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Vancouver to Seattle

Drebbie

By Drebbie,
in Alaska

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Drebbie

Drebbie

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We are on an Alaska cruise that ends in Vancouver in June. We plan to stay for a couple of days in Vancouver. Curious if anyone has ever rented a car to drive to Seattle and then caught a plane from there. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks

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Kamloops50

Kamloops50

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We are on an Alaska cruise that ends in Vancouver in June. We plan to stay for a couple of days in Vancouver. Curious if anyone has ever rented a car to drive to Seattle and then caught a plane from there. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks

 

I've heard that it can be done.It depends on the number of cars that need returning to Seattle. The cars usually are at the airport not near the pier.

I would also ask this question on the the West Coast Departures forum.

 

This is a question for that forum not Alaska.

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AryMay

AryMay

Posted
Posted (edited)
We are on an Alaska cruise that ends in Vancouver in June. We plan to stay for a couple of days in Vancouver. Curious if anyone has ever rented a car to drive to Seattle and then caught a plane from there. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks

 

We were going to do this at the end of our Alaskan cruise in May, but finally the price of airfare from Vancouver dropped enough that we decided to fly home directly from Vancouver.

 

My first choice would have been to take Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, but the trains only run in the early morning and evening. That meant finding something to do all day after we got off the ship AND deal with our luggage or spend the night and take the train the next morning. Since you are spending a couple of days after your cruise anyway, this might be a good option for you. The train station is in downtown Seattle so you will still have to find a way to get to the airport. We used East Side For Hire, a flat-rate car service to get between SEA and the train station on our last cruise when we did the opposite (fly into Seattle and take train to Vancouver.) I loved the experience! The train ride was very relaxing and the views were great as we went along the coastline. Here is a link to a blog post I did about our train travel...CLICK HERE.

 

Another option would be to take a shuttle from Vancouver to SEA. The cost was going to be about $60/person and the trip would take around 5 hours since the shuttle makes other stops.

 

We did get so far as to book a one-way rental from the pier at Canada Place (not the airport) to SEA and it wasn't going to be cheap. (We have since cancelled the reservation.) For a small car the price was going to be around $150 for a one day rental but we ended up booking a minivan because we were traveling with another couple and knew the small car wouldn't hold all 4 of us plus luggage. The cost? $299 for one day...but split between the 2 couples the price was comparable to the smaller car. Until the price of our Vancouver flight dropped, the rental car + cheaper flight from SEA + hotel was still a cheaper option and it would give us the chance to do some exploring on the drive down to Seattle.

 

Good luck on your planning!

Edited by AryMay
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woodyren

woodyren

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.

 

My first choice would have been to take Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle, but the trains only run in the early morning and evening. That meant finding something to do all day after we got off the ship AND deal with our luggage or spend the night and take the train the next morning. Since you are spending a couple of days after your cruise anyway, this might be a good option for you. The train station is in downtown Seattle so you will still have to find a way to get to the airport. We used East Side For Hire, a flat-rate car service to get between SEA and the train station on our last cruise when we did the opposite (fly into Seattle and take train to Vancouver.) I loved the experience! The train ride was very relaxing and the views were great as we went along the coastline. Here is a link to a blog post I did about our train travel...CLICK HERE.

 

 

Sorry to jump in on the OP's thread but we are spending a few days in Seattle and then need to get to Vancouver to board a cruise. We would prefer to catch the train.

 

May I ask how long do you need to be at the station to check in your luggage before the 7.40am train departs from Seattle.

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xlxo

xlxo

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May I ask how long do you need to be at the station to check in your luggage before the 7.40am train departs from Seattle.
Thought..... how important do you want the West facing Oceanview seats? It's been mentioned you need to arriver earlier.... unless you want to pay for the business class premium.

 

I like the Quick Shuttle convenience with 6 to 7 daily one way trips between Vancouver and Seattle.

Edited by xlxo
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xlxo

xlxo

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I believe the Victoria Clipper will take you to Seattle.

 

The Victoria Clipper doesn't sail from Vancouver only Victoria.

 

Some bus to Victoria to see the gardens with their luggage, then continue the journey to Seattle via Victoria.

http://www.pacificcoach.com/Bus-Coach-Travel/YVR-Victoria-Link/YVR-to-Victoria

 

Some will Orca whale watch their way to Victoria before going to Seattle.

https://princeofwhales.com/tours_van/vancouver-to-seattle/

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xlxo

xlxo

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Another option would be to take a shuttle from Vancouver to SEA. The cost was going to be about $60/person and the trip would take around 5 hours since the shuttle makes other stops.

 

From the Holiday Inn Vancouver downtown to Downtown Seattle is 4 hrs on Quick Shuttle looking at the schedule.

http://www.quickcoach.com/schedule.htm

 

Looking at Amtrak. It states it takes 4.5 hrs. The train is 30 minutes LONGER time wise compared to the bus. If you are not travelling business class and get off in the last car... add another 30 minutes to the train for customs processing (this happened to me). So travel by train can take 1 hour longer than the bus (5.5 hrs?)

 

Quick Shuttle's 5 hrs is when you include travel time to hotels, cruise terminal and/or airport. Something you need to include in the train time calculations.

 

Bus actually travels faster than the train.... If you look at the Amtrak bus, it even mentions the bus can do the trip 1 hour faster.

