How to reduce costs of rental car for trip starting in central Oregon and ending in B.C. or northern WA?
Apr 28th, 2013, 07:59 PM
#1
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How to reduce costs of rental car for trip starting in central Oregon and ending in B.C. or northern WA?
I am just beginning to plan a trip that will begin in central Oregon (for a family event), flying into Redmond, and will take us up to the Tofino area of B.C. It appears that return flights and total car rental costs will be less if we fly home from Bellingham WA rather than Vancouver B.C. Are there other airports that I should consider for the flight home? (We will have the car for around 2 weeks total.)
I’ll probably be making a post about a potential itinerary once I’ve done more research, but I’d appreciate suggestions of things to see and do and places to stay in B.C. We’ve been in Vancouver city and Victoria (and may go again), but the area on Vancouver Island north of Victoria will be new to us. We like kayaking, hiking, flora and fauna, and local history and culture. There will be four of us (two couples); we will probably try to rent condos in some locations.
I am posting this on both the Canada and U.S. (WA) forums.
I’ll probably be making a post about a potential itinerary once I’ve done more research, but I’d appreciate suggestions of things to see and do and places to stay in B.C. We’ve been in Vancouver city and Victoria (and may go again), but the area on Vancouver Island north of Victoria will be new to us. We like kayaking, hiking, flora and fauna, and local history and culture. There will be four of us (two couples); we will probably try to rent condos in some locations.
I am posting this on both the Canada and U.S. (WA) forums.
Apr 29th, 2013, 06:11 AM
#2
The Amtrak bus (6114)leaves the Redmond airport at 6:50 every morning unless the Coast Starlight is running late. If the train is running late you will get a notification from Amtrak.
The short Amtrak bus makes stops in Bend, Sunriver and La Pine before arriving in Chemult at 9:10AM.
The northbound Coast Starlight is scheduled to board from the platform in Chemult at 9:32AM.
The train is scheduled into Portland 6 hours later (3:32PM).
You can either rent the car in Portland or take another train the next day to Bellingham. The Coast Starlight does not stop in Bellingham on its route to Vancouver.
The short Amtrak bus makes stops in Bend, Sunriver and La Pine before arriving in Chemult at 9:10AM.
The northbound Coast Starlight is scheduled to board from the platform in Chemult at 9:32AM.
The train is scheduled into Portland 6 hours later (3:32PM).
You can either rent the car in Portland or take another train the next day to Bellingham. The Coast Starlight does not stop in Bellingham on its route to Vancouver.
Apr 29th, 2013, 06:28 AM
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Have you priced it out for flying into PDX instead? The rental car might be less renting from there since it is so much larger than Redmond. The drive to Redmond is really nice too (any of the routes). Another thought is what about flying out of SEA instead of Bellingham?
I would absolutely NOT take Amtrak to Bend. Yes, you can get there on it and the bus, but IMO it is too much of planes, trains, automobiles and a lot of wasted time. Other Amtrak routes are nice, but not this one, IMO.
I would absolutely NOT take Amtrak to Bend. Yes, you can get there on it and the bus, but IMO it is too much of planes, trains, automobiles and a lot of wasted time. Other Amtrak routes are nice, but not this one, IMO.
Apr 29th, 2013, 08:35 AM
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Our first destination is Black Butte Ranch (BBR), in central Oregon, and we want to have a car while we're there. We will be stopping in Portland for a few days after our time in BBR and were trying to avoid doing that drive twice. I will look into the options suggested (flying into Portland, flying out of Seattle). Thanks for the suggestions.
Apr 29th, 2013, 09:20 AM
#7
Your better option - probably better than the train option is the CO-Breeze. http://cobreeze.com/where-when/
The bus leaves Bend every morning and does stop at the Redmond airport. Rent a car at the Redmond airport or take a taxi to Bend for a larger choice of rental cars.
Last month I drove just over the border and visited the town of White Rock. I came back to Bellingham to spend the night before heading back to central Oregon.
The bus leaves Bend every morning and does stop at the Redmond airport. Rent a car at the Redmond airport or take a taxi to Bend for a larger choice of rental cars.
Last month I drove just over the border and visited the town of White Rock. I came back to Bellingham to spend the night before heading back to central Oregon.
Apr 29th, 2013, 02:49 PM
#10
Use highway 126 west out of Redmond if you rent the car at Roberts Field. Otherwise it is about $20-25 for a taxi to S. 3rd St. in Bend where you have 3 choices for rental cars.
Be sure to walk around Sisters before you get out to the BBR.
Close to the ranch you can see the headwaters of the Metoulius River. The full size river flows out of the base of Black Butte near Camp Sherman.
Be sure to walk around Sisters before you get out to the BBR.
Close to the ranch you can see the headwaters of the Metoulius River. The full size river flows out of the base of Black Butte near Camp Sherman.
