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Return from Vancouver or Seattle Questions. Help!


ValerieJo
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We are doing the Southbound Radiance next June. Our cruise ends in Vancouver. Can't decide if we should spend the night in Vancouver and fly home from there or take the train to Seattle for a night and fly home from there.

 

What are some of the pros and cons of spending the night in Vancouver and flying from there?

 

What are some of the pros and cons of taking the train to Seattle, spending the night there and flying home from Seattle?

 

I have no idea which would be better or why.

 

Any help with this would be great.

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Look over on the West Coast Departures board for lots more info. That is where both cities are covered.

 

I guess you want us to tell you where to stay? Both cities are pretty, interesting and scenic. But personally, I would avoid the hassle of getting to Seattle, and just fly out of Vancouver.

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Amtrak has 2 trains to Seattle a day in June. One really early about 6:30 am and the other about 5:00 pm. The other times they use a bus.

 

I would look at each city, on Trip Advisor and see what interests you. You may find more flights from Seattle. Seattle has a lot to see.

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Plan 1

Pro - time in Vancouver! Your $ goes further, we're prettier, our traffic sucks less, better Chinese food, more walkable, much more bikeable, politer people

 

Con - flights are usually pricier, though sometimes not by enough to outweigh cost of getting to SEA even if you value your own time at $0 per hour.

 

Plan 2

Pro - likely save $ on flights. May get more nonstop options from SEA than YVR. The train ride between them is nice.

 

Con - you miss out on Vancouver.

 

TL;DR - notice what removing the A from Seattle turns it into... Why settle? Go for the best, you're on vaycay!

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I prefer Vancouver over Seattle, but I think the flight home will be your determining factor. Look at the price and departure times for each airport and see which one works best for you.

As stated above, you won't make the morning train, so the only option is the late afternoon train.

Unless the flights out of SEA are significantly cheaper, it makes more sense to stay in Vancouver. Disembark and enjoy the day, overnight, then fly home.

If SEA flights are cheaper, you could check your luggage at the pier, sightsee for the day, then take the late afternoon train to Seattle. From the train depot, take a cab to an airport hotel ($45) , overnight, then fly home.

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Hi there,

I don't know what your interests are, but I'll tell you what we did a few weeks ago, just for some insight and someone's personal experience. We had never been to Seattle or Vancouver, and I wanted to see both, but did a lot of research and got to see both! And do some things in both.

 

We flew into Seattle because they had a non-stop flight from our home city that left at a reasonable hour (855am) and was a reasonable price. We got into Seattle about 1030 am, and took a shuttle to the Amtrak station to dump our luggage. The evening train leaves Seattle to Vancouver about 650pm.

We spent the remaining time walking in Seattle, going to the Skyview Observatory in Columbia Tower, and to Pike Place Market to have dinner before getting on the train.

 

We enjoyed the train trip North. I assume the South trip would be pleasant as well. We are train lovers though, so it may be something you might not enjoy.

 

We decided to spend a few days in Vancouver after our cruise, and fly out of Vancouver. Just based on all the things I wanted to do in Vancouver, I thought we could use that time wiser in Vancouver, even though we really didn't in the end.

 

The flight out of Vancouver was a one stop flight, with a quick change of planes at LAX (which was a horrible end to our trip, but I won't get into that here unless someone is interested). We got through customs, immigration, etc. just fine very quickly. So although they recommend being there at least 2 hours early, we were there 4 hours early, but couldn't even check in until 3 hours early. So a lot of wasted time in the airport. Depending on where you stay, you'll be able to do some things after you get off the ship and the morning you leave.

 

What I found is that it was cheaper in Vancouver, obviously because of the value of the Canadian dollar. It was really a neat stop - with lots of neat things to do. There were a LOT of homeless in Seattle, and while we were only bothered by one person, it was a little disconcerting walking in some areas. We found the folks in Vancouver to be much nicer, friendlier, and a lot less homeless, but again, it could have been where we went. We were able to get a room at the YWCA Hotel in Vancouver, which was pretty decent, for a great rate. I did not see any hotels in Seattle that were similar.

