I am travelling with my family & friends from US into Canada on July 8th.
Where are the available borders? Which are most suitable to cross to Canada and from Canada? The border we need must between Vermont and the Niagra Falls.

Do we need special papers to cross the border? Is there someone who has a advice for a nice stay for 2 families for 1 or 2 nights in Canada one hour from the border? We travel with 4 children in the age range from 10 - 15 years old.

I hope someone had a advice.

Kind Regards,

Ron Ploeg

Hey,

The hotels are generally MUCH cheaper on the American side of the boarder (but not as nice). If you are an American, you'll need a photo ID to enter into Canada.

My family and I together with our US relatives crossed the border at Niagara Falls last May 16 - 18. Since January 2008 everyone (including Americans) is required to present a valid passport, and depending on your citizenship the appropriate visas.

Right on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, you already have a wide choice of hotels and entertainment spots to pick from. Check the link below:

http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/

Canadian or American citizens, you need a passport ... a photo ID plus a birth certificate or other official ID will also work, supposedly, but you can get hassled sometimes without a passport.

Citizens of all other nations must have a US Visa to enter the US

Hi Ron.
It appears you are a citizen of the Netherlands. I assume that everyone including any American citizens in your party will have their own passports.
Note below indicates that citizens of the Netherlands are exempt from Canadian Visa requirements. Make sure you check with US authorities regarding re-entry to the US after your visit to Canada. You will have no problems entering Canada as long as none in your party has a criminal record (including driving while intoxicated). A criminal record will preclude you from entry to Canada.

The following is from the Canadian visa requirements section of the Canadian government website.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

Many people do not require a visa to visit Canada. These include:

citizens of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (National Passport holders only), Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia (Republic of), Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, United States, and Western Samoa;
persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence;

As a citizen of the Netherlands, it seems you come under the Visa Waiver Program (card OMB #1651-0113 <green>) for the U.S.; it's obtainable at the airport of departure and handed in as you go through U.S. customs/immigration (remember to keep the detachable slip to hand in on your departure which is a record of you leaving the U.S.)

(As a UK citizen residing in Canada I fill this in at the airport when flying to U.S. - takes a couple minutes but you will need to supply a street address of where you'll be staying - at least for the first night in the U.S.).

I hope the site below helps.

As mentioned above, check about re-entry to the U.S. from Canada.

www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/

To enter the US:
Yes, there is a visa waiver program for citizens of some countries incl. the Netherlands.
But to be eligible, there are very specific requirements ... notably including a machine readable passport (many, especially older passports, aren't).
For more info see:
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

The its hard to find the above on the website for US customs/immigration

A simplified summary of the US Visa waiver program is at:
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/business_pleasure/vwp/vwp_timeline.ctt/vwp_timeline.pdf

Wow real helpful tips. But where can we find a map of the closest borders. Where do we find the fastest and most close border. Or is it a silly question?

I'm not too familiar with the area
but I often fall back on http://mapquest.com

I am American and there is a border crossing here in NW Vermont about 1 mile east of my house, and another 2 miles west just over the bridge in New York. I live 500 feet from the Canadian Border and on Lake Champlain. You will need only passports since you are from Netherlands. If you are driving North from NY City I would suggest you take I 87 North from Albany to the border at Champlain New York which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive and very senic. If you want to cross at one of the small crossings such as the one near Noyan, Quebec, contact me via my VT address and I can give you directions to get there. It really depends which City you are coming from. New York or Boston ?

I use Google Earth for that kind of info, but if you want a simple map, a webesearch should give you what you need.

The US government just announced changes to the Visa Waiver program that add requirements for all peoplew travelling from Visa waiver countries ... expected to taker effect in January of 09
Info on US government websites:
http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/visanews/index.html
and
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1212498186436.shtm
and
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1212501117599.shtm

It's not clear to my reading whether this will affect travellers arriving by p[rivate car

Lets hope that when the Democrats with the election later this year the paranoia ruling "homeland security" will abate to a reasonable level