Seattle To Vancouver Port By Land?

We are first timers taking an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver. I heard that it is possible to save big $'s by taking ground transport to Vancouver from Seattle. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

I understand you can take Amtrack but we rented a car from Hertz at the airport after landeding,-we took our time-we first visited the Space Needle in Seattle and then drove to Vancover stopping a good bit and enjoying the scennery.

Options to get from Seattle to Vancouver are:

 

Car Rental - various companies

Amtrak www.amtrak.com currently only one train per day between Seattle and Vancouver, departs Seattle in the AM (around 7) and gets into Vancouver at 11:35.

Quick Shuttle www.quickcoach.com makes multiple stops between Seattle and dt Vancouver.

Greyhound www.greyhound.com

We live near Seattle and have a planned cruise coming up that departs from Vancouver. We have opted to take Amtrak as opposed to waiting (what can be a long time) to cross the border. The typical wait on a weekend can easily be an hour. We have never taken the train before, but the price seemed ok, and it maybe a nicer way to enjoy the view.

 

P.S. We have cruised Alaska and think you will truely enjoy your cruise.

 

Vince & Anita

Options to get from Seattle to Vancouver are:

 

Car Rental - various companies

Amtrak www.amtrak.com currently only one train per day between Seattle and Vancouver, departs Seattle in the AM (around 7) and gets into Vancouver at 11:35.

Quick Shuttle www.quickcoach.com makes multiple stops between Seattle and dt Vancouver.

Greyhound www.greyhound.com

 

Just to clarify Quick Coach - some might say it makes "several" stops.

Is this the one that requires you to take your bags off the bus when going through customs at the border?

We are first timers taking an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver. I heard that it is possible to save big $'s by taking ground transport to Vancouver from Seattle. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

The best way around all that foolishness is to fly SAN/ YVR....Taxi from Vancouver Intl. to cruise terminal about $20 US....We quite often go this route and in fact on April 21 we are going YVR/SAN to get on the Ryndam.

Just to clarify Quick Coach - some might say it makes "several" stops.

Is this the one that requires you to take your bags off the bus when going through customs at the border?

 

Make sure you are looking at Vancouver BC, not Vancouver WA. There is only one train (Cascade) to Vancouver BC from Seattle and it leaves around 7:30-7:45 am.

Just to clarify Quick Coach - some might say it makes "several" stops.

Is this the one that requires you to take your bags off the bus when going through customs at the border?

 

Yes, they are put on a baggage carousel and you have to claim them and walk through the custom gate/agent then take them back to the bus to be reloaded.

Yes, they are put on a baggage carousel and you have to claim them and walk through the custom gate/agent then take them back to the bus to be reloaded.

 

Do you know if it's the same on Greyhound and the Amtrak bus?

We live near Seattle and have a planned cruise coming up that departs from Vancouver. We have opted to take Amtrak as opposed to waiting (what can be a long time) to cross the border. The typical wait on a weekend can easily be an hour. We have never taken the train before, but the price seemed ok, and it maybe a nicer way to enjoy the view.

 

P.S. We have cruised Alaska and think you will truely enjoy your cruise.

 

Vince & Anita

 

We took our Alaska cruise in May of 2001 so pre 9-11-all we were asked is why we were going into Canada-we told the officer we were taking a cruise and we were waved right through-our passports were not even looked at. so it took us less then 5 minutes to go through the border. I guess times have changed.

Do you know if it's the same on Greyhound and the Amtrak bus?

 

I am not sure about Greyhound?? When I caught the train (Amtrak) from Vancouver to Seattle, we did not have to get off of the train, the custom officers boarded and they went from person to person reviewing their identification.

We are first timers taking an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver. I heard that it is possible to save big $'s by taking ground transport to Vancouver from Seattle. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

Hi MJ !!!....Did you arrive at a decision as to the manner of your travel to the Cruise dock in Vancouver????....Both Air Alaska and Air Canada fly from San Diego to Vancouver. ,,,Vancouver is a very user friendly airport and as I recall we used a Limo from YVR to the dock and I gave him $25 US including a $7 tip....Very easy and slick.....:cool:

How long is the drive from Seattle to Vancouver?

 

What is the parking situation in Vancouver? Garage? Hotel w/ a parking package?

 

Thanks

I just spoke with Quick Shuttle today and they have a "package" deal from Seattle to Vancouver for those who might wish to stay overnight in Seattle either pre or post cruise and the bus will pickup/drop off at the hotel. There are hotels both downtown and at Sea-Tac Airport. The website is http://www.quickcoach.com.

