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Vancouver to Portland, Oregon, on a Sunday June4th


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Give me a timeline of how long it will take and how long will it take to hit the border and get through it on a Sunday. We will be leaving the Vancouver Cruiseport between 8:30am and 9am

 

Do we need anything else besides passports? Can we use American Money for the tolls?

 

 

Jimbo:)

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Give me a timeline of how long it will take and how long will it take to hit the border and get through it on a Sunday. We will be leaving the Vancouver Cruiseport between 8:30am and 9am

Depending on what is going on and which weeked . It normally should take an hour to reach the border.

At the border it could take an hour or more unless you have global Entry., still possibly an hour wait.

Then Seattle is about 2 hours and another 3 hours to PORTLAND. . This assuming that you are driving not taking the bus , train or plane.

Do we need anything else besides passports? Can we use American Money for the tolls?

 

Jimbo:)

 

First we don't have tolls on our highways.

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I hit a toll bridge (the Port Mann) every time I drive between PDX and North Vancouver as I prefer to skirt town by taking Hwy 1. I pay my tolls online once home.

 

That route is completely optional and you can avoid the toll if desired.

 

I do the trip pretty regularly and the biggest factor is Seattle traffic. Second is the border wait, which can be long on holiday weekends. Generally speaking i have made the trip in about 6 hours but have had some bad days where it's taken more than seven, and one grueling trip involving a long border wait and a Seattle-area shooter that caused the entire freeway to be closed for two hours - a hellish 9+ hour trip. I prefer the truck crossing (Surrey/Blaine) to Peace Arch because the waits are usually shorter, particularly southbound.

 

You can check this site for Peace Arch average waits by day/time:

 

http://traffic.calit2.net/border/border-wait-times.php?type=passenger&sub=standard&port=300402

 

and Pacific Hwy (truck crossing):

 

http://traffic.calit2.net/border/border-wait-times.php?type=passenger&sub=standard&port=300401

 

Pack your patience and hope for the Seattle express lanes to be going in your direction. On weekends they run southbound until 1:30 pm so the odds are in your favor. They can really speed your trip along.

 

Happy travels!

 

 

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While usually we're coming back up on a Sunday rather than heading down, at the time you're looking at Jimbo it should be relatively smooth regardless. To the border, without weekday traffic, should be ~45mins. I'd take Georgia to Main/Kingsway/Knight (signposted 1A/99A) rather than Granville (99) through the city, as while it's on paper ~3mins slower on average the amount of cruise traffic heading to the airport from the pier will cause much heavier traffic on the latter route. When you reach 91, either West or East should be a wash - 99 Tunnel doesn't flipflop on normal weekends so always two lanes each way.

 

Unless the highway signs indicate you can save over 10mins on the truck crossing, don't bother - just stick to 99/I5 and enjoy the views of the water as you wait at the border. It's lower speed limits and further to drive, so only worth changing if there's enough time saved at border processing. On average there's rarely more than a minute saving, as the links given above show quite clearly, so driving 10mins out of your way to save 1min is an exercise in futility.

 

Seattle, unless there's a baseball game on, you should also be fine - do use the Express Lanes, which you should definitely get as you roll into north Seattle by noonish. Pro Tip - leave it as late as is safe to get out of the HOV lane when you're in the tunnel at the end (there's only 1 lane for 'I5 Through Traffic'), most folks merge over waaaaaaaaay too early and cause delays with literally several hundred yards of empty lane just sitting unused on their left. Worst case, you can't merge in safely and end up spat onto surface streets, just hang a left, drive a block, and merge back onto the highway. GPS will lose signal on the Express, but it comes back fast when you reemerge.

 

HOV lane runs into Tacoma - watch out at the bottom of the big hill before Seatac, as HOV splits into I405 Northbound and I5 Southbound - we find our GPS tries to keep us out of the HOV lane here even when we activate Use HOV mode. After you run out of HOV if traffic is heavy head to the rightmost lane (which is signed as ending soon so most folks get out of it, but it actually stays well past the indicated junction) and generally through JBLM offers several other chunks of underused right side lane. Olympia/Lacey, stay out in the two left lanes as signed for through traffic - even on weekends there are tons of locals who come on and off again a junction or two later so the right lanes do drag.

