Seatle to Vancouver Help Please!

[ASASJ5]

We are cruising from Vancouver to Seward on 7/5 and are in the process of booking airfare from NYC. It is now about $520 cheaper for our family of 5 to fly into Seattle rather than Vancouver. Plus the cheapest flights to Vancouver are on crappy airlines like United. We had hoped to fly on 7/3 and then take in the sights of Seattle and Vancouver. I know we can catch the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver at 6:50pm for $50 per person but I have a couple of issues with this: 1) I can't find any flights for a good price that get into Sea prior to 2:25pm - this would not leave us much time to sightsee around town 2) How can we sightsee with luggage?

 

Then I thought we could rent a car - already checked the prices and it will be $434 for a one way rental of a mini-van for 2 days. This would give us more time in Seattle but would end up costing the same thing as flying into Vancouver directly, albeit on the undesirable airline.

 

So will we use the car at all in Vancouver for the one day? It seems like the public transit is excellent and we won't need it. And is it worth all the hassle to try and spend time in both cities? We have never been to this part of the country so we wanted to do as much as possible.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Susan

[martincath]

A car *in* Vancouver is more of a hassle than a help frankly. If you'd been here before and wanted to do some out-of-town-stuff then keeping the car an extra day might be helpful, but for a first-time visit I'd say NO to the car.

 

If there's any way you can get the Tuesday off work too I'd fly in earlier and use the saved $ from flights to pay for an extra hotel night in Seattle, thus relieving the pressure of flight & train time shaving to coincide and giving you more time & flexibility to see both cities - but honestly if you can only get here mid-afternoon Wed with a Friday cruise departure I'd recommend picking just one of the cities to spend time in... obviously Vancouver over Seattle, but then I'm biased;-)

 

Have you considered bus rather than train from SEA to VAN? Far more departure time options, and lower price. I do prefer the train, but the seats on the newer buses (e.g. Bolt) are honestly as comfy as the regular-class seats on the new trainsets, free wifi, and while you have to be really lucky to get the $1 seats it's very easy to pay less than $20 per person to get from Seattle to Vancouver.

[LetsGoDutch]

Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR.

 

Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though.

[aohkay]

... obviously Vancouver over Seattle, but then I'm biased;-)quote]

 

I agree! :p

 

Seattle is very charming, but is quite similar to Vancouver in way of scenery (water, mountains). However, I wouldn't try to do both cities on your timeline - just do Vancouver!

[SpokaneDan]

Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR.

 

Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though.

 

And far from the crappy United, Cathay was ranked number one by a world travel magazine recently, but you may need to sell one your kidney to get on it.;)

[SpokaneDan]

Being familiar with both beautiful cities, I also vote Vancouver.

 

Check "Quick Shuttle" website, it provides Sea-Tac to Vancouver downtown at $57pp. It also make one stop at downton Seattle.

 

Have you checked flights to Bellingham, WA (Alaska airline)? It's 150 miles closer to Vancouver than SeaTac. Sometimes the airfare's the same.

 

GL

[ASASJ5]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I am leaning towards skipping Seattle now! I actually found 5 one way tickets thru Celebrity Choice Air on Cathay Pacific non-stop from JFK to VAN for $314 each. Great deal until I looked at the flight time of 10 pm. Do I really want to arrive at 4 am EDT? I am mulling it over.....

[scottbee]

Cathay Pacific flies directly from JFK to YVR.

 

Also, Delta is supposed to have the same thing, not sure which airport they're using though.

 

last I checked, your only options for the NY region to Vancouver were (nonstop)

UA/United: EWR-YVR

AC/Air Canada: EWR-YVR

CX/Cathay Pacific: JFK-YVR

DL/Delta: JFK-YVR

 

The CX flight is part of a JFK-YVR-HKG routing on which CX have 5th freedom rights on the YVR-JFK segment. Sometimes it can inexpensive, other times quite expensive. The DL flight doesn't start until June.

