Originally published Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Do I need passport if I'm driving to Canada?
When will U.S. citizens need a passport to cross into Canada by land?
ID for road trip to Canada
Q: I want to travel to Canada via car — I have my birth certificate and driver's license. When do I need to also have a passport to cross the border at Blaine?
— Jean Telford, Camano Island
A: For land travel — driving, train, bus — between the U.S. and Canada, you don't need a passport yet. However, air travelers are required to have a passport for all flights between the two countries. For your drive to Canada via Blaine you'll be fine with your proof of U.S. citizenship (your birth certificate) and government-issued photo ID (your driver's license). Starting next year, likely in June, a passport or other federally approved ID — such as the new U.S. passport card or the Washington enhanced driver's license — must be used for all travel between the two countries. A firm date hasn't been announced yet. For more information on ID requirements for U.S.-Canada travel, see the Web site of the Department of Homeland Security, www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/.— Kristin Jackson
If you have a question about travel in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia or Alaska, ask us. Go to seattletimes.com/travel (and look for "Ask Travel"). Sorry, but due to the volume of questions we can't answer every one.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
Way down upon Australia's Murray River
Big deals Down Under, where summer is winter
Reader postcard from Nara, Japan

2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
shopping

events for Monday, Jul. 6th
- Posh on Main Semiannual Sale
- REI Summer Sale and Clearance
- Pink Ginger First Anniversary Sale
- Kibbn Storewide Summer Sale
editors' picks
More shopping guides- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Shooting unveils very different sides of McNair
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Seattle may allow homeowners to build backyard cottages
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Confessions of an Idol Addict | "American Idols" on tour: Live coverage from opening date
- Quincy Jones remembers "the biggest entertainer on the planet": Michael Jackson
- Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/05 game thread
247 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
185 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
138 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
130 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
113 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
109 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
107 - Anti-tax rally in Olympia attracts about 1,500
69 - Mariners did their part, now they need help
48 - What Mariners learned on this road trip
38
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Seattle may allow homeowners to build backyard cottages
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- The People's Pharmacy | Estrogen mimicker found in sunscreen
- Researchers stunned by inmates' success raising endangered frogs
- Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
- Toyota's Toyoda scolds execs for emulating U.S. car companies' mistakes
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