 

I'd assume I205 is superior for going to the airport from the north - since we are always heading to the Pearl, we stick to I5 and I can't help with any sneaky info on I205 southbound through Other-Vancouver. We have the process so down-pat that we can pretty much hit Google's theoretical 5hrs 9mins door-to-door; including the border and a stop for gas we regularly take 5:15-5:30 (NEXUS means border wait averages <5mins for us). We would normally be on the road ~90mins before you - ensures we pass through Seattle before any baseball games start and have a chance to get the Express lanes available on weekdays - but on a Sunday I don't think you'll be too troubled with traffic.

 

Check WSDOT's site on your phone if you can - very useful for flagging any issues, scheduled or otherwise.

 

Passports are fine, and if you did decide to take Highway 1 and pay the Port Mann toll it can't be done in cash at all - and in a rental I'd recommend avoiding it for the hassle of paying the toll (if you don't set up an online payment, you'll be hit with an admin fee by the rental car company as well as the ~US$4 toll/license-plate recognition fee). Save our money for lunch on the road - Dave's Burgers & Brews in Seatac (the town, not the airport) is a nice spot for good diner fare not too far off the highway and usually at a decent time to be wanting lunch).

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Thoughts....

  • In addition to WSDOT... I use Google Maps to assess congestion.
  • Sunday is a great time to go to avoid the Seattle commuter traffic
  • As the Loonie continues to fall there should less southbound border traffic on Sunday mornings. Otherwise the border is usually quiet between 2 to 4pm.
  • Downtown Vancouver to Seattle is typically done by Hwy 99 (skipping the Port Mann bridge tolls). Hwy 99 also means you don't need to pay the toll rental surcharge.

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Okay, sounds as confusing as heck................

okay please someone reroute me the best way to go since, there IS a Seattle Mariners Baseball gane at Safeco Field that starts at 1:10pm.

 

Jimbo:)

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Thoughts....

  • In addition to WSDOT... I use Google Maps to assess congestion.
  • Sunday is a great time to go to avoid the Seattle commuter traffic
  • As the Loonie continues to fall there should less southbound border traffic on Sunday mornings. Otherwise the border is usually quiet between 2 to 4pm.
  • Downtown Vancouver to Seattle is typically done by Hwy 99 (skipping the Port Mann bridge tolls). Hwy 99 also means you don't need to pay the toll rental surcharge.

 

So you are saying take HWY 99 out of Canada Place then it switched over to Hwy 5 first and then jump over to Hwy 99 South all the way down? What exit on 5 takes me over to 99, looks like somewhere just after Everett you hook up with 99 right? Then proceed 99 to 599 and then jump back on HWY 5

 

 

Jimbo:)

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for the Canadian segment.... Use Hwy 99. It becomes interstate 5 once you cross into the USA.

 

There was some comments to use Hwy 1 in the Canadian segment that has a toll (plus rental surcharge) to get to the border crossing.

 

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If you click on this link.... you can see how Hwy 99 transitions to Interstate 5 when you switch countries...

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Cruise+Ship+Terminal,+Canada+Place,+Vancouver,+BC/Portland+Airport+(PDX),+Portland,+OR,+United+States/@49.2030505,-123.1085908,10.7z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54867182d1b1ee03:0x586bef2fc335e218!2m2!1d-123.1130521!2d49.2879402!1m5!1m1!1s0x5495a42fb4b1fbd3:0xaaa3faa3b1e00fed!2m2!1d-122.593117!2d45.588654!3e0

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Looking at that map that was posted . On a Sunday I would stay on Hwy 99 to the US Border . There is rarely any congestion in the Deas Island tunnel on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

The toll bridge mentioned doesn't have toll gates. It's an automatic system that reads your plate and then bills your vehicle license.

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So because of the game on Sunday in Seattle, looks pretty much like it's 99 in Canada and then 5 the rest of the way or am I missing something? Actually our first stop will be in St. Helens and then overnighting a couple nights near the PDX airport.

 

Jimbo:)

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To clarify.... are you just visiting the Castle Rock visitor center? It's 8 minutes from the highway.

