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Pacific NW/AK/BC Canada to Open to U.S. Visitors on 8/9/21

outerlimits

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Looking for examples or stories from people who have crossed the border with these new regulations. Can I cross the border from Washington state (driving) into Canada (knowing that I have proof of vaccination and a negative test) and re-enter the US after from visit has concluded? I am confused with the US side of things. Any real life information would be appreciated.
 

Lady_Salina

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Looking for examples or stories from people who have crossed the border with these new regulations. Can I cross the border from Washington state (driving) into Canada (knowing that I have proof of vaccination and a negative test) and re-enter the US after from visit has concluded? I am confused with the US side of things. Any real life information would be appreciated.
Oh before you go check the regulations have not changed, they can change any time.

I've gone twice across in Ontario but did speak with the border guard for a bit both times. So you must download the Arrivecan app and put it on your phone. You must upload you intention to cross the border 72 hours ahead of crossing. Follow what it asks for and fill it out completely, it will ask for uploaded photos of I think the vaccine card front and back, and you will need your test results from a negative covid test with you and your card incase they also want to see it. You must cross within 72 hours of taking your covid test so plan well. Here in South Carolina I get almost weekly tests lol, and CVS has consistently had my answer to me within 24 hours so I have pretty switched to booking appointments for their drive through clinic for a PCR (make sure it's pcr or NAAT, not a rapid antigen test). It can be done at any recognized national lab, government test sites etc are fine but you must have a result that shows where it was done and the time it was taken and the type being PCR or NAAT. If they don't like your test for some reason they can ask you to get another when you get to the border. My husband did not get a test first time he crossed with me as he is essential service and was going for work I was going for pleasure (family visit). The border guy didn't believe he was going for work, was a jerk and he had to drive to the airport and pay $225.00 for a test that they give the answer in 30 minutes at the airport and go back to the border with it. It was only needed if requested and his work paid as he was going for work but a pain. The second border guard said he wouldn't have made him do it lol. I had 0 trouble the second time cause they see I already went and i had all info in the arrivecan app. The first time the guard would have let me go no problem for the same reason, all info was in and proper. When all info is in the arrive can app gives you a receipt number. Take a screen shot incase you run in to any issues with your service at the border and the app didn't load. So I had all my stuff in print and a screen shot, just in case. Coming home is 0 issues. If you are an American citizen or permanent resident the border considers your travel home essential. Both times they asked me if I had any horror stories about going across and were quite pleasant. I went across at non busy times as it will take them some time to put each vehicle through as they have to verify the app (it's not terribly busy yet but there is regular workers that cross so typical rush hour times are not wise) . I will be going again. Now I am a Canadian citizen but I understand from friends that it has been the same for them when they cross with their fully vaccinated status and had the arrive can app filled out. They will make you say where you plan to quarantine if they deem you have to. This would be if they found out your vaccine card was not legit or something else like your pcr test etc. So it should be no problem but they have ultimate power you are travelling to another country with different laws and rules than here. I will be going again and found it seamless.
 

Lady_Salina

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Looking for examples or stories from people who have crossed the border with these new regulations. Can I cross the border from Washington state (driving) into Canada (knowing that I have proof of vaccination and a negative test) and re-enter the US after from visit has concluded? I am confused with the US side of things. Any real life information would be appreciated.
Oh one more thing to consider, my son had to reschedule his specialist doctor appointment and can not report to work (must work from home) after having contract with me. Most places like dentist, doctors appointments etc have a policy in Canada at the current time if you have been in contact with anyone out of the country within the 14 days prior to the appointment they will not be able to see you. So if you have overly honest friends or family or acquaintances to visit make sure they are aware of this so if they have anything important they can reschedule it to before or more than 14 days after you are there.
 

outerlimits

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Oh one more thing to consider, my son had to reschedule his specialist doctor appointment and can not report to work (must work from home) after having contract with me. Most places like dentist, doctors appointments etc have a policy in Canada at the current time if you have been in contact with anyone out of the country within the 14 days prior to the appointment they will not be able to see you. So if you have overly honest friends or family or acquaintances to visit make sure they are aware of this so if they have anything important they can reschedule it to before or more than 14 days after you are there.

