Destinations & day trips · 2026-09-21 · 8-minute read
London, Ontario to Windsor by car is 190 kilometres and two hours - the 401 west through Middlesex, Chatham-Kent and Tilbury to Exit 14 and the E.C. Row Expressway across the city to the riverfront - at a LondonLimo.net planning figure of $340-400 plus HST for a business sedan, $390-450 for an executive SUV and $600-700 for a Sprinter, fixed before the car arrives, to the University of Windsor, Caesars Windsor, Windsor Regional Hospital's Met and Ouellette campuses, the Stellantis assembly plant on Tecumseh Road, the Windsor airport and the waterfront hotels; and the crossing to Detroit is ten minutes more over the Ambassador Bridge, the Gordie Howe International Bridge or through the tunnel on the cross-border page's rules with the passports scanned the week before. The Windsor page has the destination; this article is the run and the bridge, with the honest note on the 401's squalls west of Tilbury.
The run, and the drops
| Drop | Where | From London | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Windsor | Sunset Avenue and Wyandotte Street West | 2 h | The main campus's loop by the bridge's plaza |
| Caesars Windsor | Riverside Drive East | 2 h | The porte-cochere; the casino article has the night |
| Windsor Regional Hospital, Met campus | Tecumseh Road East | 1 h 55 | The main entrance |
| Windsor Regional Hospital, Ouellette campus | Ouellette Avenue | 2 h | The Ouellette entrance |
| The Stellantis assembly plant | Tecumseh Road East at Walker Road | 1 h 55 | The visitors' gate; the plant's own procedures |
| Windsor airport, YQG | County Road 42 at Walker Road | 1 h 55 | The terminal's curb; the YQG page has the flights |
| The waterfront hotels | Riverside Drive | 2 h | The porte-cocheres facing Detroit's skyline |
| St. Clair College | Talbot Road South | 1 h 50 | The main campus's loop |
| The Ambassador Bridge plaza | Huron Church Road | 2 h | The Canadian plaza; the cross-border page |
| The Gordie Howe International Bridge | The E.C. Row's western end at Ojibway | 2 h | The Canadian port of entry |
| The Detroit-Windsor tunnel | Goyeau Street, downtown | 2 h | The tunnel's plaza; cars and the tunnel bus |
LondonLimo.net planning figures before HST; the Tourism Windsor Essex site has the city.
The 401 west, in detail
Wellington Road to the 401 at Exit 186, the highway west past the Highbury and Wonderland interchanges and Delaware, the long straight through Middlesex and Chatham-Kent with the wind farms, the Chatham exits at 81, the Tilbury ONroute at 56 - the last stop - and the E.C. Row Expressway from Exit 14 across Windsor's south side to Huron Church or Ouellette; two hours on a Saturday afternoon and two and a quarter on a Friday when the trucks for the bridge fill the right lane. The Chatham-Kent page has the stretch's towns.
The university and the college
The University of Windsor's campus by the bridge's plaza with its law school, its engineering building and the residences; St. Clair College on Talbot Road; a London family's move-in and convocation by the hour, and the universities page has the pattern from the London end.
The hospitals
Windsor Regional's Met campus on Tecumseh and the Ouellette campus downtown take Essex County's patients and refer to London's University Hospital and Victoria for the specialties, and London's hospitals send the reverse; the run is the sedan to the entrance with the return held open, and the out-of-town patients article has the Windsor family's day in London.
The plants and the offices
Stellantis's Windsor assembly plant on Tecumseh Road, the Ford engine plants, the NextStar battery plant on the E.C. Row's north side, and the tool-and-die shops of the county; a London supplier's engineer to the plant's visitors' gate at 8 with the plant's procedures cleared, and the corporate page has the account and the business page London's companies with Windsor's plants as customers.
The airport
YQG's terminal on County Road 42 takes the Toronto and the seasonal sun flights, an hour and fifty-five minutes from London and the airport a Windsor-bound passenger flies to from Toronto; the YQG page has the flights and the airports page the comparison with Detroit Metro across the river.
The riverfront and Caesars
Riverside Drive's hotels and the riverfront park facing Detroit's skyline, Caesars' porte-cochere, the Colosseum's shows, the Chrysler Theatre and the riverfront festival's fireworks in June; a London couple's overnight is the fare down, the hotel through the travel desk and the fare home, and the Caesars article has the casino night.
The crossing, in detail
The Ambassador Bridge from Huron Church Road to Detroit's Mexicantown, the Gordie Howe International Bridge from the E.C. Row's western end to Delray with its new plazas, and the tunnel from Goyeau Street to Jefferson Avenue in Detroit's core; a chauffeured crossing needs every passenger's passport or NEXUS card, the CBSA's rules coming back and the CBP's going over, the vehicle's own documents, and the cross-border page's fare to Detroit Metro at $420-520 or the stadiums; the Detroit page has the city and the cross-border article the documents in full.
The squalls west of Tilbury, honestly
The 401 between Tilbury and Windsor takes Lake St. Clair's lake-effect squalls on a southwest wind and the stretch between London and Chatham takes Lake Huron's on a northwest, the OPP closes the highway when the visibility goes, and the chauffeur leaves thirty minutes earlier from December to February with the Ontario 511 cameras watched; the winter article has the rules.
