Driving Across the Border from U.S. to Canada: Options & Experiences
Mar 9, 2021, 6:24 pm
#77
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,832
Not sure how anyone can help. If they don't have cars available for your dates, there isn’t much anyone can do. I ran into that problem with March dates but I had no problem booking April and May,
Mar 9, 2021, 10:42 pm
#78
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
I just checked every day in April and May and there isn't a single date available for a one day rental from sea to yvr. It's not that costcotravel doesn't have cars for my dates - I have looked through two whole months and cannot find a single date it's available. so yeah, help would really be appreciated in finding any date or specific location in march, april, may, or june where i can make a booking.
Mar 10, 2021, 8:13 pm
#80
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: AC 75k
Posts: 38
Since they mention the "Quarantine Act"...what if I refuse to take this test based on the following point of this same Quarantine Act...will they provide me with a gargle test?
Screening technology
- 14 (1) Any qualified person authorized by the Minister may, to determine whether a traveller has a communicable disease or symptoms of one, use any screening technology authorized by the Minister that does not involve the entry into the traveller’s body of any instrument or other foreign body.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/....1/page-1.html
Last edited by jimba; Mar 10, 2021 at 9:02 pm
Mar 10, 2021, 8:26 pm
#81
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Aeroplan E50/MM, HH gold, Nat Exec Elite, Kimpton Karma
Posts: 2,352
@TheCanuckian, thanks so much for your thoroughness and your willingness to share your experience with these challenging new restrictions. I know it will help me manage my crossing and I believe others will benefit, too.
Mar 10, 2021, 11:19 pm
#82
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 4
Hi all,
First time posting. Figured I'd give something back. This forum has often provided useful travel info, especially during covid.
I drove to Canada with a rental car a couple of days ago. It was smooth and effortless. No issues at all.
Driving back turned out to be cheaper and faster even if quarantine hotels weren't an issue. With Air Canada cancelling many flights, my "direct", socially distanced, 7h DEN-YYZ-YOW Air Canada flight turned into a covid packed 13h DEN-ORD-YYZ-YOW on United/AC. It was actually faster to fly to SYR and drive across, with more convenient flight times. Not to mention much less contact with people along the way, and less covid exposure. Fewer airport transfers, no hotel, shuttle, taxi.
I booked a rental with National at the Syracuse airport about a week ago. One way rentals were only available if booked for 3+ days, and only with National/Enterprise. Some people are having issues finding a vehicle, and I was having the same. Only select cities had cars available when I was looking, and the standard rates were in the $1000 range. I have a corporate rate, which was about $400 for the same 3 day trip. Also, some colleagues of mine had made the same trip during the week prior and noted that they were only charged for the days actually used. So I decided to give it a shot and hope to get charged for just one day, and this is in fact what happened. Total cost $130 with all fees and taxes.
I can understand the concern though if you're looking at a $1000 rental and not sure if you'll be reimbursed for days not used. It is a bit of a gamble (but a quarantine hotel will cost more anyways).
- On arrival in SYR, I had to fill out a NY state quarantine form. NY expects you to quarantine for 14 days. On the form I entered "In transit" in the fields for "address in NY" and "length of stay". Like Canada, NY does permit you to transit through. Worded as: "you may leave at any time prior to end of your quarantine". So I was technically leaving from the moment I arrived.
- Due to the NY quarantine requirement, I did not stop to pick up groceries on the way. Otherwise, this would have been a decent perk of driving across.
- The border crossing was very straight forward, although it did take about 30 min. One car was ahead of me, NY plates. They had a long discussion with the customs agent and got moved over to secondary inspection. My questioning took about 10 min. I provided a printout of my negative covid test and passport. ArriveCAN proof was not asked for, it seems like it showed up on the computer automatically. I was asked a few simple questions like: where I intend to quarantine, how will I get food, how can I afford to take 14 days off work. Two test kits were provided along with the standard quarantine and testing instructions. I got several info sheets (posted by others already), but was not required to recite anything. I was asked whether it was my vehicle, and I said it was a rental. No follow up questions though.
