Passport and visa requirements for visiting Canada will vary according to your citizenship, residency and purpose for visiting Canada. We recommend you obtain more information before you complete your travel plans by contacting the nearest Canadian Embassy or High Commission, and it is recommended that you also contact your country’s Customs/Immigration office for information on identification required to re-enter the country when you return home. Citizens of the United States (U.S.) travelling between the U.S. and Canada now require a valid U.S. passport, Air NEXUS card or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner document.
For up-to-date information for visitors from the Canadian Border Services Agency, go to www.cbsa.gc.ca or call 1-800-461-9999 (within Canada) or (506) 636-5064. Information on visas for temporary residents can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration website or by calling 1-888-242-2100. In the U.S. refer to www.travel.state.gov.
The Halifax Stanfield International Airport is located about a half an hour from the capital city of Halifax. It contains pre-clearance for US Customs and is the Atlantic Canadian hub for all domestic, regional and international services. Scheduled air service into Nova Scotia is available from all major Canadian cities, from all major United States cities through connecting hubs at Boston and Newark, and from major European cities through the connecting hub at London. In addition, scheduled charter services are available linking Nova Scotia with many Canadian and European cities.
Your options for arriving by sea include ferries, with your car, motorcycle or RV or walk-on, and by cruise ship. Halifax and Sydney are the main ports of call for more than 20 major cruise lines. The city has received the "Best Port Welcome" award from Dreamworld Cruise Destination Magazine and "Most Receptive Port" award at the Canada-New England Cruise Symposium Marketing Awards.
Nova Scotia is a world-renowned motorcycle touring destination and entry either by road or by ferry is breeze for motorcyclists. Motorcycle pricing structures make ferry travel particularly convenient and attractive.
Digby is the terminal for the car ferry from Saint John, New Brunswick. Buses depart daily to Halifax at 8 a.m.
For travellers arriving by road the communities listed below are your main points of entry.
- Amherst is the first community you enter after crossing the border from New Brunswick on Trans Canada Highway 104.
- Two scenic travelways begin at Amherst: the Northumberland Shore along Route 6 and the Fundy Shore & Annapolis Valley along Route 2.
- Tidnish is the first community after you enter Nova Scotia coming from Confederation Bridge/PEI via New Brunswick’s Route 16.
- Caribou/Pictou is the terminal for ferries which arrive daily from Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island, between May 1 and mid-December. Highway 106 leads from the ferry terminal to the Pictou Rotary and the Northumberland Shore.
- North Sydney is the terminal of the ferry service from Port-aux-Basques and Argentia, Newfoundland. North Sydney is at the eastern end of Trans Canada Highway 105.