We are thinking about driving out to Niagara Falls and going to the Canada side. I know there are several members here that drive back and forth. What do I need and how hard is it at the border?

I am sure I can figure out what is needed easy enough but wanted to ask someone with first hand experience.

 

I pass back and forth fairly regular and have only been detained at gun point (3 guards) the one time. Turns out there was another guy in Indianna with the same name as me but he was armed and dangerous... They had to make sure I wasn't THAT guy:-)

Usually only a valid passport that doesn't expire in the next 3 months and absolutely no business and good to go:-)

Welcome to our home and native land!!!!!

Ryan

 

passport thats about it..everyone in the car, including infants

 

And leave any weapons at home!!! Canada's gun laws are way more restrictive and every year we hear about dozens of tourists getting turned back or charged for concealed weapons.

Passport is essential.

 

A car.

 

lol, And Oldsmobile preferred...

Thanks guys.

 

You really need a passport these days. A NY driver's license doesn't even work anymore. Many states don't have licenses that are good for international travel. An "enhanced" NY license will get you there too. My kids even have passports. We're going to a waterpark on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in two weeks.

 

While I personally have always used a passport when travelling to Canada (even when all you needed was a driver's license), the State Department also issues a plastic ID card that can be used for the purpose, which is easier to carry.

I would say that it's never a bad idea to bring with you proof of purchase of anything of value that you may be carrying in the car (cameras, computers, etc.) - while there is rarely a problem, technically the US can accuse you of smuggling goods into the country if you can't prove that you got them here in the first place.

Similarly, there is no freedom from search and seizure when passing over a border, so any of your phones, computers, etc. can be seized and kept, either for months or forever, while Uncle Sam downloads and analyses the contents, and they can make you give them all the passwords, or just hold you in a 40°F room until you see things their way.
Does it happen often? No, but it is always a possibility.

Finally, as noted, the Canadians can get a bit nutty about guns.
It has been reported that they have used an NRA window sticker as an excuse to "search" ("disassemble") a car for weapons.
Also, in Canada, it is illegal to possess ammunition for any gun you are not licensed to own, so that one round that's rolling around under the seat, or somewhere at the bottom of your glove compartment, can get you jail time.

Of course, having a problem with any of this would be one in a hundred million, but it's always good to be careful.

- Eric

ps: Oh, one other thing - Radar detectors are ILLEGAL in ALL of Canada.
Completely banned.
Just having one in the trunk will get it confiscated, and possibly a ticket, too, so be careful.

 

They can tear your car apart to search it, wreck it while doing so, and not care how you put it back together. I would not take any car I personally own into Canada for that reason. Somehow "you caused damages while looking for something I didn't have, so you should pay for them" doesn't seem to apply to them, as well as the time-honored trend of the job of government checkpoint agent seems to attract those of a bullying nature and low intellect.

 

A little doomsday-ish ;-)

I've driven across the border many times and no issues. Not when I was driving my VW Bug, not when I forgot my passport (before the last clamp down on passports by the US), not when I came back from Portland with a 455 strapped down in the back of my Sienna and no receipts for any of the parts I had with me...and not when I brought my wife and daughters back across with no passports in October (stolen in San Diego).

I've generally found the border security on both sides of the border has been very reasonable.

 

Returning this morning, I think that they key point I would make is the obvious, though seemingly often overlooked fact that Canada is a foreign country.

Even though they look like us, talk pretty much like us [eh?], have similar rules and laws (mostly), and are right next door (and even have some moles on this very board! ), they are not the fifty-first through sixtieth states, and one should respect travel to Canada the same way that one respects travel to any other foreign country. (That includes things like not trying to pass US dollars over there, instead of buying Canadian currency - it's just as annoying when we do that there as it is when they do it here).

