Vancouver - Whistler Precruise?
 

We are flying into Seattle Friday in June before our HAL cruise ship leaves on Sunday, renting a car to Vancouver, turning it in on Saturday at 3 for a cheaper car. We really want to see Whistler before the cruise leaves, is it doable in that time frame? Should we try to stay in Squamish rather than Whistler? We have to get back to Vancouver to switch cars on Saturday (we are using a less expensive car rental at that time, since the drop off rate for 1 way rental is very high) Or should we just stay in Vancouver and drive up Sunday and back the same day for the cruise. I'm concerned about having traffic or other delays causing us to miss the ship.

I suggest you do not rent a car in Seattle. I believe you would be better off using the Quick Shuttle bus to Vancouver. You can either pick up the bus at SEA-TAC Airport or in downtown Seattle. When you get to the Vancouver end, you have the choice of being dropped off at Vancouver Airport or in downtown Vancouver.

I love the scenery around Whistler, but if you have never visited Vancouver, I would give a higher priority to Vancouver than to Whistler.

No, I don't think you should stay in Squamish. It is nothing like as charming as Vancouver or Whistler.

There is absolutely no way it would be worth driving up to Whistler and back again on the Sunday morning. As I understand it, most cruise ships board their passengers after lunch. Even in the best of circumstances, it's a 2-hour drive to Whistler and back, each way. That is, the round trip is a minimum of 4 hours. The widening of Hwy #99 in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics could lengthen the trip to 3 hours each way (although I'm not sure if road crews work on Sundays). At most, all you could do is drive there and back, and even then you might not make it in time. Even in the best of circumstances, you'd be biting your nails all the way, worrying about whether or not you would be in time for your ship. You would not be able to stop and smell the roses -- to stop and see Shannon Falls and Brandywine Falls, for example. It would be horrible.

I suppose you could drive up to Whistler on the Saturday, spend the night there, and then return to Vancouver on the Sunday. Certainly that plan would be feasible. But, as I said before, if you have not yet spent time in Vancouver, then Vancouver should be your priority.

Check out Vancouver in the Destinations section at Fodor's (the link is at the top left hand corner of the screen).

Hope that helps.

Good advise. How do I find information on the Quick Shuttle Bus? Do they have frequent departures, so if our flight is delayed into Seattle, we can pick up a later bus?

If you do a Google search ( www.google.com ) for QUICK SHUTTLE + SEATTLE, you'll find the website, but I'll save you the trouble and give it to you here:

http://www.quickcoach.com/

Yes, if you miss one Quick Shuttle bus, you can board the next one.

On summer week days, buses depart Sea Tac for Vancouver at 06:00, 08:00, 10:30, 13:00, 16:00 and 19:30.

The summer schedule for Saturdays and Sundays is the same as the above, with the addition of a 17:30 departure.

Hope that helps.

I have just been researching the "Rocky Mountaineer" which looks like a wonderful day trip to Whistler.

www.rockymountaineer.com/

You can go up (3 hours) and back (3 hours) by train. or up by train and back by bus or up by train and back by bush plane (which really looks interesting!)

The prices don't seem so bad for what you get and it looks relaxing and wonderful while you miss all the road construction.

it is the Whistler Mountaineer (www.whistlermountaineer.com)
One of the Rocky Mountaineer routes heads north out of (and into) Whistler. The WM is the three hour trip - and yes, well worth it!

Oh dear! I'm sorry. All you need is a wrong bit of info to confuse things. I'll be more careful in future.