Can you leave the Detroit Airport if transiting?

Travel International Travel
1

I hate waiting on the phone and it takes 3 days to get a reply via email usually with a page full of stuff that doesn’t answer my question if i try to ask my flight carrier…

I’m a Canadian who has a 5 hour stopover in Detroit before flying to Toronto. Can i leave the airport and do some shopping without having to pay any fees? Does anyone know?

Thanks!

2

Since 9/11, they abolished the Transit Without Visa program, so if you’re landing in DTW, you must have the necessary documents to enter the US. As a Canadian, that would just be your passport, right?

Enjoy Detroit.

3

Ya, Canadians don’t need to have a visa to travel to the US, just a valid passport. I’m flying in from Taiwan, so i’ll have my my passport.

I know if you transit in Bangkok, you have to pay a fee if you want to leave the airport…Wondering if that’s the case for DTW.

4

Nope. You’ll be clearing immigration and customs, just like a local arrival. You’re free to do whatever until boarding time for your next flight.

5

I recently transited through Dallas Fort Worth and was amazed to find that I was given a three-month entry visa - so, yes, I’m certain you can go take a look around. But it takes about 45 minutes to an hour or more to get through immigration, and bout 30 to 45 to get through security, so you might not have much time left to enjoy the land of the free and the home of the brave.

6

Besides, what can one do with a few hours in Detroit? Score some crack? Do a carjacking? Roll a few drunks? Buy a hooker? Check out the closed down factories? Did I miss something?

7

Thanks guys for the info.

Just thought I’d hit the local mall and buy a wii there. The Canadian dollar is at par, and it’s about $30 cheaper in the US…Wonder if i’ll be stopped at customs to pay tax on it…Not sure if it’s worth the trouble…

8

Good luck finding a Wii in a store there. All sold out last time I checked.

9

Yeah, wii is sold out all over the US. Plus, Detroit in general has no workable public transportation. The airport has one very inconvenient bus, so you’ll be taking an expensive taxi ride to the mall.

10

Decided in the end to order the wii thru amazon.ca…mostly because of the free shipping. Agreed, wiis are hard to find in north america even on the net…i had to check every other day until they were in stock.