One way to get to know a person is to travel with him or her. People’s true personality tends to emerge when they are dealing with stress. They also reveal their maturity, sense of responsibility, and other positive qualities’ or lack there of when faced with situations with which they are not familiar. However, that does not necessarily mean that you should seek out stressful travel situations in order to discover your travel companion’s true personality. It therefore pays to anticipate difficulties when traveling with others and to be ready for them.
If you are traveling to Canada, the first priority is to be sure to carry your travel documents. If you are from the United States, you need to have a valid passport, permanent residence card or nexus card (US citizens and permanent residents are allowed to enter Canada without a visa). If you come from a country that is not included on Canada’s visa-exempt list, then you should have your travel documents and visas ready. Border officers and airport customs will check these documents before they grant you entry into the country or even allow you to board an airplane flying to Canada.
Those who are traveling on temporary resident visas should also bring their visitors to Canada insurance documents in case border officers ask to see it. To be safe, you should also bring photocopies of all of your travel and identification documents.
Of course, a traveler’s checklist should include appropriate clothing. The type of clothes you need to bring to Canada will depend upon the time of year that you will be there, and the place where you will be staying.
If you are in Canada for the summer, you can bring your usual summer clothes: t-shirts, shorts, jeans, and other light clothing. You should also bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats for UV protection. Summers in Canada can get very hot, just as it can get very cold during the winter. If your visit occurs during this season, do not forget to bring your warmest jackets, boots, and long underwear. You should also bring wind breakers, gloves, scarves, mufflers, and hats. The cold winds can get very strong during winter, especially if you are headed to the prairies – Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northern Alberta. Actually, anywhere in the North will be cold.
Canada has plenty of outdoor adventure attractions, so there is a chance that you will go hiking or exploring the outdoors. You should definitely bring a pair of sturdy hiking boots, or at least walking shoes. Even if you do not plan to go hiking or trekking, walking through snowy streets still requires a pair of boots. Be sure not to forget warm socks as well!
There are also cities in Canada, in northern Ontario, Quebec and the Acadian regions of the Maritimes, where Canadian French is widely spoken. The people of Quebec, for instance, often prefer not to speak English even if they can understand it. So do not forget to bring a French phrasebook with you.
Finally, you should have a widely-accepted credit card in your wallet at all times. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted in most stores, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial establishments.