Travel to Toronto

Toronto, through a gap in the trees – By Shreyans Bhansali

Spring break is approaching!!! While most of you probably have a plan to bask in the sun somewhere warm, some might still be looking for alternative.  Well, this time I am actually planning to go to Toronto, Canada.

While I was doing my research, I probably should just make a blog post out of it.  I initially wrote this post as a part of my new driver license media class but I figure that some of my reader here might be interested on this information too.

So here we go~

Visa Requirement

If you are a US citizen or a green card holder, you do not need to apply for a visa to go to Canada. Is this awesome or what? Unfortunately this requirement differ for each country, you can click here to find out if you need a visa. Nonetheless, whether you are a US citizen or not, as a tourist you still need to meet all other requirement such as being in a good health and being able to prove that you have a good reason to go back to the US.

Accommodation Cost

As for the living cost, here’s a great blog post from Nomadic Matt that basically sums up everything for you. He is being really nice to give you different options and further convert all the cost to US dollar. But, I have been doing my own research across different websites and found that Planet Traveler is the best hostel according to customer reviews. It cost $63 per night if you booked the room through tripadvisor.com but I figure that you can book the same room for half of the price through hostelbookers.com. Travel hacking!

Things to Do

Remember that Canadian used different currency. As I was writing this post, 1 Canadian dollar is equal to .90 US dollar. The bad news is whatever you are doing up there will be slightly more expensive. However, the good news is there are a bunch of free or cheap fun activities that you can do! One place that catches my attention is the Harbourfront Centre. They offer program where you can learn more about Canadian culture and skate for free in their beautiful ice rink. What could go wrong with that?

What to Eat

When you are out travelling to another country, I would suggest to go down to the local restaurant so you can find some authentic foods in the menu. One cuisine that frequently came up as I do my research is Peameal bacon sandwich, which according to wikipedia is “often considered to be a signature dish of Toronto, with the most famous vendors located at St. Lawrence Market.”  Some other popular foods that you should try includes Poutine, Croquignoles, and Nanaimo Bars. Also, don’t forget to get some maple syrup! After all this tree is awesome enough to made it to Canadian flag.

Well this is the end of my compilation of useful links to answers questions that people frequently ask when they are planning to visit Toronto.  If anyone have other suggestions, please please please leave a comment!! I would definitely do the touristy stuffs but I love to experience living like the locale too.