Driving to Canada, what to expect...

One thing people did not mention in more details. You should expect very
cold weather and snow on the ground, something someone from Texas is not
used to. Assuming you have no snow driving experience or the use of snow
chains, be very careful.


"Alex" wrote in message
om...
Hi folks,

My girlfriend and I want to spend a week in Toronto next month for our
vacation, but neither of us has ever been to Canada. We live in
Texas, and to save on flight costs, we hope to fly to Buffalo, NY and
drive the 100 miles to Toronto. I guess the issue is we aren't sure
what to expect.

I know a passport isn't needed (or is it?), and I assume there's some
sort of checkpoint when passing between the US and Canada.. but what
do we need other then standard ID? Also, is there any fee to cross
into Canada?

Oh... and should we get Canadian currency before entering? The flight
we hope to take is on Sunday (cheapest), so would it be a good idea to
get a couple of hundred Canadian dollars before hand?

Thanks for any info and assistance... oh, and one more question. Any
suggestions on a nice B&B in the Toronto area?

Take care,

Alex

Peter L wrote:

One thing people did not mention in more details. You should expect very
cold weather and snow on the ground, something someone from Texas is not
used to. Assuming you have no snow driving experience or the use of snow
chains, be very careful.

Toronto is in southern Ontario. It is not that cold. It is no worse than
most of the north eastern American cities. Temperatures are usually in the
teens (F) . Sometimes it drops below 0 for a few days, and we usually get a
January thaw where temperatures will be above freezing.

Tire chains? I have lived in Southern Ontario all my life and have never seen
snow chains used.

"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
Peter L wrote:

One thing people did not mention in more details. You should expect
very
cold weather and snow on the ground, something someone from Texas is not
used to. Assuming you have no snow driving experience or the use of
snow
chains, be very careful.

Toronto is in southern Ontario. It is not that cold. It is no worse than
most of the north eastern American cities. Temperatures are usually in
the
teens (F) . Sometimes it drops below 0 for a few days, and we usually get
a
January thaw where temperatures will be above freezing.

Tire chains? I have lived in Southern Ontario all my life and have never
seen
snow chains used.

OP lives in Texas, and will be driving from Buffalo. A snow storm in that
region is not unheard of.

Dave Smith wrote:

Peter L wrote:


One thing people did not mention in more details. You should expect very
cold weather and snow on the ground, something someone from Texas is not
used to. Assuming you have no snow driving experience or the use of snow
chains, be very careful.


Toronto is in southern Ontario. It is not that cold. It is no worse than
most of the north eastern American cities. Temperatures are usually in the
teens (F) . Sometimes it drops below 0 for a few days, and we usually get a
January thaw where temperatures will be above freezing.

Tire chains? I have lived in Southern Ontario all my life and have never seen
snow chains used.

Buffalo, on the other hand, is often buried in snow.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
If you won't be better tomorrow than you are today, what
need have you for tomorrow? --Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav

"TheNewsGuy(Mike)" wrote in message . ..
On 1 Dec 2003 20:31:20 -0800, (Alex) wrote:

to save on flight costs, we hope to fly to Buffalo, NY and
drive the 100 miles to Toronto.

Are you sure this will save you enough money to make it worthwhile?
If you add the total cost of the car rental for a week, gas, and a
week's parking in Toronto...plus the inconvenience of the drive to and
from Toronto...and is there any problem renting the car and driving
across the border with it? I am not sure of the answers but perhaps
others here would know if it makes sense to do that.

If you land at Pearson airport inToronto there are buses that will
take you to the subway (Yorkdale or York Mills) and then it is an easy
ride to the tourist/hotel area(s). Once in Toronto, public
transportation (or cabs) are very good and can get you to most any
place visitors would go.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your visit. And if you do drive I guess you
should make the "mandatory" visit to Niagara Falls along the way.


Hi... When checking flight costs from Dallas, it was much cheaper to
fly to Buffalo then directly to Toronto, but almost $500 each ($350 to
Buffalo or $850 to Toronto)... so since I'll need to rent a car
anyway, this is the simplest way to save.

