Canadians Traveling to the USA in 2025

[grantclaire]

My friend and his wife just got back from a week in Orlando, they were with two other couples from Canada for a golfing vacation. They said they had no issues at the airports and most Americans were great. But there was one guy at the resort who liked to make 51st State jokes! My friend just smiled and said we are here to make Florida a province! So I do not know if that is harassment or just being obnoxious!

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Better meaning you save 20 bucks on a 1000 or a 2 percent improvement. I'd have to see at par deals before I take myself south.

Yup, it's doing "better". I didn't say it was amazing lol

You will never be south again then because at-par days are never coming back lol

 

[asc]

Yup, it's doing "better". I didn't say it was amazing lol

You will never be south again then because at-par days are never coming back lol

Lol?

Oh well. The world is a very big place.

But funny how memories are so short and I can assure you that if people stay north you will see places offer at par deals. Maybe not at Disney but certainly in many places that heavily rely on Canadians. Maine, Vermont, upstate NY etc.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

The Canadian gov't has issued warnings about crossing the border. Mostly about informing people that your electronics can be searched without reason and you can be denied entry based on what they may find. Apparently you have to give them your password so they can gain access to the devices. US border guards have sweeping powers to allow or deny access to their country.

Word of warning is just that if you are crossing the border with electronics make sure there isn't anything on there that can get you into trouble. There were many news items on various Canadian networks highlighting the concern.

Bottom line if you are crossing the border, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If you have nothing to hide there is no reason for concern.

Lol?

Oh well. The world is a very big place.

But funny how memories are so short and I can assure you that if people stay north you will see places offer at par deals. Maybe not at Disney but certainly in many places that heavily rely on Canadians. Maine, Vermont, upstate NY etc.

Huh? So the states have their own currency to offer at par (ie, Vermont and Maine)?

 

[Donald - my hero]

Huh? So the states have their own currency to offer at par (ie, Vermont and Maine)?

not the poster you quoted but it's not uncommon for individual businesses to offer at-par discounts, heck even certain communities in Arizona , Scottsdale i believe, do a bunch of promos throughout the year to get snowbirds. That's been going on for years. The great wolf lodge just the other side of the ontario border regularly does that as well.

 

[ottawamom]

Our first family trip to Disney was a Canadian dollars at par deal (back when the exchange was $1.54Cdn/US). They just discounted our room and we still paid in US $.

I do hope they try to entice people with at Par deals again. I might venture into the New England states if they did.

 

[CanucksRock]

The last day of my trip is tomorrow and it’s been no different than any other trip I’ve been on to Disney. We have not chatted with many people and it’s never been asked where are you from…

Still a lot of international travellers as hearing a lot of accents or other languages (in the Disney bubble)

 

[Aladora]

I have not read all the replies but wanted to post a few things.

First of all, border agents (Canadian and American) have had the legal right to check every single thing you want to carry over their border for a long time now. The ability to ask for your passwords and to search your electronic devices is not a new thing. If you do not want to give them the password, then you are 100% within your right not to but you will likely not be able to cross their border. Having said that, out of probably 25 trips across the USA border in the last 15 years, this has never been an issue for me. We did have one problem at YYC this trip when we went through security but that was 100% my fault. DH and I went through security in YVR and when I put our liquids bags back into our carry on, I stupidly popped both into FH’s case because his had a bit more room, forgetting that of course we were going to have to go back through in Calgary. YYC has the new scanners where you leave liquids in your case so I forgot that we had doubled up in one bag. So, his bag was flagged for inspection and they made us pick only liquids that would fit into one bag so I had to ditch some of my stuff. As I said, totally my fault!

We just got back from our April 6-11 Disneyland trip and we have no issues at the border. We flew through Calgary so we crossed into the USA at YYC. We downloaded and used the MPC app and it was so fast and easy.

On our way home we flew LAX-YVR and I did our customs declaration using the ArriveCan app before we even left the Grand Californian Hotel. Again it was a super easy and fast entry back into Canada.

This is our last trip into the states for the foreseeable future so now we are looking at Tokyo Disney in 2026 instead!

 

[ottawamom]

Thanks for the current feedback. Useful for those travelling in the near future.

 

[asc]

Some interesting stats for March. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cross-border-trips-us-900-thousand-1.7511090 keep it going.

 

[SirDuff]

Just arrived in US (Canadian with NEXUS) and no issues at all. I wasn’t arriving from Canada so went through immigration and customs here. Agent even wished me Happy Birthday (which the automatic passport gates at my departure airport also did - which I thought was a nice touch).

 

[tgropp]

We crossed the Sarina/Port Huron border last Thursday. The border agent asked us where we were going and when we replied Florida, he smiled and asked if we would bring some warm weather home. He never even asked if we had anything to declare. We have had merchants and people around the pool ask us where we are from and Hear that we are from Canada they remain
Very polite. Having a Great Time with no issues

 

[gisele2]

We've also made the "no US travel for four years or until he's gone, whichever comes first" decision for our family, and I'm searching for travel ideas. Where we're stuck is places to go for short trips, especially since we're on the west coast. Our go-to destinations when we have a week or less have been California, Hawaii and New York, as well as cruises out of US ports and American cities with history and distinct character like Savannah and New Orleans. By making the 2.5 hour drive to Seattle, all these places were very easy to access.

