Visa or eTA? (dated, by country)

Canada does not have blanket visa-free entry the way the Schengen area does. Almost every non-Canadian, non-American arriving by air needs either an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization, CAD$7, applied for online, minutes to hours to approve) or a full Visitor Visa applied for in advance. Land and sea arrivals from the US are handled at the border without an eTA.

Apply for the eTA only at Canada.ca/eta— third-party sites charge CAD$40–80 to fill in the same free form on your behalf. Never search "Canada eTA" and click the first ad; go direct.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Visit Canada. Eligibility and fees change; verify at time of booking.

Money: tap-to-pay everywhere, tipping is real, tax is added at the register

Canada is one of the most card-friendly countries on earth. Contactless Visa/Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, and Google Pay work almost everywhere— cafés, food trucks, farmers' markets, city buses in Toronto and Vancouver, taxis, even most parking meters. Interac Debitis the local equivalent (linked to a Canadian bank account); you'll see it on every terminal, but as a tourist your Visa or Mastercard will handle it fine.

Cashis genuinely rare. Withdraw CAD$50–100 for a farmers' market or a small ferry town if you want the security blanket. Big banks — RBC, TD, BMO, Scotia, CIBC — have ATMs everywhere and won't double-charge on top of your home bank's fee.

Tipping is not optional. Canadian service wages assume it. The unwritten norms:

• Restaurants and bars: 15% adequate, 18% good, 20%+ great. The card terminal usually pre-populates 15/18/20/25%.
• Bartenders: CAD$1–2 per drink at a pub, 15–20% on a tab at a nicer bar.
• Coffee: round up or drop a coin. No expectation to tip 20% on a drip.
• Taxis / Uber / Lyft: 10–15%. Uber prompts after the ride.
• Hotel housekeeping: CAD$2–5 per night on the pillow.
• Hair salon / spa: 15–20%.

No tax-free shopping for tourists.Canada's GST/HST visitor rebate program ended in 2007 — no airport refund desk. Alberta is the closest thing to a tax haven at 5% GST.

The transit-card patchwork: Presto vs Compass vs OPUS (and when to skip them)

This is the quirk that catches every first-time visitor. Canada has no national transit card — every major city runs its own, and none of them talk to each other. The saving grace, arriving fast in 2024–2025: open-payment tap with a contactless Visa/Mastercard/Amex or Apple/Google Pay now works on Toronto's TTC, Vancouver's TransLink, and Ottawa's OC Transpo — so most tourists never need to buy the local card at all. Montreal's STM still requires an OPUS card or paper ticket for the metro and city buses (open-payment rollout has been announced but keeps slipping).

Practical playbook: in Toronto, Vancouver, or Ottawa, just tap your contactless credit card or phone at any reader — no local card needed. In Montreal, buy an OPUS or paper tickets at any metro station. In Calgary/Edmonton, the Transit or Arrive app on your phone is the fastest tourist option. Everywhere: daily fare caps apply on Presto/TTC and Compass/TransLink — after 2 rides in a day you're usually at the day-pass rate, so tap freely.

Airports and airport transfers

Driving: right side, winter tires in Quebec & BC, watch the distances

A Canadian road trip — Banff → Jasper (Icefields Parkway), Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler, the Trans-Canada across the Prairies — is one of the great drives on the planet. The rules that catch visitors out:

• Drive on the right, US-style. Automatic transmissions are standard on rentals.
• Licence: a valid English or French home licence is accepted for tourist stays. Non-Roman-script or non-English/French licence → bring an IDP. Rental agencies enforce this more strictly than police do.
• Quebec winter tires: mandatory Dec 1 – Mar 15 on all cars registered in Quebec. Rental cars from YUL come fitted — you don't pay extra. Non-Quebec plates aren't legally required to comply, but insurance rejects claims on summer tires in a winter incident.
• British Columbia winter tires: mandatory Oct 1 – Apr 30 on most numbered highways (M+S rating minimum, snowflake symbol strongly recommended).
• Speed limits: mostly 100–110 km/h highways, 50–60 km/h in cities, 30–40 km/h in school zones (enforced by camera).
• Wildlife: moose, elk, deer at dawn/dusk are a real hazard, especially in NL, NB, BC, and the Prairies. A moose collision at highway speed is often fatal. Slow down at dusk on rural roads.
• Distances are deceptive. Toronto to Montreal is 5.5 hours. Calgary to Vancouver is 12. Toronto to Halifax is 17. Fly the big legs; drive the pretty ones (Icefields, Cabot Trail, Sea-to-Sky, Gaspé Peninsula).
• Fuel: sold in litres, priced in Canadian cents per litre. Card at the pump everywhere; some stations require pre-authorization of CAD$100.
• Right turn on red is legal everywhere EXCEPT the island of Montreal (Quebec allows it in the rest of the province, but not on Montreal Island).
• Border re-entry: if you drive to the US and back, allow 1–3 hours at busy border crossings (Peace Bridge Buffalo↔Fort Erie, Rainbow Bridge, Ambassador Bridge Detroit↔Windsor, Peace Arch WA↔BC). The CBP wait-time page is authoritative.

