Toronto has two airports and the difference matters enormously.
Pearson (YYZ)
Canada’s busiest airport, 22 kilometres north-west of downtown, with Terminal 1 (Air Canada and Star Alliance) and Terminal 3 (most others), connected by a free automated LINK train.
The UP Express
A dedicated airport express train from Terminal 1 to Union Station in about 25 minutes, every 15 minutes, from early morning to around 1am.
It stops at Bloor and Weston, and it is comfortable, reliable and immune to traffic. It costs more than ordinary transit and much less than a taxi, and it takes Presto and contactless.
For most visitors this is the answer.
The cheap way
TTC bus 900 Airport Express from either terminal to Kipling station on Line 2, then the subway. Around 50 to 70 minutes in total.
This costs a single TTC fare — a fraction of the UP Express — and if you are going somewhere on Line 2 rather than downtown, it can be no slower.
Bus 52 to Lawrence West on Line 1 is the other option.
Taxis and rideshare
Metered taxis and airport limousines from the rank; Uber and Lyft both operate with designated pickup areas.
Journey time is 30 to 60 minutes depending on the Gardiner, and the cost is several times the UP Express for one person, competitive for four.
Billy Bishop (YTZ)
The other airport, and the one people are surprised by.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is on the Toronto Islands, at the western tip, about two kilometres from downtown. Porter Airlines and some Air Canada regional flights use it, serving eastern Canada and a number of US cities.
You reach it by a pedestrian tunnel from the foot of Bathurst Street — a 260-metre moving walkway under the harbour — or by a 90-second ferry, which is the shortest scheduled ferry crossing in the world.
Both are free.
From the terminal to Union Station is about fifteen minutes on a free shuttle bus or a short streetcar ride. If you can fly into Billy Bishop, do.
Check which airport your ticket names.
Times
Allow three hours for international departures from Pearson and two for domestic and US flights.
US-bound flights clear United States preclearance at Pearson, meaning you go through American immigration and customs before boarding and arrive as a domestic passenger. It adds time at this end and saves it at the other.
Money and arrival
Canada uses the Canadian dollar. Cards and contactless work everywhere; Canada is largely cashless.
Note that sales tax is added at the till, not shown on the price — 13% HST in Ontario. A $10 item costs $11.30.
SIM cards and eSIMs are available; Canadian mobile data is expensive by international standards.
Which terminal
Terminal 1 is Air Canada and Star Alliance. Terminal 3 is nearly everyone else, including Porter’s Pearson services, WestJet and most transatlantic carriers other than Air Canada.
The LINK train between them is free and runs every few minutes. The UP Express departs from Terminal 1 only — from Terminal 3 you take the LINK first, which adds about ten minutes.
The winter factor
Pearson handles snow well but delays in January and February are common, and de-icing queues add time on the ground. Build slack into a tight connection between December and March.
Arriving from the United States
If you are flying from a US airport with preclearance, you clear Canadian immigration on arrival as normal. Flying to the US from Pearson, you clear American immigration and customs before boarding, which means arriving considerably earlier and landing as a domestic passenger at the other end.
Luggage and the UP Express
The UP Express has proper luggage racks, wifi and power at every seat, and it is level boarding from the platform — which makes it much easier with cases than the bus-plus-subway route, where you carry bags down stairs at Kipling.
For one traveller travelling light, the 900 bus is the value. For two people with suitcases, the difference in fare is small and the difference in effort is not.
Downtown to the airport
Allow more time going out than coming in. The UP Express runs every 15 minutes and takes 25, but Union Station is large and the platform is a walk from the subway.
For a taxi or rideshare, the Gardiner Expressway westbound in the afternoon peak can double the journey — anything after three o’clock, take the train.