Boarder crossing time

[crusinhokie]

How long does it take to cross the Canada/US boarder? Planning on spending some time in Seattle and Vancouver before cruise but not sure how much time I should plan for moving between the two. Thanks!

[Serious Cruisers]

WOW that's a tough question. Depends on the day of the week, time of crossing, is it a long weekend in US or Canada? If you can provide more details I might be able to estimate for you. I cross every weekend.

[SeattleCruiselover]

It also depends on what the Homeland Security national security level is. Border crossing at Blaine can range from very easy to a pain in the *** (well you know). You usually have to get out of the car and go into the building with all of your luggage and passport/documents, then they either ask you one or two questions and let you go, or they do the whole Customs thing. Plan on 1+ hours then, if it is less, you have extra time in YVR.

[crusinhokie]

We would probably be crossing either Saturday afternoon (US to Canada) or Sunday evening (Canada to US).

 

Has anyone ever taken the bus service Amtrak offers?

[Serious Cruisers]

We would probably be crossing either Saturday afternoon (US to Canada) or Sunday evening (Canada to US).

 

Has anyone ever taken the bus service Amtrak offers?

 

Saturday - US to Canada - between 1pm and 3pm is lowest traffic time.

 

Sunday evening - gets a little busy - as Americians who come to Vancouver for a day trip tend to return around 5ish.

 

I cross this board every weekend, however I am part of the NEXUS boarder crossing program and do not have to wait in line. Give yourself plenty of time and you can't go wrong!!

[cocobeen]

How about Wed 8/4, leaving Seattle around 4.30pm ? How might it be ? Thx.

[Italy52]

Saturday - US to Canada - between 1pm and 3pm is lowest traffic time.

 

Sunday evening - gets a little busy - as Americians who come to Vancouver for a day trip tend to return around 5ish.

 

I cross this board every weekend, however I am part of the NEXUS boarder crossing program and do not have to wait in line. Give yourself plenty of time and you can't go wrong!!

 

Definitely agree with the "Give yourself plenty of time..." philosophy. You never know what you will encounter at the boarder. DH goes to Vancouver on a weekly basis for business. The first time DH had to go to Vancouver he had to go at the spur of the moment and did not have his passport, only his driver's license; we live in WA. Boarder guard played 20 questions with him. Took a while for him to get through. Since that time he ALWAYS carries his passport and moves through boarder without any delays. He has noticed that evenings seem to be light with little or no delays. But, like freeway driving, it's subject to change at a moment's notice.

[grouchy]

when the kids are out it gets worse.WE have a place across the border and do this every weekend. We came home at 800am on a Sunday and had to wait 20 minutes. Most days it will take 2- 1 hour or more.

[garycarla]

Remember, you are going NORTH and do not have to deal with the overly paranoid and basically worthless US Homeland Security at all. You only have to stop at the Canada Border, show passports or birth certificate via your car window and move along. Yes, they do pick random folks for more inspection, but on our recent trip it took us about 10 minutes from where the speed was reduced to when we cleared.

 

 

Southbound is another story since you have the US folks to deal with.

[Budget Queen]

From Seattle to Canada Place allow 4 hours. I most always stay the night before cruising in Bellingham, never have any significant waits with an early start, and to bonus of seeing some Vancouver too. :)

[garycarla]

We pulled out of hotel at Seattle Center (space needle) at 8:00 on the nose. We arrived at cruise pier after gas stop and two quick shopping stops (personal items and wine) at 11:25 and were onboard at 12:15

[Gardyloo]

How about Wed 8/4, leaving Seattle around 4.30pm ? How might it be ? Thx.

Well you'll be joining several dozen thousand cars leaving town in rush hour, so any time savings you might achieve at the border will be negated by the time you spend in traffic heading out of Seattle.

 

Two additional recent factors will, IMO, slow down northbound crossings significantly throughout the summer and beyond. First, the C$ has recovered somewhat against the US$, so things in the US are now cheaper for Canadians than they were even a few months ago. Chief among these is gas, so in evenings (i.e., about when you'd be reaching the border from Seattle with a 4:30 departure) a number of BCers who work close to the border will probably be on the US side fueling up, so you'll wait with them to clear Canada Customs. If there's a meal time rotation or a union break (of which there appear to be many) leading to a couple of the kiosks being shut, it could be semi-ugly.

 

The second factor is the recent opening of a super-duper-mega-cosmic outlet mall on an Indian reservation at Marysville, around 40 minutes north of Seattle on I-5. When we were there shortly after the opening (not my idea - blame her) you could swear that they were offering free $50 bills to anyone with a BC license plate on the car. Stronger currency + Ralph Lauren + a huge casino next door = irresistible magnetic attraction for thousands of Vancouverites. And then they'll all want to drive home, with plenty of things to declare (or not) to the inquisitors at Blaine.

 

Bottom line, allow for plenty of time, more than you think, regardless of mode.