Seattle-Vancouver: How's the drive?

[Tapi]

Hi!

 

I'm looking at some of the may itineraries which begin in Vancouver and end in Seattle since they are a couple hundred dollars more affordable than the rountrip itineraries. To make airfare more affordable, we would purchase rondtrip flights to/from Seattle and add the one way ground transportation from Seattle to Vancouver pre-cruise.

 

For those of you who've done this, how's the drive? How long is it? Is it scenic? Tedious? Any other pro's and con's?

 

Thanks for the input! :)

[TheCalicoCat]

I haven't done it yet, but we plan on taking Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. (Appears to be very doable using Seattles light rail.)

 

My big problem with driving is the one way rental - not cheap & no guarantee that it would be easier that the train which I hear is very scenic. (We booked Business class - priority at customs.)

[Budget Queen]

I have driven it several times. Take your time, and sight see the areas. :) Otherwise, allow 4 hours. If I sail out of Vancouver, I overnight the night prior in Bellingham, then, I'm only about an hour from Canada Place, with an early start. Plenty of time to pick up some sightseeing of Vancouver.

 

I detour to Whidby Island and take the ferry and stop at Boeing.

 

Be forewarned, if the cruise is early May, you have some foul weather potential. I've cruised this timeframe with 6 out of 7 days of rain. Also expect colder temps. Unless the trip is a give away, I don't consider before mid May. Can be significantly better. Won't have any access into Tracy Arm glaciers either that early, if on the itinerary.

[markpark]

I detour to Whidby Island and take the ferry and stop at Boeing.

 

 

We did too.

 

Avis website - chose SeaTac as pickup and 757 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC-(S73) as drop-off. Shuttle to terminal. The 800 number wasn't helpful. I paid a little over $150 in 2010. Others used the same website and were quoted much more.

[Rickey 88]

Hi!

 

I'm looking at some of the may itineraries which begin in Vancouver and end in Seattle since they are a couple hundred dollars more affordable than the rountrip itineraries. To make airfare more affordable, we would purchase rondtrip flights to/from Seattle and add the one way ground transportation from Seattle to Vancouver pre-cruise.

 

For those of you who've done this, how's the drive? How long is it? Is it scenic? Tedious? Any other pro's and con's?

 

Thanks for the input! :)

 

Since I was born in Vancouver (and now live in California) I can state that I have made this drive from the days when there was only the old Highway 99 to the current day with I-5.

 

Usually the drive runs about four hours with time to cross the border inspection station at Blaine. Some parts are scenic, especially near Bellingham, but other sections are inland and pleasant, but not particularly scenic.

 

If making a one-way journey, be sure to ask if the car rental company permits one-ways with a drop off in Vancouver. Some make an extra drop charge.

 

If you plan on staying in Vancouver for a few days prior to sailing, check out where to drop off your car - and how to get to Canada Place, the pier. I strongly suggest that you do stay a few days (I am prejudiced here!) and see the sights, so keeping your car a bit extra would not be that expensive.

 

Hope this works out for you - it should be a wonderful journey......:)

[Putterdude]

I used to make the drive once a week, now it is down to a couple of times a year...most recent was 10/25/11. You will want to pick up your car and head south ASAP as the lines at the border southbound can be quite long. They can be upwards of an hour by 10 am and if you hit a holiday week, such as the Victoria Day weekend or your Memorial Day weekend the lines can run 2 to 3 hrs. The actual drive time is about 3.5 hrs to which you need to add the time waiting at the US border. Is it scenic??...not really, it is freeway and the last 70 miles or so will be wall to wall cars.

You will want to check costs of the car rental to which you need to add the drop charge. Other options include Quick Shuttle and Amtrak....I have become a bit of a fan of Amtrak recently if their sked works for you. As for Quick Coach, check their sked at the bottom of the page as they do several express trips during the cruise season directly from Canada Place.

http://quickcoach.com/

 

[Budget Queen]

Compare all the rental prices. I have used Avis, Budget, Natioinal and Alamo, all with downtown Vancouver drop offs/pick ups. There is also Hertz. But now with the ease of the light rail, it may be signficantly cheaper to drop/pickup at Vancouver Airport- again compare rates- but this would require the ability to haul all your own bags, and have no mobilityy limitations.

[Gardyloo]

If you have time, there are a couple of alternatives that are considerably more scenic than the BC 99/I-5 freeway.

 

If you head east out of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Hwy, you can cross the border at Sumas, WA (south of Abbotsford BC) usually with a fairly short wait time, then take WA SR 9 south toward Seattle. Hwy 9 is a lovely rural road that passes through some pretty country, basically in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. You can connect from SR 9 to US 2 into Everett, then I-5 into Seattle, or connect to SR 522 that will take you into the Seattle area on I-405, the eastern ring road around Seattle.

 

Or, a lovely drive can be had by turning off I-5 to SR 11 just south of Bellingham, visiting the old Fairhaven village (very cute historic district near Western Washington University) then follow SR 11, called "Chuckanut Drive" along the bluff overlooking Puget Sound until it connects to SR 20 near Anacortes, which will take you back to I-5. Chuckanut is very twisty and not fast, but it's a very pleasant alternative to the freeway for an hour or so.

[1of4]

A friend in Cocquitlam picked us up in Seattle and drove us to her house for a few days pre-cruise. This is what I recall:

• The traffic is bad and I drive in Toronto daily with 10 lane highways that are backed up. I never expected it to be bumper to bumper from Seatlle for a few hours;
  
• some border crossings close for the night. I don't think that happens between NY State and Southern Ontario but apparently it is normal between BC and Washington State; and
  
• plan on a minimum of 5 hours depending upon the time you leave Seattle. My friend left Vancouver at 9 and picked us up at the Seattle Sheraton at 2:30 and we got right back on the highway and we were not at her place until 9:30 PM with about a 1.5 hours stop for grocery shopping.
  