 

Or do you plan to travel to the Johnston Ridge Observatory that can add a few hours to the trip? https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/giffordpinchot/recarea/?recid=31562

 

As it's a long drive from Vancouver, pay attention to the visitor center closing times. Especially when you factor in border delays, traffic delays, and meal breaks.

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To clarify.... are you just visiting the Castle Rock visitor center? It's 8 minutes from the highway.

 

Or do you plan to travel to the Johnston Ridge Observatory that can add a few hours to the trip? https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/giffordpinchot/recarea/?recid=31562

 

As it's a long drive from Vancouver, pay attention to the visitor center closing times. Especially when you factor in border delays, traffic delays, and meal breaks.

 

Actually it's Saint Helens, Oregon we are heading for first. (Wife is a Twilight Buff)

 

 

Jimbo:)

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Okay, sounds as confusing as heck................

okay please someone reroute me the best way to go since, there IS a Seattle Mariners Baseball gane at Safeco Field that starts at 1:10pm.

 

Jimbo:)

This is actually a really simple reroute Jimbo - take I405 instead of I5 through Seattle to avoid being near Safeco in the noonish 'lots of fans driving in' timeslot.

 

Another alternative is to stop for lunch before instead of after Seattle; that way when you drive through the area it'll be after 1pm and everyone will already be parked and inside the stadium.

 

And while I may never understand why people like Twlight, I can tell you that there are more sites around the Vancouver area that filming happened than in Oregon, so if that's the sole purpose of the Saint Helens stopoff you may be better hanging around BC for at least a day instead!

 

That would mean driving down on Monday, but with more control about when (i.e. earlier start). We just drove down yesterday, on the busiest Southbound day at the border (Friday) and sailed through Seattle on the express lanes. If we hadn't spent too long in Target we might have set a new personal best drive time, but we hit the beginning of the PDX rushhour and wasted an extra ten minutes.

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So you are saying take I405 around Mercer Island to avoid the baseball park area and then continue on I405 south until it runs into I5 again.

 

 

So it's 99 turns into 5 at the border.........then continue on 5.. until you see signs for 405 and then look fo signs again to go back on 5? then on 5 get off at Exit 36 onto 432.....then left on 433 to 30 ... which goes.right into Saint Helens.

 

We are spending more time in this area and Portland because this is where the first Twilight movie was filmed. Not the other movies like you said that were shot more in the Vancouver area.

 

 

Jimbo:)

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To keep it simple - unless it's already after 12:30pm when you get to the first chance to join I405, take I405 and stay on it until it runs out (at which point you'll rejoin I5). If it is after 12:30pm, just stick to I5. That should ensure you avoid the baseball crowd by a decent margin, with minimal chance of running astray.

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If your wife is a Twilight lover you should also consider a quick stop in Kalama - exit 30 off I-5 and an easy drive up the hill to the high school where the exteriors of the Forks high school shots were done. Should be no more than 20 minutes out of your way (add more time for photos and gawking.) There is also a highly-rated Chinese restaurant in Kalama that is dirt-cheap compared to most Portland offerings so if you're around there at a mealtime it might be worth a stop. We've taken out-of-town friends on "Twilight Tours" and while we have never seen the films the buffs go berserk over the school and its parking lot for some reason.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Worked perfect guys....took only 10 minutes at the border crossing. Took 99 to I5...then took I405. Joined back up with I5 at 11:30am...saw a huge back up on I5 going northbound into Seattle....I imagine it was probably the same way going Southbound into Seattle...sure glad we didn't try going through the center of city with a baseball game scheduled like there was.

 

Oh yeah we also stopped at the high school in Kalama

 

 

 

Jimbo:)

 

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Thanks for letting us know Jimbo, and glad the info was useful. Enjoy your time in our second home now the missus has scored her Twihard fix;-)

 

Don't miss Blue Star donuts (vastly superior product to the tourist-hot-spot Voodoo), and Happy Hour in the Portland City Grill provides stellar views and decent grub at a very good pricepoint; get there early for a window seat. Bailey's Taproom, just a couple of blocks away, offers a very broad range of draft OR beers - no food, they're a straight-up Brit style old school pub with counter service, but they bus plates back to Santeria (Mexican) across the street.

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