Easiest way to get from Victoria to Seattle with a car

[itsanita]

We get off our ship in Vancouver and have rented a car. We will be spending a day or so in Vancouver then taking the ferry to Victoria. We then want to head to Seattle where we are spending a few more days, then flying home from there.

 

Some opinions on the best way for us to get from Victoria (with our rental car) to Seattle? I understand that there is not a car ferry that goes straight from Victoria to Seattle.

[Luckysll]

You don't really need a car rental, unless it's something you're set on.

 

Both Vancouver and Victoria are quite manageable for a one or two day visit without needing a car. To get to Victoria from Vancouver, you can take Pacific Coach Lines, which picks you up in Vancouver, takes you across on the BC Ferries, and brings you right to downtown Victoria. The advantage of the PCL bus is that it is guaranteed a spot on the ferry, while if you drive a car, unless you make a reservation for a specific time, you could end waiting for one or two sailings if it's busy.

 

If you are interested in seeing Butchart Gardens, which is about 1/2 hr north of Victoria, you can easily get tours from downtown. Also, if you're interested in going farther afield than just Victoria, you would need a car, but can easily rent it here.

 

Then, after your visit in Victoria, take the Clipper from the Inner Harbour to Seattle. It's a 3 1/2 trip, but it's passenger only and the Clipper gets in to Seattle right downtown next to where the NCL ships dock. You could then rent a car in Seattle for your stay there.

 

Otherwise, you're looking at three options:

 

1. Taking the Coho ferry from downtown Victoria across to Port Angeles, Washington and driving to Seattle

2, Taking the Washinton State Ferry from Sidney (north of Victoria) to Anacortes and driving to Seattle

3. Going back to the mainland on the BC Ferries and driving down I-5 to Seattle.

 

All of these options will involve long drives, waits at the ferry terminals and border crossings (which can take time). The Anacortes and Coho ferries also are only a couple of times a day during the summer; BC Ferries runs hourly, but as mentioned, unless you make a reservation, you could miss a sailing and have to wait.

 

Border crossings are getting longer. For option #2, you clear Customs as soon as you get off the ferry in Anacortes, but it still takes a long time, unless you're one of the first cars off. I waited almost an hour as I was unlucky enough to be one of the last cars. At the BC/Washington crossing at Blaine, there can be waits of 1 - 2 hrs. Not sure what the Coho wait is like now as I haven't done that crossing in many years.

 

The Clipper is a 3 1/2 hr trip, plus it's a lot quicker going through Customs because they're only clearing the Clipper passengers.

[LeftcoastBC]

I recommend the car and I'd go for option 1 or 2 from the post above and would expect no great delays if you are traveling during the week. You can make reservations on the ferry.

 

The MV coho and the trip down from Port Angeles Is a very nice one.

 

Going across from Sydney to the Mainland is also a great option.

[scottbee]

We get off our ship in Vancouver and have rented a car. We will be spending a day or so in Vancouver then taking the ferry to Victoria. We then want to head to Seattle where we are spending a few more days, then flying home from there.

 

Some opinions on the best way for us to get from Victoria (with our rental car) to Seattle? I understand that there is not a car ferry that goes straight from Victoria to Seattle.

 

 

If you really want to take the car, there are three ways of getting back down to Seattle;

1) BC Ferry back to Tsawwassen, then a 3hr drive to Seattle http://bcferries.bc.ca/

2) Washington State Ferry from Sidney to Anacortes followed by a 2 hr drive (but a longer ferry ride). http://wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

3) Blackball Transport (Coho ferry) to Port Angeles. http://cohoferry.com

 

Have you considered renting the car in Victoria? You'll save the expensive car portion of the ferry crossings (the vehicle itself is typically $40-50 ea way), and wont have the issue with getting from Victoria to Seattle with your car. Take the bus to the ferry. Grab a taxi on the Victoria side from the ferry to the Victoria airport/YYJ (about $15 - 5 miles) and get the car there. The bonus here is you wont spend HOURS in ferry lineups.

 

If you don't want to take a car from Victoria to Seattle, you can add;

- Horizon Air (Alaska Air) with 6 daily non-stops from Victoria/YYJ to SEA http://alaskaair.com

- Clipper passenger ferry Victoria Harbour to Seattle http://clippervacations.com

- Kenmore Air; float plane from Victoria Harbour/YWH to Seattle http://kenmoreair.com

 

Depending on how many people you have in your party, you may find that flying direct to SeaTac is the cheapest and certainly the fastest ($125/ea)

[itsanita]

Thanks everyone, this really helps. Renting a car (van actually) is not really optional. There are 4 of us adults with ALL our luggage from 2 weeks in Alaska. Unfortuantely, we are not light packers and we are spending several more days in the Vancouver/Seattle are before flying home out of Seatac. So whatever we do, we will be dragging all the luggage with us.

 

I am wondering if our best bet might be to drive to Seattle, check in to a hotel there and then take the passenger ferry to Victoria. However, that way we will then have to do tours, rely on city transport, or rent yet another car for the day in Victoria.

[thisischris]

Looking for good suggestions on accomandations in downtown Vancouver. We are disembarking the Radiance of the Seas in Vancouver and plan to stay in the city an extra night. Any help is appreciated. Thanks