Crossing the border between Seattle and Vancouver... Driving over to British Columbia, Canada wasn't that bad! We presented our passports, answered a few questions, and went on our way! Some of the questions included: Do you have a gun? Are you bringing any fruits and vegetables? What are you leaving in Canada? How long will you be in Canada? Where are you going? We passed through on a Saturday morning around 11am. It was an uneventful experience! read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Welcome to British Columbia, Canada! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

THE GUARDIAN of the 49th parallel heading North.... The one stop you wanna be nice and answer all questions properly. Generally the border crossing is an easy experience for me. Many moons ago back in the 80's when a I was a juvenile crossing with long hair they tended to get hassle me but nothing to egregious like a cavity search just extra questions about why I'm entering Canada... Nowadays I have a Nexus Pass and cruise past the line of people in record speed with no hassle at all. Just a smile and can you roll your back window down. Maybe a WELCOME TO CANADA FRANK as I pass through would be nice but I'm not holding my breath. Thanks and I appreciate your efforts! I appreciate the bother crossing service both ways. read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

(From March, 2025), The experience of crossing the border into our Canadian neighbor was as smooth as buttermilk. All you need to have are your passports and that's pretty much it. The officer was friendly but all business so we didnt' try to inject humor or jovial conversations. In and out like the burger spot. There's a couple cool buildings and trees here that makes for great photo opportunities. Next time, I'll have my phone ready for that IG post! read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

Just doing their job [Surrey, BC Canada] Sometimes they're nice, sometimes they're not so nice. They are not there to be your friend but to protect their country. Two days in a row we came in to Canada coming from Blaine WA. Each visit was just a day trip. The first time we drove in we presented our passports and asked us if we drove straight (we had California plates)... I can't remember the other questions but the last question startled me... "do you have guns?" After the hubby said "no" he asked to open the trunk for inspection even opening the compartment underneath the floorboard. Nothing. Then he let us through... off to Whistler. The following day on our second entry to Canada the border patrol was nicer. We were heading to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Coming back to the U.S. only two lanes were open... we waited an hour in line just to get through. Review #3154 updated read more

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I will file a formal complaint against BANKAR. He was racially discriminatory towards me and my friend yesterday, July 12, 2018. We are great citizens of the US going to Canada for one day and BANKAR harassed my friend insisting he had drugs on him. He cleared my friend and then 5 minutes later asked him to come back for inspection (breaking from protocol). My friend replied he didn't have anything on him over and over and BANKAR kept insisting as if he already made up his mind about my friend. My friend kept telling BANKAR he can open the bags and check for himself, however BANKAR proceeded to keep displaying intimidation tactics. My friend does not drink or smoke. Not a sip or puff. I was scared the situation could escalate (like other situations have in history). The other officers didn't seem to support BANKAR's harassment. BANKAR went on to intimidate my friend regarding his life trying to find anything to frame him on. BANKAR needs to be reassessed for discrimination. Not everyone operates in the box BANKAR puts people in based on the color of their skin. I was distraught listening to how differently BANKAR treated my friend as opposed to others that came before my friend. Just because you are an officer does not mean that you are above anyone else & it does not mean that you can blatantly disrespect anyone. The CBSA's motto is to treat people with professionalism, integrity and respect. Bankar did not accomplish any of this. He was not simply doing his job, he was doing extra. Extra things that were not asked of him to do and not taught in his training to do. If you face any type of mistreatment like this, it is important you exercise your right to free speech. That you report mistreatment so things don't get overlooked or to protect future travelers. Always get the name of the person. Look for the badge or get a card. You can also ask for the supervisor on the spot instead of leaving the border to report later. read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