- I was allowed to enter and instructed to go to the testing station just up the road. The first "home test" is administered immediately at the border at many crossings now. The test is still done by yourself, there is just a nurse present to guide you through it. Honestly it's very simple and probably takes twice as long with someone helping you along, but with reports of people waiting on hold for hours to do it online, this is the better option. The longest part was actually waiting for my phone to switch from roaming to my provider so that I could log on to the system. Some time could be saved by creating a switch health account ahead of time (I believe the ArriveCAN app/site gives you this option)
- I had a nice relaxing drive to Ottawa on empty highways... what a difference from the US. It's as if everything is still in lockdown over here. I refueled the car and dropped it off at YOW, then took public transit home (bus + 5min walk). There was one other person on the 97 airport bus the whole way to downtown. This was at 8pm, not exactly late.
- I am now holed up at home waiting out my 14 days and telling ArriveCAN that I do not have a fever every morning...
The rental return may pose an issue for some people. As taxi or public transit to your home (and to the quarantine hotel) is permitted if arriving by air, it makes sense to me that it should also be permitted after parking your car. I did not think twice about this, and nothing was asked or mentioned by the customs officer. However, a colleague who crossed at another time was apparently asked how he planned to return his rental vehicle. So a vehicle return plan may be required, depending on the customs officer. There is no mention of this in any of the provided pamphlets or online. In my colleague's case, he was told to drive direct to his home. He had to ask a friend to return the car for him the next day.
I checked just for fun, and I can not seem to find any one way rentals available in SYR, ROC, BUF, DTW from March to June. I wonder if the rental companies also have an agreement with Govt of Canada to harass travellers, or if this caught them off guard and their cars are just piling up on the Canadian side. I'm surprised nobody is jumping on this and promoting one way rentals though (including car drop-off at your home on the Canadian side for a small fee)... It should be easy to organise some transport trucks to ship the cars back between the major border cities.
First time posting. Figured I'd give something back. This forum has often provided useful travel info, especially during covid.
I drove to Canada with a rental car a couple of days ago. It was smooth and effortless. No issues at all.
Driving back turned out to be cheaper and faster even if quarantine hotels weren't an issue. With Air Canada cancelling many flights, my "direct", socially distanced, 7h DEN-YYZ-YOW Air Canada flight turned into a covid packed 13h DEN-ORD-YYZ-YOW on United/AC. It was actually faster to fly to SYR and drive across, with more convenient flight times. Not to mention much less contact with people along the way, and less covid exposure. Fewer airport transfers, no hotel, shuttle, taxi.
I booked a rental with National at the Syracuse airport about a week ago. One way rentals were only available if booked for 3+ days, and only with National/Enterprise. Some people are having issues finding a vehicle, and I was having the same. Only select cities had cars available when I was looking, and the standard rates were in the $1000 range. I have a corporate rate, which was about $400 for the same 3 day trip. Also, some colleagues of mine had made the same trip during the week prior and noted that they were only charged for the days actually used. So I decided to give it a shot and hope to get charged for just one day, and this is in fact what happened. Total cost $130 with all fees and taxes.
I can understand the concern though if you're looking at a $1000 rental and not sure if you'll be reimbursed for days not used. It is a bit of a gamble (but a quarantine hotel will cost more anyways).
- On arrival in SYR, I had to fill out a NY state quarantine form. NY expects you to quarantine for 14 days. On the form I entered "In transit" in the fields for "address in NY" and "length of stay". Like Canada, NY does permit you to transit through. Worded as: "you may leave at any time prior to end of your quarantine". So I was technically leaving from the moment I arrived.
- Due to the NY quarantine requirement, I did not stop to pick up groceries on the way. Otherwise, this would have been a decent perk of driving across.
