Regional guides
USA & Canada Road Trip Guide for Kiwis
Updated 27 September 2026
This USA and Canada road trip guide is built for the trip a lot of Kiwis dream up on a long-haul flight: national parks and the Rockies on both sides of the border, threaded together with the Pacific Coast Highway into one big loop. It's a genuinely different trip from a single-country holiday - two sets of border paperwork, two currencies and two measurement systems, and long stretches where your phone has no signal at all.
Here's how to string the American and Canadian legs together, what to sort before you fly, and how to size your data for a trip that's mostly spent navigating between mountains rather than sitting on hotel Wi-Fi.
Quick recommendation
Doing two weeks through the American Rockies and down the Pacific Coast Highway, navigating by GPS most days? Start with the 20 GB plan (30 days, $41.99) on the United States eSIM plans page. Adding a Canadian leg through Banff and Jasper? A regional bundle covering both countries can save you swapping eSIMs at the border - see the comparison below.
Where to go in the USA and Canada
United States
The American leg strings together some of the country's biggest national parks with one of the world's great coastal drives - Yellowstone and Grand Teton's geysers and wildlife, Glacier's glacier-carved valleys, Rocky Mountain National Park's alpine tundra, and the Pacific Coast Highway's redwoods and cliffs between San Francisco and the Oregon border.
Things to do
- Watch geysers and wildlife in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, then head north into Montana.
- Drive the alpine Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park while it's open, roughly mid-June to mid-October.
- Cross Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved through-road in the US, in Rocky Mountain National Park.
- Follow the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur, Monterey and the redwoods between San Francisco and Oregon.
Good to know
- Rocky Mountain National Park requires a timed-entry reservation for the Bear Lake Road corridor and the rest of the park through the May-to-October season - book ahead on Recreation.gov.
- Coverage inside the parks is patchy at best - visitor centres and lodges are the best bet for signal, and mountain passes and long stretches of the coast highway can run for miles without any.
- USA eSIM plans start from $7.99 - see USA eSIM plans for current sizes and pricing.
Canada
North of the border, the Canadian Rockies pick up where Glacier and Yellowstone leave off - Banff and Jasper linked by the Icefields Parkway, one of the most photographed drives on Earth - and the Pacific coastline continues on into British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, Whistler and Vancouver Island.
Things to do
- Drive the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper, stopping at Peyto Lake, the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Falls.
- See Moraine Lake and Lake Louise early in the day, before the car parks fill for the afternoon.
- Detour to Whistler along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, or take the ferry across to Vancouver Island to extend the coastal drive.
- Soak in the Banff Upper Hot Springs after a long day behind the wheel.
Good to know
- The Icefields Parkway has almost no cell signal for most of its length - Parks Canada recommends a satellite device for genuine backcountry plans, not just a phone.
- Canada measures speed in km/h and sells fuel by the litre, not miles and gallons - a rental picked up in the US switches units the moment you cross the border.
- Canada eSIM plans start from $13.99 - see Canada eSIM plans for current sizes and pricing.
Crossing the border with a rental car
A one-way rental that starts in the US and ends in Canada (or vice versa) is the simplest way to link both legs, but not every branch or vehicle qualifies. Confirm cross-border permission and a valid drop-off location in your rental agreement before you book - one-way cross-border rentals also carry a drop-off fee on top of the usual rate, and it can add up.
Carry your passport, driver's licence, rental agreement and proof of insurance in the car, and ask your rental company whether they issue a cross-border insurance card - some border officers ask to see one at the crossing.
Do you need both an ESTA and an eTA?
Possibly both, and the rules aren't symmetrical. New Zealanders need an approved ESTA to enter the US - and since 2022 that applies whether you fly in or drive across a land border, so sort it before you leave home even if Canada is your first stop. Canada's eTA works the other way: it's required to fly into Canada, but not if you're driving in from the US, when a valid passport is enough at the land crossing.
Apply for both well ahead of departure, on the official sites only - esta.cbp.dhs.gov for the US and canada.ca's eTA page for Canada. Lookalike sites charge extra for the same paperwork.
How much data does a two-country road trip use?