- Eric

 

Just as Eric (MDchanic) has stated we are our own country with our own money, when using US money here you will loose on exchange ( some places expect it at par)
We do not allow guns unless you have the correct paperwork, a friend of mine travels back and forth with guns and horses to the renactment of the civil war in PA.
The Falls is a tourist attraction so you should cross at the Rainbow bridge (easiest to get across). Both US and Canada use the crossings from Port Huron to Buffalo as training stations so you run into good border guys and complete idiots. I have hit both equally and been searched or just waived through.
Should you decide to come to the Falls check before you do as it was reported last week that the water on the US side is going to be "turned off" while repairs are made to a bridge so you might only see a rock face.
Enjoy your trip here and leave your guns at home please.
Steve

 

I'm pretty sure this isn't happening until next winter at the earliest. I've been talking with the Engineers that are reviewing the condition of the bridges that they need to replace upstream of the falls (we're likely going to quote the demolition of them) and they said they are still in the early stages of developing the plan for this. I talked with them last summer and originally thought they were going to do it this winter but the last I saw they were still in the "public hearing" phase of the project.


http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/25/travel...g-bridge-feat/


Unless something collapses (which it could because one of the bridges is in really bad shape) I don't think they'll be doing it any time in the near future. Even if the bridge collapses there's currently a temporary bridge over it anyway so there isn't any public danger.

 

In my personal experience, I've never had a problem, and I agree. I suppose I would drive my daily driver across the border. I think the risk of damage to my classic cars would be too much, however. I would not want to think about how angry I would be with idiot border patrol agents doing thousands of dollars of damages to one of our classics.

And that's going either way; I'm not just impugning Canadian border patrol here.

 

Brass knuckles, extensible batons, stun guns, most knives and any form of pepper spray are also on the leave at home list. Also your crack pipe and any drugs you don't have a valid prescription for.

 

I just looked at the State Dept web site last week and the cost for a passport book is significantly less than a passport card:

https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...-and-Card.html
First time is $135 vs $55; renewal is $110 vs $30.

 

Other way around, if I recall (just renewed this year) -

Card alone is cheaper, Full-service passport booklet alone is more expensive.

I got both - if I'm overseas and lose the regular passport, the card should smooth the process of getting a replacement at the local consulate.

- Eric

 

According to that website, if you currently do not have either a passport book or a passbook card, the cost to get either is the same. $165 for adults. The cheaper-ness of the card comes in when you renew, and that won't be for 10 years as that's how long each is good for. So it would become an issue in 2026.

I have a passport. It's obviously needed for any air travel overseas, which I do from time to time, and the $110 renewal cost comes to a whopping $11 per year. Big deal. If you're going to get one or the other, anyway, I'd get the full passport as it is more versatile, and you never know when you might need it. (It looks cooler, too!)

 

I found myself in Toronto on a flight from USA to the UK, simply because my wife wanted a smoke. The Canadian airport officials were very relaxed about it, I dare say they figured two Brits waiting for a plane with no Canadian dollars wasn't a threat to security.
I have found being polite and friendly, as well as understanding and playing by the rules of whatever country you are visiting will smooth your path and make for an enjoyable trip.

Roger.

 

FWIW if you're flying to Canada you need a passport. I know a guy who was flying to Vancouver and they wouldn't let him board the flight because he didn't have a passport. He was able to fly to Seattle, rent a car, and drive across though....

 

Yes, the passport card is valid only for land border crossings, not entering any country by air. Kind of all the more reason to spring for a full-fledged passport. Then you've always got the document you need.

That guy who couldn't fly to Vancouver but could fly to Seattle, rent a car, and drive across probably paid more for the rental car than he would have for the upgrade to a full-fledged passport. And he would have the passport for 10 years. If he ever has to travel to Vancouver again, he'll incur that same car rental expense each time.

 

They were turning back people with DUI convictions a few years ago, it was hurting their tourism so there was talk of rethinking it.

 

What's even worse was he has a passport. I think for his return flight they Fedex'd his passport to him so he was able to return without issues

 

You are correct - I have no idea why I typed it backwards as I was looking at the site at the time.

 

Well, there's no chance it could have anything to do with getting old, because, of course, you're young as a pup.

- Eric

 

You got that part wrong, Eric. We love US dollars and will accept them all day long ... at par.

 

Maybe that's why we don't like the CDN$, come to think of it.

Exchange is usually unfavorable.

- Eric