 

Yes the bus makes other stops... but so does the train. There are 5 stations between Vancouver and Seattle. The Canada train segment is not direct... the train meanders its way along old freight lines.

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martincath Holiday Sharing Rare

martincath

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This seems the more active of your two posts, so I'll add my thoughts here.

 

OP - since you're planning extra time in Vancouver, all options are practical for you. Rental car is definitely the most flexible, likely the fastest, and may well be the cheapest for 2 or more people (shop for deals close to your date - many posters have found rates of <US$50 in the past and I've never failed to find a <$100 rate with all taxes & fees), but unless you're going to USE that flexibility to get off the highway and see some sights the hassle of driving in unfamiliar territory may outweigh the speed benefits for you.

 

Bolt Bus is always the cheapest if you book as soon as the dates are available (approx 6 weeks in advance). There are $1 fares on all buses, with the next-earliest tickets often $10 or less to SEA, and even the last seats going for likely $20-30pp. They've also got the shortest routes, newest fleets, most legroom, and all WiFi enabled buses. Greyhound can be cheaper than the priciest Bolt seats as they offer companion fares and other discounts, but they have at least one extra stop compared to Bolt. Amtrak train Saver tickets at $32 though are ALWAYS the best value IMO. It's by far the most pleasant way to travel, and the limited schedule doesn't impact you due to your extra time in town.

 

If you are literally just heading to Seatac for a flight and have no desire to see anything downtown then QuickShuttle becomes the most convenient method - but they're still too expensive at roughly double the price of the train, and 4+ times the price of other bus tickets. They do go all the way to Seatac, but their $59pp price will pay for train or other bus tickets and easily cover cabs on both ends with cash left over for a couple. They are a good deal for singles who don't like taking transit as cabfare wouldn't get divvied up by a group.

 

All buses are in theory faster than the train - if there are no traffic issues and no border delays. Their biggest problem is no flexibility - they have to use the commercial crossing, and they can't really get off the highway due to the stops at various towns. High numbers of buses (e.g. many cruise shuttles all leaving about the same time c.9am) means long waits to get processed; lots of cars or trucks also prevent buses getting to their own dedicated crossing lane. And if one person on your bus gets chosen for extra questioning or needs a translator, you ALL wait - they cannot be left unless they are forbidden to enter USA.

 

Some misleading or irrelevant info about trains has been posted above - southbound, there is no point getting business class for 'priority at customs' as you do customs & immigration BEFORE boarding. Since there's another poster looking at Northbound travel - Bus Class carriages do disembark first on arrival in Vancouver, so have waits of zero to 5ish minutes to see CBSA, while Coach can take 10-20 mins depending which carriage you're in (we ALWAYS seem to get seats in the last carriage so consistently have 20mins to wait - but we save almost an hour on the front end by showing up late).

 

Southbound though you just walk off, no customs, so unless you feel the bigger seats are worth the extra cash just go Coach - even Northbound we don't bother with Bus Class anymore since they stopped offering sales on the tix, it's 2-3 times the cost of Saver coach tix.

 

Checking bags also means arriving an hour before departure regardless of class - you will get taken through before coach, but you still have to be there an hour early to be sure of your bags being accepted. You must hand over the bags by 45mins pre-departure, no excuses, not good enough to be in the queue waiting! If you have no checked bags and don't care where you sit, come closer to departure time - 20 mins is plenty in Vancouver, processing of all pax will be almost complete so queue time minimal.

 

Southbound, Bus Class will be faster to be taken to CBP if there's still a queue for Coach, so turn up late and it's not much help but if you are checking bags or showing up early for a waterside seat you should be on the train within 5 mins or so and waiting more comfortably onboard the train until departure. Northbound, show up a couple of minutes pre-departure at any US station and board if you're carry-on - that's how we roll since we live <5 mins walk from the station and carry-on luggage allowances are generous.

 

First Class vs Coach doesn't help with views much - you still need to beat most of the other passengers, so the earlier the better if water side view is crucial to you. Trains run pretty full in cruise season!

 

Train times are padded by 25mins Southbound because they do have to stop at the border - Northbound are 4 hours for same route - but nobody gets off and your class of travel is utterly irrelevant. CBP board, run a couple of dogs and sometimes someone with a Geiger counter through the entire train while you all sit with your passports held up, they ignore most of you but usually ask a few 'random' and absolutely-never-racially-profiled (honest!) passengers extra questions even though you've all been pre-screened in Vancouver, then the train leaves again.

 

We've never waited more than 10 minutes even when pax were grilled by CBP so the SB sched is overly padded - we've always arrived in Seattle earlier than the official arrival time (not to imply EVERY train is early, but stats are good on the Cascades morning runs as there is no dependency on other routes - trains sit overnight in Seattle or Vancouver waiting to go next day).

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AryMay

AryMay

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The train passengers go thru the US custom and immigration before boarding the train.

From Seattle the Canadian authorities board at Blaine Wa. Then process the passengers on the way to Vancouver.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Is this something new? When we took the train north from Seattle we went through customs after getting off at the station in Vancouver.

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Robinsoncruiseso

Robinsoncruiseso

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Considering there has been no change in the schedule, i.e. there is no northbound stop in Blaine WA, methinks there is no factual info in K50s post...

 

Agree, we cleared at the station in Vancouver. However, I could see that some Canadian officials might board in Bellingham, WA...the last stop before Vancouver.

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