Riding into Canada - Any advice re ferries, border, travelling?

[rmpspyder]

I am going to on a road trip in June to the Washington area and I thought about going across the border to Canada. Any advice as far as ferries, crossing the boarder, traveling in Canada, etc. I am looking at the Victoria area. Thank you in advance

[ARtraveler]

i believe a passport is required for travel into Canada from the US.

We were required to have a passport when we drove through Canada on our way to the lower 48 from Alaska. This was in May, 2019.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

i believe a passport is required for travel into Canada from the US.

Well I don't have a passport ... and I went to the BRP 10th anniversary..... I have what's called an " enhanced " drivers lic. with my picture on it ..... I suggest you google it, to get the best most currant info ..... Mike

[wyliec]

Well I don't have a passport ... and I went to the BRP 10th anniversary..... I have what's called an " enhanced " drivers lic. with my picture on it ..... I suggest you google it, to get the best most currant info ..... Mike

I googled what’s needed, and the answers were all over the place. I have a military I.D. and I’m not sure that will do it. I also found a site where enhanced drivers license would do the job, but only for 5 different states, and Kansas was not one of them. It looks like it is a flip of the coin and the day of the week. I guess your best bet is a passport or passport card.

[Motorcycledave]

i am going to on a road trip in june to the washington area and i thought about going across the border to canada. Any advice as far as ferries, crossing the boarder, traveling in canada, etc. I am looking at the victoria area. Thank you in advance

Do it you will love it in Canada, if it didn't snow there I would live in BC

[Rednaxs60]

Pasport is required, or an enhanced driver's licence can be used depending on the province. Check on line for the various provinces. Got this off the internet: "Enhanced Driver's Licenses are only valid for land and marine crossings, however, so you will not be able to fly to Canada with it as your only form of identification. An Enhanced Driver's License or EDL can enable a US citizen to visit Canada for both leisure and business purposes." It says "can" not "will", good to query the province on line.

Still in the C-19 issue. May require proof of vacination.

Leave your firearms at home.

Lots of good roads up here in BC and on Vancouver Island. There's the Renfrew loop, some 325 Kms or so. Head up island to see Cathedral Grove, or head to Toffino/Euculet. Good ride out to the coast. Stop in to Chemainus and have coffee and a scone at the Willow Street Cafe, best scones on the Island IMHO.

If you are coming in the summer season, BC ferries generally operate on the hour from 0700 to 2200 daily. Take the Twawassen ferry form the mainland to Swartz Bay on the island. Motorcycles, and three wheelers with a motorcycle plate get on ferry first and off the ferry once the few cars in front of the bikes are gone. Polaris Slingshot does not qualify as a motorcycle in BC, has automotive plates. This is according to the BC MVA, but reality may be a different issue.

You can get the Port Angeles ferry, that before C-19 would have an early morning ferry and I think 3 more in the day.

There is great riding in the interior as well. Kaslo, Greenwood, Osoyoos, thorugh Manning Park, and such are great riding roads.

Hope this is good info for you. Live in Victoria. Cheers

[misterbc]

I will second the suggestion of using the Port Angeles ferry to Victoria and avoiding the land crossing S of Vancouver; too much traffic. Check out Port Townsend on the the way to Port Angeles, the Olympic Penninsula has nice riding.
On Vancouver Island be sure to take the 1A highway which hugs the E coast of the Island and goes through Cowichan Bay, Maple Bay, Crofton, Chemainus, Parksville, Qualicum and points N all the way to Campbell River. Nice and relaxing motoring. Many other routes that visit the W side of the Island, too. Port Alberti and up to Torino, etc. and Port Renfrew W of Victoria on #14.
The entire province is beautiful. Enjoy the trip.

[canamjhb]

Avoid, at all costs, the I-5 corridor in Washington. It is a mess. Look at Anacortes to Sidney, BC ferry. Beautiful cruise through the San Juan Islands. The Coho ferry from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, B.C. is also a good option but not as scenic. I recommend spending a couple days in Anacortes, WA and doing some ferry/island hopping from there. Then leaving the U.S. on the Anacortes-Sidney ferry to B.C. Have passports. Everything else is iffy..... Much to tour on Vancouver Island. Then taking the Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay ferry back to the B.C. mainland opens up a bunch of new touring opportunities. So many places, so little time..... Wish I was there with you..... Enjoy Jim

[Navydad]

I am going to on a road trip in June to the Washington area and I thought about going across the border to Canada. Any advice as far as ferries, crossing the boarder, traveling in Canada, etc. I am looking at the Victoria area. Thank you in advance

Get the passport card and possibly save yourself a lot of grief, it's no big deal and you have it if needed. We had to show ours to get into Canada and to get back into the U.S. on our trip to Nova Scotia in 2017. Not hard to get and a lot cheaper than risking an issue.

[gkamer]

I am going to on a road trip in June to the Washington area and I thought about going across the border to Canada. Any advice as far as ferries, crossing the boarder, traveling in Canada, etc. I am looking at the Victoria area. Thank you in advance

I live in Washington (the state not the swamp). For me to enter into Canada I need one of three documents, depending on how I enter the country. If I’m arriving via maritime vessel or motor vehicle all I need is my Enhanced Drivers License (EDL). If I’m arriving by aircraft I need a passport. Both of which I have. However because of the unspecified illness of unknown origin, it seems you now also need proof of vaccination. Further information on that can be found on the link below. One further consideration that is often over looked and may or may not apply in this case is a person’s criminal record. If there is an arrest on your record for certain criminal offenses, for example a DUI, you could be denied entry to the country when you arrive at the border crossing. Even a DUI that’s reduced to a Reckless Driving can cause you to be denied entry. I have only visited Canada once, a very beautiful country from what I saw. What surprised me was when I was coming back into the US, US Customs/Border Patrol told me I had to pay a $5.00 USD reentry fee! Yeah, I had to pay to come back into my own country. Or perhaps they were just running a side gig to pick up a few extra bucks. So where are you planning to visit in Washington (the state not the swamp).

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/tr...etermine-fully

[gkamer]

Avoid, at all costs, the I-5 corridor in Washington. It is a mess. Look at Anacortes to Sidney, BC ferry. Beautiful cruise through the San Juan Islands. The Coho ferry from Port Townsend, WA to Victoria, B.C. is also a good option but not as scenic. I recommend spending a couple days in Anacortes, WA and doing some ferry/island hopping from there. Then leaving the U.S. on the Anacortes-Sidney ferry to B.C. Have passports. Everything else is iffy..... Much to tour on Vancouver Island. Then taking the Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay ferry back to the B.C. mainland opens up a bunch of new touring opportunities. So many places, so little time..... Wish I was there with you..... Enjoy Jim

Talking about the ferries brought back a fun memory. Several years ago, my wife and I visited the Seattle waterfront. While walking around, we found ourselves at the Ferry Terminal. We decided a ferry ride would be fun, so we went in to the counter. I told the lady I wanted two ferry tickets. She asked me where to. I told her it didn’t matter we just wanted to take a ferry ride. She asked if we wanted to stay overnight and I told her no. She gave us two tickets to one of the islands, I don’t remember which one. It only cost us about six bucks total, and was a fun way to kill a few hours.

[RickWB]

As a Vancouver Island resident, I agree that coming from the US, it is better to take the Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC ferry. The Anacortes, WA to Sidney, BC Washington State Ferry is not running again this year. A bunch of us from the Island are heading to the NW Spyder event in Oregon in June, and are taking the Victoria to Port Angeles ferry, due to reasons cited by others, such as traffic on I-5 etc. Before you come to the Island, check to see if the Vancouver Island Spyder riders have any planned rides during your stay. They have a Facebook page.

Rick

[Schreckftw]

Pre-Covid I would travel to Canada a lot for work and always drove from NE Ohio. My best advice to you is get your passport, not the card but the passport. It takes the same documentation as your real ID drivers license did and you should be able to get it quick. In 2018 someone on the team had to get to Columbus Ohio for a serious family emergency. She had to make the 7 hour drive instead of the 1 and 20 minute flight from Toronto because you can't use anything but a passport for flights between the two countries. I always brought the passport after that as you never know.

[safecracker]

As of tomorrow, April first, you do not need a COVID test. You still need a passport and you must go to Canadian gov website to fill out form that needs to have a copy of your COVID vaccination card attached along with where you are going, etc. Send to the Canadian government and they will give you an ID number which you will have to show/give to customs along with your original covid vaccine card. A couple of other thoughts, make sure your credit/Bank company is aware that you are going to a foreign country. It really sucks getting your card shut down while there. Check with cell phone provider to see if your phone will work in Canada. That is all I can think of at this moment. I plan on going to the Maritimes this May. Bruce

[ARtraveler]

As of tomorrow, April first, you do not need a COVID test. You still need a passport and you must go to Canadian gov website to fill out form that needs to have a copy of your COVID vaccination card attached along with where you are going, etc. Send to the Canadian government and they will give you an ID number which you will have to show/give to customs along with your original covid vaccine card. A couple of other thoughts, make sure your credit/Bank company is aware that you are going to a foreign country. It really sucks getting your card shut down while there. Check with cell phone provider to see if your phone will work in Canada. That is all I can think of at this moment. I plan on going to the Maritimes this May. Bruce

Ditto on the phone provider. We have trac-phone. It instantly went blank when we crossed the border from Alaska to Canada and remained out of service the whole time we were in Canada. When we entered back in the US (Montana Border), the phone instantly came back into service.

[Deanna777]

Get a passport, it will save you the hassle.

I live in VT.

Deanna

[vito1943]

I'll reiterate, don't take a gun with you. Many of us would not travel without a gun for self defense and defense of our family, but crossing into Canada with a firearm is a big no-no. I guess the likelihood of being caught is small, but the consequences are huge so I would never recommend taking that chance. A few trips that i have made with my camper have worked out since i could leave the camper at a campground in the U.S. and cross the border just with my towing vehicle. If I went on a long trip with my Spyder, I would have to choose between the comfort of being armed or the opportunity to enter Canada. My preference would be to skip Canada.