vancouver trip questions
 

we're planning a trip to vancouver from the east coast in march.
am in process of looking for flights. what's a reasonable fare?
additionally, getting cheaper fares if we choose to fly into bellingham...how far is that from vancouver & is it worth it?

thanks!

Try westjet www.westjet.com
They have flights from most maritime cities to Vancouver connecting in T.O. I just checked an approximate date in July and it looks like $340 each way. That is a good price and certainly better than tring to fly to Bellingham. If you sign up with Westjet they send emails with their specials and sometimes you can get a really good promotional fare. They are certainly the best airline in Canada (IMHO)

Mgoyal, It would help if you let us know where on the east coast you are starting from. Fares will be different starting from St. John's or Halifax or Boston. I would be checking fares now with a view to buying in January. There are usually seat sales after the holiday rush. You should check aircanada.com as well as canjet.com although the latter has rather limited schedules.

Thanks for your replies. We will be flying from NY/NJ.
thanks!

You can use the ITA software web site to compare air fares. That at least gives you an idea of which airlines service the route. Then you can go to the airlines' own web sites and, in some cases, get cheaper air fares than those that show up on the ITA Software site.

According to ITA Software, Cathay Pacific and Air Canada offer non-stop flights from JFK to YVR (Vancouver, BC).

If you're willing to connect somewhere along the way, Delta offers flights that connect in Atlanta during the outbound journey and in Salt Lake City during the return journey.

Like traveller69, I am partial to Westjet. My concern about them in this instance, though, is that they do not appear to fly in and out of NYC -- at least not as far as I can tell from their web site.

I suppose you could fly with another airline to Toronto, and then pick up Westjet for the Toronto - Vancouver leg of the journey. But my fear is that the two flights may not be &quot;linked.&quot; That is, if your first flight is delayed for some reason beyond your control, the airlines won't give you a free replacement flight for the onward portion of your journey. I'm not saying that <b>is</b> the case. I'm just saying it possibly <b>could</b> be the case, and is worth checking out.

But in all fairness, traveller69 mentioned Westjet before you'd clarified that you'd be flying from NY/NJ.

As Gavin said, January is a good time to look out for seat sales.

Depending on traffic and how slow the border guards are, it's maybe an hour from Bellingham to Vancouver.

We used to have offices in Vancouver and Bellingham, and would go down from VBancouver and back in tehsame day without a second thought, but if we wanted two days in Bellingham, we stayed overnight rather than drive repeatedly.

Seattle is not that far away from Vancouver, either, if you are intereted in visiting this city in addition to Vancouver.

The Seattle airport, Seatac, is on the south side of Seattle, so be prepared to drive all the way across Seattle (on freeways, but city-style)before you get out of heavy traffic.

Depending on your schedule, you can pick an interesting route from Seattle to Vancouver, perhaps via ferry to Victoria and then another ferry to Vancouver.

About &quot;is it worth it?&quot; I certainly would not want to go through the hassle of changing planes somewhere so I could get on a commuter airline to Bellingham, and then drive to Vancouver if the alternative was a direct flight from New York to Vancouver.

BAK

Hi,

If I were working out a trip from NY/NJ to Vancouver, Canada in March I would be weighing the numbers that combine airfares AND car rental costs using convenient NY/NJ airports and choices between Seattle and Vancouver.

(figure about a 3-hour drive from SeaTac airport to greater Vancouver)

Bellingham is quite small and lacks the conveniences of options that can be had at larger airports.

IF you have any inclination to be visiting the U.S. after flying into Vancouver, you had better make very sure that you could legally drive a rental car from Canada into the U.S. if you are a U.S. citizen.

It is plainly illegal for a canadian citizen to rent a car in the U.S. and drive it into Canada, so look into that if you plan to do the opposite.

Vancouver is wonderful and you'll have a great time!