hikouki

I live almost halfway between SEA and YVR. Is it worth it to drive up north across the border to catch a cheaper flight?

I am looking at flying business class and for the dates that I am looking at, the departures from YVR are about USD500 cheaper than if I fly out of SEA. However, I am not sure how much of a hassle the drive and border crossing is. This will be for October and I do have a Nexus card.

Been to Vancouver, BC about five years ago but I flew (connecting, since I was living elsewhere at that time).

A friend recently took an Alaska cruise from Vancouver (bussed to the seaport from SEATac) and reported that the border crossing was a hassle.

(I can't believe I have a Nexus card but never driven through there myself! LOL. When I interviewed for it, I told the officers that I just wanted the option of cheaper flights. Haha. Therefore, furthest north I have ever driven to was Blaine.)

Gardyloo

In October the congestion at the border shouldn't be anywhere close to the summer peaks, and with a NEXUS card you shouldn't have much of a delay either. Assuming you'd have to park your car either at SEA or YVR, I'd choose YVR and not worry about it at all.

There are two border crossings at Blaine, the main Peace Arch (I-5/BC99) crossing, and the "truck crossing," called the Pacific Highway crossing by the Canadians, a mile or two east of the Peace Arch. There are reader boards over the freeways (both NB I-5 and SB BC 99) that tell the wait times.

The only frequent source of delay in heading to YVR is the Massey tunnel under the Fraser River a bit south of the airport. The tunnel has reversible lanes to deal with rush hours, and if you arrive in the afternoon when the lanes are carrying SB traffic, there can be a fair amount of congestion on the freeway. But it's not that big a thing.

guv1976

OP: Have you considered taking Amtrak from Bellingham to Vancouver?

djp98374

The options are…

1. drive yourself and park at airport or airport hotel park and fly
2. Amtrak train
3 bus
4 fly

in october it’s going to be far less busy than peak summer cruise season.

second Monday in October is fed Columbus Day/ indigenous peoples day in U.S. and thanksgiving in Canada so that weekend could be a little busier but still not as bad as cruise season.

I don’t recall what the current train schedule is and the times it operates vs flight time. The buses run at other time and it can.be a substitute for the train if there is any mudslide/ flooding on the tracks.

skitraveler

The bus would be better than train. https://quickcoach.com/from-seattle/ stops at River Rock casino which is next to the Bridgeport Skytrain stop, much closer to YVR than having to go all the way to the train station. Even with potential border traffic on bus, it will be faster.
With Nexus I wouldn't worry about how long it would take at the border if you drive, I've had one since 2007 and never experienced more than 15 min and that's very rare. Usually <5 min.

hikouki

Never driven through Canada so it should be interesting.

Thinking of flying out Friday or Saturday mid-afternoon. Perhaps I will leave home mid-morning. Google maps is stating 1h 37 mins. I am thinking of flying back on Sunday, landing I think early- or mid-afternoon.

I live 40-45 mins Southwest of Bellingham. I would need to take my car anyways.

I suppose I could take the train from Mt Vernon??? But where would I leave my car in Mt. Vernon???

Which is the best parking spot in YVR? (I don't know if it is still true that Canada is the carnapping capital of the world? LOL)

Thinking of flying out the last weekend of October and arriving back on the first weekend of November.

guv1976

Would you have to? How much is a taxi/Uber between your home and Mt. Vernon station? And how would that compare to the cost of driving yourself to/from YVR?

Edited to add: It appears that parking for a maximum of ten days is allowed at the Mount Vernon transit hub served by Amtrak; application is required for parking that exceeds three days. Details here:
​​​​​​
https://www.skagittransit.org/additi...tomer-parking/

Gardyloo

There are only two trains per day, in early morning and early evening. You'd arrive in downtown Vancouver and would have to backtrack to the airport - a major nuisance. Meh.

Driving is straightforward and easy. If Google says 1h 37m, I'd give it at least 2 1/2 hrs. YVR is a nice airport in which to wait, and if you're flying in business class, you'll have lounge access of some sort.

skitraveler

https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/parking-yvr
Value Long Term. Then get a free Skytrain ticket to airport. Never had issues here with break ins or seen any other cars affected.
If have a lot of luggage and a travel companion, you can go to airport first to drop them off with all the bags then circle back to parking.

terrier

Do not mess around with Amtrak, it is regularly disrupted by landslides or other trackway problems.

I have done quickcoach to YVR from Seattle for a few extraordinarily good fares in the past but my time is worth more than that now. If you have NEXUS, the border should be ok. Operative word: should. Never any guarantees. Also, think about the return leg and how you’ll feel during that schlep back home (assuming you’re returning the same way.)

For $500 per ticket, in your situation I might do YVR if I was buying tickets for the whole family. Flying solo (or for $500 total savings) I’d save some time and reduce my risk by going to SEA unless YVR was a nonstop and SEA involved a connection.

hikouki

Ever tried that JetSet Parking service? How is it? For my dates which is over a week, it is less than $30 difference total.

I usually am quite paranoid about valet service. Although when parking at SEATac, I've almost always used Marsterpark Garage which is semi-valet.

skitraveler

No just value long term. I'm paranoid too and like end of row spots or walkways where can get a bit more space from the single car next to mine.
Also I have the key with me unlike valet.

WrightHI

Starting from somewhere west of Mt Vernon, I’d take YVR and $500 over SEA in a heartbeat, assuming acceptable parking options. There’s some risk at the border but there’s risk getting through Everett and Seattle too. Driving in Canada is pretty much like driving in the US, except a little more metric and Canadian. Don’t sweat it.

Fredd

Agreed. We live within 20 minutes of the Peace Arch crossing, but I could live as far south as Everett and still choose YVR over SEA. YVR is a lovely airport!

A 10-minute wait for NEXUS would be unusually long, and there's an alternative route between the border and YVR (Hwy. 91) that can sometimes be quicker than Hwy 99 and the Fraser River Tunnel.

We've used the Vancouver Park'N Fly for years without a problem, for decent rates (cheaper than SEA parking).

Given your location and your NEXUS status, I'd say this is an ideal time for you to give YVR a try. You might get hooked.

PWMTrav

Do you have NEXUS? If so, this is very easy. We just did it - I found award space that I wanted out of YVR, and parking was like a third of the price of SEA.

Value Long Term parking is cheap. It's two stops on the metro. The annoying part is that even though its free, you still need to tap at the turnstile or stop at a kiosk to grab a free ticket. But it's convenient enough.