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Just as I suspected, the Canada Border entry via Hwy 99 was extremely easy and friendly. I have not driven across a border since I was a child and even then I was a passenger. We came up to the beautiful, nicely landscaped, clean entry point with only a few lanes open, but not many cars. We had our passports ready to go per signage everywhere and drove up to the border agent. He was very pleasant and asked some basic questions and had us on our way. It was a nice introduction to the country of some of the nicest people I've encountered. Be aware upon entering that you go from miles to kilometers. So watch your speed and enjoy the views! read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

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Entering into Canada for the first time on a Sunday afternoon with 5 stalls open. We waited about 1/2 hour with several cars in each line. They will ask you why you're entering, where you're coming from, and if you need to declare anything. They'll take a look at your passport, or passport cards, and as long as everything is in line, you'll be on your way in without any delays. A great first Canadian border experience. read more

Entering Canada was a breeze, especially considering we noticed our passports were missing our signature. The lady whose aisle we went through was friendly and had an easy going personality ftmp. She informed us of one of our most recent visits to Canada. Funny, neither of us remembered when exactly we had been there last. After she asked the usual questions and verified our purpose, destination, and such we were on our way. Now the return wasn't nearly as easy. Don't get me wrong, the lady in the aisle was friendly and asked all the usual questions, it was the wait just to get up to the gait that was ridiculous. It didn't seem complicated but the choice of taking the lane to the right vs. the outside left lane turned out to be the wrong decision and added probably three times the wait due to the fact there was not another lane option easily accessible. Seriously, my traveling companion NEEDED a Snickers. read more

My first time driving myself across a land crossing and it was super easy and very fast. On this Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving, it took SEVEN minutes from the "Customs and Immigration - 1 mile" to the "Welcome to British Columbia" sign. Fantastic! The border guard was polite, asking me a few questions about where I'm headed and where I'm staying. There was no secondary or additional search today. She was quite nice about it. [Review 20860 overall - 37 in British Columbia - 1844 of 2023.] read more

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Crossing the Canadian border by car was a horrible experience. We arrived there and they only one lane open and 2 cars waiting in front of us. I could barely handle the stress of such horific traffic. We knew trying to cross the border driving a rental car with California license plates could cause an international incident. The border guard asked where we were going? I said, "Canada" She failed the humor test !! read more

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Aloha, CBSA seems to be the largest, most direct and most used route from Washington State to Vancouver off of route 5. Have your paperwork, i.e. passport for everyone in the auto, in order to insure an quick and safe drive. Like any boarder crossing, you'll get asked the typical questions of why, how long, etc. Although the line can be long at certain times of the day, it does move quickly. Mid-day it took us about 35 minutes to get through, coming back to the US, it was much quicker, like 15 minutes. Definitely worth the trek to Vancouver to play tourist there for a few days. Crossing guards are kinda TSA like, not too friendly but not rude either, just doing their job, nice. Enjoy! read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Waiting at the border... - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

This crossing was fast and friendly. We arrived around seven at night seeking an LMIA high wage visa. They quickly processed the paperwork for the seven of us which included four 2 year work visas and three school permits our younger children. We had all paperwork, but they did make it very easy. First, we thought the immigration officer was grumpy, but once he saw we were legitimate he quickly turned into being very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend using this crossing point! read more

