Disembark Vancouver - how hard to get to Abbotsford Airport (Uber or ...)?

[homeofthehound]

Hi, when we disembark in Vancouver, we have options to fly out from Vancouver International or Abbotsford International, with the later being much cheaper (by about $600). The cruise line does not offer transfers to Abbotsford, so I guess we would be looking at using Uber. Has anyone done this and would you do it that way again? Online it looks to be about 1 hour distance and approx. less than $100. TIA

[Fairgarth]

We disembarked Koningsdam on Saturday.  Next to us in the queue for taxis was a couple heading to Abbotsford to catch their flight.  They were moaning that it would cost $160 and did anyone want to share?  We did not know what they saved on the air fare but it would certainly not be worth it to us.  Abbotsford airport would be an hour and a half from the port on a good day, or a lot more if there was an accident or roadworks on the highway.  What is your flight time?  Too tight to be sure?  Six hours wait at the airport?  Flying YVR - YWG may cost more but for us that would be money well spent.  Make sure you know the total cost of flying out of Abbotsford.  Not just the fare but baggage, seat selection etc.  What's the back-up if your flight is three hours late or cancelled due to a mechanical?  Your choice!

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, homeofthehound said:

Hi, when we disembark in Vancouver, we have options to fly out from Vancouver International or Abbotsford International, with the later being much cheaper (by about $600). The cruise line does not offer transfers to Abbotsford, so I guess we would be looking at using Uber. Has anyone done this and would you do it that way again? Online it looks to be about 1 hour distance and approx. less than $100. TIA

 

As the previous reply noted, driving without issues is 1.5 hrs, but could take up to 3 hrs depending on traffic, construction, accidents, etc.

 

Not aware of any public transit available between the port and Abbotsford Airport. You could cut down the cost by taking Skytrain out to Surrey, which bypasses the worst of the traffic and then Uber from Surrey to Abbotsford.

 

Having driven these roads for too many years, I would never consider using Abbotsford Airport, if disembarking a cruise. Abbotsford also has way fewer flights than YVR, so if your flight is cancelled, no other options might be available.

[martincath]

Yes to all of the above warnings, plus it tends to be the really crappy cheap airlines that use YXX - the ones with very few planes, so if anything goes wrong your delay is going to be huge... a buddy from Toronto came to visit, and arrived two days after he was scheduled to with Flair, having been stuck in Edmonton while maintenance was done!

 

If you're using a mainline Westjet flight, who I think are the only 'real' airline flying out of there, I'd be genuinely surprised if the savings were $600 unless you have like 12 people - we always run a comparison just in case and we've never seen better than $70-ish bucks per person compared to YVR, so as a couple not worth the hassle even though we could drive our own car and park for cheap.

 

But if you are willing to risk it, try ebus - not a lot of departures, even fewer viable after a same-day disembarkation, but less than $50pp from the main bus station here in Vancouver (which is about a $12 cab ride from the pier) to YXX

[homeofthehound]

Thank you all for you input, this is helpful. We tried doing a 'test' booking with Uber and it was showing it was 1 hour drive yesterday for $89 (which seemed surprisingly cheap to me!) but of course accidents and construction are very real unplanned possibilities to consider.

Our flight would be on a Saturday at 1:15pm with Swoop so if we missed that one we wouldn't have another option that day and would need to stay over. My gut reaction was to stick with VAN but my hubby was trying to convince me that Abbotsford would easy peasy.... I think I will stick with my gut even if it costs us more 😄 Thanks again everyone!

[Heidi13]

32 minutes ago, homeofthehound said:

Thank you all for you input, this is helpful. We tried doing a 'test' booking with Uber and it was showing it was 1 hour drive yesterday for $89 (which seemed surprisingly cheap to me!) but of course accidents and construction are very real unplanned possibilities to consider.

Our flight would be on a Saturday at 1:15pm with Swoop so if we missed that one we wouldn't have another option that day and would need to stay over. My gut reaction was to stick with VAN but my hubby was trying to convince me that Abbotsford would easy peasy.... I think I will stick with my gut even if it costs us more 😄 Thanks again everyone!

 

Unfortunately, getting a price quote yesterday may not reflect the actual cost. With multiple cruise ships disembarking at Canada Place on a Saturday, Uber may have surge pricing levels in effect, due to high demand.

[Fairgarth]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, getting a price quote yesterday may not reflect the actual cost. With multiple cruise ships disembarking at Canada Place on a Saturday, Uber may have surge pricing levels in effect, due to high demand.

 

I have had two negative experiences with Uber in Vancouver.  It did not work out.  On request, they tell me that there is a cab 14 minutes away....no, make that 8 minutes away....no, make that 11 minutes away...no, make that 12 minutes away...no, sorry, no cabs available.  All right, sport, I'll call Yellow Cab.  Four minutes.

[Sprocket]

If you check the Abbotsford airports website there is a shuttle option.  I haven’t used it but they were very responsive when I called for a price.

 

We Ubered out to Abbotsford last year and it was $64 IIRC non surge pricing.  

[dawnvip]

If this is the same one, the downtown -YXX shuttle has suspended operations:

 

https://reliablebus.ca/yxx-shuttle

[Sprocket]

16 hours ago, dawnvip said:

If this is the same one, the downtown -YXX shuttle has suspended operations:

 

https://reliablebus.ca/yxx-shuttle

https://valleyairporter.ca/

 

This is the one I called.

[lostinparadise999]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:13 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

As the previous reply noted, driving without issues is 1.5 hrs, but could take up to 3 hrs depending on traffic, construction, accidents, etc.

 

Not aware of any public transit available between the port and Abbotsford Airport. You could cut down the cost by taking Skytrain out to Surrey, which bypasses the worst of the traffic and then Uber from Surrey to Abbotsford.

 

Having driven these roads for too many years, I would never consider using Abbotsford Airport, if disembarking a cruise. Abbotsford also has way fewer flights than YVR, so if your flight is cancelled, no other options might be available.

The freeway in Vancouver is only 2 lanes to Abbotsford. There is currently widening the freeway so there are areas with lower speed limits and stoppages. I tried Uber and they cancelled me when they were 5 min from arriving...had a flight to catch...wasn''t very happy, but called a cab and will never use Uber. Found out drivers can cancel the trip if the tip is too small (I usually tip after, not before). They can also cancel to raise the fare price so, the quoted amount may not be the true amount. Also in Vancouver, many of the cheap airlines cancel at last moment. 

Go to YVR and avoid the stress.