Niagara Falls Travel Forum

hi, i'll land with my plane from europe in toronto.
i'll rent a car from toronto to niagara falls.
i'll sleep in a hotel of the canadian part of the falls, and the day after i want to enter usa with the car and reach buffalo and stay in usa for 1 week.

is it possible to pass the border with a rented car?
are the immigration controls to enter usa very long?
how much time i'll need ? there is always queque?

would it be easier to pass the border on foot carryng my luggage? less controls?

thanks for your help!

No problem with a rental car, the immigration booth normally does not ask to see its registration. However it's best to have a copy of the registration (that you could request from the rental company) which you will need in case of any accident or traffic violation you might get involved in. The length of the queue varies, it's likely to be shorter or absent during the night. When we crossed the Friendship Bridge at Niagara Falls around noon, we waited for about 10-15 mins. before our turn came up. Of course you could cross on foot, I would expect passage through immigration to be faster as there's far less pedestrian traffic than vehicular.

If I were from Italy and was crossing from Canada to USA, I would not try to cross on foot. We have a "automobile society" here, and I am not sure if you can easily walk to the border crossing as most all border stations are set up for Car crossing, or crossing on maybe a Bus. I have never been to the crossing at Niagra Falls, but most places are remote from any City. I am sure if you arrive at the crossing on foot, they will allow you thru, but the "controls" are the same. You might have to walk for several Km on both sides to get to / from crossing. Both Canada and USA are used to doing everything by car. Public transport is not like Europe. Suggest you use the car and wait your turn. Worse times may be at morning and evening work commuting times, and start or end of week ends. In addition, you do not have to fill out a ESTA form on the internet before arrival at border. That on-line form is only for someone landing in the USA by plane or ship. Not for land crossings.

Passing the border with a rented car is not a problem and like others have suggested this should be the priority mode.

The time to cross border will depend upon the following factors:

1. if you are alone, chances are you may be pulled into special queue and sent to the nearby building for checking of documents and asking purpose of entering the usa from canada.

2. in the building, the queue itself depends on the time of the day and long weekends. it can take as much as 4-6 hours sometimes.

3. if they don't pull you in special queue, it will take you as little as 5 minutes to cross the border.

As a citizen of a country which participates in the US visa Waver Program you may need to complete the electronic System for travel authorization in order to enter the US.
Suggest you check into it.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html#countries
This link refers to the type of passport required and the ESTA authorization required. I'm not sure about all this but read it over and make sure your documents are in order.

Old Guy, he does not need to do ESTA form. That is ONLY for plane travel landing in USA. He may be filling out a green colored card that asks the same questions when he goes thru the border. But it need not be filled out ahead of time on the internet. It does not apply to land crossings by foot, bus, train, or car.

Before you book your whole trip, check with the various Canadian car rental agencies. I have rented a car in Buffalo, and was told there I could not take the car into Canada. I have never tried renting a car in Toronto and asking if it can be taken into the US.

By the way, there is a on-foot-border crossing at Niagara Falls. There is a steady stream of people that want to see both sides of the Falls, and the easiest way to do so is on foot. When we had our Buffalo rent-a-car, we drove to Niagara Falls, NY and just parked there and walked across to the Canadian side. We had no queue delays, but that is a sample of one, so who knows?

1) About car rental, I concur that the border people do not inquire about registration of the car. I have not had a problem with taking the car to Canada, just tell (or ask) the rental folks in advance that you will be going to Niagara Falls for a few hours or days and that the car will be parked there. Should be anoted to the agreement. Be sure your insurance covers Canada territory. By the way in the US, the car rental contracts even state which state (s) the car can be driven in.

2) About walking, of course there is a customs entry for walkers! There is even a sidewalk over both the Buffalo Peace Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge. I have used these many times. The walkers customs entry is used by bus riders too as all the riders have to file past the entry point.

Both entries are a big city environment. The biggest hurdle is the car and car drop-off. Call the bigger car rentals like Hertz and Avis and see what they advise.