Some thoughts on our visit to Canada: Good: Very clean - You do not see trash anywhere, the roads are free from trash and bins on the roads have locking lids to keep trash in and bears out. You do not see graffiti or stickers on signs, people seem to really care about the environment here. Roads are well though out with overpasses for wildlife, their freeways are unlike the US in that someone thought about traffic and made a plan. Recycling is a priority here too, there are separate bins for recyclable material everywhere. Friendly people - Everyone here was super friendly to our family. People could look at us an immediately know we were not Canadians and asked us questions. I saw a plethora of smiles and had many great conversations with locals, everyone wanted to know where we were from. They also wanted to know why we decided to come? We did not see many other US plates here on our trip. There was a real warmth and inquisitvness to the locals, also the people here are genuinly beautiful looking people. Freedom - The roads here are very remote and speed limits are set to 100 km/hour. I saw only one Canadian highway patrol in an area where people were heavily concentrated during our entire trip. Other than that the roads are wide open to use good judgement. We saw eighteen wheelers doing ninty miles and hour in the straightaways in what felt like an autobahn. We made really good time and felt safe on the roads, when there were only two lanes people pulled over to let us pass. All this made us feel very free visiting this incredible county Bad: Prices - A small box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes here costs $6.50 Canadian dollars which is insane as the same box at Walmart in Encinitas is $2.00 which even factoring for a stronger dollar is too much. The people here really should have access to more affordable food. I imagine this causes quite a bit if hunger for lower income families. It is not just food either, services also cost more here. Canada really needs Walmart to come in here and blow some of these other retailers out of the water like Safeway. They are not helping the people of Canada by keeping prices so high. Poor Cellular Infrastructure - Three quarters of the time there is no cellular service. If you do have reception it is 3G and they charge an arm and a leg for data. This reduces the quality of life for people trying to stay connected to the outside world. Not many people have iPhones and in general people have no idea what an app even is. I asked our a server a question about the Yelp page and she had no idea what Yelp was. Many people looked as though they had not seen an iPad in public before. Some company should step up and roll out a large 4G network here and get people in remote areas connected. Verizon this is your opportunity. Alcohol Purchases - I encountered alcohol restrictions like you can buy at 6:00 pm but not 6:01 pm even though the store is open. I understand the government is trying to regulate intake but if I want to buy a six pack of beer sell it to me regardless of time. Not fond of government passing on morality to me. Burgers - Everything is cooked to well done here, they will not allow a medium or medium-rare burger. This cooks all the flavor out of the burgers so if you like them with flavor you won't be experiencing them here. Probably not a big deal to many but when on vacation one would like to splurge on some favorite foods. Final thoughts: I would like to come back and spend more time here, the mountains, lakes, and rivers are heavenly. There is so much to do here that even a week is not enough time. I will be back in the years to come. read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

Finally had a chance to try out this border crossing. This is a huge improvement over the old one. Most of the lanes were open, which is badly needed to help mitigate the daily rush. read more

Canada Border Services Agency - Peace Arch~ - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

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I usually take this crossing when heading back to Canada. For the longest time, I didn't know that this crossing is called CBSA - Douglas Crossing Peace Arch. I always know the name of the US side. When returning at night its super quiet. No waiting. If return at 5ish then it should be about an hour wait. So pick the time of returning carefully. read more

I crossed into Canda today at the Peace Arch crossing the agent was very disrespectful, rude, unprofessional, hostile, and I would say racist. I have traveled to almost 100 countries and never felt so unwelcome before. I was with my family and some relatives we were visiting Canada. I felt embarrassed for the people in the vehicle that had to experience this. I think generally Canadians are very welcoming and friendly. This particular border crossing employee was horrible and shameful representing Canada. read more

Is there any doubt, karma right? LOL For a major road tripper, I used to go truck border all the way until 2014 as Peace Arch seemed to open up more lanes here. Plus better views too :) But another reason too is there is less people trying to pretend they either have Nexus and try to cut back in like at the truck crossing....in fact, you can't here as they have better lane dividers. My secret? Just choose the most direct lane instead of choosing the furthest one because IMHO, then you are not spread diagonally and waiting for the car in front of you to finish turning into a lane. Trust me, I shop too much to know LOL. Yes, coming here means you miss out on the duty free to get ahead but that's another day to discuss :) read more

Canada Border Services Agency - So patriotic, eh? - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