- The border crossing was very straight forward, although it did take about 30 min. One car was ahead of me, NY plates. They had a long discussion with the customs agent and got moved over to secondary inspection. My questioning took about 10 min. I provided a printout of my negative covid test and passport. ArriveCAN proof was not asked for, it seems like it showed up on the computer automatically. I was asked a few simple questions like: where I intend to quarantine, how will I get food, how can I afford to take 14 days off work. Two test kits were provided along with the standard quarantine and testing instructions. I got several info sheets (posted by others already), but was not required to recite anything. I was asked whether it was my vehicle, and I said it was a rental. No follow up questions though.
- I was allowed to enter and instructed to go to the testing station just up the road. The first "home test" is administered immediately at the border at many crossings now. The test is still done by yourself, there is just a nurse present to guide you through it. Honestly it's very simple and probably takes twice as long with someone helping you along, but with reports of people waiting on hold for hours to do it online, this is the better option. The longest part was actually waiting for my phone to switch from roaming to my provider so that I could log on to the system. Some time could be saved by creating a switch health account ahead of time (I believe the ArriveCAN app/site gives you this option)
- I had a nice relaxing drive to Ottawa on empty highways... what a difference from the US. It's as if everything is still in lockdown over here. I refueled the car and dropped it off at YOW, then took public transit home (bus + 5min walk). There was one other person on the 97 airport bus the whole way to downtown. This was at 8pm, not exactly late.
- I am now holed up at home waiting out my 14 days and telling ArriveCAN that I do not have a fever every morning...
The rental return may pose an issue for some people. As taxi or public transit to your home (and to the quarantine hotel) is permitted if arriving by air, it makes sense to me that it should also be permitted after parking your car. I did not think twice about this, and nothing was asked or mentioned by the customs officer. However, a colleague who crossed at another time was apparently asked how he planned to return his rental vehicle. So a vehicle return plan may be required, depending on the customs officer. There is no mention of this in any of the provided pamphlets or online. In my colleague's case, he was told to drive direct to his home. He had to ask a friend to return the car for him the next day.
I checked just for fun, and I can not seem to find any one way rentals available in SYR, ROC, BUF, DTW from March to June. I wonder if the rental companies also have an agreement with Govt of Canada to harass travellers, or if this caught them off guard and their cars are just piling up on the Canadian side. I'm surprised nobody is jumping on this and promoting one way rentals though (including car drop-off at your home on the Canadian side for a small fee)... It should be easy to organise some transport trucks to ship the cars back between the major border cities.
Mar 11, 2021, 4:46 am
#83
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,181
Hi all,
First time posting. Figured I'd give something back. This forum has often provided useful travel info, especially during covid.
I drove to Canada with a rental car a couple of days ago. It was smooth and effortless. No issues at all.
Driving back turned out to be cheaper and faster even if quarantine hotels weren't an issue. With Air Canada cancelling many flights, my "direct", socially distanced, 7h DEN-YYZ-YOW Air Canada flight turned into a covid packed 13h DEN-ORD-YYZ-YOW on United/AC. It was actually faster to fly to SYR and drive across, with more convenient flight times. Not to mention much less contact with people along the way, and less covid exposure. Fewer airport transfers, no hotel, shuttle, taxi.
I booked a rental with National at the Syracuse airport about a week ago. One way rentals were only available if booked for 3+ days, and only with National/Enterprise. Some people are having issues finding a vehicle, and I was having the same. Only select cities had cars available when I was looking, and the standard rates were in the $1000 range. I have a corporate rate, which was about $400 for the same 3 day trip. Also, some colleagues of mine had made the same trip during the week prior and noted that they were only charged for the days actually used. So I decided to give it a shot and hope to get charged for just one day, and this is in fact what happened. Total cost $130 with all fees and taxes.
I can understand the concern though if you're looking at a $1000 rental and not sure if you'll be reimbursed for days not used. It is a bit of a gamble (but a quarantine hotel will cost more anyways).
