I’m tentatively planning a border-crossing jaunt in the vague near future - would I be correct to assume that US Citizens can freely enter and leave Canada? No passport, vaccinations, etc?
Are there any special obstacles or requirements one should be aware of?
Are Canadian stores likely to accept American money, or does one need to get some changed?
You shouldn’t technically need a passport (although it is quicker and easier with one). Bring picture ID and proof of citizenship. You certainly won’t need vaccinations! Little risk of malaria or typhoid fever here.
As far as currency goes, some places do accept US money, but always at a terrible exchange rate. You’re better off using the ATMs here (pretty much all of them are on the Cirrus and/or Plus networks - check your bankcard to see which network it will work with) to withdraw Canadian money. The rates will be much better, but keep in mind that your bank might charge quite high fees for each transaction.
To cross the border you’ll need government issued photo id, preferably a passport. This is something I would check, perhaps at your local Embassy/Consulate/High Commission. US citizens can freely enter Canada under the visa-waver program for up to 6 months.
As a general rule guns are not allowed, if you plan to hunt you’ll have to make special arrangements. There has been a lot of gun violence lately that has put pressure on border guards, be prepared for this.
While your money is nice and all, it would be polite to convert it since we now have our own currency. I’d recommend doing it after you cross the border. You might also find it kind of fun, our money is very colourful and we use a lot of strange coins that many people collect.
You won’t need any special shots or vaccinations, but depending on where you travel I’d be aware of West Nile Virus; it is spread through mosquitoes.
Where do you plan to go? Ontario or Quebec?
Just curious as to why you’d assume he’d be going to either, necessarily? Eastern Canada would be a wonderful change for a West Virginian, as would the praries or the Rockies.
Will a Driver’s license serve the dual function of Photo ID and Proof of Citizenship?
It’s a very, very loose plan at this point… (friend said ‘I want to take a road trip to Canada before Fall sets in!’, I thought ‘Hey, there’re things in Canada. I like to buy things. Woohoo!’) … but one of my friends who’s been there recently said the short way from here is to cross over 'round Niagara. Which would be Ontario.
If you have a passport you should bring that. It used to be that a driver’s licence counted, but they have been slowly changing and shifting the rules so its hard to say for sure. What else do US citizens own has proof of citizenship? If in doubt I’d bring driver’s license and birth certificate. And personally, I’d be more worried about what you need to show on the way back through…
Niagara is a weird little place, very touristy, and kind of fun. Toronto is then 1.5 hours north. Enjoy.
I won’t speak for that poster, but that was a funny question 
I don’t have a passport. If I did, I probably wouldn’t have asked in the OP if it was a requirement. 
Going to Canada has always been a piece of cake for me, coming back to the US I’ve noticed more scrutiny the last few years.
I live in Western New York and went to Toronto two weeks ago and am going again Sunday. I love Southern Ontario. A drivers licence an OK form of photo ID but they like a birth certificate with it. Showing a passport is ideal, you get a wave through. A passport is an ironclad proof of citizenship, a license isn’t.
Be polite and friendly to the agents at each border and tell them the truth and you will have no problems. Jokes are bad and if you buy anything, tell them. It isn’t worth the huge hassle of being found out lying. 99% of any tourist or consumer goods you buy aren’t going to require any fees or duties at the border, people get all jammed up because they think they have to pay on something.
It’s the opposite, last January I bought an embroidered Triumph jacket at a motorcycle show and had to pay the GST or VAT (or whatever it was.) At the border I filled out a form and they gave me the money back. Enough to go into the duty free store and buy some great booze cheap!
Hitting the ATM is OK, but I would stop at the currency exchange kiosk at most of the bridges.
I have driven across several times post 9/11. Getting in with just a driver’s license has always been easy. Coming back, they can require a birth certificate to go along with your DL but I’ve never been asked for one.
BTW, you may want to check out this old thread.
Thanks. I am intrigued by this ‘Caramilk’.
They’re delicious. I got some Caramilks and some Coffee Crisps. The Caramilks were gone in no time. The Coffee Crisps lingered for quite a while.
Around here (Oklahoma) various groups will sell World’s Finest Chocolate candybars as fundraisers. Caramilks are lot like the caramel versions. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
And if you do happen to smoke, the US government has decided that not only can you not bring Cuban cigars into the US, you can’t buy them and smoke them in Canada either. Cite
I don’t, but that seems like a gross overstepping of government authority.
What, you mean like the American government punishing non-American companies who do business with Cuba?
I just got back from our annual two-week vacation in northwest Ontario (head to Minnesota and keep going north).
Crossing the border into Canada (at Sault Ste Marie) I just showed my driver’s license. I also had my voter’s registration card available to prove citizenship. My wife had both her DL and her birth certificate (since she is Canadian-born) and we also brought the birth certificate for the baby.
Coming back into the US (at Pigeon River) we had the same documentation. We didn’t have any problems in either direction.
We brought back a beaver’s skull we found on a hike. I wonder if that’s illegal?
Voter Registration Card works in place of Birth Cert?
You have to be a citizen to vote, don’t you? Someone recommended I bring this, since I didn’t have a copy of my birth certificate, but I ended up not needing either one.
I drove to BC via Montana about a month ago, and had no problems in either direction. I had just a US driver’s license with photo.
If would be even more polite not to. If US currency is accepted, it will most likely be at “par”, which means you are giving the merchant a built-in tip of about 20%.
The vast majority of establishments accept plastic, which is the easy way to do currency conversion. Of course, you’ll then miss out on Loonies and Toonies.
About.com says that a voter ID is a no go.