Got on the highway on the US side one exit before the border crossing - D Street in Blaine, WA. We saw one sign for something called the "nexus" lane, before getting corralled into it by a road barrier. The first border agent referred us to a parking area on the Canadian side and gave us a slip of paper. We were instructed to take it inside the customs / border crossing building. Everything seemed perfectly reasonable up until that point. There was no line inside. So, we stood in front of an empty counter while 10-15 uniformed customs agents talked in a back corner. About twenty minutes later, an agent came to the desk, asked us some pointed questions, and took our passports. After another half hour in the seating area, the paper and our passports were returned and we were allowed to continue into Canada. My best guess is that they make the process unnecessarily slow to deter people who don't have a nexus pass from intentionally taking the "nexus" lane. If you accidentally take it, be prepared for an ~hour-long ordeal. read more

Stayed in Blaine, WA for one week. Almost every day, we crossed the border to visit family in British Columbia. Each time, we did not have to wait long in line. Longest wait we had was about 15 minutes. Sure beats crossing back into the U.S. Most of the time we had to wait a minimum of 30 minutes before crossing the border back to the States. So, the Canadian Customs had the U.S. Customs beat. The Canadian agents were all pretty cool as well. No complaints from me. I am a fan. Note: The Peace Arch Park is fabulous!!! read more

The usual waiting which wasn't very long but always irritating none the less. The border guard was very nice and she was very good at her job. She asked all the appropriate questions and asked for all receipts. No problems, good experience. read more

Canada Border Services Agency - The line - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

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A haiku about crossing the border: Beautiful lush crossing, swarming mobs Stressful, intimidation, the opposite of enjoyable times Necessary evil, thankful for tobacco. read more

The Canadian agents go out of their way to be rude and unwelcoming. I don't know what sets them off, but I almost always get pulled into secondary. And if you dare to ask any questions, they are even more rude. But I always enjoy my visit, because the people of Canada are much nicer than the border agents. read more

Are these Officers American or Canadian? They are the rudest POC ever! No wait, we were the only vehicles going through. We got to the border, even with passports they rudely asked all of us to remove our glasses. Looks at our teenager in the back, and rudely says, "Glasses off". Yes, they had the right to do so, but it was incredibly rude how they asked. Our traveling partner, who was in the other car, is a married father with two teenagers. They rudely told him he needed a note from their mother to travel next time. It upset the daughter. I get it, but their approach is awful, awful. Coming back, they asked us, "Where did we go... ? My husband didn't think about it, quickly said, "Canada". We all burst into laughter! He paused, laughed as well and commented, "This could have turned another way if your comment wasn't so innocent". That was disturbing. Make sure you answer their questions, and have no personality. Don't engage them anymore than that...You'll be fine. read more

This is for today's officer, Officer Dunn. She was extremely nice and funny, making the crossing very pleasant. She even took the time to joke with us a bit, and had us crossing the border with a smile. For all three cars of us shoppers! An amazing officer; thank you so much for your time! I hope that more customs officers can work as efficiently yet as personally engaging as she does! read more

Not too bad depending on the time of day. Some agents are nicer than others, but they're generally out of sorts all day.

The guy I am dating and I use this crossing from time to time. We go down to the US at least once a month to do grocery shopping. I was reminded to do a review (I didn't think that there was a review page) until I saw my good friend Kenneth review this recently. Considering that I've reviewed the other border crossings, it would make sense to do so here. The speed is very hit and miss as long as you get there early enough. The border guards are hit and miss. There are some who will trick you into giving different answers by being all chummy with you. It is a tactic I see all the time on the Border crossing show. Most of the time we've had no problems. We've been pulled over for a check once and come out clean, however, other than that we were in the clear. My only annoyance is that they have a chip on their shoulder that Canadians are shopping in the US. The fact that Canadians are helping their economy 'cause it is cheaper to shop there than it is here puts a dent in some of their pride. They act as though we are doing a hand out to them. Generally speaking I hate the PoPo so I let the guy I am dating do all the talking. read more

Just came thru Nexus lane at Peace Arch. 2 lanes open. Lane 10 had 10 minute wait. Lane 9 (ours) had 25 minute wait. What's the point of a card? 5 lanes open for non Nexus holders. read more