Best / most Afforable way to get from Vancouver to Seattle

[frankie9865]

Hi folks we are sailing out of Seattle but flying into Vancouver. I'm looking at best way to get to Seattle port from Vancouver. Car Rental, Train or bus.

[Clarea]

I would take Amtrak if their schedule fits your needs. Very scenic ride.

[Roz]

I prefer Quick Shuttle. They will pick you up at the airport or a hotel and drop you right a the pier.

 

http://quickcoach.com/schedule.htm

 

Roz

[martincath]

Most affordable - Bolt Bus $1 tickets. Dang hard to actually get though!

 

Consistently next cheapest for small groups - car rental. You should easily be able to pay less than $100, sometimes half that, for a regular car without drop fees. Even with possible cab fare on both ends (rentals at YVR have extra fees, so going downtown can save quite a bit), total trip cost can be the cheapest of all possible methods apart from the Bolt-for-a-Buck tix - you might even save money with just two of you, but with 3 or 4 it's definitely going to be cheaper and even more flexible than buses or train.

 

For solos or couples, Bolt or Greyhound (companion fare discount often brings this down lower than Bolt for two) downtown-downtown expect around $20-30pp but prices vary a lot.

 

Personally, factoring in quality, convenience, and cost the best way is Amtrak if the timing works. Southbound trains all start here at VAC, so delays are rare. Only two trains a day, but the route is more scenic than I5 drive, you can eat and drink onboard, even with cab fare on both ends it's the same or lower price than Quickshuttle for 2 (US$32pp on train, CAD$31 cab on this end from YVR to VAC, US$15-25 Seattle King Street to the pier on the other) and, absolutely the biggest benefit - preclear the border in Vancouver, so the stop is a token 'walk the dogs and geiger counter through the train while you all hold up your passports'. Look for eagles on the beach while you're stopped for those few minutes.

 

Every bus (and car) has to wait in a queue at the border, you have to schlep your bags off the bus and through CBP, and if even one person needs secondary inspection the whole busload has to wait - not allowed to leave until that person is either cleared or denied!

 

If you cannot swing the train and do not want to drive yourselves, then QS does have the advantage of a pickup at YVR and drop at the pier, so the end-to-end convenience is great - but the risks of traffic, border delays are the same as with all buses.

[veryseasonedtraveler]

We are not ship's excursion fans and go independently whenever possible. With that being said, we took HAL's transfer to Seattle for a very reasonable price. When loading our luggage on the bus the driver separated the luggage in two sections. One was for the Airport and one for hotels. He was nice enough to drop the hotel people off their specific hotel near the airport. (This dramatically increased his tip.) If you are staying overnight in Seattle, the light train is very convenient from the airport vicinity. We had three extra days in Seattle and enjoyed every minute of our time there.