[Putterdude]

Of the 4 border crossings the OP will likely use 3 are open 24 hrs a day and the 4th, the Aldergrove/Lynden crossing is open 8 am to midnight daily.

[LeftcoastBC]

Both of these are doable.... The Chuckanut Drive ..for sure can be done with little time loss...it's not all that long.

 

I too am a fan of Amtrak.

 

If you have time, there are a couple of alternatives that are considerably more scenic than the BC 99/I-5 freeway.

 

If you head east out of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Hwy, you can cross the border at Sumas, WA (south of Abbotsford BC) usually with a fairly short wait time, then take WA SR 9 south toward Seattle. Hwy 9 is a lovely rural road that passes through some pretty country, basically in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. You can connect from SR 9 to US 2 into Everett, then I-5 into Seattle, or connect to SR 522 that will take you into the Seattle area on I-405, the eastern ring road around Seattle.

 

Or, a lovely drive can be had by turning off I-5 to SR 11 just south of Bellingham, visiting the old Fairhaven village (very cute historic district near Western Washington University) then follow SR 11, called "Chuckanut Drive" along the bluff overlooking Puget Sound until it connects to SR 20 near Anacortes, which will take you back to I-5. Chuckanut is very twisty and not fast, but it's a very pleasant alternative to the freeway for an hour or so.

[scottbee]

Hi!

 

I'm looking at some of the may itineraries which begin in Vancouver and end in Seattle since they are a couple hundred dollars more affordable than the rountrip itineraries. To make airfare more affordable, we would purchase rondtrip flights to/from Seattle and add the one way ground transportation from Seattle to Vancouver pre-cruise.

 

For those of you who've done this, how's the drive? How long is it? Is it scenic? Tedious? Any other pro's and con's?

 

Thanks for the input! :)

 

The drive isn't bad, unless you're trying to get through Seattle during rush hour. SEA airport is about 12 miles south of Seattle, and you're heading north. Most of the time it's actually faster to take the 405 north, and not I5; so out of the airport you cross over I5 onto 405 (a map makes this more obvious).

 

Getting to the border, the lineup is generally short northbound, and only gets longish on Sat/Sun afternoon/evening (Canadians returning home). As you approach the border on I5 there are large signs showing the wait times; and the SR543 crossing is almost 5-10 mins quicker (you just exit I5 onto 543 a couple of miles short of the border).

 

All that being said, a flight SEA-YVR isn't that expensive ($100ish on sale), and there's always QUICK SHUTTLE (quickcoach.com) who run from SEA aorport to downtown Vancouver. Also, check into flying into the BLI/Bellingham airport, which is 2/3 of the way from SEA to YVR

[mapleleaves]

I made a quick drive to Vancouver and back on Tuesday. I had planned on taking #543 but the overhead sign said that border crossing was 20 minutes but only 5 minutes at I-5. They lied; it was 20 minutes at I-5. I went thru at noon and at 3:30pm and both were 20 minutes. I was surprised there was any wait on a Tuesday mid day.

It's not a tedious drive, Most of it is not heavily populated so it's not like you're driving past one suburb after another. There is lots of farm land, evergreens, the Cascade Mountains are in view all the time, and around Mt Vernon thousands of acres of tulip and daffodil fields.

I've heard the Amtrak trip is much more scenic because you also have views of the water from time to time.

[Budget Queen]

I've heard the Amtrak trip is much more scenic because you also have views of the water from time to time.

 

It is coastal most of the trip until about the last hour.

[scottbee]

I made a quick drive to Vancouver and back on Tuesday. I had planned on taking #543 but the overhead sign said that border crossing was 20 minutes but only 5 minutes at I-5. They lied; it was 20 minutes at I-5. I went thru at noon and at 3:30pm and both were 20 minutes. I was surprised there was any wait on a Tuesday mid day.

It's not a tedious drive, Most of it is not heavily populated so it's not like you're driving past one suburb after another. There is lots of farm land, evergreens, the Cascade Mountains are in view all the time, and around Mt Vernon thousands of acres of tulip and daffodil fields.

I've heard the Amtrak trip is much more scenic because you also have views of the water from time to time.

 

Sign said 5 & 5 today, and it was 15 for NEXUS and probably over an hour for normal traffic. Ignore the sign and tune to AM730 traffic for a more realistic number

[VOR]

I live 1/2 way between the 2 (actually closer to Vancouver, but you get the point)

 

The drive is very easy, and not particularly scenic on I5. As was suggested Chukanut Dr is a nice area, as would be a side trip to Deception Pass, but they obviously add time (Chukanut adds about 1/2 hour, and Deception pass 1 1/2 if you want to spend any time there).

 

The Drive from SeaTac to Vancouver is around 3 hours, and unless you his bad times, the border waits are not too bad.

 

The train is also a good option.

[VOR]

 

All that being said, a flight SEA-YVR isn't that expensive ($100ish on sale), and there's always QUICK SHUTTLE (quickcoach.com) who run from SEA aorport to downtown Vancouver. Also, check into flying into the BLI/Bellingham airport, which is 2/3 of the way from SEA to YVR

 

I would add that many times a flight to BLI is the same price, or even less than ending your trip at SeaTac. Its weird, and makes no sense, but Twice in the past year I have flown BLI-SEA-SNA(Orange County) for less than it would have cost me to fly just the SEA-SNA segment.