I'm having no problem finding great places to go for longer trips since we already love Europe and Asia and had been hoping to get to South America in the next few years, but I can't see doing a 9-10 hour flight for a one week trip!

We love Canada, but I feel like the almost 2 year lockdown of 2020-2022 left us pretty satiated with Canadian travel. Cavendish, Vancouver Island and Quebec city are truly lovely, but if I can use my grocery store points card from home in the local shops it just doesn't seem like a real trip to me.

We are planning to sub out our next California trip with Mexico City since there are direct flights from Vancouver, but most of the other direct flights south from the west coast are to resort areas and we just aren't interested in that type of travel.

Can anyone from the East suggest good vacation locations with direct flights from Toronto or Montreal? I'm thinking that maybe we could combine a couple of days in one of those cities with a southern sun location to make a worthwhile trip. For example, the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique look like they'd be great for independent travel and they have direct flights from Montreal, but they've never really been on my radar.

I'd love to hear other ideas for interesting places that aren't too hard to access for Canadians.

Guadeloupe is really nice. There is a club med near Ste-Anne.

 

[Lesverts]

It is heartening to see some American communities and whole states doing what they can to try to show Canadians they are welcome. I know some of it is self-serving but it is still nice to see.

I have still been using my optimum points to pay for groceries and buy Disney gift cards with my grocery money to build a bit of an exchange stash because I still really enjoy Disney (and Colorado and New York and cruising).

I checked Disney for the week I've gone in August the last few years. I can go for 9 days (the last two trips were 7 and 8) with the free dining upgrade for about what either of the last 2 trips cost me. If I downgrade from Pop to one of the All-stars I would save about 900 dollars. Spending money would be like a fifth of what I normally would do since I would have the dining plan. It is tempting but idk. I love the Halloween Party and the afterhours events.

 

[bababear_50]

I am getting bombarded with *Mom* you need to go to Costa Rica and *Mom* you need to go to Mexico............................ mom we worry about you ,,we love you ,,we want you to be safe............................ they have even recruited extended family members to convince me.........................
emails,, flyers , text messages.........LOL.
They are trying desperately to keep me away from USA Disney/Universal next winter.
The problem is that's where my heart is.
Adult decisions here.........................I hate being an adult sometimes.

 

[Reepicheep]

Both my daughters will be working at Disney World for the summer, so despite the actions of "That Man" my wife and I will be visiting for two weeks in August. I promise, though, to walk around the whole time with my elbows raised and with a scowl on my face.

Does anyone know if tariffs apply on what would, in normal times, be duty free items? There are a couple of Disney loving senior citizens at my church who can no longer travel, so I always bring back some Disney edibles for them as a treat. If I will have to pay tariffs on my purchases, I guess I can take comfort from knowing that the money goes to the Canadian govt and not the US govt.

EDIT: incidentally, we are paying as little as $130/day including tax for a weekday in early August at All Star Sports, which is without a doubt the lowest price I have paid for a room since we started visiting Disney World in 2018. Coupled with the Canadian discount on tickets, this will be a very inexpensive trip for us.

 

[deanimal]

I am getting bombarded with *Mom* you need to go to Costa Rica and *Mom* you need to go to Mexico............................ mom we worry about you ,,we love you ,,we want you to be safe............................ they have even recruited extended family members to convince me.........................
emails,, flyers , text messages.........LOL.
They are trying desperately to keep me away from USA Disney/Universal next winter.
The problem is that's where my heart is.
Adult decisions here.........................I hate being an adult sometimes.

How about Japan? We were just at Tokyo Disney and Universal Osaka last month and we all agreed it was our best trip ever! Very friendly, super safe and (except for the flights) much cheaper with Cdn money. The only downside is that my family liked the Japanese parks so much more that going back to the American ones will be a major downgrade.

 

[ottawamom]

Both my daughters will be working at Disney World for the summer, so despite the actions of "That Man" my wife and I will be visiting for two weeks in August. I promise, though, to walk around the whole time with my elbows raised and with a scowl on my face.

Does anyone know if tariffs apply on what would, in normal times, be duty free items? There are a couple of Disney loving senior citizens at my church who can no longer travel, so I always bring back some Disney edibles for them as a treat. If I will have to pay tariffs on my purchases, I guess I can take comfort from knowing that the money goes to the Canadian govt and not the US govt.

EDIT: incidentally, we are paying as little as $130/day including tax for a weekday in early August at All Star Sports, which is without a doubt the lowest price I have paid for a room since we started visiting Disney World in 2018. Coupled with the Canadian discount on tickets, this will be a very inexpensive trip for us.

I just looked this up the other day. The amounts for duty free changed March 5, 2025. Tariffs don't apply on your duty free items.

Duty free as of March 5.

You are allowed $800 after 48hours away. This is the same amount as a 7 day trip. For trips between 24-48hours its $200. All amounts are Canadian dollars per person.

 

[ellbell]

I just looked this up the other day. The amounts for duty free changed March 5, 2025. Tariffs don't apply on your duty free items.

Duty free as of March 5.

You are allowed $800 after 48hours away. This is the same amount as a 7 day trip. For trips between 24-48hours its $200. All amounts are Canadian dollars per person.

I don't see what changed. Is it just that they are also exempt from tarrifs?

 

[ottawamom]

I didn't think 2 days away was $800 before. Maybe there isn't a change.