re: passports for NANOG-39, Toronto
You may have heard that the US and Canada are going to start requiring passports for air travel between them beginning "soon". That date is currently set as 8 Jan 2007, which is before February NANOG. MERIT has noted this on the web site, but a cursory check of my list archives didn't turn up mention of it (sorry if I overlooked it; the last couple of weeks have been hectic), so I figured I'd include the pointer:
FYI, this date only applies to air or sea (which I imagine is the bulk of people going). However, for land crossings: http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/regional/regional_1170.html "The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that, by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States." [...] The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows: December 31, 2006 - Passport required for all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. December 31, 2007 - Passport required for all land border crossings, as well as air and sea travel.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/regional/regional_1170.html
December 31, 2007 - Passport required for all land border crossings, as well as air and sea travel.
If someone wants to go but does not have a passport for whatever reason, i.e. last minute travel plans, then it is possible to fly to Buffalo NY and make a land crossing from there, i.e. bus or rental car. If you do want to take a rental car across the border, you have to notify your rental company so they can issue a non-resident insurance card for you. As long as you have a US driver's licence this is fairly routine. Cross the bridge to Canada and take the QEW all the way to Toronto. http://www.buffaloairport.com/ You could do the same fly-drive via Detroit but there is a lot more driving. --Michael Dillon P.S. Now that you have your shiny new passports, don't just stop at Canada. There's a whole world out there.
On 26-Oct-2006, at 09:26, Michael.Dillon@btradianz.com wrote:
You could do the same fly-drive via Detroit but there is a lot more driving.
Indeed. Rough estimates, excluding time taken to cross the border and assuming good weather: BUF to Toronto: 2 hours DTW to Toronto: 5 hours CLE to Toronto: 6 hours LGA to Toronto: 9 hours BOS to Toronto: 9 hours ORD to Toronto: 10 hours IAD to Toronto: 10 hours Joe
On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 10:19:18 -0400, Joe Abley <jabley@ca.afilias.info> wrote:
On 26-Oct-2006, at 09:26, Michael.Dillon@btradianz.com wrote:
You could do the same fly-drive via Detroit but there is a lot more driving.
Indeed. Rough estimates, excluding time taken to cross the border and assuming good weather:
BUF to Toronto: 2 hours DTW to Toronto: 5 hours CLE to Toronto: 6 hours LGA to Toronto: 9 hours BOS to Toronto: 9 hours ORD to Toronto: 10 hours IAD to Toronto: 10 hours
Don't neglect the border crossing delay. Driving home from Montreal after the IETF, we had to wait close to two hours because of congestion at U.S. Immigration. (Of course, that was the way home -- folks going into Canada had virtually no wait, as best we could see...) --Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb
Don't neglect the border crossing delay.
I just drove back from Toronto this morning, with about a 20 minute delay into the US. It's hard to predict, some times it takes 30 seconds, on really bad times like the end of a holiday weekend it can take two hours. Flying into Buffalo is an entirely reasonable alternative to flying into Toronto. Airtran, Jetblue and Southwest all serve Buffalo, so if you're flying from other parts of the US, it's often considerably cheaper than YYZ. Renting a car and driving into Canada is routine, just tell the clerk so he gives you a Canadian insurance card. From the airport head west on NY 33 to the Thruway/I-90, then east (which is really north) on I-90 to I-290. There are two bridges you might take. The fastest is usually the Lewiston/Queenston bridge; at the end of I-290 take I-190 north all the way to the end to the bridge. After the bridge just stay on the highway which will take you to the QEW to Toronto. The other is the Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls; take I-190 north, you will pay a toll and go over a bridge onto Grand Island, then another bridge to leave Grand Island, then immediately get off on the Robert Moses Parkway to the falls, and the bridge is right there. If you've never been to Niagara Falls before, stop and look at the falls either from the US or Canadian side for a few minutes because it really is one of the great wonders of the world. After appreciating the scenery, take highway 420 to the QEW. The Peace bridge in Buffalo is way out of the way, not useful for this trip. Culinary hint: Buffalo's greatest edible contribution to the world is a roast beef sandwich called Beef on Weck, and the best place to get one is Charlie the Butcher, about five minutes from the airport. Go west on NY 33 from the airport, turn right on Cayuga St just after the airport, go north about six blocks and it's on the left at the corner of Wehle St. The place is not much to look at, but the governor and Hillary both liked it enough to send them signed photos. R's, John
At 2:26 PM +0100 10/26/06, Michael.Dillon@btradianz.com wrote:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/regional/regional_1170.html
December 31, 2007 - Passport required for all land border crossings, as well as air and sea travel.
FWIW I live near the WA/BC (US/CDN) border and cross it often (at least twice a month) for both work and social activities, and have been using an expired US passport for the past two years with no issues. The Canadians never even ask for it. The US border folks occasionally hassle me a tiny bit, but never about the expired passport (go figure). The ONLY time the expired passport was an issue was on a flight, with my entire family from Seattle to Denver(!) where the TSA boarding pass & ID checker in airport security nearly didn't let me through. Again, go figure. Yes, I need to renew, but as my world-travelling days for work are behind me I haven't been motivated to do so. --chuck
participants (6)
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Alex Rubenstein -
chuck goolsbee -
Joe Abley -
John Levine -
Michael.Dillonļ¼ btradianz.com -
Steven M. Bellovin