Traveling to Canada?

[Mimi Cheems]

Hi guys c:

My little brother and I plan on traveling to Canada (Toronto, specifically) in May, June, July, or sometime around there, to meet some friends and just see whatever there is in Toronto!

For all the people who've traveled there, or live there... what is/was it like for you? During COVID, of course. ;w; I know they prevented people from the States traveling there for a long time, but... I think they're allowing fully-vaccinated travelers entry into Canada now.

I'm so confused reading the website about the requirements and such, so I decided to make a thread here to see if anyone could provide their experiences and stuff! c:

I've never flown out of the country, or even drove anywhere out of the United States, so I'm very nervous-excited-ish?
I was planning on buying Passport Cards instead of the actual passport book, since we'll be driving up there, since it's not very far from where we currently live. I was wondering how long the process takes, and etc.

I tested positive for COVID about two weeks ago, no longer experiencing any symptoms; but what scares me is my district manager told me that you could test positive for months after having the virus. So, I'm scared that when I plan on going to Canada, I'll test positive... My brother said I should be good by the time we go, but I'm still a little paranoid...

I made an account for ArriveCAN, but I do not have my passport card yet however, I do have proof of my vaccination. Do I have to upload a scanned photo, or can it just be a photo taken from my phone camera...? I feel like it'd be easier for me to get advice from people here, as reading a HUGE block of text on a website confuses me and it's hard to focus on it... ;v;

For the COVID test results before I travel, is what confuses me a bit. It says proof of a positive test 14 - 180 days before travel OR a negative test provided within 72 hours of travel? ;; So, would I have to get a test, let's say I leave on a Wednesday, would I have to get a test done on the Sunday of that week? Or Monday? It's all so confusing to me xwx

I should point out my brother and I are fully-vaccinated (idk if boosters count as fully-vaccinated, we do not have our booster shots yet). And we both have proof of our vaccination. I don't know how to set up a passport or anything. Where would I get my photo taken? Do I have to fill out my form online or send it in the mail..? Agh! I took the mini-quiz on the Travel Canada website and they said I would most likely be allowed entry. But I'm so confused on getting everything set up! ;v;

Thanks for reading guys c: Any help would be appreciated! ; A ;

 

[Midoriya]

I’ve been to Canada before. I can’t speak about the passport or COVID issues, but I can tell you that the thing that struck me the most about that area is how wonderful the scenery is. We flew in to Toronto and then rode by car to Niagra Falls, Canada. There was so much nature and it all looked really beautiful. I will say, however, that the food was overpriced and not that good, but that’s probably just because Niagra Falls, Canada is a tourist spot. I’m not sure what all is in Toronto as I was only there briefly and it has been years. It’s a nice place though.

 

[amemome]

Hi! Super avid Toronto-visitor pre-Covid. I checked out ArriveCAN and visa stuff because I wanted to see what covid updates were there and overall it was really confusing and vague so I totally understand... I think if you're flying in, you can call your airline to double check what the entry requirements are!

I think a photo of your vax card will be ok as long as it's a clear pic.

I believe you can take passport photos at FedEx Kinkos. I remember them having a photo station at my local store!

 

[VanitasFan26]

I wanted to go to Canada so badly to visit my aunt, but due to the Pandemic I had to cancel plans. So frustrating.

 

[Shoutarous]

hey! i have friends who live in canada. if you have any questions further please PM me and ill ask them anything you may be wondering! its a great place though, however i heard that covid isnt doing very well from where they live.

 

[Mr.Fox]

@Rairu you wanna field this one or do you want me to?

There's a ton of different things to do in and around Toronto...so it depends what you like to do...and it's all going to depend on how the pandemic is going. Ontario is either really quick at shutting things down, or waits far too long.
Be prepared for inflated prices at tourist attractions like the CN Tower. In summer you'll have access to Canada's Wonderland, our premier theme park...or you can slum it and hit up Marineland if you want to see some poorly treated aquatic life and disease infested deer...