- On arrival in SYR, I had to fill out a NY state quarantine form. NY expects you to quarantine for 14 days. On the form I entered "In transit" in the fields for "address in NY" and "length of stay". Like Canada, NY does permit you to transit through. Worded as: "you may leave at any time prior to end of your quarantine". So I was technically leaving from the moment I arrived.
- Due to the NY quarantine requirement, I did not stop to pick up groceries on the way. Otherwise, this would have been a decent perk of driving across.
- The border crossing was very straight forward, although it did take about 30 min. One car was ahead of me, NY plates. They had a long discussion with the customs agent and got moved over to secondary inspection. My questioning took about 10 min. I provided a printout of my negative covid test and passport. ArriveCAN proof was not asked for, it seems like it showed up on the computer automatically. I was asked a few simple questions like: where I intend to quarantine, how will I get food, how can I afford to take 14 days off work. Two test kits were provided along with the standard quarantine and testing instructions. I got several info sheets (posted by others already), but was not required to recite anything. I was asked whether it was my vehicle, and I said it was a rental. No follow up questions though.
- I was allowed to enter and instructed to go to the testing station just up the road. The first "home test" is administered immediately at the border at many crossings now. The test is still done by yourself, there is just a nurse present to guide you through it. Honestly it's very simple and probably takes twice as long with someone helping you along, but with reports of people waiting on hold for hours to do it online, this is the better option. The longest part was actually waiting for my phone to switch from roaming to my provider so that I could log on to the system. Some time could be saved by creating a switch health account ahead of time (I believe the ArriveCAN app/site gives you this option)
- I had a nice relaxing drive to Ottawa on empty highways... what a difference from the US. It's as if everything is still in lockdown over here. I refueled the car and dropped it off at YOW, then took public transit home (bus + 5min walk). There was one other person on the 97 airport bus the whole way to downtown. This was at 8pm, not exactly late.
- I am now holed up at home waiting out my 14 days and telling ArriveCAN that I do not have a fever every morning...
The rental return may pose an issue for some people. As taxi or public transit to your home (and to the quarantine hotel) is permitted if arriving by air, it makes sense to me that it should also be permitted after parking your car. I did not think twice about this, and nothing was asked or mentioned by the customs officer. However, a colleague who crossed at another time was apparently asked how he planned to return his rental vehicle. So a vehicle return plan may be required, depending on the customs officer. There is no mention of this in any of the provided pamphlets or online. In my colleague's case, he was told to drive direct to his home. He had to ask a friend to return the car for him the next day.
I checked just for fun, and I can not seem to find any one way rentals available in SYR, ROC, BUF, DTW from March to June. I wonder if the rental companies also have an agreement with Govt of Canada to harass travellers, or if this caught them off guard and their cars are just piling up on the Canadian side. I'm surprised nobody is jumping on this and promoting one way rentals though (including car drop-off at your home on the Canadian side for a small fee)... It should be easy to organise some transport trucks to ship the cars back between the major border cities.
First time posting. Figured I'd give something back. This forum has often provided useful travel info, especially during covid.
I drove to Canada with a rental car a couple of days ago. It was smooth and effortless. No issues at all.
Driving back turned out to be cheaper and faster even if quarantine hotels weren't an issue. With Air Canada cancelling many flights, my "direct", socially distanced, 7h DEN-YYZ-YOW Air Canada flight turned into a covid packed 13h DEN-ORD-YYZ-YOW on United/AC. It was actually faster to fly to SYR and drive across, with more convenient flight times. Not to mention much less contact with people along the way, and less covid exposure. Fewer airport transfers, no hotel, shuttle, taxi.
I booked a rental with National at the Syracuse airport about a week ago. One way rentals were only available if booked for 3+ days, and only with National/Enterprise. Some people are having issues finding a vehicle, and I was having the same. Only select cities had cars available when I was looking, and the standard rates were in the $1000 range. I have a corporate rate, which was about $400 for the same 3 day trip. Also, some colleagues of mine had made the same trip during the week prior and noted that they were only charged for the days actually used. So I decided to give it a shot and hope to get charged for just one day, and this is in fact what happened. Total cost $130 with all fees and taxes.
