We have FF miles to go round trip to Seattle but will have to pay more to go into Vancouver and home out of Seattle. My question: Is the drive from Seattle up to Vancouver (or the Amtrak ride) a good one. We are looking to rent a car, go over to Victoria on the ferry and then over to Olympic Pen. It will cost us an additional $650 to fly directly into Vancouver and I imagine that the cost to drive or train will be less....but rather than money, my concern is--is the time well spent? Or time spent in Olympic Pen. Good place to rent a car? TKS
Also, best time to go to Mt Rainier for the wildflowers?
Drive or Train from Seattle to Vancouver
Recent Activity
View all United States activity »
- 1 Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah
- 2
Boston, my 2 hour food shopping spree to satiate my man's needs
- 3 San Francisco,Monterey, Yosemite etc.!
- 4 Restaurant Recommendations in Salt Lake City Area
- 5 Newport, RI Questions
- 6 State cracking down on vacation rentals?
- 7 Help me make a scentific research about American sheriffs
- 8 Around North America (cruise)
- 9 East coast tour - Part1: NYC
- 10 Best place to raise a family in Florida
- 11 Best place for rafting: Moab, Taos or Durango?
- 12 2 Brits Travelling USA July-Aug 2013
- 13 Need help with itinerary to Seattle, Oregon, California
- 14 Oregon Cave NM or extra day in Redwoods area?
- 15 time for a new countdown to Hawaii
- 16 Ackislander or others- restaurants in Nantucket in 2013
- 17 Advice for 2 night intro trip to Moab in early June (1-3)
- 18 Question about Northeast Wisconsin along the lake
- 19
Santa Fe Home Exchange - Three Wks, from start to finish
- 20 Boston and surrounding area
- 21 DC Itinerary, June 8-13, suggestions welcome!
- 22 Rafting Snake River early June?
- 23 Staying at the Andaz in West Hollywood with kids.
- 24 Cedar Point Wait Times
- 25 Nashville Hot Fried Chicken
The train is very scenic and affordable, however if your itinerary includes the Olympic Peninsula and/or Vancouver Island, obviously the train won't be of much use.
If your intent is to get from Seattle to Vancouver via the OP or Victoria/Vancouver Island, then you should do it in that order - Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula via the Bainbridge Island car ferry, then from Port Angeles to Victoria BC via the Coho ferry, then from Victoria to Vancouver via BC ferries. There is no car ferry from Seattle to Victoria, nor from the Olympic Peninsula to the Canadian mainland.
The train runs twice daily in each direction, early morning and early evening, and takes roughly four hours. Immigration and customs is handled at the Vancouver train station (in both directions.)
Late July into August is usually the best time for wildflowers at altitude in Mt. Rainier NP.
I made that drive a few years ago, including taking the ferry to Victoria. Interesting that I have almost no memory of the drive, which I guess means it was OK but nothing spectacular. The one thing I do remember is the fairly long wait to get through at the border. I guess some times of the day/week are worse than others, but I'm not an expert on that.
DW snd I used Amtrack in September from Seattle to Vancouver and it was a very good experience. A very scenic ride. The train was on time. Customs and Immigration was a breeze compared to driving. But, as Gradyloo says, it isn't the best option if you want to visit the OP and Victoria. If just getting to Vancouver I would highly recommend the early morning train.
Make your choice Victoria (via Port Angeles ferry) or Vancouver by way of the #510 Amtrak Cascades train (7:40AM). The train is scheduled for 4 hours including the Customs stop.
The buses are OK but take too much out of your sightseeing time in Vancouver.
I consider it to be a poor idea to take a rental car from the US into Canada especially if you have to pay for parking.
I have considered getting a car in Victoria to use there and then to travel over to Port Angeles but I was advised that car rental prices are better in the US than in Canada. I also realize that i would just park the car for a few days in Vancouver or maybe need for a day trip to Grouse Mountain. Can anyone confirm their experiences with rental cars?
Good info so far. Most appreciated.
The drive between Vancouver and Seattle is pleasant enough, but it is not one of the most scenic drives in the NW and getting through customs at the border is often a time-consuming annoyance.
It would probably be best to take the train from Vancouver to Seattle and to rent a car in downtown Seattle after you finish your sightseeing there.
I like to rent from Thrifty or Dollar, which are trust-worthy companies that have good rates, and Dollar has an office in downtown Seattle. Enterprise is also worth checking out. (If you rent a car outside an airport, it may be possible to return it at the airport without paying the airport fees.)
HTtY