Vacouver to Seattle Question

[CoupleOnTheGo]

My husband and I are doing a 3 day repositioning cruise into Vancouver and will be disembarking on Easter. Because I'm not positive that my passport renewal will arrive in time, we've decided to fly out of Seattle. My first question is, for the transfer, would it be easiest to rent a car and if so, where would it be the most convenient to do this? Second, how long should we expect the trip (including crossing the border) to take on Easter Sunday? I'm trying to figure out if we can make it in time for a 3:00 check in.

[berly369]

Vancouver to Seattle normally takes about 3.5 hours, expect long delays at the border on a holiday. I would move your flight up to at least 7pm. There is a bus that leaves at noon and arrives around 4:30pm at Seatac (may be later due to holiday) I believe renting a car and crossing the border-one way rental to Seattle will not be allowed by the rental agencies.

[Travelbug 2]

My husband and I are doing a 3 day repositioning cruise into Vancouver and will be disembarking on Easter. Because I'm not positive that my passport renewal will arrive in time, we've decided to fly out of Seattle. My first question is, for the transfer, would it be easiest to rent a car and if so, where would it be the most convenient to do this? Second, how long should we expect the trip (including crossing the border) to take on Easter Sunday? I'm trying to figure out if we can make it in time for a 3:00 check in.

 

The best way from Vancouver to Seattle is by bus "Quick coach" The cost is reasonable and they are reliable. Check out the website below. I would not want to take a chance on car rental, why drive when you can be driven! I too am not sure if you can take a car rental over the border, could be iffy.

 

Good luck.

http://www.quickcoach.com/

[mollyeilis]

I find it easiest to take Amtrak from King Street Station (though it leaves before 8am) up to Vancouver. No stopping at the border (you go through customs at the train station in Vancouver), BEAUTIFUL coastal views, snack car, you can stretch your legs without stopping your journey.... just lovely. :)

 

Book ahead of time and if you have AAA you get 10% off.

[BWP_Beretta]

Last year my wife and I went from Vancover to SeaTac after our Alaskan cruise. The 3.5 hours is about what it took us. I rented a National auto right at the cruise terminal (originally rented at downtown since National did not show office at terminal). They changed the rental on the spot. There was no problem dropping the car at SeaTac and there was no drop off charge. It is a pleasant drive. Good luck,

[joyinam]

The 3.5 hour QuickCoach trip took us over 6 hours! Last May, my husband and I took a repositioning cruise from San Diego to Vancouver; booked QuickCoach (suggestion from this board) so we could have no hassle from Vancouver to Seattle, where we were going to spend 2 nights before flying home. Oh my! The bus was over an hour late arriving to even pick us up at the pier, we made a stop to pick up others (fine), stopped at the airport to pick up arriving passengers (and back to the airport because the driver pulled away without loading their luggage), stopped in the middle of nowhere at a restaurant/store to pick up others....arrived in Seattle over 6 hours later. At the last rural stop, there was one ticketed passenger who was finally allowed to board - a man crying is effective - and was allowed to sit in the restroom, because they were overbooked! The story at the border is HORRIBLE, too - which wasn't QuickCoach's fault, but we wrote & called Homeland Security (I'm a US citizen, and was furious at how we were treated, and the fact that they didn't even xray the luggage on the bus before allowing it into the US - remember we picked people up from the airport where their luggage had been unattended, and from the side of the road!) Anyway, QuickCoach experience was awful - bad enough to "come down" from the cruise experience by boarding a bus, but it really cut into our time in Seattle that first afternoon! Now, having shared all this, I don't know that there IS a better solution than QuickCoach; however, we will do future cruises leaving and returning out of Seattle, or Vancouver - not both because of this transportation nightmare. On a positive note, when we arrived at the Hyatt and shared the nightmare around why we were so late - they treated us like royalty! I would highly recommend the Hyatt in Seattle.

[CoupleOnTheGo]

Thank you to all who posted suggestions for us. My passport arrived in record time - 7 days!!! We had already booked our flight home from Seattle, and have since redeemed air miles to fly from Vancouver to Seattle so we won't have to sweat finding transportation and crossing the border on a holiday.