[E2ME2]

We are cruising from Vancouver to Seward on 7/5 and are in the process of booking airfare from NYC. It is now about $520 cheaper for our family of 5 to fly into Seattle rather than Vancouver. Plus the cheapest flights to Vancouver are on crappy airlines like United. We had hoped to fly on 7/3 and then take in the sights of Seattle and Vancouver. I know we can catch the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver at 6:50pm for $50 per person but I have a couple of issues with this: 1) I can't find any flights for a good price that get into Sea prior to 2:25pm - this would not leave us much time to sightsee around town 2) How can we sightsee with luggage?

 

Then I thought we could rent a car - already checked the prices and it will be $434 for a one way rental of a mini-van for 2 days. This would give us more time in Seattle but would end up costing the same thing as flying into Vancouver directly, albeit on the undesirable airline.

 

So will we use the car at all in Vancouver for the one day? It seems like the public transit is excellent and we won't need it. And is it worth all the hassle to try and spend time in both cities? We have never been to this part of the country so we wanted to do as much as possible.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Susan

 

Been to Vancouver, via Seattle a few times, and our preferred route is via the Victoria Clipper - we usually take the Clipper to Victoria, then stay a night in Victoria, and take the BC Ferry to Vancouver the next day. But you can do it straight through in one day if you'd like. We did that once when our flight into Seattle was delayed, and we missed the last sailing of the Clipper. Victoria is about as Pretty as Vancouver, just a lot smaller. We never rented a car, on any of our visits there.

 

The Clipper is relatively inexpensive, and the views are amazing. They have decent food service on the Clipper & the BC Ferry. We usually book our tickets through "Clipper Vacations", and they can put a package together with hotels, as well.....

 

Good Luck.

[E2ME2]

Susan -

We have also done the Amtrak, through the cascades, between Vancouver & Seattle. That was a little more expensive, but it was very comfortable, and the food was good.

[YoHoHo]

Be careful when looking at Amtrack. Of the several trips offered per day most of them are bus and only a couple are actually a train. Look carefully and there might be a little icon. The description is Thru-way or similar and does not sound like it is a bus. There would likely be more trains but there is a problem of paying for the additional border staff.

[E2ME2]

Be careful when looking at Amtrack. Of the several trips offered per day most of them are bus and only a couple are actually a train. Look carefully and there might be a little icon. The description is Thru-way or similar and does not sound like it is a bus. There would likely be more trains but there is a problem of paying for the additional border staff.

 

Good Point, YOHOHO -

The trip through the Cascades is exclusively by train.

But Seattle to Vancouver by bus would be a lengthy bus ride.:eek:

[mbleackl]

Good Point, YOHOHO -

The trip through the Cascades is exclusively by train.

But Seattle to Vancouver by bus would be a lengthy bus ride.:eek:

 

We've done that bus trip a few times usually when Amtrak got into Seattle late in the day. It's pretty boring.

[E2ME2]

We've done that bus trip a few times usually when Amtrak got into Seattle late in the day. It's pretty boring.

 

OK - We're following each other from thread-to-thread:D

 

Looks like we have a lot of cruise experiences in common.

I look forward to sailing with you on the DREAM in January:)

[ASASJ5]

Thanks to all for your ideas! I bit the bullet and booked the Cathay Pacific for $314 pp for one way from JFK to YVR. So we will arrive at 1am, get some rest and begin adventuring! Just need to add one hotel night to our reservation - still can't decide between Delta Suites and Sunset Inn - decisions, decisions!

[Urban trekker]

If the pricing is similar take the Delta suites - it was built as a suite hotel - the Sunset Inn is a converted apartment building - the Delta is close to the pier - walkable - the Sunset is at the other end of the downtown and would be a $10 - $15 taxi fare to the pier.

 

The only thing in the Sunset's favorite is it is better served with eating options including an all night Denny's around the corner BUT is will also be noisier because of the bars on Davie street and their 3 AM closing.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis