theesir Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 My wife and I used to regularly go to NOTL for a nice afternoon during the summer or fall. A few years back, traffic at the boarder became insane and after a 2 hour wait to come home once we gave up on going. Its been a while an we would like to go back, but are still living in fear of a possible huge wait at the border. Do any of you regularly head over to Canada anymore? Has the bridge time improved? Am I just being paranoid? I remember as a youngster heading over to Fort Erie just to have Chinese food and come home.... it seems so long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM57 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Don't use the Lewiston Queenston bridge. Ever. That immediately shaves a good 30 mins off your wait time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Should have a passport... Well actually they say you HAVE to. We just went over the Rainbow without them at Christmas... Seems Canadian customs let's you float right in... Getting back is when we were read the riot act. What, they won't let me back into my own country... We had Id. If you wanna go, probably best to take the path of least resistance and have a passport... But if Canada let's you in with "country of origin" only question... Plead ignorant on the way back. Anway... I wasn't sure if they laxed up the rules when we went... So I figured I could ask in Duty Free... Anway, it is only one way in... So you gotta cross the border... I played that angle up when coming back to the indignant American border agent... He seemed livid at the Canadians... Heck, ONT only wants my money too. Wait times were a breeze at the Rainbow... In and out in a couple of minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Just swim it like Fan in San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Just swim it like Fan in San Diego. LoL Wow... I still can't fathom ever attempting to do something like that unless you are Johnny Weissmuller... And I bet he wouldn't have tried it... I think the image of the sunken scow would have slapped him back to reality. Just had a crazy drunk dude some years ago attempt to swim across the river to the lock wall from the bar/marina... Now that is taking your life in your hands... Not because it is a hard swim, but a toxic swim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theesir Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am aware of the passport requirement, my wife and I both always travel with them. My real question was whether not folks are still encountering long wait times coming back into the states on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am aware of the passport requirement, my wife and I both always travel with them. My real question was whether not folks are still encountering long wait times coming back into the states on the weekend. I suppose it is hit an miss... We had no problem except the riot act bit about passports. Probably depends when and where you go over. The passport thing is just plain silly... With computers, you'd think they could link Canada to all the DMV's in the country. It wasn't like we didn't have ID, car registration, etc.. etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Just swim it like Fan in San Diego. The ad used to say; "It's a long swim but a short ride to Crystal Beach!" Now that's probably no longer true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowgirlsFan Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I can't speak for which bridge is best these days. On Monday after the home opener in 2010, Aussiew and I took a drive up to Niagra on the Lake. Each of us had our passports. On return to the US, we were asked the usual questions. When the guy saw that I was from the Dallas Fort Worth he remarked "no wonder we lost yesterday your from Dallas". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooderson Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I am aware of the passport requirement, my wife and I both always travel with them. My real question was whether not folks are still encountering long wait times coming back into the states on the weekend. I went up to Crystal Beach last weekend and had minimal wait on both sides. They have websites and phone numbers that give you updates on how the lines are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhg Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Peace Bridge is usually the shortest wait. Agree with JM57 about the LQ bridge. Avoid it completely. You can also check out the wait times here: http://mobile.peacebridge.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM57 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 LQ bridge has the smallest amount of lanes, usually won't have all lanes open, and is the bridge most Canadian shoppers use. During tourist season Rainbow can back up too as people want to get right into DT Niagara Falls, but they're usually good about keeping a good deal of lanes open and moving people along quickly. LQ seems to have more secondary inspections and long stops than the others, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theesir Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Peace Bridge is usually the shortest wait. Agree with JM57 about the LQ bridge. Avoid it completely. You can also check out the wait times here: http://mobile.peacebridge.com/ Thanks. This mobile site will be helpful. Its a longer drive from the Peace Bridge to NOTL, but it might be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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