally, I looked at two luxury, two mid-range and two budget listing in each city (with a link to be able to book that brand).

Luxury Brands		All prices are approximate and WILL fluctuate. Click on the hotel to get the most current pricing.
Toronto	*Fairmont Royal York*	$650
	*Park Hyatt*	$761
Montreal	*Fairmont Queen Elizabeth*	$640
	*Park Hyatt*	$250
Windsor	*Caesar’s Hotel*	$499
	*Sandwich Boutique Hotel*	$305
Niagara Falls	*Hilton Fallsview Hotel*	$685
	*Niagara Falls Marriott Fallsview*	$700
Mid-Range
Toronto	*Courtyard By Marriott*	$640
	*Holiday Inn Downtown Centre*	$543
Montreal	*Fairfield Inn Downtown*	$242
	*Courtyard by Marriott*	$343
Windsor	*Four Points By Sheraton*	$172
	*Hampton Inn & Suites*	$155
Niagara Falls	*Fairfield by Marriott*	$414
	*Days Inn by Wyndham*	$410
Budget Brands
Toronto	*Best Western Toronto Airport*	$299
	*Montecassino Hotel & Suites*	$192
Montreal	*Hotel 2170 Lincoln*	$279
	*Hotel Auberge Manoir Ville Marie*	$187
Windsor	*Howard Johnson Plaza*	$109
	*Comfort Inn*	$113
Niagara Falls	*Econo Lodge by the Falls*	$220
	*Diplomat Inn*	$290

Want to check out more hotel properties and compare? Follow here to hotellook.com to shop and compare.

One final note, I was only looking at price. I did not look at the individual reviews. My personal opinion on reviews is that they are the last tie breaker for me. Everybody has their likes and dislikes and that on any given day one could be having a great day or a bad one. One’s opinion will be impacted by that. So, I take reviews with a grain of salt.

New Years Eve Bucket List

Travel to a Canadian City!

You have picked your city. You have booked your lodgings. Now how do you get there and how much will it cost?

If you live in the region, you potentially could drive to any one of the four cities if you own a car. Or you can rent a car. Depending on the distance away from your chosen city, it could cost you up to $500 for the one day rental. On top of that, weather could make your drive a disaster.

Many of my readers currently live in the Windsor – Montreal corridor. So flying between cities could be a possibility for you. Here are the average flight costs between the various cities. Note again this survey of prices was done mid-October and were based on a flight out on December 31^st and flight back on January 1^st.

	Lowest Fare *** approximated only!	Highest Fare *** approximated only!
*Toronto To Montreal*	$279 CAD	$400
*Toronto To Windsor*	$310
*Windsor to Montreal*	$340	$475

NOTE: These are base fares only. Fees and taxes in many cases will double the price.

If you are flying in from other locations, follow this link here to my preferred flight aggregator to get to one of these cities.

Also, I have an association with a flight checker service that will monitor flights for you and send you a notification when the price you want is within reach. Check it out here.

As for Niagara Falls, there is no airport on the Canadian side of the border. You would need to fly into Buffalo or Toronto and transit to Niagara Falls (Canada).

New Year's Eve Plans

Why not take the train?

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you will know that travelling by train is my favourite mode of intercity transportation.

Via Rail runs between Windsor and Montreal with Toronto in between. There are two to six trains per day depending on your route.

You can currently get seats for as low as $54 plus taxes one way. These would be economy seats. If you would like a little more pampering, business is probably what you are looking for.

Here is a quick grid on price break down as at mid-October.

	Lowest Economy Fare	Highest Business Class Fare
*Toronto to Montreal*	$125	$710
*Toronto to Windsor*	$125	$503
*Windsor to Montreal*	$315	$1150
	All prices are estimated at a	point in time and will fluctuate.

NOTE: these are return fares. Prices will fluctuate and certain levels of service may sell out quickly.

Niagara Falls is the odd city out here also. While you can take Via to Niagara Falls – there is one train daily. For a much lower fare you can hop on a GO train for under $20 one way. There is one GO Train from Union Station there and back during the weekdays and two per day on the weekends. Visit GO transit/Metrolinx here for more information.

Where to Eat on New Year's Eve

Eats are a personal choice. While I am pretty flexible on what I will eat, I have found in past comments and reviews people may not like the same kind of things that I do.

As for eating out on New Year’s Eve, I would recommend you start planning now as many major restaurants have started taking reservations. By mid-November, I am guessing major restaurants will be booked up.

