Car Rental in Seattle to travel to Vancouver and back

[cooljay]

Where can i rent a car in Seattle when i get back from my Cruise on 8/14/16? Planning to drive to Vancouver and will be back on the next day to catch a flight from Seattle at night. Has anyone done this? If yes suggestions/advise will be appreciated.

 

Also the prices that i am getting are $350 for the 2 day rental? Isn't this kinda high? Where to rent from if there is a cheaper alternative?? We are 6 people so looking for a mini van.

 

Drive time going and coming? Is there a long wait at the border?

 

I need to book the car between today and tomorrow so i am looking for quick feedback.

 

Thank you All

[Gardyloo]

Where can i rent a car in Seattle when i get back from my Cruise on 8/14/16? Planning to drive to Vancouver and will be back on the next day to catch a flight from Seattle at night. Has anyone done this? If yes suggestions/advise will be appreciated.

 

Also the prices that i am getting are $350 for the 2 day rental? Isn't this kinda high? Where to rent from if there is a cheaper alternative?? We are 6 people so looking for a mini van.

 

Drive time going and coming? Is there a long wait at the border?

 

I need to book the car between today and tomorrow so i am looking for quick feedback.

 

Thank you All

Rental car prices are very high in Seattle in the summer, especially for larger vehicles like minivans.

 

Alamo/National and Enterprise have kiosks at the cruise terminals where they will shuttle you to their downtown locations for pick-up of the cars. Otherwise there are branches of most of the car rental companies in downtown Seattle; you could take a cab from the dock to them.

 

Be sure that you let the rental agency know you're taking the vehicle into Canada; I'm not 100% positive that Enterprise will allow this but the others will.

 

Wheels-turning drive time from downtown Seattle to downtown Vancouver is around three hours; allow 3 1/2 if you're returning the vehicle to the Seattle airport. Border delays are unpredictable but can vary between 15 and 60 minutes northbound, 30 to 90 minutes southbound - or less. Or more. So for safety's sake I'd allocate 4 hours northbound and 5 southbound, and be pleasantly surprised if it's less.

[martincath]

In addition to GLs info above, I'll add that if you have two drivers then splitting into two separate rental cars will probably end up costing less than the minivan. Perhaps not enough cheaper to be worth the extra gas, parking fees at your overnight hotel in Vancouver, but if you genuinely can't find a minivan for less than $350 I think you'll save cash with two cars.

 

If you're a member of a certain big box warehouse store, car rental rates can be very reasonable through them... failing that, kayak does a good job of comparing all the major players and some smaller local ones all at once so you don't have to repeat your search over and over at each rental company website.

[Sequim88]

Also, rental rates are much higher at the Seattle airport than outlaying locations. That fancy car rental building has to be paid by someone. :rolleyes: Not sure if that would impact returning car to the airport, half airport fee? Might be worth comparing return alternatives too.

 

Assuming early morning docking the drive north should have relatively light traffic but if on a Saturday there could be delays at the border.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Where can i rent a car in Seattle when i get back from my Cruise on 8/14/16? Planning to drive to Vancouver and will be back on the next day to catch a flight from Seattle at night. Has anyone done this? If yes suggestions/advise will be appreciated.

 

Also the prices that i am getting are $350 for the 2 day rental? Isn't this kinda high? Where to rent from if there is a cheaper alternative?? We are 6 people so looking for a mini van.

 

Drive time going and coming? Is there a long wait at the border?

 

I need to book the car between today and tomorrow so i am looking for quick feedback.

 

Thank you All

I've rented two times from Alamo when I was driving one way from Seattle to Vancouver with a drop-off at Canada Place the same day. The first time was about a year ago and the cost was less than $50. The 2nd time is for the same route and time period but in about a month and the charge this time is just over $70. I don't remember the breakdown the first time but this time it's $49.50 for the car and the other $21 is for all the various fees, taxes, etc. but that's still pretty cheap. Both times I picked up at the airport and dropped off at Canada place. The other time I tried it I waited too late to reserve one and nothing was available for a one-way so I ended up having to take a bus. I don't know if specifying picking up at the pier (actually the downtown location) would have been cheaper or not as that was not a capability on the 2 occasions, but you might want to check. I paid in advance (saved a couple of bucks) and it made picking it up at the airport really simple: show up at the facility, pick a car, walk to it, get in and drive off. stop at the gate and show my drivers license/credit card (don't remember which) and leave. Less than 5 minutes from arrival to exiting the garage.

 

Hope this info helps.

 

Tom