Best Way to Get to Vancouver from Seattle

[OT-Miami]

We will be sailing Alaska out of Vancouver, but flights from MIA / FLL are insanely expensive.  While we can fly to Seattle for about half the price, changing our departure port is not an option.  We plan to fly 2 days before sailing, so we have some time to make our way to Vancouver from Seattle, just trying to decide if it would be best to rent a car and drive, take the train, limo/car service, or other...

 

[*Miss G*]

We have rented a car but I hear the Amtrak Cascades route is very scenic.  We tried to do it a couple of times but the startup after Covid took forever.

 

Sometimes you can catch an overnight cruise from Seattle to Vancouver but you have to catch the timing right.  I’ve taken a Pacific Coastal from San Diego to Vancouver and that worked out well.

 

Depending where you’re flying from, there are some nonstop flights out of MCO to Bellingham, WA — which is right at the Canadian border — and you can take the shuttle bus from there.

 

Also check out your cruise line.  They do transfers from SEA to Vancouver also.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by *Miss G*

[LHT28]

You could also check the west coast departures forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/

 

Compare flying into YVR  with  the cost of  SEA  & then renting a car /parking or one way rental fee/ Bus/Train etc

 

 

[martincath]

1 hour ago, OT-Miami said:

... just trying to decide if it would be best to rent a car and drive, take the train, limo/car service, or other...

Best is just too subjective to choose on your behalf - even my own best option for this trip varies depending on various circumstances! Obviously you have some not-too-unreasonable cap on the highest price you're willing to pay for the transfer - which you'll probably find a limo transfer to exceed, as during TheBeforeTimes it was at least US$300 for a towncar with the expectation of a 20% tip, so on top of a hotel room very likely going to eat all the savings from direct flights plus cost you more time!

 

Likewise flying up on a separately-booked flight is likely not going to entice financially - although taking a floatplane from Seattle to Vancouver harbour would score serious cool points! With a day in hand, double ferry action also possible but probably not a good dollar value - the Clipper from downtown Seattle to Victoria, then BC Ferries over to the mainland (the BCF Connector coach moves people and luggage from downtown to downtown via the ferries; you can even do public transit on both sides, but all-in-all it's roundabout, lengthy, and more expensive than just booking flights usually)

 

Coming the day before, I'd say that either evening or morning train are both safe bets - dirt cheap ($34pp with Saver tickets if booked enough in advance), very likely to leave bang on time for the Day Of morning train (the train is in Seattle, it doesn't come from elsewhere first) and even if ridiculously late on the Evening Before you will have no worries about missing the cruise. If you're happy to spend more, upgrade to Business Class - not available on buses - for expedited border crossing (first allowed off for processing at Vancouver station, if you take the Morning Of train this may reduce your stress a bit!) on top of comfier seats and a whopping $3 credit in the dining car!

 

Buses... since Bolt and their insanely cheap trips went belly up buses compare poorly to the train if your timing is at all flexible. In theory slightly faster, and in total more departures, but often more expensive per person now compared to Saver Amtrak train tix and with by far the most potential hassle at the border of any transit mode (if even one of the 50ish other people on your coach need secondary questioning, you all just wait and wait until they are dealt with).

 

Rental car - hard to compare value, as with limited fleet sizes since Covid supply chain issues began the pricing is all over the place! But in terms of timing, absolutely the most flexible - pick up basically 24/7 from an airport location, choose your route, pootle around some nice wee towns on the way, pick any of the border crossings if there's a major timing difference (whereas if there's an issue with Pacific Xing, buses are hooped!). If you don't mind driving yourself, the sheer flexibility makes for a very enticing choice.

 

Lastly, certainly one of the easiest options IF they are available, is a cruiseline transfer - if enough folks who are cruising with a family of lines are flying via SEA, there may be a charter bus that is priced comparably to Quickshuttle but with even more convenience, and with the cruiseline on the hook if they fail to get you to the ship in time. This is the only bus option I'd consider for Day Of travel myself.

[*Miss G*]

5 hours ago, martincath said:

Rental car - hard to compare value, as with limited fleet sizes since Covid supply chain issues began the pricing is all over the place! But in terms of timing, absolutely the most flexible - pick up basically 24/7 from an airport location, choose your route, pootle around some nice wee towns on the way, pick any of the border crossings if there's a major timing difference (whereas if there's an issue with Pacific Xing, buses are hooped!). If you don't mind driving yourself, the sheer flexibility makes for a very enticing choice.

 

This portion of your post reminded me…. Unless you can get a deal, car rentals from SeaTac are sometimes crazy expensive.  When this happens, we have rented from a downtown Seattle location and taken the Light Rail from the airport to the downtown car rental agency to save hundreds of dollars; even taking into account that we have dropped the vehicle at SeaTac instead of the original pickup location at the end of the rental.  Just something to consider.

[martincath]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

This portion of your post reminded me…. Unless you can get a deal, car rentals from SeaTac are sometimes crazy expensive.  When this happens, we have rented from a downtown Seattle location and taken the Light Rail from the airport to the downtown car rental agency to save hundreds of dollars; even taking into account that we have dropped the vehicle at SeaTac instead of the original pickup location at the end of the rental.  Just something to consider.

Couldn't agree more - airport rentals often have extra fees forced upon them by the airports, but also airport-to-other-airport one-way rentals, especially cross-border, are sometimes more easily found than from non-airport offices and the hours they operate are almost always longer at airports which sometimes becomes a factor too - with fleet numbers still recovering it's more important than ever to compare every possible combination of company and office location to find the best deal for you on your specific date; car rentals are just as opaquely priced as airline tickets!

Edited May 17, 2023 by martincath

[rodndonna]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:31 PM, *Miss G* said:

We have rented a car but I hear the Amtrak Cascades route is very scenic.  We tried to do it a couple of times but the startup after Covid took forever.

 

Sometimes you can catch an overnight cruise from Seattle to Vancouver but you have to catch the timing right.  I’ve taken a Pacific Coastal from San Diego to Vancouver and that worked out well.

 

Depending where you’re flying from, there are some nonstop flights out of MCO to Bellingham, WA — which is right at the Canadian border — and you can take the shuttle bus from there.

 

Also check out your cruise line.  They do transfers from SEA to Vancouver also.

 

 

I'd vote for the train also - but I love trains.

 

rome2rio is a useful tool

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Vancouver-BC-Canada/Seattle

 

 

 

 

[Fouremco]

42 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

rome2rio is a useful tool

I couldn't agree more. An oft-used app in my travel toolbox.

[WESTEAST]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:02 AM, Fouremco said:

I couldn't agree more. An oft-used app in my travel toolbox.

Another vote for this site as we use it when researching a holiday be it on a cruise or by land.

[Venoma]

I just took the bus from Vancouver booked thru Amtrak.  Really good, quick and no complaints.  (It was cheaper than a tank of gas)

[Djsmrs]

The bus suggestion is going to be the most cost effective and efficient.   The train is incredible, but the times of the trains are inconvenient - hence the Amtrak bus option 🙂   Flights between SEA and YVR are prohibitively expensive, and while a sea plan sounds like a good idea you are VERY limited in the luggage you can bring... so keep that in mind.

[CoW mAn]

The train is lovely. Great views, relaxing, and upgrading to Business Class is dirt cheap