I would personally recommend the Metro Toronto Zoo or Ripley's Aquarium....or if you're more studious you can hit up the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum).

If you want a good waterpark since it'll be summer, you'd have to head to Calypso in Ottawa. Toronto had Wild Water Kingdom (that turned into Wet N Wild) and I haven't been since the renovations but...it was really shabby to say the least.

As for your passport...I would just Google 'where to get a passport' and go from there. Up here, you can go into your local pharmacy, get your picture taken, and have your passport within 2 weeks.

As of typing this...up here being 'fully vaccinated' means having 2 doses of the same vaccine, no booster required (yet).

 

[Milleram]

I live just outside of Toronto, and while I can't really answer any travel questions, I can give some recommendations. @Mr.Fox gave some really good suggestions. If you wanna say what kind of food/stuff you are into, I could try to come up with some more personalized ideas, in terms of restaurants or unique stores. Other tourist attractions in/near the downtown area are the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and Casa Loma. There's also the Bata Shoe Museum, which is like a 5 minute walk from the ROM, but it is pretty small and doesn't take very long to go through.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

@Rairu you wanna field this one or do you want me to?

There's a ton of different things to do in and around Toronto...so it depends what you like to do...and it's all going to depend on how the pandemic is going. Ontario is either really quick at shutting things down, or waits far too long.
Be prepared for inflated prices at tourist attractions like the CN Tower. In summer you'll have access to Canada's Wonderland, our premier theme park...or you can slum it and hit up Marineland if you want to see some poorly treated aquatic life and disease infested deer...

I would personally recommend the Metro Toronto Zoo or Ripley's Aquarium....or if you're more studious you can hit up the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum).

If you want a good waterpark since it'll be summer, you'd have to head to Calypso in Ottawa. Toronto had Wild Water Kingdom (that turned into Wet N Wild) and I haven't been since the renovations but...it was really shabby to say the least.

As for your passport...I would just Google 'where to get a passport' and go from there. Up here, you can go into your local pharmacy, get your picture taken, and have your passport within 2 weeks.

As of typing this...up here being 'fully vaccinated' means having 2 doses of the same vaccine, no booster required (yet).

I only have a single dose vaccine ;w; Hopefully that works? ;;

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I really appreciate it!

 

[user1234]

I'm not going to give advice on where to go when you travel, but rather my personal opinions based on a lot of research on IF you should travel.

First the bad:

I am an experienced international traveler who lives in Ontario currently and I would not go to Canada at this time as a tourist. Like most countries, Canada is too reactionary to plan any sort of travel reliably. For example, at this moment in Ontario indoor dining is not allowed along with many other activities like gyms. Ontario has never removed the indoor mask mandate indoors.

An environment exists in Canada where every province does things entirely different, creating a situation where it is impossible to plan for the future. There are some areas of Canada which have never opened up to travel during this pandemic even to other Canadians. I travelled in fall as a Canadian citizen and in some provinces I didn't have to wear a mask at all, some provinces I had to register in advance to enter and provide proof of what they considered fully vaccinated status, some provinces I had to get tested after entering and be required to quarantine if that test came back positive, some provinces I couldn't even enter and had to cancel parts of the trip. That's the simple overview of the trip.

There is a lot of good information out there on government sites, but if you do not want to take the time to read through it, I would highly recommend you use this as another reason to reconsider your plans, because I can understand that you don't want to read it, but you have to or risk violating restrictions which result in heavy fines etc.

Keep in mind that what I say next may not be 100% accurate, because I'm not going to read through everything for you specifically and things are constantly changing, but this is what I know based on research I have done very recently.

1) Single dose of vaccine is not considered fully vaccinated in Canada. You need to be at least 14 days past receiving 2 doses of vaccines which are recognized by Canada. Not all vaccines count. It doesn't matter what the provinces think, air travel is regulated federally. Before you travel, you will probably need 3 doses.

