Canada Travel Guide

Canada — Travel Tips

Social Conventions

Handshaking predominates as the normal mode of greeting. Close friends often exchange kisses on the cheeks, particularly in French-speaking areas. Codes of practice for visiting homes are the same as in other Western countries: flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine are common gifts for hosts, and dress is generally informal and practical according to climate. It is common for black tie and other required dress to be indicated on invitations. Exclusive clubs and restaurants often require more formal dress. Smoking has been banned in most public areas. Most restaurants, theaters and cinemas, if they permit smoking, have large ‘no smoking' areas.

International Travel

Getting There By Air

The principal national airline is Air Canada (AC) (www.aircanada.com).

Departure Tax

Included in the air fare.

Main Airports

Canada has 13 international airports. All have full banking and catering facilities, duty-free shops and car hire. Airport-to-city bus and taxi services and, in some cases, rail links, are available.

Calgary (YYC) (www.calgaryairport.com) is 20km (12.5 miles) from the city (journey time - 30 minutes).

Montréal (YUL) (Pierre Elliott Trudeau) (www.admtl.com) is 25km (16 miles) from the city (journey time - 30 to 45 minutes).

Ottawa (YOW) (Macdonald-Cartier) (www.ottawa-airport.ca) is 14km (8 miles) from the city (journey time - 20 minutes).

Toronto (YYZ) (Lester B Pearson) (www.gtaa.com) is 27km (17 miles) from the city (journey time - 30 to 45 minutes).

Vancouver (YVR) (www.yvr.ca) is 15km (9 miles) from the city (journey time - 25 to 45 minutes).

Getting There By Water

Main ports: Canada has many ports served by international shipping lines.

Montréal (www.port-montreal.com) is a popular port for cruise ships.

Toronto's port (www.torontoport.com) is on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, (www.portofhalifax.ca), Saint John, New Brunswick (www.sjport.com) and St John's, Newfoundland (www.sjpa.com) are the principal ports on the Atlantic coast.

The port of Vancouver (www.portmetrovancouver.com), Canada's busiest port, is on the west coast and is a common start point for cruise ships traveling to Alaska.

Getting There By Rail

The Canadian rail system connects to the USA at several points. Major routes are: New York-Montréal, New York-Buffalo-Niagara Falls-Toronto and Cleveland-Buffalo-Niagara Falls-Toronto. For details of ticket prices and reservations, contact VIA Rail in Canada (tel: (514) 989 2626 or 1 888 842 7245/VIA RAIL; www.viarail.ca) or its UK representative 1st Rail (tel: 0844 499 0771 or 0161 877 0432; www.1strail.com).

Getting There By Road

The only road access to Canada is through the southern border with the USA or from the west through Alaska.

Coach: Apart from private motoring, the most popular way of traveling by road is by bus. Contact Greyhound Canada (tel: 1 800 661 8747; www.greyhound.ca) for details. There are many routes from the USA to Canada, but some of the most popular are New York to Montréal/Ottawa, Detroit to Toronto/Hamilton, Minneapolis to Winnipeg, and Seattle to Vancouver.

Duty Free

Overview

The following goods may be imported into Canada by non-residents without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes and 50 cigars or cigarillos and 200g of loose tobacco and 200 tobacco sticks per person over 18 years of age.
• 1.5L bottle of wine or 1.14L bottle of liquor or 24 bottles or cans (355ml) of beer or ale per person over 18 years of age if entering Alberta, Manitoba and Québec, and over 19 years if entering British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Yukon.
• Gifts to the value of C$60 per gift (excluding advertising matter, business-related materials, tobacco or alcoholic beverages).

Note: There are three different forms of sales tax throughout Canada; these are added onto the price of goods at the till. A Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5% is added on to the sale of most goods and services (in Québec, GST is known as TPS). A Provincial Sales Tax (PST) is payable on most items purchased in shops, on food in dining establishments and, in some cases, on hotel and motel rooms. The level of PST varies from province to province. Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions that do not charge PST. A Harmonised Sales Tax (HST) of 13% has replaced GST and PST in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Note: Visitors may no longer reclaim GST or HST on accommodation and any goods purchased and taken out of the country.

For cameras, radios, personal computers and similar electronic products, a deposit may be requested at the port of entry; this will be refunded to the owner upon submission of proof of export.

The Canada Border Services Agency requires people arriving in the country to declare whether they intend to visit a farm within 14 days.

Prohibited Imports

The import of firearms, explosives, endangered species of animals and plants, animal products, meat, dairy, food and plant material is subject to certain restrictions and formalities. The plant Qhat (Kat or Qat), although legal in the UK and various other locations, is illegal in Canada. Enquire at the Canadian High Commission or Embassy for further details.

Internal Travel

Getting Around By Air

Destinations throughout Canada are served by Air Canada (AC) (www.aircanada.com), with main hubs at Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver. It operates mostly on longer routes. Shorter, regional feeder routes are served by partner airline Air Canada Jazz (QK) (www.flyjazz.ca).

