World Wide Visitors

This page is designed to help people who wish to visit Canada from another country other than the USA. It will give you some helpful hints for your visit.

Surprising Facts about Canada

Despite Canada's large physical size, we are not large in numbers or global power, so a surprising degree of ignorance exists about us.

Here are some quick facts about this country

• Population approximately 30 million.
• Size: 9,976,000 square kilometres (slightly larger than the U.S.A., or 40 times the size of Britain)
• The country does extend to the north pole, but
• The southern most latitude of Canada is the same as Rome's
• The Atlantic ocean is narrower than Canada is wide
• Stretched across Europe, Canada would span from Greenwich England to Novosibirsk, Russia

Here are some facts about Ontario.

• The second largest province at 1,000,000 square kilometres.
• One sixth of the provinces area is occupied by rivers, lakes, and ocean.
• The name means "beautiful water" in Iroquois.
• Population approximately 10 million.
• Ontario has shorelines on four of the Great Lakes, and a northern ocean coast.
• The bulk of Ontario's diving is in the same latitude as France.
• The average July temperature in Southern Ontario is greater than 25C [80F].
• Ontario is 4 times the size of Great Britain or Germany.

Reaching Ontario

Ontario has a single international airport: Lester B. Pearson, in Toronto. This is probably the choice destination for visitors to Ontario. Montreal, in the neighbouring province of Quebec also has an international airport, with connections into Ontario. Similarly, Winnipeg's airport, in the province of Manitoba can service Ontario from the north west side.

It is not uncommon for people southwest of London, Ontario, to use the Detroit airport in the USA. The Buffalo airport in New York state could also be used to access Ontario centrally.

Connecting flights can be made to Windsor, London, Kingston, Ottawa, North Bay, Sudbury and Thunder Bay. While there are other airports, these ones listed would put you within a few hours driving of any dive location.

How easy is it to travel in Ontario?

The province is extremely large by European standards driving time is always measured in hours. Windsor to Toronto is a four hour drive. From Windsor to Ottawa is eight hours, at least. From Toronto to Thunder Bay is normally considered a two day drive. The Windsor to Kingston axis is served by the 401 highway which is a multilane highway. From Toronto to St. Catherines another large highway exists, the QEW. Heading north from Toronto to Barrie, another 400 series highway speeds access. Beyond this the highways are usually two lane, undivided. Currently there are no operating toll roads in the province, highway travel is free.

Diving Certification

PADI, NAUI, YMCA, CMAS, ...All the standard certifications are recognized in Canada. No SCUBA certificate is legally required, but you won't be able to rent gear, charter a dive, or fill tanks without a C-card. It is also a good idea to bring a complete log with you if you plan to do deep, or technical dives, as the charter service or store may require it before they help you. It would be disappointing to plan a vacation, travel a long way, and be turned down because a service provider was concerned about your level of experience. You must fly a float and flag when diving. This rule is enforced in many of the areas. Besides, giving the sheer number of recreational water craft in Ontario it is foolish to dive without a float and flag.

Equipment required

Ontario diving is cool to very cold. A wet suit is a must. With the exception of the extreme southern end of Ontario an exposure suit is always required. A wet suit of 3/4 of an inch, or a dry suit is best. A thinner wet suit may not provide enough comfort. Visibility is moderate to poor in the waters of the Great Lakes.

The START HERE page will explain how the site is layed out. It will give you a legend for the maps and explain the most sensible way to work your way through the site.

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