Worst US/Canadian border crossing
Post your worst border crossing experiences. Just looking for tips etc for a smooth crossing
Forum Discussion
My wife and I have been across the US-Canadian border a sum total of once, just east of Glacier National Park/Waterton Lakes, so I guess you could say it was our worst and our best...
We were with my brother and his wife in his 2 door Geo Tracker. Heading into Canada, we were prepared as we stopped, and the guard didn't even notice we were in the back seat until we handed our passports forward. He was a bit surprised. He ran us through the basic questions including our destination, which was Waterton Lakes area for the day. He waved us on, enjoy your trip!
On the way back, again we were prepared, and it took about the same heading back into the US. I had to answer a few questions for my brother, as he couldn't recall where we had been... I do that sometimes too... The guard was polite & welcomed us back to the US.
I've been across the border 4 times personally, the first was with the US Navy - we simply sailed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and enjoyed a week in Vancouver. Of course, that was back in the late '70s, so it was easy.
The second time was a quick trip to Niagra falls with my manager while on a business trip in '85. No passport needed, just a drivers license. It was easy back then...
My last trip was to Toronto, then on to Munich. Coming back, I flew from Munich to Vancouver. I didn't realize US customs was at the airport in Canada.... D'oh!
Lessons learned: Have a PAPER copy of your boarding pass, or at least have a screenshot of it on your phone. If you are a US citizen, chances are, you do not have cell service in Canada. This happened to someone I didn't know, but watched the whole thing. That agent, an old woman, was brutal. She needed to retire...
Second: I didn't realize this was the border crossing, so had an unopened bottle of pop in my pack. I was planning to empty it before crossing as I like to keep bottles from other countries we've visited. I also had about a 1/3 bottle of water. The customs agent was almost as brutal regarding me being remiss about trying to bring fluids across... I was apologetic, but hell, I was groggy... I'd just spent 11 hours on an airplane, and didn't expect this to be the border crossing! Of course, I didn't say that, or much else other than "ok".
Our crossing into Mexico at Los Algodones was as simple as walking down the sidewalk. We saw no one! On the way back, my brother wanted to get across, and stated the US agents were a tough bunch. He and his bride, as well as the rest of our group headed through about 20 minutes ahead of us. There were very few tourists that day, and after my wife and I found our one and only Mexico geocache, we walked across the street & into the building, to find 6 stations, 6 agents plus backups. All just standing there... we looked back and forth, then I asked: "Ok, who wants us?" The whole place broke up in laughter. The agent asked a few questions, ran our passport cards, poked in a purse I'd bought my wife, then stated: Enjoy! Welcome back!
Fun times.
We were with my brother and his wife in his 2 door Geo Tracker. Heading into Canada, we were prepared as we stopped, and the guard didn't even notice we were in the back seat until we handed our passports forward. He was a bit surprised. He ran us through the basic questions including our destination, which was Waterton Lakes area for the day. He waved us on, enjoy your trip!
On the way back, again we were prepared, and it took about the same heading back into the US. I had to answer a few questions for my brother, as he couldn't recall where we had been... I do that sometimes too... The guard was polite & welcomed us back to the US.
I've been across the border 4 times personally, the first was with the US Navy - we simply sailed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and enjoyed a week in Vancouver. Of course, that was back in the late '70s, so it was easy.
The second time was a quick trip to Niagra falls with my manager while on a business trip in '85. No passport needed, just a drivers license. It was easy back then...
My last trip was to Toronto, then on to Munich. Coming back, I flew from Munich to Vancouver. I didn't realize US customs was at the airport in Canada.... D'oh!
Lessons learned: Have a PAPER copy of your boarding pass, or at least have a screenshot of it on your phone. If you are a US citizen, chances are, you do not have cell service in Canada. This happened to someone I didn't know, but watched the whole thing. That agent, an old woman, was brutal. She needed to retire...
Second: I didn't realize this was the border crossing, so had an unopened bottle of pop in my pack. I was planning to empty it before crossing as I like to keep bottles from other countries we've visited. I also had about a 1/3 bottle of water. The customs agent was almost as brutal regarding me being remiss about trying to bring fluids across... I was apologetic, but hell, I was groggy... I'd just spent 11 hours on an airplane, and didn't expect this to be the border crossing! Of course, I didn't say that, or much else other than "ok".
Our crossing into Mexico at Los Algodones was as simple as walking down the sidewalk. We saw no one! On the way back, my brother wanted to get across, and stated the US agents were a tough bunch. He and his bride, as well as the rest of our group headed through about 20 minutes ahead of us. There were very few tourists that day, and after my wife and I found our one and only Mexico geocache, we walked across the street & into the building, to find 6 stations, 6 agents plus backups. All just standing there... we looked back and forth, then I asked: "Ok, who wants us?" The whole place broke up in laughter. The agent asked a few questions, ran our passport cards, poked in a purse I'd bought my wife, then stated: Enjoy! Welcome back!
Fun times.
