6 months in Canada + 6 months in US itinerary

[Ophe]

Hi there,
New here so i hope i didnt miss a similar thread.
We are in early stage of our 1 year road trip preparation.
We are a couple with a young daughter, she will be 2 by the time we travel.
Im hoping to get a 180 days visa for both US and Canada and make a 1 year trip buying an RV in Canada (seems to be easier than in US)
I cant find what will be a good itinerary in terms of weather.Since it is going to be our only chance for long time travel id like to do 1 year but i wonder if it will be possible without missing on hips of things.
Any advices?
Cheers

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

On what basis do you expect to get the 180 day visa? They are very difficult to get for tourism purposes. I would not make any further plans until you have the visa, as it could all well change.

You are correct, from what I have seen, purchasing in Canada is easier, but you will have to go back to Canada to sell it as well.

You are of course correct you will have to spend your time in Canada (not including Alaska) before the US, but that goes with or without a visa. You could spend half of Autumn and all of Winter and half of Spring in Canada, starting in Northern Canada and heading south for Winter. That would give you the optimum time to visit many of the great national parks and north eastern cities in the US.

But, as I said before, get that visa first. We have heard of very few who were successful. I have my B1/B2 visa to visit family in the US, but after six months away from home, all you want to do is get home again.

Lifey

[Ophe]

Thanks for your reply..
I havent looked into the visa stuff that much because i saw it could be for leasure, tourism so i thought it wouldnt be that hard to get :/
We wanna go in 2018 so im not how long before you can apply.do you know the cost?
Is it easier to get the canadian visa?
I wonder if winter in an RV is managable..
Its true what you said, now that im home all i want to do is leave again.lol

[Lifemagician]

Get onto the USA Embassy website, and you will be able to read all the requirements to get the visa. You apply online. It is not cheap and the cost is not refundable if you are unsuccessful. I guess that is to reduce ineligible applications.. If you are in Melb or Sydney and the ACT you will have local offices, which you cannot visit unless you have applied for a visa. You can try calling, but the message only tells you to visit the website. The phone is not answered. Try sending an email, and it will not be answered.

Now, since you have lots of time, why not write a snail mail letter. They do answer those...... eventually. I'd send it priority, to make it look more important. Make sure you do not ask anything in the letter which can be answered by reading the website.

Frankly, knowing what I know now, I would not bother going through the stress of trying to get a visa, knowing full well that you will not be successful. Accept that 90 days is your limit. Plan to fly into and out of Canada. Have your holiday in Canada for as long as you want - visa not required. Just remember that from the day you enter the US to the day you fly out of Canada, must be no more than 90 days.

[I should mention that I never applied for a visa in the first place. I visited on the VWP in 2001 for my son's wedding. My second trip in 2004 was to visit them and my then two year old grandson. I wrote to the embassy requesting if I could get permission to stay a little longer. Next thing I knew I had been granted a five year visa allowing six month's stay per entry. Needless to say I have made the most of it, especially since I now have two of my children in the US and five of my grandchildren. I am now on my third visa.]

Lifey

[Ophe]

You are right.i think im just going to enjoy the 90 days even if im quite frustrated to do not get more.
My partner does have a second cousin residing in the US but i dont think it will be enough to get a B2.
Im thinking i will extend my stay in Canada if i cant get more in the US.
What do you mean visa not required for Canada?
Are you allowed to stay 6 months or a bit more? Im trying to find information but its not really clear.

Thanks Ophelie

[Lifemagician]

Ophelie, Never having flown into or out of Canada, nor stayed more than a couple of weeks, I really don't know. I have never been asked for a visa at the border, but then, when they have asked how long I was staying or where I was going, it was always to Alaska or back to the lower 48. But it should not be too hard to find out.

I have never looked at the Canadian embassy website, but if you can't find it on there, ask a local travel agent. No need to say what you are doing, just go in and say you were discussing travelling and no one knew how much a visa to Canada would cost. Ask if they can tell you. I would NOT ask if you need a visa to go to Canada, because if you do not, it should be implied in their answer to your question.

If you are looking to buy an RV in Canada, you will find that the campervan type is much more popular there than in the US. You might like to check out this outfit. I do not yet know anything about them. All I know is that the buy-back places in the US will not sell to drivers with foreign drivers licences. Not sure if in Canada they do.

Still I would think carefully if an RV is appropriate, considering you still need to pay for campgrounds, which in places can cost as much as a cheap motel, and the extra fuel consumption. Neither could it be the best choice for a winter trip. But I shall leave all that research up to you.

Besides that, you would do well to get a wall sized map of North America so you can start putting post it notes on it. I would not recommend getting a Rand McNally atlas as it only includes the southern part of Canada. Might be an idea to research other atlasses.

Lastly be sure to take your auto club membership with you. It will give you access to tourism information from CAA (in Canada) and AAA (in US). Sometimes it even gets you the discounts some places offer to CAA and AAA members.

Enjoy the planning.

Lifey