World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Canada’s principal national airline is Air Canada (AC) (website: www.aircanada.ca).

Approximate flight times
From London to Calgary is eight hours 45 minutes, to Halifax is seven hours five minutes, to Montréal is six hours 30 minutes, to Toronto is seven hours 15 minutes and to Vancouver is nine hours 20 minutes.
From Los Angeles to Montréal is seven hours 20 minutes, to Toronto is five hours 15 minutes and to Vancouver is two hours 50 minutes.
From New York to Montréal is one hour 15 minutes, to Toronto is one hour 20 minutes and to Vancouver is five hours 30 minutes.
From Singapore to Montréal is 23 hours 45 minutes, to Toronto is 21 hours 35 minutes and to Vancouver is 26 hours.
From Sydney to Montréal is 23 hours, to Toronto is 20 hours 30 minutes and to Vancouver is 18 hours 20 minutes.

International airports
Canada has 13 international airports. All have full banking and catering facilities, duty free shops and car hire. Airport-to-city bus and taxi services and, in some cases, rail links, are available.
Calgary (YYC) (website: www.calgaryairport.com) is 20km (12.5 miles) from the city (travel time – 45 minutes).
Edmonton (YEG) (website: www.edmontonairports.com) is 28km (17 miles) from the city (travel time – 30 minutes).
Gander (YQX) (website: www.ganderairport.com) is 3km (2 miles) from the city (travel time – 10 minutes).
Halifax (YHZ) (website: www.hiaa.ca) is 35km (21 miles) from the city (travel time – 30 minutes). Hamilton (YHM) (website: www.yhm.com) is 10km (6 miles) from the city (travel time – 20 minutes).
Montréal (YUL) (Dorval) (website: www.admtl.com) is 25km (16 miles) from the city (travel time – 25 minutes).
Ottawa (YOW) (Macdonald-Cartier) (website: www.ottawa-airport.ca) is 15km (8 miles) from the city (travel time – 20 to 45 minutes).
St John’s (YYT) (website: www.stjohnsairport.com) is 8km (5 miles) from the city (travel time – 10 to 15 minutes).
Saskatoon (YXE) (website: www.yxe.ca) is 7km (4.5 miles) from the city (travel time – 15 minutes). Toronto (YYZ) (Lester B Pearson) (website: www.gtaa.com) is 27km (17 miles) from the city (travel time – 30 minutes).
Vancouver (YVR) (website: www.yvr.ca) is 13km (8 miles) from the city (travel time – 20 to 45 minutes).
Winnipeg (YWG) (website: www.waa.ca) is 10km (6 miles) from the city (travel time – 20 minutes).

Departure tax
Vancouver has an Airport Improvement Fee (AIF) which is C$15 for international departures and approximately C$10 for departures to other North American destinations, including Hawaii and Mexico. Montréal (Dorval) has a departure tax of C$10 for international departures. Transit passengers and children under two years of age not occupying a seat are exempt. Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, St John’s, Toronto and Winnipeg levy an AIF of C$10, which is included in the ticket price. Calgary’s AIF is C$12.

Note
An Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC) was introduced in 2002, which helps to pay for the additional security following 11 September 2001. This charge is levied on all passengers departing from any Canadian airport for domestic, national and international flights. The charge is currently C$24 per person for national and international departures and C$12 per person per flight for all domestic services to a maximum of C$24 per person per ticket.

Sea
The principal Canadian ports on the Atlantic Ocean (east coast) are Halifax (Nova Scotia), St John (New Brunswick) and St John’s (Newfoundland). Montréal and Québec have ports on the St Lawrence Seaway, which links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes and the industrial heartland of Canada and the USA. Toronto’s port is on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. The port of Vancouver is on the west coast. All are served by international shipping lines, but Montréal (website: www.port-montreal.com) is the only port for passenger liners from Europe.

Rail
The Canadian rail system connects to the USA at several points. Major routes are: New York–Montréal, New York–Buffalo–Niagara Falls–Toronto, Chicago–Sarnia–London–Toronto, Cleveland–Buffalo–Niagara Falls–Toronto and Detroit–Windsor–Toronto. VIA Rail Canada, the country’s main rail operator, issues a discount pass for rail travel within Canada and the USA: the North American Rail Pass (available to anyone) is valid for 30 days and allows 12 days’ unlimited travel within that 30-day period on VIA trains in Canada and practically any Amtrak train in the USA, with direct access to over 900 Canadian and US cities and towns. For details of ticket prices and reservations, contact VIA Rail in Canada (tel: (1 888) 842 7245 (toll-free in Canada); website: www.viarail.ca) or their UK representative 1st Rail (tel: (0845) 644 3552/3; website: www.1strail.com).

Road
The only road access to Canada is through the southern border with the USA or from the west through Alaska. Apart from private motoring, the most popular way of travelling by road is by bus. The biggest coach company in the world is the Greyhound Bus Company (see the Coach section in Travel – Internal) and this is one of the most common routes to Canada from the USA. There are many crossing points from the USA to Canada, but some of the most common are: New York to Montréal/Ottawa; Detroit to Toronto/Hamilton; Minneapolis to Winnipeg; Seattle to Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary.