ARKANSASNURSE

We are planning to fly to Bangor ME, rent a car, stay 2 nights in Bar Harbor then ferry over to Nova Scotia. Anyone know the laws of taking the rented vehicle into Canada? Do you have to purchase extra insurance? And which rental agency is kinder to persons with this type of plan? Thanks for your help.

ChristieP

No rental agency I am aware of will let you take the car into either Canada or Mexico. This is because you cannot bring the car back into the US since it is not registered and insured in your name.

nytraveler

I know you canlt take cars into Mexico - but that's primarily for safety reasons. I would double check with the rental agency on Canada - I know people who did this a couple of years ago - bu things may have changed since then.

(Youcan certaily cross national borders with rented cars - people in europe do it constantly.)

je

I can't speak for Canada but rental cars can be taken into Mexico if one buys insurance at specified locations before crossing the border. At least that was the situation a couple of years ago.

bob_brown

I just talked with Avis and specifically asked them about renting a car in the USA and taking it into Canada.

If you rent a car from Avis and want to drive it into Canada, or take the ferry into Canada, let Avis know the full details before you drive away.

The rental agent will issue a supplement to the rental contract giving permission to operate the car in Canada.

There is no need for any special insurance.

If you are an American and rent a car in Canada and want to drive it into the US for some reason, such as from Calgary to Glacier NP, make double darn sure you have the appropriate authorization to take the car across the border.

In Calgary, some of the rental agencies will not allow you, as an American, to travel to any state other than Montana without violating the rental contract.
Even then, your contract needs a rider granting permission to cross the border.

The problem is not the Canadian authorities, but the US guys can be tough. Right now, they have caught so much flack for letting the bloody chainsaw killer in that they may be ultra sensitive.

If you have any doubts, call Avis, Hertz or other major company and lay out the full details of your plans.

ARKANSASNURSE

Thanks. I do know that your American car insurance on your personal vehicle is not worth anything in Mexico, you must buy Mexican insurance. We stayed in Mexico only 45 minutes do to this.

mcnyc

Last year, I drove a rental car from Seattle to Vancouver, and came back on a ferry from Vancouver Island. I had no problems with the rental company or with US Customs, didn't have to buy extra insurance. I even asked Economy Car Rental many times about my reservation with them to see if there were problems with me taking the car to Canada (the answer was always no, they just marked it on your reservation). Best bet is to call your rental car company and make sure, since rules are getting so fussy as the months go by.

Plus, there have been articles in the past year warning that since most rental cars have some sort of GPS in the car (loss prevention if you will), if the car gets flagged as leaving the state, you get charged a load of extras for violating your contract.

Good luck and have fun. Nova Scotia is beautiful, and I didn't want to leave.

Andre

Arkansasnurse,

We did the exact same thing about 15 years ago (ouch!) and it was no problem at all. I think we rented from Hertz but not too sure about that anymore

Hope this helps,
Andre