Seattle to Vancouver?

Choice Air sent us an itinerary change and we now have a 3 1/2 hours layover in Seattle on our way to Vancouver. Hubby says it's a shorter drive than that. Does anyone recommend we use alternate transportation for the jaunt from Seattle to Vancouver. Can you do a one way car rental? Or take a bus or a shuttle? Sorry if this question has already been answered!

Choice Air sent us an itinerary change and we now have a 3 1/2 hours layover in Seattle on our way to Vancouver. Hubby says it's a shorter drive than that. Does anyone recommend we use alternate transportation for the jaunt from Seattle to Vancouver. Can you do a one way car rental? Or take a bus or a shuttle? Sorry if this question has already been answered!

You can don it less . The usual is about 4-5 hours depending on the day of the week. Crossing the Canadian border can be up to an hour or longer depending on the day of the week and time. You'll also have work the cost of the car into driving versus what choice charges.

Here's the $60 shuttle that takes you from SeaTac into downtown Vancouver...

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

I'm assuming there would be a refund on the way if you changed to SEA flight? This may be plenty to cover a car/bus/train easily for two of you. You may find a cruise shuttle available - if so, take it. These are always the best bus option as they have no stops (even the 'express' Quickshuttle pulls off the highway a few times) except at the border (and perhaps a short loo-break in Bellingham just before the border, since facilities are very limited there).

QuickShuttle is definitely the simplest of the always-available Seatac - Vancouver pier methods, but they charge a premium for that convenience. If your timing allows it, Bolt or Greyhound buses from downtown are enough cheaper that you can afford a cab from airport to bus station and bus station to pier in Vancouver with cash left over. Really flexible timing - Amtrak is the most pleasant way to travel, with the easiest customs & immigration process (no border stop at all!), but only runs twice a day.

Do look at a one-way car rental - a long time in advance rates can look high, even with drop fees at times, but as your date approaches the rate drops as the companies get a better idea of how many cars are in the 'wrong' place. Sometimes you can score a really cheap deal because they need to bring a Canadian plate back up to Vancouver - and I've never failed to find a <$100 price from one of the major companies including all fees & taxes.

As to drive time - Seattle traffic is the biggest factor, then the border. Time it right and Seatac to pier should be on par with Google's estimate of 3hrs 15mins plus border wait - travel in afternoon rushhour and it will be at least an hour longer. We drive door-to-door, downtown-to-downtown, from our Portland place to Vancouver in 5hrs 15min consistently including the border - but we know when to drive through Seattle to minimise delays (after 10am but before 2pm, sweet-spots are hitting Seatac around 11am or 1pm) and have NEXUS so usually only spend 2-5 minutes at the border thanks to the dedicated lanes.

Delay for regular cars northbound at Peace Arch is consistently in the 10-20min range when we're crossing (mostly Sunday or Monday, early afternoon) - there are apps, websites, and old-school signs on the highway informing you approximate delays as you're getting close (and you have a choice of two, cars can use the 'truck crossing' and should if the differential is >10mins - the extra drive time to get off and back on I5/99). Holiday weekends, especially late afternoon/early evening on the last day of the long weekend, can easily see wait times climb over an hour though.

If you have an early morning arrival in SEA, you could take the light rail from the airport to downtown and Amtrak has a 7:45 a.m. train to Vancouver. Take about 4 hours, including customs/immigration stop at the border.