Travel experts say snowbirds should be cautious with U.S. land border reopening
CTV
While the announcement by the United States to open land borders is welcome news for most, travel expert Elliott Silverstein cautions that there are still many unanswered questions.
Word of the land borders reopening spread fast among those hoping to travel this winter.
It's news Larry Palmer has been waiting to hear.
"I had a loose plan to try and get to Chicago, to drive down this fall," the Barrie resident said.
While the announcement by the United States to open land borders is welcome news for most, travel expert Elliott Silverstein cautions that there are still many unanswered questions.
"Even though they have moved to relax some of these rules, it doesn't change the fact you still need to be on top of things, and you need to be careful because the travel advisories have not been removed," CAA's Silverstein said.
He added that all travellers should exercise due diligence before taking off across the border. "It really is understanding what the requirements are for testing in terms of both exiting Canada and re-entering Canada because a lot of these rules are changing, and a lot of these rules vary from place to place."
The exact date when the land borders will reopen has yet to be announced, and whether the United States will accept travellers who got the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The union that represents 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency workers says they won't strike until at least Wednesday, as mediation continues. The Public Service Alliance of Canada initially said border workers were set to strike as early as 4 p.m. Friday if they hadn't reached a deal, but have decided to extend negotiations.