border crossing at detroit or sarnia

[jba2]

I will be driving to Chicago from Toronto this Sunday. Can anyone please advise me as to where I should cross the border? I should be at the border at around 10:30 or 11:00. I was wondering which border crossing would likely be quicker. TIF

 

[rjan67]

Sunday morning crossing in Sarnia should not take very long. Traffic moves well Sunday mornings.

 

[essom71]

check the website for times and make your decision from that.

 

[torontodisneyfan]

I have made that drive a few times and always use Sarnia... I have never waited in a line...

 

[briar_rose_59]

check the website for times and make your decision from that.

I was crossing with my mom last weekend and pulled up the website because the line at the Ambassador Bridge was back past the duty free store on the Canadian side. Website said no wait so we figured it was probably just a random backup and we'd be on our way soon. Took almost 30 minutes to cross the bridge & then customs was really checking everyone so at least another 15 to clear. Coming back was another huge delay (someone's car stalled on the bridge from what I heard?) but wasn't checking the website that time to see if it was updated or not. But either way I wouldn't really trust that website all that much if 45 mins to an hour is considered "no delay" on the Ambassador Bridge... Normally takes us 10-15mins.

 

[Polarone]

I'd recommend Sarnia, especially if you are planning on bringing anything with you into the US. The Detroit/Windsor border crossings are notoriously more "by the book" and less lenient than any other US/Canada crossing, and the Ambassador Bridge is much worse than the Detroit/Windsor tunnel.

If going through Detroit/Windsor would save you significant time/driving (which I don't think it will) I would recommend the tunnel and avoiding the bridge if you could. You can still back up at the tunnel, but in my experience (I live in Windsor and work in Detroit, so I cross every business day) you're always better off at the tunnel, barring a big event in downtown Detroit or something odd like construction.

 

[corster]

If you have a smartphone with you in the car, you can check wait times on http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/ for travel in to the US, and on http://wap.gc.ca for travel in to Canada....

I usually check approaching 401/402 split and go with whichever is better... generally speaking if i'm going to the Detroit metro area, I prefer Port Huron, if i'm driving down south on I-75, I prefer Ambassador Bridge.