2) *Loophole* If you have been previously infected within a certain time frame, have fully recovered and have proof, you may be considered ok to travel even if you test positive IF you are asymptomatic. I don't know if you are allowed to travel by air though, I've never researched this because I would not travel by air at this time for any but the most dire of reasons. There are too many cancellations and you have to rely too much on the discretion of too many government and private officials.

3) At this time I would only travel to where I can go by car, because even if you test positive most countries cannot legally prevent you from returning home across a land border in your own vehicle. If you test positive prior to flying you will not be allowed to fly. If you test positive prior to entering Canada at a land border by personal vehicle, you will not be allowed to enter unless you are a Canadian citizen or have some other special status like permanent residence. If you try to fly back home and test positive you could be stuck in quarantine until you test negative or a certain amount of time passes where you are asymptomatic after you tested positive. It's just too finicky of a situation for me to trust. Border agents are humans and do not implement measures consistently when any discretion is required for your desirable outcome.

4) A new variant can come at anytime that can change everything and governments show a propensity to act swiftly now.

5) PCR tests are expensive in Canada. Potentially hundreds of dollars. They aren't free.

Now the good:

1) By May/June I would hope most of this madness is behind us. Most likely businesses will be open, but the mask mandates will probably still exist along with other restrictions. I personally think things are going to start improving for Canada around early February with a return to somewhat normal by spring/summer.

2) If you're fully vaccinated and have no comorbidity (obese, diabetic, immune-compromised, over 60 years old etc) COVID is of very low risk to you. If you take precautions like eating healthy and careful not to put others at risk, I would feel safe traveling, because at this point most of the risk is to health care systems and not individuals. I wouldn't travel without being 2 weeks past receiving 3 doses of vaccine at this point.

3) It looks unlikely a variant will come along which is more transmissible than omicron. For this reason, I personally believe things are going to only be getting better for the foreseeable future.

If after reading that you still want to go, make sure you make only refundable reservations.

If I was in your situation, I would plan to go only if I could avoid air travel (especially if you have connecting flights) on the thinking that things are going to be better in all other areas, but be prepared to cancel at the last minute. Keep in mind that I would not rely on help from strangers in a forum on the internet. Traveling and especially international travel is not something to do casually. I would only plan to travel at this point because I will put in the time to research the requirements of every country and state/province I plan to travel to.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

I'm not going to give advice on where to go when you travel, but rather my personal opinions based on a lot of research on IF you should travel.

First the bad:

I am an experienced international traveler who lives in Ontario currently and I would not go to Canada at this time as a tourist. Like most countries, Canada is too reactionary to plan any sort of travel reliably. For example, at this moment in Ontario indoor dining is not allowed along with many other activities like gyms. Ontario has never removed the indoor mask mandate indoors.

An environment exists in Canada where every province does things entirely different, creating a situation where it is impossible to plan for the future. There are some areas of Canada which have never opened up to travel during this pandemic even to other Canadians. I travelled in fall as a Canadian citizen and in some provinces I didn't have to wear a mask at all, some provinces I had to register in advance to enter and provide proof of what they considered fully vaccinated status, some provinces I had to get tested after entering and be required to quarantine if that test came back positive, some provinces I couldn't even enter and had to cancel parts of the trip. That's the simple overview of the trip.

There is a lot of good information out there on government sites, but if you do not want to take the time to read through it, I would highly recommend you use this as another reason to reconsider your plans, because I can understand that you don't want to read it, but you have to or risk violating restrictions which result in heavy fines etc.

Keep in mind that what I say next may not be 100% accurate, because I'm not going to read through everything for you specifically and things are constantly changing, but this is what I know based on research I have done very recently.

1) Single dose of vaccine is not considered fully vaccinated in Canada. You need to be at least 14 days past receiving 2 doses of vaccines which are recognized by Canada. Not all vaccines count. It doesn't matter what the provinces think, air travel is regulated federally. Before you travel, you will probably need 3 doses.

