Seattle to Vancouver ?'s
 

I noticed that the drive between Seattle and Vancouver, BC appears to be around 2.5/3 hrs.
Can anyone tell me what kind of delay to expect at the border crossing on a Saturday morning (northbound).
There is one route that says "Truck Crossing" ... can cars take that route as well? Which route is preferable?

Lastly, taking a cruise out of Vancouver .... does anyone have any suggestions about parking at the cruise terminal? Are there better options than West Park?
Thanks

Can't help on the parking question, but 2 1/2 to 3 hours is unrealistic. I'd personally allow 3 1/2 wheels turning, plus I'd budget an hour at the border and be pleasantly surprised if you end up with a couple of hours to play with in Vancouver.

The Amtrak train or bus from Seattle King St. station is probably a better bet than taking a car to Vancouver and paying for parking. How many days? I have driven my own car into Canada at the Peace Arch (N end of I-5). It usually takes much less time to get into Canada than it does to get back through US Customs at any time of day.
Using Amtrak, they have your passport # before you leave the station.

Car rental for 10 days plus parking will run about $380 .... not sure but can I get four people RT on Amtrak for less?

Aren't you forgetting the cost of gasoline for that car?

>>Car rental for 10 days plus parking will run about $380 .... not sure but can I get four people RT on Amtrak for less?<<

What are the four people?? Two adults and two children? 4 adults? 4 seniors? Or a combination of those? Makes a big difference. Plus when and for how many days between the R-T?

But just using 2 adults and 2 seniors on a random Sat. in June returning 2 weeks later the total fare would be $330.

So it depends on when you go and whether you have kids or seniors with you. But for 4 adults Amtrak if anything is the same price before gas, and gas is expensive right now. Plus, how are you calculating parking? Are you including taxes/insurance, etc? are you planning to just leave your car sitting at the cruise terminal?

because you could also take Bolt bus, and that would be much cheaper than either option.

Well the train option is out. We arrive into Seattle on Friday night so the first option available would be Saturday morning but the early morning train is sold out. So, back to square one, any suggestions for week long parking in Vancouver?
Again, thanks

By the time you add in taxi fare to/from some parking facility that's more distant from the cruise terminal than those close to Canada Place, any differential in daily rates (say, from C$26 at the cruise terminal to, say, C$22 someplace else) is probably going to be negligible if not negative. This is an important consideration when comparing any of your transport options - if you're coming from the Seattle airport, getting downtown to the train station, or to where the buses depart and arrive, takes time and money - $50 for a cab or towncar, $4 per person each way for public transport, etc. Same goes for the Vancouver end - cab from Pacific Central Station to the cruise terminal will cost $20 or so each way, so you should be adding those costs to your mental total - up to an extra $100 in Seattle and $40 in Vancouver PLUS the train or bus fare. And as you've seen, the timing on the train is such that it forces a night somewhere (the night before a morning train or the night after the evening train) because train and plane timing doesn't work well together.

I'm assuming, of course, that there's some good reason you're using Seattle's airport instead of Vancouver's. Presumably this is for cost reasons, but, again, I'd strongly urge you to count everything - hotels, surface transport, etc. - into the total.

Now not knowing your actual travel dates makes it impossible to do a rifle-shot estimate, but I'd mention an option you haven't discussed, that of two separate one-way car rentals. I just picked a couple of days in August, and ballparked a parking number, and the two one-ways ended up being between US$50 and $100 cheaper than the round-trip rental plus parking. All the majors allow one-ways between Seattle and Vancouver and v.v., although some might not have any units available for your travel days. But I'd certainly check out this possibility in lieu of the hassles of parking the car for a week and getting to and from the car at both ends.

I was going to mention that you also don't say what your timing is like at either end - are you leaving Seattle the same day the cruise arrives in Vancouver or are you taking more time? Because if so, then (a) the round-trip car is a better deal because one-way rentals are at a very high daily rate and extending a one-way rental by a day or more can ruin the cost advantages. And (b) if you DO have more time, then there are scenic alternative routes we could recommend that would make for a much more pleasant and enjoyable time (albeit a longer one) compared to rocketing up and down the I-5 corridor.

Also, you mentioned the "truck crossing." Passenger cars are allowed to use this as well as the main Peace Arch crossing at Blaine. (It's labeled as the "Pacific Highway" crossing coming from Canada.) On both sides of the border there are reader-board signs indicating the wait times at the two stations (and maybe - can't recall - of a third crossing farther east) that you can consult. The turnoffs for the truck/Pacific Hwy option are well marked. I generally find that the Peace Arch is more pleasant southbound even if it's a bit longer; the queues for the Pacific Hwy crossing can be frustratingly long, and there are no facilities (i.e. for nature breaks) along the way, which can make for unpleasant waits on occasion.

Is the 10:45 Amtrak bus (arriving at 2:25PM) too late for you? 4 adults for $180 one way. If Bolt Bus also runs the route, it will probably be cheaper.
Is it possible to return the Seattle rental car in Canada and rent again when you return from the cruise? Can you hire a driver not going on the cruise to drive you to Vancouver in a rental car and then return the car in Seattle?

I'm no expert, but I live in Seattle. No way are you making it to Vancouver in 2-1/2 hours! :-)

THanks, great detailed information!
You guessed right .... flying into Seattle with SW FF points. Yes I did look into one way rentals but it would have been more expensive when I originally checked.

So are you taking the cruise out the day you arrive in Vancouver? It might be best to arrive the night before if possible. My inlaws take a lot of cruises and the border crossing is not a sure thing on time.

Regarding a rental car:
Are you spending additional days in Vancouver or Seattle? Because drop fees are incurred per-day. So depending on your itinerary, it can often be better to rent a car, drive it around Seattle for 3 days, return it to where you got it, and take out a second one that you drive to Vancouver and turn in the same day. Obviously there's a question of how much hassle this extra step is worth and the savings depend on your particular plans.