Detroit travel question

I'm driving from Ontario to Florida during a province-wide school break. Thousands of people make this drive.
I'm goign to be crossing the border at Detroit - or Sarnia - based on the recommendations of any of you good people.

Any insight on when is the best time to cross?
What are the potential horrors?

Appreciate any information that can be offered.

 

Sarnia would be the Port Huron crossing? I beleive.

Detroit gives you the option of the tunnel or the bridge. Don't try to cross during commuter time, evening or early morning. Saturday morning is also a bitch to get back into the U.S., not sure about the Canadian way.

Weeknights usually pretty easy.

 

The bridge used to be a little cheaper than the tunnel.

Is there still construction Downriver?

I made the drive from Michigan to Florida three times. It's a bear, but straight until you get to Atlanta. (There I veered off - I suspect you'll stay on 75.)

One of the top five things about moving from Michigan, I swear, was that I never have to drive through Ohio again.

 

KJIM....what made Ohio so bad? I drove all over that state last summer and didn't find it too terrible. i drove mainly up from tennessee and headed to canton/akron area...Maybe I avoided the bad areas. Just wondering.

 

75 is completely shut down both ways from the Ambassador Bridge/Clark Street to Rosa Parks/Tiger Stadium until November. By the end, it will be almost two years of being shut down.

Might be better to come across at the tunnel.

 

Depends on where in Ontario you are coming from...
Pick your poison: Cross at Sarnia/Port Pee and deal with I-94 issues; cross at Bridge or Tunnel and deal with the potential for rush hour in either city or construction. It's easier to get to the bridge from Windsor, but as Hank said there is construction in Detroit. Tunnel might be faster, but there isn't anything more than a tight road with two lanes each way (and maybe a left-turn lane) for blocks.

 

I haven't crossed through Detroit in years but I go through Port Huron/Sarnia at least once a year. It's a lot quicker going in than coming back. And I'm a freaking American! I almost never wait going into Sarnia but it always seems to take 2 hours minimum to get back in at Port Huron.

 

I get stopped all the way coming back. The Canadians never give me a hassle, only the Americans.

 

When I saw the thread title I figured the question would be, "Why?"

 

If it doesn't take you out of your way, I'd recommend Sarnia/Port Huron.

Detroit/Windsor is the busiest Canada/US border and Sarnia's second but people tell me that there are more assholes in US Customs at Detroit than in Port Huron.

In either case, the middle of the night is the best time.

 

True story from summer of '07 when HC and I drove to NYC.

Got to the Lewiston NY border and waited for about two hours in line.

Get to the primary customs booth. Handed the guy our passports.

CUSTOMS OFFICER: How do you two know each other? (HC & I have different surnames)

ME: Uh, we live together.

CO: Where you going?

ME: NYC

CO: Why would you want to go there?

ME: To meet some friends.

CO: How do you know these friends?

(This was a trip to meet some SportsJournalists.comers for a night of drinking and dining so "People we know on a message board" didn't seem like a good response.)

ME: We know them from Toronto (Technically, that was a correct answer since the SportsJournalists.com Toronto outing was a year before)

CO: How much money do you have on you?

ME: Oh, a hundred dollars or so

CO: How can you spend time in NY on a hundred dollars?

ME: Uh, credit cards.

Guy was a first class douche.

In all fairness, Canadian border guards can be just as big pricks.

Came back from the US on a business trip one time (long before 9/11) and the woman at Canadian Customs wanted us to produce a receipt for the hotel we stayed in.

Customs Officers around the world are the worst of all bureaucrats. They have power which they can wield arbitrarily and if they had a fight with their spouse last night or didn't get laid there's a good chance they'll take it out on you.

Douches, all of them (well, a lot of them)