Van to Sea

[spintowin]

Are there car rentals at the cruise port in Vancouver or do we need to go to the airport to pick up a car. We will be driving to sea tac. Plus, about how long will it take on Fri, May 31. Thanks!

[xltiny]

There is an Alamo and a Hertz (Probably others) right at Canada Place itself. The drive from the border to SeaTac can take 2 hours on a normal sort of day. Being Friday daytime I would estimate about an hour or so to get to the Peace Arch Border Crossing.

 

The wait at the border can fluctuate from 30 minutes to upwards of an hour depending on how many booths are open. With the recent US Government cutbacks border waits *may" increase. on the safe side I would venture about 4 to 5 hours for that drive.

[spintowin]

Thank you for the info.

[mapleleaves]

look at the Vancouver forum of tripadvisor... I believe under Top Questions they posted alternate border crossing routes for days when the Peace Arch at Blaine is a mess. (and the web site where you can check on wait times for the crossing points).

 

When you check on car rental rates, enter your pick up point as Canada Place and that will be your indication if the vendor has a kiosk or office closeby. At some ports the company has a kiosk at the pier and shuttles you to their lot 2-3 miles away.

[zephyr17]

The border crossing site from the Canada side is here:

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/

 

Note that right now on an ordinary spring Thursday at noon, the wait at the Peace Arch crossing is 50 minutes. The Pacific Highway "Truck Crossing" (which can be used by anyone) is 30 minutes, and Aldergrove is only 10 minutes. That is frequently the case. Note that using Aldergrove is really no farther than using the I-5 crossing. You angle southeast out of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway to BC 13 and then go due south to the border and continue due south on WA 539 to Bellingham where you pick up I-5. The difference is you are doing the heading east part on the Trans Canada Highway instead of on BC 99 and I-5.

 

I use the Aldergrove/Lynden crossing more than Peach Arch myself because it often is a LOT less backed up. It doesn't have nearly as many booths, though.