Thank you for the information. I have created an account with Canada/arrival app. I was just confused because you can fly in and out of Canada from the US but the driving in and out were not clear. I guess Canadians can fly into the US and then back home but cannot drive back and forth across the border? If I am understanding this correctly. US citizens can drive into Canada and back into the US with all they follow the vaccination and testing regulations.

I am planning a trip to Whistler and will be driving. I will be monitoring the situation closely as things could change drastically at any moment.

Thanks again.
 

Lady_Salina

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Thank you for the information. I have created an account with Canada/arrival app. I was just confused because you can fly in and out of Canada from the US but the driving in and out were not clear. I guess Canadians can fly into the US and then back home but cannot drive back and forth across the border? If I am understanding this correctly. US citizens can drive into Canada and back into the US with all they follow the vaccination and testing regulations.

I am planning a trip to Whistler and will be driving. I will be monitoring the situation closely as things could change drastically at any moment.

Thanks again.
That is true, Canadian's may fly in but not drive in yet, it has not been opened to Canadian border traffic yet. Had I know I could have flown my grand children down to my place for the summer I would have done it. They typically come each summer and have been very unhappy about missing 2 now. I'm more concerned they will outgrow wanting to come be with us before the pandemic ends and the border opens. I sure miss them.
 

DanoT

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@outerlimits I am in B.C. and planning a 5 or 6 week trip to Aspen in an RV in Feb. but I will quite likely change my plans to a few short B.C. trips. This is because even though I am fully vaccinated, if I get Covid and I am in a foreign country and even if I only have mild symptoms, getting home across a border while still positive becomes more than an uneeded complication, it becomes a big change in plans.
 

Lady_Salina

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@outerlimits I am in B.C. and planning a 5 or 6 week trip to Aspen in an RV in Feb. but I will quite likely change my plans to a few short B.C. trips. This is because even though I am fully vaccinated, if I get Covid and I am in a foreign country and even if I only have mild symptoms, getting home across a border while still positive becomes more than an uneeded complication, it becomes a big change in plans.
If you are Canadian you will be allowed back in the country but you will have to quarantine. Currently I can purchase health insurance for my 86 year old mother that will cover her for covid here and an emergency flight home. I can get covid included for decent insurance around 65000 coverage for under 400.00. I can buy less inclusive insurance for 200 but will 400 is very affordable for a 3 week visit in my opinion. Your issue right now though is USA has not opened the border to Canadian travelers yet. I intend to bring my mother down in October for 3 weeks under medical necessity as her care giver has to be away then and my mother can not find alternate care right now due to the pandemic. Can't hire anyone. lol i didn't read it was you Dano, you can do it if the border opens lol.
 
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Lady_Salina

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@outerlimits I am in B.C. and planning a 5 or 6 week trip to Aspen in an RV in Feb. but I will quite likely change my plans to a few short B.C. trips. This is because even though I am fully vaccinated, if I get Covid and I am in a foreign country and even if I only have mild symptoms, getting home across a border while still positive becomes more than an uneeded complication, it becomes a big change in plans.
Oh i get my insurance quotes and pick from here https://www.insubuy.com/visitors-insurance-quotes/ when I travel to Whistler to work for the winter and when I have my grand children visiting me for the summers. I also check blue cross, it is often a very good option for the grand kids.
 

dovski

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As an FYI for those planning to travel from the US to Canada, make sure you find the right place to do the testing before you travel. My mom came to visit me in the Seattle area and getting her tested 72 hours before flying home proved to be a challenge as many testing sites were booked solid or were giving 5 day turnaround on test results. In addition make sure you find a place that can bill your covid test to insurance otherwise it can get very expensive. For my mother whose Canadian health insurance would not cover a test in the US, it cost $300, but we had quotes as high as $1100. Someone is making a lot of money off these tests!
 