For the majority of you I am providing a link out to Opentable here where you can search your destination city by type of restaurant and price range. If you are planning on eating out on NYE, be prepared for higher prices than on a normal day.

For those of you who might want a recommendation, here are mine for each city. No guarantee of availability though.

Toronto: Canoe (atop the TD tower downtown) Barberians Steakhouse

Montreal Gibby’s (old Montreal steakhouse) L’Orignal (Old Montreal)

Windsor: Take 5 Bistro Pelee Island Winery

Niagara Falls: Massimo’s Fallsview Italian Eatery

Fun Things to do on New Years Eve with Friends

So, you have blown your budget on hotel and travel, what can you afford to do now?

There are fun things to do on New Years Eve that won’t break your bank account All of the cities have some sort of fireworks shows planned for New Year’s Eve. Where I was able to find a link to what they have planned, just tap on the city to take you to sites that may have information on the plans (note some of these are 2023 info – I am hoping that they get updated soon).

Toronto Montreal Windsor Niagara Falls

CAVEAT: If you decide to head out to watch the fireworks with friends, first review the weather forecast. Temperatures and conditions can vary from year to year and day to day in Canada. I recommend you dress in layers of up to four layers add and remove layers as needed.

Second, be aware of your surroundings. Make sure your valuables are hidden and secure. Pickpockets target these celebrations as it is dark and crowded so getting bumped into won’t seem out of place.

Activities on New Years Eve (or there abouts).

Why not see a play? Chicago has a matinee showing on the 31^st. If you are sticking around Toronto for a few days, the Raptors are back home to play the Cavaliers on the 4^th.

Montreal:

The Cirque de Soleil has a matinée show on the 31^st. Worth checking out if you arrive early. Similar to above, if you are hanging in Montreal for a few days, the Canadiens are back in town on the 4^th to play the Buffalo Sabres.

Finally, the Casino is worth a visit if time allows – from entertainment to food check it out.

Windsor:

While there currently appears no major concerts or events planned, that I could find. There are two interesting shows at the Ceasars complex around the holidays you may want to check out. Comedy with Gabriel Iglesias on December 16^th or music with Blue Rodeo on January 12^th. Now if sporting events are your bent, the local OHL team has a matinee on the 31^st; Windsor Spitfires vs Sarnia Sting.

Niagara Falls

Like Windsor, at the time of writing there is nothing major that I can find on the 31^st or 1^st. But John Oliver is at Fallsview Casino on December 16^th and then on January 13^th, Walk of the Earth takes the stage at Fallsview.

Check here for other Activities

Conclusion

Cool Things to do for New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve in Toronto, Montreal, Windsor, or Niagara Falls — what a choice! With so many exciting activities from dinner and dance events to fantastic music festivals, it’s time to start planning your trip. Don’t forget about where to stay for the evening; look into hotel packages, party bus deals and special offers to save you money and time. Make sure you get everything sorted soon while there is still availability – last-minute bookings have notoriously higher prices. Also bear in mind any transport requirements you may need: renting a car or looking into public transportation options will help you get the most out of your New Year’s Eve experience. Now is the time to get organised and book your New Year’s Eve travel and event plans for this once-in-a-lifetime experience — avoid disappointment by acting early so that you can make the most of your New Year celebrations!

Please note: The opinions expressed in this document should never be construed as advice. The thoughts are based on my experiences after 40-plus years of business and vacation travel. My likes and dislikes may vary drastically from yours. Do your research and find products and experiences that align with your likes and dislikes. PLUS as I have mentioned several times in this post: Any pricing I have given is an estimate ONLY and at a point in time. They will fluctuate throughout the fall. Most of all have happy travels and see you out there on the road!

Al of Al Murray Travel & Photography: From the time in my youth, when I would lay on our garage roof watching planes traverse the skies above me, I knew I wanted to see the world.

My passion grew after spending a semester of my university days in Barcelona. I spent more time on trains and buses than I did in class.

After earning my BA from Carleton University, life got in the way. But I did find time to graduate again from George Brown in Fitness and Lifestyle Management and then work my way through most of a degree in Sports Administration. However I needed to find work and pay for all this education!

It wasn’t until my “middle age” did I start exploring the world again. First, transversing the US and Canada to take part in tennis tournaments. Then later to complete my spectator “grand slam” of tennis.

I accomplished this while earning my certificate in photography from Toronto Metropolitan University. I am now combining the two passions and now sharing with you my many lessons learned.