 

We truly enjoyed our time in Vancouver, and would love to go back. I felt safe ALL the time there, and found it pretty easy to get around - not as hilly as Seattle.

 

Good luck on whatever you choose! The westcoast boards and Vancouver boards are great. There are a lot of friendly, helpful people who will give you a huge amount of suggestions, and great information.

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We are doing the Southbound Radiance next June. Our cruise ends in Vancouver. Can't decide if we should spend the night in Vancouver and fly home from there or take the train to Seattle for a night and fly home from there.

 

What are some of the pros and cons of spending the night in Vancouver and flying from there?

 

What are some of the pros and cons of taking the train to Seattle, spending the night there and flying home from Seattle?

 

I have no idea which would be better or why.

 

Any help with this would be great.

 

Since you are only talking about using your disembarkation city as a place to "spend the night", this is really only about travel and convenience for you. It's often much cheaper to fly from Seattle and you can get direct flights from Seattle to many cities. That's the case for us from Boston although we opted for Vancouver anyway on our northbound for other reasons and are staying two nights and making it part of our vacation. If our trip were only about a flight home, we would have considered a Seattle option. You should price it out and weigh price against logistics.

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If you have the time and budget, I recommend staying at least 2 nights in Vancouver. We stayed 2 nights prior to our Northbound cruise in May

 

 

Post cruise, timing is key. If the cruise ends on a Friday or Saturday, you'd be killing another work week if you returned home on a Tuesday. Also, after a grueling pre-cruise (Denali) and Alaska itinerary, some may just want to get home. As far as budget goes, if you have one, it might be advisable to invest your vacation dollars in Alaska. I don't know how OP feels, but that would be my strategy on a southbound. We are northbound and embark out of Vancouver on a Friday, so for us, a couple of days in Vancouver makes sense and that's what we're doing. Our post cruise is Seward in making the most of a couple of days and a weekend. Three days in Denali, with one almost entire devoted to driving, was something we decided against. These Alaska vacations are tough to plan.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My friend and I did a round trip from Vancouver. We flew in and enjoyed Vancouver the day before the cruise. Then when we got back we took the bus and had a comfortable ride to Seattle and stayed the night downtown Seattle and took a 7pm flight out to go home the next day. That way we had a chance to see the sights downtown Seattle before the flight.

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You need to figure this out. :) Are you just "leaving" ? Is airfare costs involved? Time an issue? Touring interests?

 

There are way too many variables and there isn't an "answer". Both of these options could be the perfect choice. Only "cons" would pertain to you, factoring the questions above.

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I'll confuse the issue further by suggesting you could rent a car in Vancouver and drive to Seattle airport using a scenic route, such as one that includes Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, like this: https://goo.gl/maps/g6JNZqHidav

 

You'd visit Steveston, Vancouver's fishing port and shooting location for the "Once Upon a Time" TV series, then cross the border and head to Fairhaven, the historic quarter of Bellingham WA. You'd then proceed south along scenic WA 11, "Chuckanut Drive," and make your way to Deception Pass, the scenic gap between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands.

 

083b.jpg

 

You'd then drive down Whidbey, maybe stopping at Fort Casey State Park for its lighthouse, cool coastal defense gun batteries and views of the Olympic Mountains, then visit Langley, a very picturesque waterfront village full of galleries and fun shops.

 

You'd then take the short ferry trip across Puget Sound to Mukilteo, another cute little waterfront town with a pretty lighthouse, then drive past the Boeing Everett factory, the biggest building in the world, to the I-5 freeway into Seattle and down to the airport. You could have dinner in Seattle and turn the car in late that night at the airport for a stay at an airport hotel; hotels IN Seattle proper are priced like London or New York during cruise season.

 

Most flights to the east depart in the early morning (due to time change considerations) so staying near the airport (either YVR or SEA) is important if you don't want to be hassled on the departure morning.

Edited by Gardyloo
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I'll confuse the issue further by suggesting you could rent a car in Vancouver and drive to Seattle airport using a scenic route, such as one that includes Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, like this: https://goo.gl/maps/g6JNZqHidav

 

You'd visit Steveston, Vancouver's fishing port and shooting location for the "Once Upon a Time" TV series, then cross the border and head to Fairhaven, the historic quarter of Bellingham WA. You'd then proceed south along scenic WA 11, "Chuckanut Drive," and make your way to Deception Pass, the scenic gap between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands.

