Crossing the border from Washington state

[dosi]

We will be driving from Seattle to Vancouver on a Friday in May. We will probably leave SEA TAC at about 11 am. Should I be concerned about long waits at the border? I ask because I have seen a lot of references to border cameras and websites that show wait times?

 

I guess what I want to know is how long will it REALLY take us to get from SEA to Vancouver on a Friday afternoon? Should I pack a lunch and dinner ?:D

[CanadianMAG]

It depends on the Friday in May you are talking about. We have a long weekend on the 20th of May, so I'd expect a wait at the border. I believe the weekend after that is the American long weekend, so YES there will be waits. I dont think it will be more then 45min - 1 hour. (just after sept 11, borders were at a all time wait, and it was 1.5 hours)

 

I have been going to the USA every weekend for the past 4 years Fiance is there. The wait isnt that long. About 5-10 min south on saturdays, and Monday nights (coming back to Canada) about 10 minutes. I used to travel Friday nights and it was ok, you really shouldnt have more then 15 minutes.

 

There are two crossings I normally take the truck stop.

1) Peace Arch - Like ups are slightly longer maybe 5-10 minutes

2) Truck Stop. usually shorter but you have to take an exit on the I-5 Just before the border.

 

Travelling from Downtown Seattle to the Border should take you 1 hour 45 minutes, but you will get a lot of traffic in the downtown area, but I think there is a "express lane" that you can take to bypass the downtown traffic.

 

From the border to Downtown Vancouver should take you another 45 minutes, again depending of traffic, if you leave 11:00 then you should miss a lot of it.

 

OOPS.. and from SEATAC to Seattle I THINK is about 15-20minutes. I dont normally go that far south though.

[dosi]

Thanks for the info. I am hoping that if we leave SEATAC by 11 am we will be in Vancouver no later than 4 pm. I will just have the family concentrate on not looking suspicious once we get to the border inspectors :D !!

[CanadianMAG]

I hate the border people. I am scared EVERY time I go pass them, and I have NOTHING to hide!! :D (oh so they think! lol)

 

YES you will be there before that time. Where are you staying while in town?

[grouchy]

to do it in about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The boarder folks are not bad=just be honest. We have a place across the border and do it every weekend and have only been hassled once-by a US guard.

[dosi]

Well as long as the guards don't watch America's Most Wanted I think we should be okay :D :D !!!

 

We are staying at the Hyatt downtown. Already have my Priceline room set there. I am really happy with this hotel because it is in walking distance to everyplace we want to go so we won't have to fiddle with cabs or car rentals or parking once we arrive. And we return the car to the Pan Pacific so our hotel is in an excellant location for that too. Thanks for all the help. :)

[CanadianMAG]

If you are staying at the Hyat, keep in mind people CAN see in your room from putside ! I worked in the BMO tower on the 21st floor and have seen MANY MANY interesting things in those rooms! From the ground level if you look up it loooks like you can see OUT and people CAN see in :eek:

 

 

You will have a great time there!

[mpw2002]

Here's a link to Canadian Border information which can be handy in figuring out the estimated wait times and which crossing to take. The BC crossings are at the bottom of the list. There are also some other links on this site which you might find useful. Washington State DOT is one of the links and it has webcams. The main BC-WA crossing is Douglas (aka Peace Arch), the 'truck' crossing is Pacific.

 

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/general/times/menu-e.html

[dosi]

Typically which crossing is less congested??? I love the links to the border cams but will not have access to a computer once I leave my home and fly to Seattle. Perhaps there are advisory signs as we near the border that will direct us to the shortest line??? Thanks and happy New Year to all my helpful Canadian friends here!!! :)

[CanadianMAG]

Radio station 1130AM out of Vancouver gives you traffic every 5 minutes, and I know you will be able to listen to this station up to 15min away from the border. (never tried before that before)

 

I don't think they give you wait times on the overpass things (in the USA), I think they just say the hours of the Nexus Lane. However going south from Canada to the USA there is a sign that tells you the wait time.