 

I also saw Vancouver hotels listed but did not read about the details.

 

The RT fare is just over $80 for transportation only and is from the Sea-Tac Airport to the pier in Vancouver.

 

Deb

How long is the drive from Seattle to Vancouver?

 

What is the parking situation in Vancouver? Garage? Hotel w/ a parking package?

 

Thanks

 

It's been a few years since we drove to Seattle, but I think it must be close to a 3 hour drive from Seattle to Canada Place Cruise Terminal. That's not counting the time you may have to sit in line at the border.

 

This is the page about parking from the Port of Vancouver website.

 

http://www.portvancouver.com/vanAlaCruise/content/infoPassengers/parking.html

How long is the drive from Seattle to Vancouver?

 

What is the parking situation in Vancouver? Garage? Hotel w/ a parking package?

 

Thanks

 

Well, from Seattle it's likely 3 hours. But if you're going from SeaTac airport, tack on half hour to an hour (or longer depending on what time you're going) to that. In my experience.

 

The time we drove up there we stayed at the Westin Bayshore, and parking was on property (or at least parked BY them). Roaming around the city, however, parking was, in our opinion, a pain. I prefer to walk and take transit around that gorgeous city.

 

You also have to remember that, I hear, they are ripping things up right now in preparation for the '10 Olympics, so things, driving-wise, have the potential to be floopy!

 

 

 

We took Amtrak up from Seattle to our honeymoon cruise. LOVED it. Sat in comfy big seats (rather than airplane seats), it was *maybe* $50 (if memory serves) for the two of us (book in advance = 10% AAA discount if you have AAA). Watched Finding Nemo (not really romantic, but not horrid, either), had a snack car to walk to without having to pull over and deal with fast food, watched the beautiful scenery out the window...watched the people at Peace Arch sit in line going through customs as we "zoomed" by on the train...ahhhh.

 

I noticed in reading there are a couple quirks in communication on this thread.

 

Someone asked about Greyhound bus vs Amtrak bus, and someone answered for Amtrak train. Train is easy, you don't stop at the border, and you go through customs after getting off the train and before entering the train station proper.

 

I do not know about the Amtrak bus, as I spent all of my childhood on busses and don't want to deal with them if I don't have to! Plus, the scenery of I-5 is just awful, compared to the coastal scenery from the train. BUT there are more busses leaving throughout the day, and only ONE train.

There is a LOT of construction going on in Vancouver right now for the 2010 Olympics including building of a subway down a (formerly) busy street into town from highway 99 ( I-5). Traffic on the alternative streets is horrific.

 

You could waste a lot of time and be really stressed out if you get into Vancouver at the wrong time of day.

 

I would take the train, spend the extra time and $$ and relax in the city instead of driving.

Vancouver has the highest rated airport in the world by Biz Travelers and is easy to get though customs (5 min or less) whereas driving is 3 to 5 hours of hell on wheels at either end near cities!

By the time you rent, train, park or whatever you will not save money and will ruin your vacation over something so simple!

Have fun Vancouver is a world class city.

We are also flying into Seattle the day before our cruise. Fying into Vancouver was so outraageously expensive (about a 900.00 difference). After doing some extensive research on this an other boards we decided to take AMTRAK (the train not the bus) to Vancouver and QuickCoach back to Seattle.

 

Ive read that the Amtrak train ride (Cascades) is quite scenic and QUICK COACH has a limited stop service from the cruise shop pier to Seatac...

We forgot to book ground transport from boat to airport (vancouver) what are my options now? Will there be taxis waiting at the terminal or do I have to have something pre-arranged. We finish our cruise on 4/8/2007 in vancouver. Thank you

Gerrie

Regarding Amtrak - if you are a AAA member, the price is nearly 50% off. We are taking the Amtrak via train for our first one night cruise in Vancouver and the next weekend we are taking the bus via Amtrak. For the two of us it was about $50 for each trip.

Forgot to book transport form dock to YVR. Will taxi's be waiting or do I have to request in advance?

Any advice?

For anyone else with time and a car, go west off I5 at Mount Vernon and go along the coast and up Chuckanut Drive toward Bellingham. There are two great seafood restaurants there specializing in oysters. Plus, it's a gorgeous drive. You will want to stop in the state park.

 

Viv