Thanks folks for all the great info. I never thought about needing a
birth certificate, and since I have no idea where mine is, time to
hit-up the parents But if a passport is the simplest, I might go
ahead and just get one of those. They aren't too expensive.

Take care,

Alex.

Alex wrote:

Thanks folks for all the great info. I never thought about needing a
birth certificate, and since I have no idea where mine is, time to
hit-up the parents But if a passport is the simplest, I might go
ahead and just get one of those. They aren't too expensive.

Except, of course, that you need a birth certificate to get one....

If you live close to where you were born, you can get one from the city
clerk or some such. If you're going next month, it's probably too late
to get a passport.

If you have a draft card (I *believe* they are still required, even
though there's no draft), that would probably work for you.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
If you won't be better tomorrow than you are today, what
need have you for tomorrow? --Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav

Dan Foster wrote in
:

In article , Jim
Battista wrote:

Also check with flying to Detroit or Lansing and entering through
Detroit/Windsor or Port Huron/Sarnia. Port Huron might be
quicker even flying into Detroit -- you spend more miles in MI
where the speed limit is much higher.

Well.... the driving time from Detroit to downtown Toronto is
about four hours, whereas from Buffalo's airport to downtown
Toronto is two hours on the dot. (Neither time factors in border
crossing delays.)

Yup. But if the flight into Detroit or Lansing is a direct flight that
gets in sooner instead of changing planes in Omaha and Cleveland it
could yet be quicker. Or if the flight to Detroit or Lansing is
$150/person cheaper, it could be worth it even if it takes longer.

It's usually worth looking around at alternate routes, is all.

--
Jim Battista
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

In article ,
Smiley wrote:

No problem fling into Buffalo [snip]

Oh, really? How can ANYONE have a fling in Buffalo? :-)

--
Bill Pittman; change for e-mail as indicated

Alex wrote:

Hi folks,

My girlfriend and I want to spend a week in Toronto next month for our
vacation, but neither of us has ever been to Canada. We live in
Texas, and to save on flight costs, we hope to fly to Buffalo, NY and
drive the 100 miles to Toronto. I guess the issue is we aren't sure
what to expect.


If you have good ID it will only take a few seconds. When you rent the car
ask for a Canadian insurance certification. You probably won't need it,
but it doesn't hurt and technically you are required to have it in Canada.


I know a passport isn't needed (or is it?), and I assume there's some
sort of checkpoint when passing between the US and Canada.. but what
do we need other then standard ID? Also, is there any fee to cross
into Canada?


You need proof of citizenship and a current photo ID. A birth certificate
and driver's license in the same name is enough, but a passport is
certainly easier. There is no fee to cross the border, but there IS a toll
of a couple of dollars to cross the bridges at the border. Take the Peace
Bridge, BTW, and Queen Elizabeth Way to Toronto.


Oh... and should we get Canadian currency before entering? The flight
we hope to take is on Sunday (cheapest), so would it be a good idea to
get a couple of hundred Canadian dollars before hand?

Not if you have an ATM card.



Thanks for any info and assistance... oh, and one more question. Any
suggestions on a nice B&B in the Toronto area?

Take care,

Alex




--
Larry Finch

N 40° 53' 47"
W 74° 03' 56"

Peter L wrote:

"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
Peter L wrote:

One thing people did not mention in more details. You should expect
very
cold weather and snow on the ground, something someone from Texas is not
used to. Assuming you have no snow driving experience or the use of
snow
chains, be very careful.

Toronto is in southern Ontario. It is not that cold. It is no worse than
most of the north eastern American cities. Temperatures are usually in
the
teens (F) . Sometimes it drops below 0 for a few days, and we usually get
a
January thaw where temperatures will be above freezing.

Tire chains? I have lived in Southern Ontario all my life and have never
seen
snow chains used.

OP lives in Texas, and will be driving from Buffalo. A snow storm in that
region is not unheard of.

Certainly not, but they do not use tire chains. I work across the river from
Buffalo and we catch the edge of their snow storms, but no one uses tire chains.