I am taking my elderly mother to this area in late May and thought maybe there's a way to fit her desire for a train ride in before I rent a car. Has anyone arrived by air at Sea-Tac then used a bus to Victoria, then Vancouver, then Amtrak back to Seattle where I would pick up a car for the rest of our stay? Which bus co.? Other suggested combos?

Kay: Is there time to suggest a revised itinerary? We took Amtrak's (justly) famed Coast Starlight train from LA to Seattle last spring and just can't recommend it highly enough! Even if you didn't have time/logistix to do the whole run (two days, onenite), it's one heckuva tran ride. And getting on somewhere in northern California would still give you a whole day's ride == and some fabublous scenery == before arrival that nite in Seattle. The Amtrak site has information about this...and some other, possibly harder to locate, sites. If you'd like more infor, feel free to e=m me.

I'm not clear on where exactly you want to take the bus to. You might be better off taking a ferry right out of Seattle to Victoria. Once in Victoria, it's easy to take a bus from downtown right across on the ferry to Vancouver.

Thanks for the advice. I think I am trying to do too much and make it complicated. The Amtrak ride sounds like a trip unto itself. The array of bus/car/ferry options from Washington to Victoria is a bit overwhelming for those of us who have only been on a car ferry once and a passenger ferry only a few times more. I think with my limited mobility mother that a passenger ferry to Victoria coupled with on-island tours will be better than me trying to coordinate an auto until after our return to Seattle.

To try to simplify...I think if you're without a car you can just rule out the Anacortes and Port Angeles ferries. Check out
http://www.victoriaclipper.com/
for Clipper and Princess Marguerite ferry information. If I've read their information correctly, the Clipper would cost $66 for an adult, $60 for a senior, one way. The Marguerite, which appears to begin sailing May 14, costs $29/$25 but takes 4½ hours. The Marguerite docks a little way out of town, so you'd have to take a short taxi ride if your Mother's not too mobile. Another option, if you don't have too much luggage, is the float plane which would be the fastest trip at about 45 minutes. It costs $85. For information on that go to:
http://www.kenmoreair.com/index.html
Both the float plane and the Clipper drop you off right at Victoria's Inner Harbour so no taxiing is required.
There's a map showing ferry and flying routes at:
http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca./trvl_map.gif