Calgary-based low-cost airline WestJet (WS) (www.westjet.com) serves around 30 domestic destinations from its main hubs of Calgary and Toronto and secondary hubs. Other carriers include Yukon-based Air North (4N) (www.flyairnorth.com) and a host of small outfits serving remote communities and wilderness areas.

Air passes: Air Canada offers a range of commuter, regional, national and international flight passes.

Getting Around By Water

Canada has many thousands of miles of navigable rivers and canals, a vast number of lakes and an extensive coastline. The whole country is well served by all manner of boats and ships, particularly the east and west coasts, where the ferries are fast, frequent and good value. The St Lawrence Seaway provides passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. For further details, see individual regional entries or contact the Canadian Tourism Commission.

One of the largest ferry operators is BC Ferries (tel: (250) 386 3431 or 1 888 223 3779; www.bcferries.com). It runs a number of services linking British Columbia's mainland with its coastal islands, as well as a route to the Queen Charlotte Islands and another through the Inside Passage.

Getting Around By Rail

VIA Rail Canada (tel: (514) 989 2626 or 1 888 842 7245/VIA RAIL; www.viarail.ca) operates extensive services across Canada. Regional railways include Algoma Central (operates the Agawa Canyon Tour Train), Armstrong Group (operates the Rocky Mountaineer and Whistler Mountaineer), Ontario Northland (operates the Northlander, Polar Bear Express and Dream Catcher Express trains), and White Pass & Yukon Route.

VIA Rail operates a Western transcontinental service (The Canadian) between Toronto (Ontario) and Vancouver (British Columbia), running three times weekly east and west. Passengers are drawn to this route by the spectacular scenery of the many mountain ranges passed en route, including the Rockies. The journey takes four days.

Rapid intercity services are available between Québec, Montréal, Toronto, Windsor and Ottawa. VIA Rail also operates an overnight Eastern transcontinental service (The Ocean) between Montréal (Québec) and Halifax (Nova Scotia).

The Rocky Mountaineer service (tel: (604) 606 7245 or 1 877 460 3200 or 00 800 0606 7372, in the UK; www.rockymountaineer.com) runs from mid April to mid October and offers the opportunity to travel from Vancouver to Jasper, Banff and Calgary (and vice versa) during daylight hours.

For visitors seeking a route into the Canadian wilderness, the Polar Bear Express (tel: (705) 472 4500 or 1 800 363 7512 ext 0; www.polarbearexpress.ca) between Cochrane and Moosonee (with connections to Toronto), runs weekdays from late June to early September.

Rail Passes

Canrailpass: Allows unlimited journeys on the VIA network for 12 days (up to three extra days can be added to the pass at any time) within a 30-day period.

Corridorpass: Gives 10 days of unlimited VIA Rail travel in southern Québec and southern Ontario.

Alaska Pass: Offers eight, 12 or 15 days' travel within Alaska and British Columbia, including travel on Alaska Ferry, Alaska Railroad, one-way car hire and White Pass & Yukon Railroad (www.alaskapass.com).

Getting Around By Road

Traffic drives on the right. The Canadian road network covers vast distances as the country is over 7,600km (4,800 miles) as the crow flies from west to east and 4,800km (3,000 miles) from north to south. On country roads, visitors should be mindful of wild animals that may be roaming, such as deer or moose. The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) (www.caa.ca) is affiliated with most European organizations, giving full use of facilities to members.

Emergency breakdown service: CAA (tel: 1 800 222 4357 or *222 from mobile phones).

Coach: Each region is well served by a large network of coach lines, the most extensive being Greyhound Canada (tel: 1 800 661 8747; www.greyhound.ca).

The Greyhound Discovery Pass (www.discoverypass.com) offers international passengers travel over periods of seven, 15, 30 and 60 days with several partner coach operators in the USA and Canada.

Canada also has regional bus services, including Acadian Lines, Orléans Express and Pacific Coach Lines.

RoutPass (www.routpass.com) runs between early June and early December. It offers seven-, 14- and 18-day passes for unlimited bus travel in Ontario and Québec.

Car hire: Available in all cities and from airports to full license holders over 21 years of age. For some car hire companies, drivers may need to be at least 25 years old.

Regulations: Right turns on red lights are not permitted on Montréal Island in Québec. Generally, speed limits are 100kph (60mph) on motorways, 80kph (55mph) on rural highways and 50kph (30mph) in cities. Seat belts are compulsory for all passengers and child car seats must be used by small children. Radar detection devices are strictly prohibited in many provinces and studded tires are illegal in southern Ontario. Many provinces require drivers to keep headlights on during the day.

Documentation: Visitors may drive on their national driving licenses for at least three months in all provinces.

Getting Around Towns and Cities

Bus: Metropolitan buses operate on a flat-fare system (standard fares, irrespective of distance traveled). Fares must be paid exactly, which means that drivers do not carry change or issue tickets. Transfers should be requested when boarding a bus.