Canadians travelling to Hawaii

[mort1331]

Flying from Toronto, connecting in Vancouver. Do we go thru US customs in TO or VAN,,,or both?
Any other considerations with the connection. We have just over 2 hours to connect.

 

[bcwife76]

You will go through US customs here in Vancouver, your first leg will be a domestic flight

 

[marisabuzz]

From my research, there should be a US connections area so that you won't need to exit security and then clear it again before customs. I think I have read that people don't know about this so it adds more time and headaches when connecting. I think I've also read that they won't clear you until your checked baggage clears?

Can someone confirm any of this? Are there signs for the US connection area? Is it easy to get to?

 

[alohamom]

We have flown from Toronto to Honolulu through Vancouver, but it was over six years ago so things might be different now, especially because of Covid.

As I remember it, you do have a separate area to clear customs at Vancouver and there was a small lineup when we went through but it processed quite quickly. We were flying mid afternoon Vancouver time.

One thing I do remember about the Vancouver airport and this route in particular was that it was a fairly long walk from exiting our first flight through the terminal. I remember kind of panicking because it took so long to do that walk and I had not anticipated that. My plan had been to eat dinner at YVR and I was worried we weren’t gonna be able to do it. We ended up getting some very fast food and we did have time to sit and eat it. I think my son took the rest of his meal with him on the plane.

We were flying Air Canada that time and I’m pretty sure it’s a standard route. I’m sure that it will be ok and if for some weird reason your plane from YYZ into YVR is a little delayed you can always ask one of the flight attendants on your first plane to message ahead that you are connecting.

 

[bcwife76]

Unfortunately I can't help with connections from YVR as Vancouver is our home airport so I'm either starting or ending there but never connecting THROUGH YVR lol

 

[RJP77]

We are in the exact same flight situation. YYX to YVR to HNL with a 2 hour layover. Using WestJet for both legs. I hope that using the same airline means they will be aware of any delays. Take a look at some maps of the YVR airport. I specifically looked up the common gates for my flight in and out to get a feel for where we need to go.

 

[marisabuzz]

We are in the exact same flight situation. YYX to YVR to HNL with a 2 hour layover. Using WestJet for both legs. I hope that using the same airline means they will be aware of any delays. Take a look at some maps of the YVR airport. I specifically looked up the common gates for my flight in and out to get a feel for where we need to go.

@mort1331, this is another thing I've been doing. Similar to @RJP77, I have been keeping track of my flights, both arriving and departing at YVR, and seeing where they are gating so that I can estimate how long it would take to get from the arriving gate to the departing gate. I think if you use that US connections security area, you'll be good for layover.

I can't recall, but are you AC or WJ?

 

[mort1331]

Ac...will let you know soon...