Same logic as any road trip, doubled by the border crossing: hours of turn-by-turn navigation, patchy signal on mountain passes and coast highway stretches meaning more reconnects and reloaded map tiles, plus whatever you stream or hotspot along the way. See how much data you actually need for the general bands - a driving-heavy day in the Rockies or on the coast highway sits near the top of that scale, even if the rest of the trip is fairly light.
If you're tempted to just leave NZ roaming switched on for the whole three weeks, see eSIM vs roaming costs for why that adds up fast once you're roaming across two countries rather than one.
One eSIM or one per country?
If you're visiting more than one of these places, a regional bundle means one eSIM for the whole trip - no new QR code at each border. If you're mostly in one country, its own plan is usually cheaper. Current options:
- North America - covers all 2 of the places in this guide, from $7.99
- USA & Canada - covers all 2 of the places in this guide, from $18.99
Single-country plans
Things to know before you go to the USA and Canada
- Border documents - Carry your passport for every crossing, plus your approved ESTA for the US, and an eTA for Canada if you're flying either leg. Land crossings from the US into Canada don't need the eTA, but do expect standard customs questions about firearms, food and cash.
- Units and currency - The US uses miles, gallons and USD; Canada uses kilometres, litres and CAD. Your rental's dashboard switches automatically at the border, but glance at the local speed limit signs as you cross - Canadian highway limits usually run 100-120 km/h.
- Best time to drive it - Mid-June to September gives the widest access - Going-to-the-Sun Road and most high-alpine passes are open, and daylight runs long. Outside that window, check road status before you commit to a route through the high country.
- Fuel and services - Distances between towns can run into the hundreds of kilometres on both countries' mountain and coastal stretches - fill up before you leave a town, not once the gauge gets low.
The USA and Canada FAQs
Do I need a visa for a USA and Canada road trip?
Not a visa, but you do need travel authorisation for each country. New Zealanders need an approved ESTA to enter the US, by air or by land, and an eTA to fly into Canada - though the eTA isn't required if you're driving into Canada from the US. Apply for both on the official government sites before you fly.
Can I drive a rental car across the USA-Canada border?
Usually, but only with the right booking. Confirm cross-border permission and a valid drop-off location with your rental company before you book, and carry your passport, licence and insurance papers - one-way cross-border rentals also carry a drop-off fee.
Will my phone work in Yellowstone, Glacier and the Canadian Rockies?
Only patchily. Coverage in and around the parks is thin outside visitor centres and lodges, and stretches of the Icefields Parkway and the Pacific Coast Highway run for miles without any signal - download offline maps before you set off each day.
When are the Icefields Parkway and Going-to-the-Sun Road open?
Roughly June to October, weather permitting. Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park typically opens mid-June and its alpine section closes around mid-October; the Icefields Parkway stays open year-round but with reduced services and winter driving conditions outside summer.
Is one eSIM for both countries cheaper than a plan per country?
It depends how long you're spending in each. A regional bundle covering the USA and Canada is simpler - one install, no swapping at the border - while separate country plans can work out cheaper if most of the trip is in just one of them. Compare current prices for your dates before deciding.
Ready to sort the connectivity side? Compare USA eSIM plans and Canada eSIM plans, or check the bundle comparison above to see if one eSIM covers the whole route.
Sources
Information checked 27 September 2026. Entry rules, fees and local details change - confirm anything important with the official source before you travel.
- Official ESTA Application Website - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (esta.cbp.dhs.gov)
- Visa Waiver Program - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)
- Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA): How to Apply - Canada.ca (canada.ca)
- What You Need to Enter Canada - Canada.ca (canada.ca)
- Cellular & Internet Access in National Parks - U.S. National Park Service (nps.gov)
- Going-to-the-Sun Road Alpine Sections Temporarily Closing - Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
- Rocky Mountain National Park Announces 2026 Timed Entry Reservation System - U.S. National Park Service (nps.gov)
- Visitor Safety and Guidelines - Jasper National Park, Parks Canada (parks.canada.ca)
- Cross-Border Car Rental: USA to Canada - Budget Car Rental (budget.com)