Taxis and rideshare

Uber and Lyft operate in every major city and most mid-sized ones — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, and dozens more. English works everywhere, foreign cards work fine, and prices are broadly comparable to a metered cab. Vancouver only legalized Uber/Lyft in 2020, so on a busy Friday night you may see surge pricing well over a taxi — check first.

Local taxi apps are worth having as a backup: Beck Taxi in Toronto, Diamond and Yellow Cab in Vancouver, Taxelco / Téo in Montreal, and Checker in Calgary. Airport taxis usually use a fixed zone fare printed at the taxi stand — no meter surprises.

Tip 10–15% on the total. Card terminals prompt automatically.

French phrases that keep you polite east of Ottawa

English gets you through most of Canada. In Quebec — Montreal, Quebec City, the Gaspé, the Eastern Townships — leading with two or three French words changes the temperature of every interaction. You don't need to be fluent. Just start with Bonjourand the rest usually flips to English if you're struggling.

Cultural norms visitors get wrong

1. Don't confuse Canada with the US. Canadians are polite about it, but it stings. Fahrenheit is out (Canada is metric — Celsius, km/h, litres). Football = soccer here. The healthcare system, gun laws, and grocery brands are all different.
2. Say "please" and "thank you" to bus drivers. Especially in the Maritimes and BC — Canadians thank the driver on the way off the bus. Not doing so reads as rude.
3. Apologize even when it's not your fault. Someone bumps into you in Tim Hortons? You both say sorry. It's a script, not a confession.
4. Land acknowledgements are read at the start of events, flights (Air Canada) and university lectures. Listen respectfully — you don't need to say anything.
5. Hockey is a religion in most of the country. Not knowing the rules is fine. Trashing the local team is not.
6. Tim Hortons ordering: "a large double-double" = large coffee, 2 cream + 2 sugar. "Triple-triple" = 3 + 3. Practice before you go.
7. Quebec cultural sensitivity: in Quebec, French comes first. Address staff in French, then ask if English is OK. Signs are French-first by law (Bill 101 / Bill 96). Politics around language runs deep — don't joke about it.
8. Weed is legal but private. Recreational cannabis is federally legal (since 2018), sold at provincial stores. Public smoking is banned in most provinces — use your hotel balcony (if allowed) or private space. No lighting up on the street.

Practical odds and ends

• Plugs: Type A/B (same as US), 120 V. No adapter needed from the US; bring one from the UK/EU/Asia.
• Emergency number: 911 everywhere (police, fire, ambulance).
• Tap water is safe and free — restaurants bring it to the table unasked.
• Time zones: six of them from Newfoundland (UTC−3:30) to Yukon (UTC−7). Toronto/Montreal on Eastern; Vancouver on Pacific.
• Legal drinking age: 19 in most provinces, 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. ID required if you look under 25.
• Cannabis: legal but heavily regulated. Adults may possess up to 30 g in public in most provinces. Don't drive high. Don't take it across the US border — that's a federal offence in both directions.
• Bear country: in Banff, Jasper, Whistler, the Rockies — carry bear spray, hike in groups, make noise. Don't leave food in the car overnight.
• Winter clothing: if you visit Dec–Feb east of the Rockies, temperatures routinely hit −20 °C (−4 °F) with wind chill making it feel like −35 °C. A regular winter coat from a mild climate is not enough. Rent or buy a proper parka.

Staying connected: Rogers / Bell / Telus (and their MVNOs)

Three big carriers dominate the country: Rogers (Ontario/Quebec/Atlantic strength), Bell (nationwide), and Telus (Western Canada strength). Coverage overlaps in cities but diverges on the highways — Rogers/Bell share towers on the Trans-Canada, Telus has best coverage in the BC interior. 5G is live in all major metros; 4G LTE elsewhere.

For visitors, a Canada travel eSIM is dramatically cheaper than home-carrier roaming. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile roaming passes are typically US$10–15 per day; a decent 20 GB eSIM for two weeks runs the equivalent of ~CAD$15–25 total. Install on Wi-Fi at home and land already connected at Toronto (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR), Montreal (YUL), or Calgary (YYC). Keep your home SIM active for SMS 2FA over Wi-Fi Calling — see our 2FA codes abroad guide for the setup.

The pillar buying guide is here: Best eSIM for Canada 2026. If you're crossing the border a lot (Windsor↔Detroit game days, Buffalo Bills for Torontonians, Bellingham runs from Vancouver), a US + Canada combo plan is worth checking too.

FAQ

Bottom line

Sort the CAD$7 eTA at Canada.ca/eta before you fly (US citizens skip this), land with contactless card / Apple Pay as your default and tap straight onto the TTC, TransLink, or OC Transpo (buy an OPUS or use paper tickets in Montreal), remember tax is added at the register and tip 15–20% at every service transaction, drive on the right with a valid English or French licence, and skip Rogers/Bell/Telus roaming with a travel eSIM. If you're going in winter, take the temperature seriously and pack a proper coat.

Related guides

• Best eSIM for Canada 2026
• Best eSIM for Canada 2026 — deep-dive buying guide
• Canadian carriers & Wi-Fi Calling abroad
• Canada data top-up: Rogers, Bell, Telus
• USA travel guide for Canadians