Three runs, as they went
A Stellantis supplier's engineer, a Tuesday. Masonville at 6, the visitors' gate at 8:05, the return at 3, home at 5:10. Two sedan fares at $370.
A University of Windsor convocation, a family of five, June. Byron at 8 in the SUV, the campus at 10, the day by the hour with lunch on the riverfront, home at 6.
A Detroit Metro departure, a couple, a Thursday. Old North at 5 a.m., the bridge at 7:10, the terminal at 7:40 with the passports scanned the week before. One cross-border fare.
Booking it
The run is a fixed fare on the reservation engine with the Windsor address; the crossing is one email to the desk with the passports' details; the Windsor page has the destination.
Three questions the desk is asked about the Windsor run
Which crossing is fastest? The Gordie Howe's new plazas on most days, the tunnel for downtown Detroit, the Ambassador when the trucks are elsewhere; the desk checks the border wait times the morning of.
Can the chauffeur cross with the car? Yes - on the cross-border page's rules, with the vehicle's documents and the passengers' passports scanned the week before; the fare to Detroit Metro is $420-520.
Is there a train to Windsor? VIA's Windsor line runs from London in about two hours to the station on Riverside Drive; a solo traveller to downtown Windsor takes it, and the car wins for the campus, the plants and the crossing. The FAQ has the rest.
The 401 west, in detail
Exit 186 at Wellington Road, the highway west through Middlesex's flat farms and the Delaware and Wardsville exits, Chatham-Kent's stretch with the wind farms on both sides, Chatham's exits at 81 and 90 for the town, the Tilbury ONroute at 56 for the last coffee, the county's stretch to Exit 14, and the E.C. Row Expressway across Windsor's south side to Walker Road for the plant and the airport, Ouellette for downtown and Huron Church for the bridge; the Chatham-Kent page has the stretch.
The university and the college, in detail
The University of Windsor's campus on Sunset Avenue by the Ambassador Bridge's plaza, with the law school, the engineering building and the residences' loops on Wyandotte; St. Clair College's Talbot Road campus in the south; a London family's move-in, convocation and a lecture by the hour, and the University of Windsor site has the campus.
The hospitals, in detail
Windsor Regional's Met campus on Tecumseh Road East with the main entrance and the cancer centre, the Ouellette campus downtown with the Ouellette entrance, Hôtel-Dieu Grace on Prince Road; the sedan at the entrance with the return held open, and the medical page has London's hospitals that take Windsor's referrals.
The plants, in detail
Stellantis's Windsor assembly plant on Tecumseh Road at Walker with the visitors' gate on the north side, the Ford engine plants on Henry Ford Centre Drive, the NextStar battery plant on the E.C. Row's north side at Banwell, and the county's tool-and-die shops; a London supplier's engineer at the gate at 8 with the plant's badge, and the corporate page has the account.
The airport, in detail
YQG's terminal on County Road 42 at Walker Road with the curb, the lot and the Toronto and seasonal flights; an hour and fifty-five minutes from London, and the YQG page has the flights; Detroit Metro across the river at $420-520 on the cross-border page has the rest of the world, and the Detroit Metro article does the arithmetic.
The riverfront, in detail
Riverside Drive's hotels with the porte-cocheres facing Detroit's skyline, the riverfront park and its trail, Caesars' porte-cochere on Riverside Drive East, the Chrysler Theatre on Ouellette, the riverfront festival's fireworks in June and the Windsor International Film Festival in the autumn; a London couple's overnight through the travel desk, and the Tourism Windsor Essex site has the calendar.
The crossings, in detail
The Ambassador Bridge from Huron Church Road's plaza to Detroit's Mexicantown with the trucks' lanes and the cars'; the Gordie Howe International Bridge from the E.C. Row's western end at Ojibway to Delray with its new plazas and NEXUS lanes; the tunnel from Goyeau Street downtown to Jefferson Avenue with the tunnel bus for foot passengers; the CBP's rules going over and the CBSA's coming back, and the cross-border article has the documents in full.
Booking checklist for the Windsor run
The date and the time; the pickup; the Windsor address or the crossing; the return, fixed or open; the vehicle; the numbers and the cases; the passports if crossing; the card. Eight lines to the desk or a fixed fare on the reservation engine.
The honest summary
Two hours west to the river at $340-400 for a sedan and ten minutes more across it on the cross-border page's rules, with the squalls west of Tilbury in the plan; the Windsor page has the destination.
A worked example: the crossing that went smoothly
A Masonville couple's Detroit Metro flight at 9 a.m. on a Thursday: the passports' details to the desk on the Monday, the sedan at 5 a.m., the Tilbury ONroute at 6:05, the Gordie Howe's plaza at 7:05 with the NEXUS lane, the CBP's booth in six minutes, and the terminal's curb at 7:40; one cross-border fare of $470 and the return meet the following Wednesday with the CBSA's booth on the way back. The cross-border article has the documents.
The desk's rule of thumb
Two hours; $340-400 for a sedan, fixed; the passports the week before for a crossing; the Gordie Howe on most days and the tunnel for downtown; thirty minutes earlier from December to February west of Tilbury; and the entrance named at booking. The Windsor page has the destination.
Booking it, in one line
The run is a fixed fare on the reservation engine with the Windsor address; the crossing is one email to the desk with the passports' details.
