Rksue

I will be arriving by cruise ship to Seattle so I think we are at pier 99. I need to get from the ship to the car rental place which can be either at the Hilton Downtown or Seattle International Airport. Is there a bus or some form of transportation that would be cost effective?

Also I want to go to Canada for a couple of days and I am looking for suggestions? I dont know if I can take my rental car out of the US... so any suggestions here would help also

tomfuller

A very useful website: http://www.seattle.gov/html/visitor/directions.htm
Good luck on your trip.

Bobmrg

I think you mean Pier 91, but whatever...

Renting at the airport instead of downtown is a major mistake, so concentrate on rental firms with downtown locations. There will be plenty of cabs plus Shuttle Express at the pier when the ship is unloading, so don't worry about that. Taking a rental into Canada should not be a problem, but double-check with the rental company just in case.

stokebailey

Be aware also that re-entering the US with your car can take a lot longer than breezing into Canada, so don't cut it close with the time.

Round trip on Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver is around $80 I think.

stokebailey

We love Vancouver, and you might get a good hotel deal on Hotwire. You can easily spend a couple of days there.

Gardyloo

At least last year, and I presume this one also, there was an Alamo/National car rental kiosk at Terminal 91; they loaded customers onto a shuttle that took them to the car delivery station at the Hilton downtown.

Regarding the car into Canada, you can go either one-way (higher price) or round-trip. Delays at the border can be long, but even so the trip seldom ends up taking as long - all in - as it does to go to the train station at the crack of dawn, ride on the train for 4 hours, then go through immigration and customs at the Vancouver end. The drive is right around 3 hours, plus border time. "Border time" is seldom longer than 30 min. northbound, 1 hr. southbound, and often shorter. Not saying the train ride isn't scenic, affordable, and easy - it is, just saying that if you like the freedom and flexibility of a car, it's not the end of the world.

Note however, that Canadian residents can NOT take US-registered rental cars into Canada, owing to Canadian tax law. For US (or any other nationality) residents, no problem.

If you plan to visit Seattle for any length of time, and plan to stay downtown, then I'd hold off on the car until you're ready to leave, or until you want to explore some of Seattle's many neighborhoods, or Mount Rainier, etc. Parking at downtown hotels is very expensive.

tomfuller

For solo travel I suggest the morning Amtrak train (leaves 7:40)
The train from Vancouver leaves at 6:40. The fare is $36 each way. It can be as low as $65/RT if you get the 10% AAA discount.
The rental car makes sense if there are 2 or more. The train is better than the Amtrak buses that run later.
Driving from Seattle to Vancouver takes 3:10 plus whatever time you spend at the border. The train trip takes 4 hours normally unless someone has a problem with their passport.

NorthwestMale

The Hilton Hotel is home to Alamo/National, for sure, and with their cars it is just a formality about going into Canada.

Driving into Canada will be a relative breeze unless you go at times like Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Timing a return passage through the border is very important, as the lines can be up to an hour or two!

When plotting your return trip into the U.S. it is wise to spend a looooooooong day in Vancouver and surrounds, and set out LATE for your return... (like hitting the border after 8 or 9pm) (Vancouver to the border is 30 minutes, FYI)

Don't know when your trip is, but in June it stays light out until roughly 10pm, so you would get plenty of daylight for your looooooooong days in Vancouver.

The Canada border to Seattle is just an easy 110-mile Freeway drive.

The Canadian dollar is NOT very favorable to U.S. travelers now, unlike how it was 10 years ago... so you might consider Priceline.com to slash hotel costs while in Vancouver.

Rksue

Thanks all. We arrive May 10th. I dont really have to be anywhere by a specific time as I am meeting my brother back in Seattle that Friday night. I may meet him further north as I think we will stay on San Juan Island for the weekend.

This means we will cross the boarder into the US Friday around 3pm Now from where I use to live 3 pm would be the latest I would want to be on the commuter road...so I am wondering does that time work going from Canada to the US?

any ideas if we will be able to do the Northern Cascade route when we get there May 10th or will the pass be closed?

NorthwestMale

I think you should do all you can to NOT be attempting to cross into the USA from Canada on a Friday afternoon.

The border waits going FROM Canada INTO the USA are long and slow, and as you can imagine, Friday afternoon could be especially taxing.

Let me get this all straight... arriving in Seattle on Tuesday May 10... darting away fairly quickly to Canada... and then returning through the border back to the USA on Friday May 13 ??

Or wait, you talk of the North Cascades Hwy and "May 10"... so I'm a tad unsure of your itinerary.

If it were me, I would either get to the border as EARLY in the day as possible on Friday... (before 10am, and ideally even earlier) OR... stay IN Vancouver ALL day on Friday, until late in the evening... and cross the border after 9pm.

Sunset in Vancouver, Canada on May 10th is 8:42pm... so stay late up there if you can - no use waiting in the border line for an hour or more.

The North Cascades Hwy SHOULD be open by May 10... as it usually opens in April.