2) *Loophole* If you have been previously infected within a certain time frame, have fully recovered and have proof, you may be considered ok to travel even if you test positive IF you are asymptomatic. I don't know if you are allowed to travel by air though, I've never researched this because I would not travel by air at this time for any but the most dire of reasons. There are too many cancellations and you have to rely too much on the discretion of too many government and private officials.

3) At this time I would only travel to where I can go by car, because even if you test positive most countries cannot legally prevent you from returning home across a land border in your own vehicle. If you test positive prior to flying you will not be allowed to fly. If you test positive prior to entering Canada at a land border by personal vehicle, you will not be allowed to enter unless you are a Canadian citizen or have some other special status like permanent residence. If you try to fly back home and test positive you could be stuck in quarantine until you test negative or a certain amount of time passes where you are asymptomatic after you tested positive. It's just too finicky of a situation for me to trust. Border agents are humans and do not implement measures consistently when any discretion is required for your desirable outcome.

4) A new variant can come at anytime that can change everything and governments show a propensity to act swiftly now.

5) PCR tests are expensive in Canada. Potentially hundreds of dollars. They aren't free.

Now the good:

1) By May/June I would hope most of this madness is behind us. Most likely businesses will be open, but the mask mandates will probably still exist along with other restrictions. I personally think things are going to start improving for Canada around early February with a return to somewhat normal by spring/summer.

2) If you're fully vaccinated and have no comorbidity (obese, diabetic, immune-compromised, over 60 years old etc) COVID is of very low risk to you. If you take precautions like eating healthy and careful not to put others at risk, I would feel safe traveling, because at this point most of the risk is to health care systems and not individuals. I wouldn't travel without being 2 weeks past receiving 3 doses of vaccine at this point.

3) It looks unlikely a variant will come along which is more transmissible than omicron. For this reason, I personally believe things are going to only be getting better for the foreseeable future.

If after reading that you still want to go, make sure you make only refundable reservations.

If I was in your situation, I would plan to go only if I could avoid air travel (especially if you have connecting flights) on the thinking that things are going to be better in all other areas, but be prepared to cancel at the last minute. Keep in mind that I would not rely on help from strangers in a forum on the internet. Traveling and especially international travel is not something to do casually. I would only plan to travel at this point because I will put in the time to research the requirements of every country and state/province I plan to travel to.

Thank you SO much for all of this information! I really appreciate it ;w;
Hopefully by May/June things clear up. I will be traveling by car, because planes tend to be pretty pricy, out of my budget. >.>
Also, I just checked the approved vaccines by Canada, it says Janssen (the one I have) is approved?

I will most likely get a booster at some point. I’m not exactly sure if that would count or not? ;w;
EDIT: Not sure if Janssen has two doses now or not. I will go look it up haha. I remember there only being one dose, however if there happens to be two now, I’ll go get a second one ._.

 

[user1234]

Thank you SO much for all of this information! I really appreciate it ;w;
Hopefully by May/June things clear up. I will be traveling by car, because planes tend to be pretty pricy, out of my budget. >.>
Also, I just checked the approved vaccines by Canada, it says Janssen (the one I have) is approved?
View attachment 425844
I will most likely get a booster at some point. I’m not exactly sure if that would count or not? ;w;

Oh yes, you're right, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is accepted. I totally forgot about that because it's really rare here. You may have some issues with people not realizing you are considered fully vaccinated at this time after only 1 dose of J&J. Fact doesn't always matter and often something that is rare or different isn't treated how it should be, but if you get a 2nd dose you will for sure be ok at this time. If you want to read the research papers for interest on your own health, check out the COM-COV2 study. They tested combining vaccines and while it's not the same as you because the Astrazeneca is a 2 dose vaccine, they concluded in their peer review paper that the best results were to have a viral vector vaccine (Astrazeneca and J&J are both these kinds), followed by an mRNA vaccine. Keep in mind this combination is also most likely to result in side effects, but if I was you I would get a pfizer for my second dose.

