Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
only be purchased overseas in conjunction with an international air ticket, or you may get
discounts for booking flights and car rental together.
Land
Border Crossings
The eastern USA has more than 20 official border crossings with Canada, accessed via
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan and Minnesota. It is relatively easy
to cross into Canada; it's crossing
back
that can pose problems if you haven't brought all
your documents.
US Customs and Border Protection
(
http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt
)
tracks
current wait times at the main border crossings. Some borders are open 24 hours, but
most are not.
In general, waits rarely exceed 30 minutes, except during peak times (ie weekends and
holidays, more so in summer). Some entry points are especially busy:
»
Detroit, MI, to Windsor, Ontario
»
Buffalo, NY, to Niagara Falls, Ontario
»
Calais, ME, to St Stephen, New Brunswick
As always, have your papers in order, act polite and don't make jokes or casual conversa-
tion with US border officials.
Bus
Greyhound
(
www.greyhound.com
) and its Canadian equivalent,
Greyhound Canada
(
www.greyhound.ca
), operate the largest bus network in North America. There are direct
connections between main cities in the USA and Canada, but you usually have to transfer
to a different bus at the border (where it takes a good hour for all passengers to clear cus-
toms and immigration). Most international buses have free wi-fi on board.
Megabus
(
www.megabus.com
) also has international routes between Toronto and
eastern cities including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. They are often
cheaper than Greyhound. Tickets can be purchased online only.
GREYHOUND INTERNATIONAL BUS ROUTES & FARES
APPROX FARE
($)
DURATION
(HR)
FREQUENCY (PER
DAY)
ROUTE
Boston-Montréal
80
7-9½
7
Detroit-Toronto
60
5-6
5
