What crew need on the ground
A short layover here genuinely reaches the city: 28 minutes from Terminal 1 to Union Station, on a train the timetable heads every 15 minutes, with the last one out of Pearson at 00:54.
UP Express runs between Terminal 1 and Union Station in 28 minutes, every 15 minutes, from 05:27 to 00:54 out of Pearson on weekdays and from 06:24 at weekends and on holidays.
Hail a taxi on the street or take one from a stand and it must charge the City-regulated rate. Book through an app and you agree the price before the trip starts.
Addition of information about entry requirements for those entering from Ebola-affected regions ('Entry requirements' page).
Read the full advice at UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office →Six hours reaches the city here, which is not true of most airports this size, but the margin is thinner than the 28-minute headline suggests.
Twelve hours is a real night off, and the licensing clock binds after the train does, not before.
A full day makes Toronto a city rather than a transfer, and the season decides what kind of day it is.
UP Express, every day. The TTC's 900 Airport Express from Kipling runs to about 02:00, and overnight routes 300A and 352 serve both terminals from about 02:00 to 05:00.
Where the airport train ends. Hotels, the financial district and the walk to everything else start here.
About ten minutes south of Union on foot, on the lake.
The dense restaurant and bar strip immediately west of Union, walkable from the train.
Shops and independent food, further west and better reached by streetcar than on foot.
Expensive retail and hotels north of the core, a short subway ride from Union.
Pedestrianised former industrial block east of Union, compact enough for a short layover.
Cannabis is legal to buy at 19 in Ontario and a serious criminal offence to carry across the Canadian border in either direction, with or without a medical document.
Transporting cannabis across the border in any form, including any oils containing THC or cannabidiol, without a permit or exemption is a serious criminal offence. It applies regardless of whether you hold a medical document authorising cannabis, and regardless of the amount you have with you. If you have any with you, you must declare it to the Canada Border Services Agency; not declaring it could lead to arrest and prosecution. You may not take cannabis out of the country either.
In Ontario you must be 19 or older to buy, use, possess and grow recreational cannabis, the same minimum age as for alcohol and tobacco. You can have a maximum of 30 grams of dried cannabis, or the equivalent, in public at any time.
You cannot smoke or vape cannabis in enclosed public places and enclosed workplaces, at school or on school grounds or in public areas within 20 metres of them, or within 9 metres of the entrance or exit of a hospital. In a vehicle or boat that is being driven or will be driven, no form of consumption is allowed, eating included.
Licensed premises may sell and serve alcohol from 09:00 to 02:00 daily, except on 31 December, when it runs to 03:00 on 1 January. All orders must be served before the end time and all signs of liquor cleared 45 minutes after it, which for most places means 02:45.
Bringing your own alcohol into a Toronto park is allowed only in the 55 parks in the city's Alcohol in Parks programme, only for people aged 19 and over, and only within park hours of 05:30 to midnight. It may not be consumed within two metres of playgrounds, wading pools, splash pads, outdoor pools, natural or outdoor ice rinks, or skateboard and BMX parks. Public intoxication and disruptive behaviour including public urination are not allowed.
The legal drinking age in a licensed establishment in Ontario is 19, and staff must check and verify the identification of anyone who appears under 19 before selling or serving. The ID has to be valid, government-issued and not expired, and the photo has to match the person.
The station is inside Terminal 1, directly adjacent to the Terminal Link train that connects Terminals 1 and 3, so a Terminal 3 arrival rides the Link across first.
Getting out of the airport in fullIf you hail a taxicab from the street or are picked up at a taxicab stand, it must charge the City-regulated rate. Toronto's meters start at C$4.25 and increase based on distance and time for street hail and cabstand pickups. Book through a brokerage instead and the brokerage can provide a discounted rate.
Ride-hailing in fullToronto Pearson has free Wi-Fi, courtesy of CIBC and the airport: choose Toronto Pearson Public Wi-Fi, accept the terms and select Connect. If the landing page does not open, type any website address into your browser.
Staying connected in fullMeasured at Toronto Pearson over 1991 to 2020, January averages -5.0C, with a daily maximum of -1.2C and a daily minimum of -8.9C. The coldest reading in that record is -31.0C, on 16 January 1994.
Weather in fullEnvironment and Climatechecked Sep 2026
The legal definition covers three things: a payment voluntarily made or left by a customer to an employee, a payment voluntarily made by a customer to the employer for employees, and a service or similar charge imposed by the employer where a reasonable person would believe the payment would be kept by an employee or shared among employees.
Tipping in fullGovernment of Ontariochecked Sep 2026
Every drinking and eating establishment in Toronto must continually and prominently post its most recent food safety inspection notice, as issued and without alteration, at or near the main entrance. There are three notices: Pass, Conditional Pass and Closed. The green Pass notice is issued when only minor infractions or none are observed. Infractions are graded crucial, significant or minor.
Eating near the crew hotels in fullOntario's HST is 13 per cent. A seller only has to make clear whether the tax is included in the price or added separately.
What to buy in fullSave the guide and its 8 sections now, and read them on the crew bus before you have a SIM.
Fares, timetables and rules change. Where a figure matters to your plan, the publisher above is the one to check.