Also, if you have proof you were previously infected, make sure you have that with you if your proove positive test was no more than 180 days ago from the time you intend to travel, here's the info from the Canadian government site:


If you are now symptom-free, you can provide proof of a positive COVID-19 molecular test when crossing the border, instead of a negative one.

• The test must have been taken at least 15 and no more than 180 days before (starting January 15, 2022, between 11 and 180 days):
• • the initial scheduled departure time of your aircraft
  • your scheduled entry into Canada by water or land
• The proof of the positive result must be from an accepted type of molecular test
• If your positive proof is accepted you won’t have to take arrival or Day-8 tests

If you're able to get a PCR test for free, I would get one when a proove positive test could help you with your travel, for the reasons stated above if your current positive test result is outside the 180 days. I don't know all the ins and outs, but do make sure the test you get is recognized by the Canadian government. Who knows, maybe by the time of your trip you won't need to supply a test!

I very much hope you're able to safely travel and enjoy yourself.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

Oh yes, you're right, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is accepted. I totally forgot about that because it's really rare here. You may have some issues with people not realizing you are considered fully vaccinated at this time after only 1 dose of J&J. Fact doesn't always matter and often something that is rare or different isn't treated how it should be, but if you get a 2nd dose you will for sure be ok at this time.

Also, if you have proof you were previously infected, make sure you have that with you if your proove positive test was no more than 180 days ago from the time you intend to travel, here's the info from the Canadian government site:


If you are now symptom-free, you can provide proof of a positive COVID-19 molecular test when crossing the border, instead of a negative one.

• The test must have been taken at least 15 and no more than 180 days before (starting January 15, 2022, between 11 and 180 days):
• • the initial scheduled departure time of your aircraft
  • your scheduled entry into Canada by water or land
• The proof of the positive result must be from an accepted type of molecular test
• If your positive proof is accepted you won’t have to take arrival or Day-8 tests

If you're able to get a PCR test for free, I would get one when a proove positive test could help you with your travel, for the reasons stated above if your current positive test result is outside the 180 days. I don't know all the ins and outs, but do make sure the test you get is recognized by the Canadian government. Who knows, maybe by the time of your trip you won't need to supply a test!

I very much hope you're able to safely travel and enjoy yourself.

The thing is about my positive test, it was a rapid at home test. I’m not sure if that would count. I have it saved in a little baggy because when I told my manager I was sick with COVID, I didn’t think she’d believe me. ;w;

So I’d have to go get one done at a lab or a pharmacy where Canada recognizes that type of test. It’s a somewhat good thing because when I called my district manager, they told me I could end up testing positive for a couple months after having the virus. I was scared about this because, if I were to travel, let’s say in February, and I tested positive, they wouldn’t let me past the border ^^;;

Thank you for all of your help ;w;

 

[user1234]

Oh yes, that type of test will not be recognized. You will need to get a specific type of PCR. I haven't looked at that yet, but I'm sure the kinds of tests are listed.

From what I understand a rapid test is far less accurate and will really only detect when you are at the infectious stage, whereas a PCR test has the ability to detect an infection even when you are not infectious.

 

[Mr.Fox]

From what I understand a rapid test is far less accurate and will really only detect when you are at the infectious stage, whereas a PCR test has the ability to detect an infection even when you are not infectious.

This is 100% accurate, which is why some airlines requiring only a rapid test to travel is absolutely ridiculous. A coworker of mine came in about 2 weeks ago, and at my pharmacy we do rapid tests every other shift just to be on the safe side since we're all crammed together back there, and she tested negative. As the shift went on, I started noticing her coughing...then sneezing...and the final straw was her putting her head down on the counter to cool her forehead...we immediately sent her home.
The next day she tested positive via PCR.

All forms of group travel should require PCR testing...but we live in a time where convenience is apparently more important than the welfare of others.