After reading the letter by Edmund Lewis of Windham in the Telegram: (“ ‘Casual’ Canada trip not realistic,” Aug. 22, Page D3), I felt obligated to respond. My wife and I recently returned from a wonderful seven-day excursion to Halifax and other scenic areas of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Allow me to list some pointers for preparing to cross into Canada: First, do not rely on Walgreens to provide COVID testing and the necessary results within the 72-hour time frame required for border crossing – very unreliable! For quick results, we were sent to Convenient MD. They were charging $350 for two COVID tests – no way! Finally, at our own health care provider (Martin’s Point), we obtained both our COVID-19 tests and negative results within 48 hours – for free and well within the deadline required.

Finally, a word about the ArriveCAN app, which must be downloaded and completed to gain entry to Canada. Do call the Canadian customs office where you plan to cross the border. They’ll gladly explain the question as to where you plan to “quarantine” upon arrival. It’s simply stating where you’ll be staying the first couple of nights, that’s all.

After setting up your ArriveCAN account, you’ll receive confirmation with a code – download this to present to customs.

Obviously, bring your COVID vaccination record, passport and app confirmation code, plus recent test results from the past 72 hours! On Aug. 15, we were warmly welcomed, breezing through Canadian customs within five minutes.

Please, do your homework prior to departing. You’ll find that a “ ‘Casual’ Canada trip is very realistic”!

Bon voyage,

Bob Rose
North Yarmouth