gilligan

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I went Canada the weekend before last. My wife is Canadian and her parents live in the Vancouver area. We finally got to see them for the first time in 18 months. The border crossing was a breeze, about a 10 minute wait at the Pacific Hwy crossing. If you're going, try to get in a line with the most Canadian license plates - CBSA was almost waving them through while it was taking 3-5 minutes for vehicles with US plates. Also, they do have random testing so you could be pulled over for a rapid Covid-test. As dovski mentioned, it's the Covid test that's the PITA. We had planned to go three weeks ago and got tested at a RiteAid. Unfortunately it took 6 days to get our results! We tried again the next week at a CVS pharmacy and received the results in 24 hours.
 

Lady_Salina

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As an FYI for those planning to travel from the US to Canada, make sure you find the right place to do the testing before you travel. My mom came to visit me in the Seattle area and getting her tested 72 hours before flying home proved to be a challenge as many testing sites were booked solid or were giving 5 day turnaround on test results. In addition make sure you find a place that can bill your covid test to insurance otherwise it can get very expensive. For my mother whose Canadian health insurance would not cover a test in the US, it cost $300, but we had quotes as high as $1100. Someone is making a lot of money off these tests!
Crazy. In South Carolina my friends that come for work (essential services) from canada just say I have no insurance and it's covered. Not sure but you can check the Seattle Airport. The Buffalo crossing sent us to the Buffalo airport for my husband to be tested as they do a NAAT test and give the answer in 30 minutes on the lower level of the airport. I guess for flyers. It was $225.00 when they decided they didn't want to believe my husband was crossing for work (he was headed to Ford in Oakville) i tagged along because they finally allowed us to cross.
 
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dovski

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Crazy. In South Carolina my friends that come for work (essential services) from canada just say I have no insurance and it's covered. Not sure but you can check the Seattle Airport. The Buffalo crossing sent us to the Buffalo airport for my husband to be tested as they do a NAAT test and give the answer in 30 minutes on the lower level of the airport. I guess for flyers. It was $225.00 when they decided they didn't want to believe my husband was crossing for work (he was headed to Ford in Oakville) i tagged along because they finally allowed us to cross.
They really had no insurance and everyone wanted to charge them top dollar for the testing. There was not a testing solution at SeaTac airport that we knew of that could turn around results in time. Just getting them a testing appointment proved to be a challenge.
 

Lady_Salina

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They really had no insurance and everyone wanted to charge them top dollar for the testing. There was not a testing solution at SeaTac airport that we knew of that could turn around results in time. Just getting them a testing appointment proved to be a challenge.
Crazy. I like to get tested weekly as I work for Amazon but when the cases went so low they stopped in house testing in July and now that our cases are climbing crazy again it's much more difficult for me to get the CVS testing appointment but the turn around time on my tests has still been exceptional with them. Yes as these are government mandated requirements to travel my understanding is it should be no charge or people might fight to have it removed especially when you are talking about people already vaccinated. So to keep travel safe and populations safe and promote it there should be no cost, but in crazy busy times getting the appointments are crazy so book your appointment as soon as you know your return date and time for 3 days ahead. My issue has also been getting the test and hoping no issues happen on the travel day that put me over the necessary 72 hours since testing. I have been purchasing the antigen tests also which is just to ensure I am covid free when I visit my 87 year old mother who is vaccinated but still at that age likely vulnerable. There is pay for options in this area if I have to be absolutely certain to get that answer in 24 hours. They are reasonably priced here though, not gouging like $1100. Crazy. I usually have a flexible schedule and if I didn't get my result in time could just put off going for a week.
 

dovski

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Crazy. I like to get tested weekly as I work for Amazon but when the cases went so low they stopped in house testing in July and now that our cases are climbing crazy again it's much more difficult for me to get the CVS testing appointment but the turn around time on my tests has still been exceptional with them. Yes as these are government mandated requirements to travel my understanding is it should be no charge or people might fight to have it removed especially when you are talking about people already vaccinated. So to keep travel safe and populations safe and promote it there should be no cost, but in crazy busy times getting the appointments are crazy so book your appointment as soon as you know your return date and time for 3 days ahead. My issue has also been getting the test and hoping no issues happen on the travel day that put me over the necessary 72 hours since testing. I have been purchasing the antigen tests also which is just to ensure I am covid free when I visit my 87 year old mother who is vaccinated but still at that age likely vulnerable. There is pay for options in this area if I have to be absolutely certain to get that answer in 24 hours. They are reasonably priced here though, not gouging like $1100. Crazy. I usually have a flexible schedule and if I didn't get my result in time could just put off going for a week.
So my company gave me a home testing system that gives realtime testing results in under 30 minutes. The only problem is you do not get an official certificate, but at least you know and there is a digital record of your test history if you ever need it. I think devices like this are the future, unfortunately they are in very limited supply. And like drug testing at the Olympics I am sure there are ways to beat the test, so unfortunately they will not let you use the test results for official purposes like travel
 

DanoT

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Oh i get my insurance quotes and pick from here https://www.insubuy.com/visitors-insurance-quotes/ when I travel to Whistler to work for the winter and when I have my grand children visiting me for the summers. I also check blue cross, it is often a very good option for the grand kids.
Thanks for the insurance info. In the past I have purchased travel insurance from BCAA (affiliated with AAA) and it is also costly but includes coverage that if I get flown home for medical reasons, getting my truck camper home and boarding my dog are also covered. I will do some comparison shopping.

My trip to Aspen is 4+ months away, so a lot can change and a lot has changed between when I bought my Aspen Super Senior Pass last April and now, in terms of the Covid Delta Variant number increases. Fortunately, Aspen extended their no questions asked refund to Aug. 27, sent me an email about it and I got the refund. And if I do show up in late Jan., according to their announced pass prices for the rest of the year, I will only pay an extra $50 over last spring's $549 pass price. ogsmile
 
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gilligan

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Crazy. In South Carolina my friends that come for work (essential services) from canada just say I have no insurance and it's covered. Not sure but you can check the Seattle Airport. The Buffalo crossing sent us to the Buffalo airport for my husband to be tested as they do a NAAT test and give the answer in 30 minutes on the lower level of the airport. I guess for flyers. It was $225.00 when they decided they didn't want to believe my husband was crossing for work (he was headed to Ford in Oakville) i tagged along because they finally allowed us to cross.
I didn't have to pay for my tests either. CVS requested my insurance info but said if my insurance didn't cover it, there'd be no charge to me. RiteAid even didn't ask for insurance info.
 

Kent

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Looking for examples or stories from people who have crossed the border with these new regulations. Can I cross the border from Washington state (driving) into Canada (knowing that I have proof of vaccination and a negative test) and re-enter the US after from visit has concluded? I am confused with the US side of things. Any real life information would be appreciated.
I drove home August 25 from a visit into Canada. Although going into Canada the border agent required proof of vaccination and a negative SARS-Cov 2 PCR test, the US border agent asked for neither. I had gotten a second PCR test in Canada before returning home because the US government site I looked at said they were mandatory.
 

Wilhelmson

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The weekend before the first day of school, my kid had a fever. We got the Walgreens test -5 day wait, drove 20 miles to a rapid test - 2 day wait. Called the pediatrician 5 miles away- 30 minute rapid test. He was cleared for school and ended up with 3 negative tests.

So if possible try a primary care first, maybe even call a random conventional doctors office and hopefully get lucky.
 

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