How early should I leave to catch our flight from Buffalo?

[Amps]

Hey guys. We live in Mississauga (west end of Toronto) and have a 7:25am flight on South West from Buffalo. How much time should I leave us to get there?

I was thinking of leaving around 4am which would leave us 2hrs for travel and 1.5hrs for checkin and misc. But now my parents are saying we should leave around 3am which I think would just make us way too early and make us extra sleepy as well. When we checked into Buffalo airport last May it only took us 10-15mins to checkin with SWA and to get through security.

Please share any input or exeperiences, thanks!

 

[sammi]

We live closer to Buffalo than you do and we always take the early SW flight BUT we also stay over in a hotel the night before so we don't have to rush in the morning and we aren't feeling beat all day........I would suggest a hotel.

 

[jeannief]

I'm about 30 minutes futher than you. In November we left home at 5:30 and were driving by the airport by 7:30...it went fast at that time. I took the 407 as far as I could but that probably doesn't apply for you.
Personally I'd stay overnight at a hotel with a flight that early since you can shuttle from there and your car can stay put. But that's just me. I'm paranoid about missing flights and would hate to get up at that time.
good luck!

 

[Questforthemouse]

Your timing sounds right to me. I'm in Burlington...at that time of morning it takes me 1 1/2 hours (including 10 mins at border) to get to the airport. You're a 1/2 hour further away so 4am should get you to the airport by 6am. You'll need a few minutes to park at the airport or offsite and take a shuttle. Like the others have said...if money isn't an issue I'd consider staying at an airport hotel the night before. We stay at the Holiday Inn Express right across from the airport. It's a little more expensive but they have a good continental breakfast (and will bag one for you if you're leaving really early) and it's a 5 minute shuttle ride in the morning. The extra 1 1/2 hours sleep and the peace of mind knowing you're 5 mins from the airport is worth it to us! We will do this even if we don't fly out until early afternoon as the border can be a mess mid-day sometimes. Kinda like starting the vacation a day early.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Have to agree with the others - I'd get a hotel the night before that will keep your car - that way you aren't paying THAT much more and are already there for your early flight! That's what we are doing for our 8am flight from Rochester in a few weeks! I want to be able to function when I get to Disney - not have to go for a nap!

 

[SandraC]

Consider a Buffalo Hotel....

We paid $149 for Homewood Suites in March. We are a family of 4.

They watched our car = $70 at the airport for 11 days
They feed us free dinner, beer & wine = $50 at a cheap restaurant
They feed us a great free breakfast buffet = $40 for breakky buffet

That's a total of $160, so essentially they paid us $11 to stay in their TWO ROOM SUITE!

Homewood Suites Hilton is a lovely hotel with a GREAT pool and spa!

S

 

[snowy76]

We're two hours away from BUF too - in the other direction! My two cents... the only thing that would concern me in your situation would be this... if there was any kind of snafu crossing the border (unlikely at 6 a.m. but possible!), that might delay you enough to cause problems.

If you say 4 and they say 3... Why not compromise with your parents and say 3:30?

 

[tone.def]

We had a 6:50 a.m. flight to Baltimore last month, we live downtown T.O. and we left at 4 a.m.... it was a little tight for us, but only because the parking lot shuttle driver decided to stop and pick up another family who's child threw a temper tantrum in the parking lot and wouldn't get on the shuttle! Instead of picking the kid up and dragging them on, they spent 10 minutes talking to her outside and the driver waited! Morale of that story - you never know what can happen even when you get to the parking lot on time! Leave at 3:30 for your piece of mind, I know I will next time.

 

[hockey mom]

We pulled into the Buffalo Airport parking lot at 10:15 for our 11:00 flight.

Managed to check in and clear security before they even started to board our flight.

 

[laura001]

My DH and I flew to Chicago a few weeks ago and arrived at the airport 1 hour and 15 minutes ahead of our flight, had no bags to check, but the airport security was crazy that day, we ended up having to leave the security line and use a special line because our flight was going to leave. Yes, we were running!

Then last week we went to WDW and had a 7:25 flight. We arrived at the airport at 5:30, we didn't want a repeat of the week prior, we checked our bags which took 5 minutes, and again the line was long for security but not as bad as the previous week. We were through security by about 6:15, so we just went and sat and had some breakfast.

It is so hard to tell what security is going to be like. The border isn't a problem, when they asked where we were going, I got the BIG smile and said WDW!!!

 

[TimNDansMom]

We always leave the night before and stay in a hotel, for an early morning flight. I would rather be there, across the street from the airport than worry if the highway will be closed due to an accident or a problem at the border. The Galleria Mall is at the exit before the airport's, and we always stop in there and look around, then we go to Cracker Barrel on Transit Rd, not far from the airport for dinner. It's like already starting the trip!

 

[michelle1]

I agree with everyone else...stay if you can. You won't have to get up as early so you won't be so tired for your first day and you never know what glitches can happen...an accident on the highway to tie up traffic or difficulty at the border. On a trip to Myrtle Beach a few years back we had to park and go into customs on our way into the US..we never really found out why (chosen randomly?) but it took us over 45 minutes before we were on our way

 

[Amps]

Thanks for all the advice guys. We decided to book a room at a hotel near to the airport and drive down the day before. Will be looking forward to a full nights sleep (if it's even possible the day before going to disney).

 

[Questforthemouse]

Thanks for all the advice guys. We decided to book a room at a hotel near to the airport and drive down the day before. Will be looking forward to a full nights sleep (if it's even possible the day before going to disney).

Good call! I think you'll be pleased with your choice. Even with the cost of a hotel it'll still be way cheaper than flying out of TO! I'm having a good laugh right now...After giving you advice to book a hotel the night before your flight my wife and I have decided to head down to WDW in July on an early morning flight. Started debating the merits of leaving from home early in the morning just to save the difference between parking vs. the hotel option . Duh!!! Needless to say, we're booking the HIE across from the airport the night before. Have a great trip!