Vancouver to Seattle - traveling in between

[Mikey & Laura]

For those of you that are traveling on the STAR that leaves in Seattle and returns to Vancouver- you may be wondering what are your options to travel back to seattle to catch you flight or sight see. Well I was thinking the same- so here is what I found to save you all some time. I hope it is helpful.
We have flights direct to seattle and then out of vancouver so getting back and forth will be easy--- but originally we were taking a round trip flight to seattle - so I did all the research on getting between vancouver and seattle. Here is what I found --

CAR - If you are going to be spending some time around seattle then the best way might be to rent a car-, the drive is about 3 hrs plus the chance of a wait at the border, knowing that they've increased security lately, the chances of a wait are probable depending on when you plan on traveling, weekends being the worst. The I5 freeway is the fastest, most direct way to get between the cities... takes about 2 hours to drive from Seattle to the US-Canada border, then it's another hour before Vancouver.

Train - The next best scenic route. The Amtrak Cascade train route stays right by the water for most of the trip and seem to be highly recommended as well as cost efficient (I just checked prices for a couple different days and found the range between $24 and $31). www . amtrakcascades . com

Bus - If you take Quick Shuttle, the bus bypasses the wait line at the border,, but everyone in the bus has to get out to show their proof of citizenship (ie: passport, birth certificate, etc) which takes, maybe, half an hour.
www. quickshuttle . com

Cruise- there is a boat but i dont remember all the detail - except that it is $99.00 - I just thought that after a week on a ship it would be nice to travel another way.

NCL Cruise - I also called NCL and they were offering a bus that goes back to seattle for $50 per person, but I dont know if it runs all week or just the day we get back.

Good Luck