I can understand the concern though if you're looking at a $1000 rental and not sure if you'll be reimbursed for days not used. It is a bit of a gamble (but a quarantine hotel will cost more anyways).
- On arrival in SYR, I had to fill out a NY state quarantine form. NY expects you to quarantine for 14 days. On the form I entered "In transit" in the fields for "address in NY" and "length of stay". Like Canada, NY does permit you to transit through. Worded as: "you may leave at any time prior to end of your quarantine". So I was technically leaving from the moment I arrived.
- Due to the NY quarantine requirement, I did not stop to pick up groceries on the way. Otherwise, this would have been a decent perk of driving across.
- The border crossing was very straight forward, although it did take about 30 min. One car was ahead of me, NY plates. They had a long discussion with the customs agent and got moved over to secondary inspection. My questioning took about 10 min. I provided a printout of my negative covid test and passport. ArriveCAN proof was not asked for, it seems like it showed up on the computer automatically. I was asked a few simple questions like: where I intend to quarantine, how will I get food, how can I afford to take 14 days off work. Two test kits were provided along with the standard quarantine and testing instructions. I got several info sheets (posted by others already), but was not required to recite anything. I was asked whether it was my vehicle, and I said it was a rental. No follow up questions though.
- I was allowed to enter and instructed to go to the testing station just up the road. The first "home test" is administered immediately at the border at many crossings now. The test is still done by yourself, there is just a nurse present to guide you through it. Honestly it's very simple and probably takes twice as long with someone helping you along, but with reports of people waiting on hold for hours to do it online, this is the better option. The longest part was actually waiting for my phone to switch from roaming to my provider so that I could log on to the system. Some time could be saved by creating a switch health account ahead of time (I believe the ArriveCAN app/site gives you this option)
- I had a nice relaxing drive to Ottawa on empty highways... what a difference from the US. It's as if everything is still in lockdown over here. I refueled the car and dropped it off at YOW, then took public transit home (bus + 5min walk). There was one other person on the 97 airport bus the whole way to downtown. This was at 8pm, not exactly late.
- I am now holed up at home waiting out my 14 days and telling ArriveCAN that I do not have a fever every morning...
The rental return may pose an issue for some people. As taxi or public transit to your home (and to the quarantine hotel) is permitted if arriving by air, it makes sense to me that it should also be permitted after parking your car. I did not think twice about this, and nothing was asked or mentioned by the customs officer. However, a colleague who crossed at another time was apparently asked how he planned to return his rental vehicle. So a vehicle return plan may be required, depending on the customs officer. There is no mention of this in any of the provided pamphlets or online. In my colleague's case, he was told to drive direct to his home. He had to ask a friend to return the car for him the next day.
I checked just for fun, and I can not seem to find any one way rentals available in SYR, ROC, BUF, DTW from March to June. I wonder if the rental companies also have an agreement with Govt of Canada to harass travellers, or if this caught them off guard and their cars are just piling up on the Canadian side. I'm surprised nobody is jumping on this and promoting one way rentals though (including car drop-off at your home on the Canadian side for a small fee)... It should be easy to organise some transport trucks to ship the cars back between the major border cities.
Last edited by sydneyracquelle; Mar 11, 2021 at 5:41 am
Mar 11, 2021, 5:34 am
#84
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Taiwan
Programs: AC*Gold50K; Marriott Bonvoy Titanium; StarLux Explorer
Posts: 214
Mar 11, 2021, 1:40 pm
#86
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Aeroplan E50/MM, HH gold, Nat Exec Elite, Kimpton Karma
Posts: 2,352
Great post. You are allowed to proceed to your final destination to quarantine (OP took bus) so whether you fly into YYZ and drive home or return a rental car to YYZ and drive your personal car parked there home is the same thing as most nonessential people need to fly into USA and then drive back to Canada to avoid quarantine hotel. From my experience going back and forth so often (every month+ as a dual citizen) USA is getting back to 2019 normal much faster than Canada due to vaccinations (virtually everyone I know 50+ has had at least one of the two shots). US airports I visited last week were packed for spring break. Very few business travellers but tons of leisure. Flight prices are so low in USA with advance booking. I had to travel cross country and it was only $125 US return. Life is close to back to 2019 normal except people aren’t back in offices yet and people wear masks everywhere. Canadian airports are still a ghosttown.
