Driving Question Vancouver to Seattle

[Lovincruisin1321]

We are planning to rent a car from Vancouver and drive to Seattle. Has anyone done this? Did you do anything fun and interesting?

[jannandjohn]

big drop off fee.. country to country,not interstate.

 

this is just one forum link about it..and $500 drop off fee seems to be normal.:eek:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dollar/1094046-car-rental-yvr-sea-drop-off-fee.html

[Middle Aged and Happy]

We too are renting a car. I think the total cost is about $135 which is comparable to riding the bus for four people. As for what we plan to do, we are going to visit Stanley Park and Granville Island. Depending on weather and time, we might visit Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge or stop by a winery or two. Again, if weather is not good, we may just drive to Seattle and spend time in Pike's Market.

[Budget Queen]

I have driven this MANY times, and never had any excessive "drop fee". Cars were a little below the range posted above, AND I have rented from Avis, Budget, National and Alamo- ALL of time, booked based on price. There is also Hertz.

 

There may be even more cost savings, with a Vancouver airport pick up/return, since the easy light rail is now available (for those with no mobility limitations). My rentals were all downtown Vancouver pick ups/drop offs.

 

You do need to allow at least 4 hours. But I mostly always stay in Bellingham the night before the cruise, and have experienced far less waiting time with an earlier start, by 9am. I have then used this time for laundry in Vancouver, or sightseeing. :)

 

If you want a very scenic drive and have extra time, the Cascade Loop over a couple days is fantastic, I've done partials a few times of both entry segments. Whidbey Island is also a great scenic "detour" drive. Add a tour/stop at the Boeing factory, if of interest.

[NCGAL1971]

We just did this a couple weeks ago. The price was actually pretty good. We paid around $135 with National. When I made the reservation all the cars at the pier location were reserved so we got ours from the Vancouver Airport. I made our reservation back in March so the prices may be more now for travel this summer.We got off the ship and then walked to the Sky Train or Canada Line metro station. It's about 2 blocks from the pier. We had 2 carry ons , 1 checked bag and a 1 backpack and 1 duffle bag. It can be done. It was a little bit of a hassle with the luggage but saved us money versus getting a cab. The train was $7.00 for both of us. Seems like it took us about 3 hours to get to Seattle and that was with a quick stop at a Walgreens. The border crossing took about 45 minutes. Hope this helps. I got such good info from CC before our cruise.

[Appygirl]

Lot of local festivals still around, depends on your date. If you're driving south on Saturday August 14 definitely stop in Cloverdale, about 6 miles from the border crossing, where there is a blueberry festival and car show and shine going on. No admission fee. If you're in town August 21 or 2 weeks after, you should stop at the PNE in Vancouver - $20pp. All kinds of exhibits and shows. If you can spare the time, go to Fort Langley about 45 minutes drive from Vancouver and maybe half an hour drive from the border. There is admission to the fort but I'm not sure what the price is. White Rock, just a few minutes drive to the border crossing - beach, fish and chips, eclectic shops. On the Washington side Whidbey Island is a good choice. Also La Conner. If you're driving down August 16 or the next couple of days, take the Aldergrove/Lynden border crossing, about half an hour away from the Peace Arch and truck crossing. The Lynden fair is on at that time. Enjoy your drive!

[MercedMike]

We did this a few years ago and it worked pretty well.

 

Plan to spend an hour or more at the border crossing.

 

Then at Bellingham we turned off on the scenic Chukanut Trail and stopped for lunch at a local oyster house which was a lot of fun!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Putterdude]

The actual drive time from Vancouver to SEATAC is about 3.5 hrs, the wait time southbound at the border can approach 3 hrs on weekends, however the earlier in the morning you arrive the shorter the line. As suggested above the Chukanut drive is very interesting as is a stop in historic Fairhaven just south of Bellingham, a side trip out to Anacortes, or a visit to the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle are also good uses of time.