Buffalo into Canada - Passport Question
 

We will be traveling through Buffalo NY into Niagara Falls, Canada for four days. This is my first trip out of the US. We both have passports but I'm unsure if I should carry it on me while we are sightseeing or if my US drivers license is enough for identification. If I was traveling overseas, I would definitely keep it on me but just not sure when it comes to our neighbors on the north and south. Thanks in advance for any advice.

You need your passport to switch between Canada and the US. Driver's license is no longer sufficient.

Even in Europe I don't usually carry my passport day to day, though I often do have a photocopy of it. So certainly in someplace like Niagara Falls, where they see tons of Americans, I'd be very comfortable with just my US ID. That said, I can't think of the last time someone asked me for ID, so maybe I've just been lucky. (You of course need it to cross the border, but it sounds like you know that already.)

You might get into Canada without a valid passport, but you will never be allowed back into the US without one... the US Border Patrol and Homeland Security require it...

Or a valid "enhanced drivers license"

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to bring buffalo into Canada; they have some already.

I am also pretty sure that the OP is asking about carrying her passport with her all the time when in Canada, and not trying to enter the country without it.

Signed,
A Careful Reader

I see no reason to carry your passport with you at all times.

When I am there, I just carry drivers license.

Thank you all for your replies. Especially NewbE, appreciate the humor.

Sightseeing in Niagara Falls can involve border crossings (I've crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Canada by foot, quite possibly the most pleasant and least hassle-free way of crossing an international border!), but it seems this is not what you intended from your question. If staying within a country (with no rental car or transport involved) and looking around, I don't carry my passport with me whether it's Europe, Mexico or the Bahamas. I sometimes don't even have ID in a foreign locale if I'm just going for a sightseeing stroll within a city.

The question is - if you don;t carry your passport where will you leave it? I always carry mine when abroad so that if anything happens to it I would know about it immediately. If you leave it in a hotel safe it;s not great to either forget it there or find that it isn;t there when you're packing to leave.

But do always have a good photocopy with you - if anything does happen to it that will make getting a new one easier.