Travel Information

Visa Information

A valid passport is required for travel in and out of Canada for residents of all countries, including the United States if travelling by air. Residents of some countries may also require a visa. As of June 1, 2009, US citizens travelling to Canada from the United States must have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document in order to return home, whether by air, land or sea. If you hold an alien's passport or you are stateless, you need a visa to visit or transit in Canada.

Select your country from this list to find out if you need a visa.

Getting Here

Check out this page to find out details about traveling to Ottawa by air, train, or driving. 

Languages 

English and French are commonly spoken.

Voltage

Outlets and voltage (110 volts) are the same as in the United States. Small appliances such as hair dryers, irons, and razors can be used in Canada. For those from other countries, adapters are required for electrical appliances. The frequency of electrical current in Canada is 60 Hz.

Mobile Phones

If using your phone from home, roaming charges can be expensive. Check with your service provider if they offer any roaming packages. If you have a phone from the USA, it should be compatible with the Canadian networks. From other countries, you must have a tri-band or quad-band GSM phone, or 3G phone supporting 1900Mhz to be compatible. AWS phones (other than the Google Nexus) are not usually sold outside North America.  LTE from outside North America are not compatible but these phones usually have GSM frequencies that are still compatible. 

If your phone is compatible, it must be UNLOCKED in order to use a local SIM card. Phones are usually locked so you can only use them with a SIM from the service provider or carrier who supplied the phone. Phones can be unlocked to accept  SIMs from other carriers. A pay-as-you-go SIM card is $10 from most major networks.

Local calls are ~$0.30/min and Canada long distance ~$0.40/min.

Weather Averages