What time to leave DT for 6:40am flight from YVR to MSP

[lmkucala]

In June we will be arriving in Vancouver on a cruise on a Saturday morning, and our flight back to Minneapolis is at 6:40am on Sunday morning.

 

I'm wondering what time we are going to need to get up to leave for the airport on Sunday if we stay in a hotel downtown/near the port. We want to spend the day on Saturday exploring Vancouver a bit (probably just do a hop-on bus tour to explore a little) so not thrilled about the idea of getting a hotel near the airport, as I'm not sure what we would do with our luggage in that case. That said, it almost seems like we should just get a real cheap hotel near the airport since we won't be able to sleep much anyway!

 

Thoughts?

[Urban trekker]

It is a bit of a catch 22 for you - but here's a thought - stay out near the airport - BUT don't go there until you are finished visiting Vancouver.

 

You asked about luggage - you can check your luggage at the port until 4PM but if that is too early go upstairs from the cruise terminal to the Pan Pacific hotel and have the hotel bell hops store them for you.

 

This is a very common occurrence and is suggested on these threads regularly.

 

Then depending on which hotel you book in Richmond - where the airport is located - you might if you can handle your luggage want to take our Canada Line to your hotel. It is our rapid transit route to the airport.

 

Most of the hotels in Richmond will shuttle you to the airport whereas if you stay downtown you will have to take a taxi - about $35.00.

 

Some of the other locals are likely to be along with their suggestions.

 

Enjoy your cruise and visit to Vancouver.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[Kamloops50]

In June we will be arriving in Vancouver on a cruise on a Saturday morning, and our flight back to Minneapolis is at 6:40am on Sunday morning.

 

I'm wondering what time we are going to need to get up to leave for the airport on Sunday if we stay in a hotel downtown/near the port. We want to spend the day on Saturday exploring Vancouver a bit (probably just do a hop-on bus tour to explore a little) so not thrilled about the idea of getting a hotel near the airport, as I'm not sure what we would do with our luggage in that case. That said, it almost seems like we should just get a real cheap hotel near the airport since we won't be able to sleep much anyway!

 

Thoughts?

 

To clear security , US Customs and airline it is recommended that a minimum of 2 hours . Depending on how busy the airport is you might get thru in less time.

Make a reservation at the Fairmont in the Airport for Saturday night. Then you can sleep a little later in the morning.

For 6:45AM flight you would need to be at YVR around 4:45AM . Depending where you stay you'll at least hour from wake up before being at the airport.

[Langley Cruisers]

Yes, you will be going through US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance in Vancouver. This makes your flight a domestic flight when you land in Minneapolis, so that's awesome. :) Do you have Global Entry/Nexus? This will save you some time going through TSA security, if so. But I concur with the two-hour minimum. Trust me, it gets busy at YVR any time of day, any day of the week.

 

If you do need to take a hotel shuttle to the airport, you should check the times it runs; we have stayed at many hotels where they only shuttle at the top of the hour - in which case that will be a very early start for you. :(

[martincath]

NB: US CBP staff don't start working until 4:30am, so even if you are a nervous/careful traveler there is no point arriving TOO early for your flight.

 

Depending how many flights that day are at/before 7:30am, there can be a bottleneck of people waiting for CBP staff since most folks seem to go by YVR's official recommendation to be three hours early - personally I like to wait until after 5am so that the initial crush of people has been cleared as it makes for a shorter time queuing. Being on the first Skytrain from downtown, which arrives c. 5:10am, has always worked out well for me.

 

As to staying near YVR, as already mentioned if you are depending on a hotel shuttle you might end up waiting around as long or longer than taking a cab from downtown - there is so little traffic you will be at YVR in 30mins or less from any downtown hotel.

 

If you want to maximise touring time I'd therefore recommend either staying downtown and booking a cab for 4am next morning, or else using Priority Baggage to send your suitcases to YVR - for $40 they'll ship up to 4, and you can collect them until at least 11:30pm from their YVR operations. This lets you stay downtown all day, have dinner, even a few drinks afterward, see a show or whatever then head out to YVR, grab your bags from the office and take the free hotel shuttle to your airport-area hotel. If you use Skytrain, which will be very easy without luggage to worry about, that's going to cost you only $2.75pp to get from downtown to your hotel...

[xlxo]

In June we will be arriving in Vancouver on a cruise on a Saturday morning, and our flight back to Minneapolis is at 6:40am on Sunday morning.

 

I'm wondering what time we are going to need to get up to leave for the airport on Sunday if we stay in a hotel downtown/near the port. We want to spend the day on Saturday exploring Vancouver a bit (probably just do a hop-on bus tour to explore a little) so not thrilled about the idea of getting a hotel near the airport, as I'm not sure what we would do with our luggage in that case. That said, it almost seems like we should just get a real cheap hotel near the airport since we won't be able to sleep much anyway!

 

Thoughts?

I recommend staying downtown on Saturday and get a Sunday morning taxi. Vancouver is a very compact city and you will be at the airport via cab in 20 to 30 minutes (Sunday morning traffic is super light). Cab from hotel to airport is about $31 (US$23 w/ the collapsed dollar) for the carload with luggage.

 

Yes, pay attention to comments when airport customs open. In general, you want to be there 3hrs in advance, but check-in is not open that early for the first morning flights.

Edited December 15, 2015 by xlxo

[lmkucala]

Thanks everyone. The comments help and I've debated both options and I think the luggage situation (we'll have a lot after 1 week on land in Alaska and 1 week cruise) will be easier if we stay downtown and get a cab in the morning around 4 or 4:30am.

 

I am not getting to the airport 3 hours early - I assume 2 hours will be sufficient!

[xlxo]

Otherwise, if you miss your flight.... the border is a short 30 minute drive from the airport.

[bluewater1298]

Have you thought of renting a car? We will be arriving from our cruise on a Sat and have a 6:00 am flight on Sun. I booked a car with Avis. We will pick up in downtown and drop off at the airport. It was $50 CAD total for a mid-size. This way we are on our own schedule and can explore wherever we want. We have a hotel room booked close to the airport. You may not want to drive, but we enjoy the freedom of having a vehicle.

[Kamloops50]

The only problem is the lack and cost of parking. Parking in the downtown runs about $5 CDN PER 30 Minutes. It now maybe even higher than that. Most of the downtown and tourist places are serviced by the hop on hop off bus , transit or a short walk.

[Langley Cruisers]

Yes, and parking at some Vancouver hotels can easily run $35.00 per night or more.

[BCHappyGal]

that early in the am there should not be lineups at either security or US customs/immigration

We just took a morning flight out of YVR to the US and at 5:45am the lines were non existant we virtually just walked thru

 

We were done with both security, checking bags & customs in about 15 mins

 

Then went and had breakfast ... there is a nice sit down restaurant as well as many fast foods just by the US gates...