Crossing US-Canada border
 

Being a European family, we've travelled several times to the US. Next summer we would like to visit the pacific northwest, especially Washington state. We would also like to visit part of British Columbia in Canada. Is it easy to cross the border, being neither a US nor a Canadian citizen? Do we need anything else than just our passports? And can you easily take a US rental car into Canada?

Hi Dot3,

I'm not sure of the specific requirements that Europeans need to cross into canada. Sorry can't help you there....

But I take canadian rental cars to the states and back all the time with no trouble. Just mention it to the agent when booking if it's a problem they will tell you.

If you plan on picking the car up in the US and dropping it off in Canada that's another story, some rental car companies charge drop off fees when you do that so make sure to check with the company before booking.

Hope that helps!

Layla %%-

Check the car rental companies. Some of them are now charging you a daily fee for every day you take them over the border. It can differ between rental locations within the same company.

So, check the general FAQ section for information regarding border crossings, then when you've plugged in your dates, locations, etc., check the fine print of the agreement for any changes to the general rule. Then, when you've made the reservation, check the fine print of the agreement again.

It sounds like a lot, but on my last trip, I checked one company and it said "no extra charges", but when I booked the car, it was "$10 extra per day that you are across the border".

Crossing the border is pretty easy. Passport should do it. As others have said, check with the car companies and ask specific questions. Their rules seem to get tweaked every so often and different companies can have different rules.

Thanks for the useful answers. I will certainly check the car rental companies for extra charges for crossing the border.

Make sure that the car rental company will not change its rules on even taking a car into Canada, as happened to us last summer with Thrifty. We ended up needing to change rental companies on two days notice of our trip, costing hundreds of dollars more. We were NOT happy campers.

You don't mention what country you are from in Europe, but just check to make sure that you do not require a visa to enter Canada (some countries do: Romania, Macedonia, etc) - better safe than sorry....

Because of the paranoia among US officials, crossing the US/Canada border has become much more of a hassle than it used to be...assuming you are coming into Canada first, you might have quite a hold up at the USA border while you fill out the visa waiver form (citizens of most eu countries still technically require a visa to enter the USA but they can be admitted for short visits by filling out a visa waiver form, that is the green form non citizens or residents of the USA or Canada fill out on international flights from Europe to the USA....if you hold a USA visa already, then it's a white form)...I have also read somewhere there is a charge for non residents of the USA or Canada to cross the US border due to the paperwork. You will get across but it will be a bit of a hassle and the paranoid American immigration officials will also take your fingerprints because of their knee jerk reaction to 9/11 and the thought this will cut down on terrorism. Sorry, it's just not as easy as it used to be but you will eventually get across.

As Australians, we had no trouble crossing from USA to Canada with a rental car and then returning to USA a few weeks later. We didn't fill in any forms or have our fingerprints taken (that was done on arrival in US.) Admittedly that was in late 2006 so things may have changed. All we did was show our passports.