 

083b.jpg

 

You'd then drive down Whidbey, maybe stopping at Fort Casey State Park for its lighthouse, cool coastal defense gun batteries and views of the Olympic Mountains, then visit Langley, a very picturesque waterfront village full of galleries and fun shops.

 

You'd then take the short ferry trip across Puget Sound to Mukilteo, another cute little waterfront town with a pretty lighthouse, then drive past the Boeing Everett factory, the biggest building in the world, to the I-5 freeway into Seattle and down to the airport. You could have dinner in Seattle and turn the car in late that night at the airport for a stay at an airport hotel; hotels IN Seattle proper are priced like London or New York during cruise season.

 

Most flights to the east depart in the early morning (due to time change considerations) so staying near the airport (either YVR or SEA) is important if you don't want to be hassled on the departure morning.

We just did this in September. We are so glad we did. We went to Deception pass State Park and then headed to I-5 instead of taking the ferry. But the rest of it was amazing. Bellingham was great. Lots of cool shops and great restaurant. And a beautiful view. We really enjoyed the drive. We got to see both Washington and Canadian farm land as well. Very beautiful bonus.

 

OP, where are you flying home to?

Originally we were flying from Vancouver, which was not too much more expensive but some of the flight plans took 3 stops and total of 17 hours.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

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I will say that it appeared that downtown Vancouver did not seem like very far of a drive to the airport whereas Seattle Airport isn't even in Seattle. It's not a bad drive but it's not 15 minutes. And there's nothing to do around the airport if you choose to stay the night there. So you might have to figure out something to do with your luggage to visit the city and then stay at an airport in SeaTac. I love Seattle, it's my favorite city. So that's the only negative thing I can say about the situation.

 

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I will say that it appeared that downtown Vancouver did not seem like very far of a drive to the airport whereas Seattle Airport isn't even in Seattle. It's not a bad drive but it's not 15 minutes. And there's nothing to do around the airport if you choose to stay the night there. So you might have to figure out something to do with your luggage to visit the city and then stay at an airport in SeaTac. I love Seattle, it's my favorite city. So that's the only negative thing I can say about the situation.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

 

You need to allow at least 45 minutes, Canada Place to YVR. It isn't close either. quickest is probably the Skytrain. It's all stop and go through the city.

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^Much as I like to tout my home town over Seattle, we're actually not that much different re: airport location. Just like them it's in a different city (Richmond), and while it's physically closer (~9 miles to the pier) we have no highways at all in Vancouver so drive time, while less variable than to Seatac, is most definitely more than 20mins unless it's in the wee small hours with zero other traffic. Even cabbies, thoroughly familiar with common speed-trap/camera locations, take 30min+ daytime - usually closer to 40 when they're going with weekday commuter traffic (inbound from YVR to the pier).

 

I do agree that there are more areas that feel safely walkable from airport hotels to restos etc. in Richmond than Seatac - but to be fair, that's a generally-Canadian thing since we have way less crimes against persons than south of the border, which makes folks more inclined to walk about!

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^Much as I like to tout my home town over Seattle, we're actually not that much different re: airport location. Just like them it's in a different city (Richmond), and while it's physically closer (~9 miles to the pier) we have no highways at all in Vancouver so drive time, while less variable than to Seatac, is most definitely more than 20mins unless it's in the wee small hours with zero other traffic. Even cabbies, thoroughly familiar with common speed-trap/camera locations, take 30min+ daytime - usually closer to 40 when they're going with weekday commuter traffic (inbound from YVR to the pier).

 

I do agree that there are more areas that feel safely walkable from airport hotels to restos etc. in Richmond than Seatac - but to be fair, that's a generally-Canadian thing since we have way less crimes against persons than south of the border, which makes folks more inclined to walk about!

Well we did it on September 23rd of this year. And a drive through the city on a Saturday morning was definitely much less of a commute then being on the freeway and going through downtown Seattle to get to Seatac. But okay.

 

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