I‘m confused. If you are allowed to proceed to your quarantine destination why was the poster’s colleague told to go directly home and not return the rental car (if I understood correctly)? I will be in this position next month and have been concerned about this very thing. One can’t argue (or shouldn’t) with border people, so not sure where it would leave me.
How would they know if you drove to YYZ to drop car and then proceeded home? As pointed out above, this is certainly safer than shuttles etc.
No wonder compliance is problematic. This whole process needs to be simplified and customer-friendly. Certainly brings me back to thinking about what the real goal here is.
Mar 11, 2021, 1:53 pm
#87
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,181
I‘m confused. If you are allowed to proceed to your quarantine destination why was the poster’s colleague told to go directly home and not return the rental car (if I understood correctly)? I will be in this position next month and have been concerned about this very thing. One can’t argue (or shouldn’t) with border people, so not sure where it would leave me.
How would they know if you drove to YYZ to drop car and then proceeded home? As pointed out above, this is certainly safer than shuttles etc.
No wonder compliance is problematic. This whole process needs to be simplified and customer-friendly. Certainly brings me back to thinking about what the real goal here is.
How would they know if you drove to YYZ to drop car and then proceeded home? As pointed out above, this is certainly safer than shuttles etc.
No wonder compliance is problematic. This whole process needs to be simplified and customer-friendly. Certainly brings me back to thinking about what the real goal here is.
Mar 11, 2021, 2:30 pm
#88
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 4
I‘m confused. If you are allowed to proceed to your quarantine destination why was the poster’s colleague told to go directly home and not return the rental car (if I understood correctly)? I will be in this position next month and have been concerned about this very thing. One can’t argue (or shouldn’t) with border people, so not sure where it would leave me.
How would they know if you drove to YYZ to drop car and then proceeded home? As pointed out above, this is certainly safer than shuttles etc.
No wonder compliance is problematic. This whole process needs to be simplified and customer-friendly. Certainly brings me back to thinking about what the real goal here is.
How would they know if you drove to YYZ to drop car and then proceeded home? As pointed out above, this is certainly safer than shuttles etc.
No wonder compliance is problematic. This whole process needs to be simplified and customer-friendly. Certainly brings me back to thinking about what the real goal here is.
Your experience may vary based on the competence and mood of the officer. My friend crossed almost 2 weeks ago now, near the start of the hotel quarantine and test on arrival business. Perhaps there was more confusion at the time.
Mar 11, 2021, 2:55 pm
#89
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,181
You understand correctly. Based on this sample of 2, there were 2 different reactions by two different customs officers. In my case the rental return was not mentioned at all, in the other case my friend was told to go directly to his home. I guess that the rules aren't completely spelled out, and people will interpret things differently... Basically your standard border crossing situation Your experience may vary based on the competence and mood of the officer. My friend crossed almost 2 weeks ago now, near the start of the hotel quarantine and test on arrival business. Perhaps there was more confusion at the time.
Your experience may vary based on the competence and mood of the officer. My friend crossed almost 2 weeks ago now, near the start of the hotel quarantine and test on arrival business. Perhaps there was more confusion at the time.Last edited by sydneyracquelle; Mar 11, 2021 at 3:01 pm
Mar 11, 2021, 3:17 pm
#90
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Aeroplan E50/MM, HH gold, Nat Exec Elite, Kimpton Karma
Posts: 2,352
Curious to know whether you were specifically asked about the rental car and return. So far on FT, it’s an N=1. Hopefully, more people will post on this.