Work backward to go forward

A popular strategy for communications deadlines is to work backward and add a "buffer" along the way. It works great for travel, too, and your life will be easier when you embrace it.

Let's say you're flying from London to Detroit. You already know that you'll save hundreds of dollars by flying from London to Toronto, taking the train from Toronto to Windsor and departing from/arriving there. So now you're flying from London to Toronto, and your vehicle is parked in Windsor.

• How long does it take to ride the train from Toronto's Pearson International Airport to its Union Station, where you'll catch your "onward" train? (about 30 minutes)

• When does the last long-distance train depart between Toronto and Windsor? (this varies - anywhere from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)

• How much time should you allow for passport control at Toronto's Pearson International Airport? (about 2 hours)

Continuing the hypothetical London-to-Toronto/Windsor/Detroit trip, you know you don't want to wake up pre-dawn to reach your London airport, so you're looking at flights with departing times of noon or later. Most direct flights heading west leave in the morning-to-noon timeframe; flights with one or more stops likely leave later but with odd 7-hour layovers along the way - possibly multiple layovers like this (long enough to get bored but not long enough to do any sightseeing). A flight at noon or later avoids the transportation questions of how you'll get from your hostel or hotel to the airport, which can be a "fun game." Ha. Not really.

• How long does it take to ride the Tube or bus from your hostel or hotel to your airport? (anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes)

• How long does it take to fly from London to Toronto? (about 8 hours)

• What's the time difference between London and Toronto? (4-5 hours)

Now you're really informed. You need a flight that leaves London around 12 noon - 11 a.m. is a popular time - and arrives in Toronto around 2 p.m. You need a train that leaves Toronto around 5:30 p.m. (pro tip - it's safer to choose a later trip and take the earlier train if you get through passport control faster than expected). Note that at the time of writing, Via Rail has scaled back its departures from Toronto to Windsor because of COVID-19, but they're expected to return.

Why bother with all this work? It saves you time, money and considerable stress. You won't be sitting on the plane for 8 hours thinking, "We need to leave on time, get there on time and then everything needs to go like clockwork or I miss our train and we need to spend the night in Toronto."

Now you have time to explore, eat, maybe get lost and look like a calm and composed world traveler through all of it, which of course you are.