suggestions for Bellingham WA to Vancouver BC... also.. where to find

[r_ur_pets_fixed]

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Hi! Newbie here. Have to catch a plane out of Vancouver Int'l YVR, and I'm trying to decide if I should chance the Cascadia from Bellingham WA to Vancouver BC. I'm wondering about how late it's been running on average. Any idea where I look for this info? If I do take the train, any suggestions for getting from VAN train station to YVR airport (with luggage)? Also, the Starlight isn't expected to run in this area for awhile yet, correct?

I'm aware that there is a bus from Bellingham airport to YVR Vancouver Airport for $42 RT. Just wondering if it's realistic to consider Amtrak instead.

All suggestions welcome.

 

[Trogdor]

If you're in it for the experience of riding the train, then you can take the Cascades to Vancouver. From there, using public transportation, its a three-ride connection to the Airport (take the SkyTrain from Main Street Station to Burrard Station, then transfer to the 98 B Line bus to Airport Station, then transfer to the 424 Airport shuttle). There is also an "Airporter" service from downtown hotels to the airport. I'm less familiar with that service, but the price is a lot more than public transit.

However, if your objective is to get to the airport, I wouldn't bother with those many different connections, and would just go for the bus.

You're not saving that much money using Amtrak, once you add in the cost of riding public transit (around $3 each way). If you took the Airporter from downtown Vancouver to the airport, I'm sure it would be more expensive than the bus. Plus you're taking 3-4 hours to get there, going out of your way to go downtown on a once-per-day train service (which is subject to delays, and occasionally even cancellations due to mudslides) then making a multiple-ride connection to get to the airport.

Compare that to the 1-1.5 hour schedule (assuming you're using Quick Shuttle) from Bellingham to the Vancouver Airport direct, with multiple daily frequencies.

No question, in my opinion. Use the direct bus. If you really want to ride the train, make a day-trip out of it and go to Vancouver some other time.

 

[Cascadia]

I take the train from Bellingham to Vancouver all the time, but when I had a flight to catch, I got a ride up there with my luggage from some friends, stayed overnight at my boyfriends in Vancouver, and then he went with me on the bus, which is just as rmadisonwi describes, 98B to this changing station where you really would feel more comfortable if you had been there before and knew what the heck was going on, to catch that other bus, I was glad that my boyfriend was with me. Then you are glad you are not driving when you get to the airport and see the amazingly extensive and confusing construction going on, it is a moonscape all around there due to re-routing all the roads and expanding, with the Olympics in view. At least it was in June, it looked like a flat open-pit mine.

The public transportation like the SkyTrain and 98B line are good and will get you there but it is really a hassle getting on and off the bus with a suitcase and carry on bag when it's crowded and everyone around you is in a hurry. You have to climb stairs to get to the Sky Train and you have to get up out of the Sky Train Station at the other end. It's not that bad if you're traveling light, I've done it many times with a suitcase, usually not though, usually just a small overnight bag.

If you are flying you might as well give yourself a break and take the direct route on that shuttle bus. Those busses take good care of you and you will appreciate the peace of mind and lack of physical exertion. I only did that multi bus trip to the airport once, I was really glad my boyfriend was with me to help with my bags and get me on the right bus, etc.

rmadisonwi is right, the train is too much fun to waste if you're going to be worrying. From Bellingham to Vancouver works really well for a day trip, we just did it with some friends, rode up in the morning, took the SkyTrain to Waterfront Station, then took the SeaBus ferry over to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, went to the public market there and got lunch, they have multiple salad bars and fresh fruit bars, and lots of different choices for food. Sat outside there and walked around, went back on the SeaBus and walked out on the pier of Canada Place, my favorite place, where the cruise ships dock, saw the new convention center that is almost done, it looks really cool, it's huge. Had lots of time to walk around downtown before we sent our friends back to Pacific Central Station on the SkyTrain in the afternoon to catch the train back to Bellingham.

Why don't you plan a nice day like that for yourself to look forward to later and get to the airport the easy way this time. Where are you headed on the plane?

 

[Cascadia]

I'm aware that there is a bus from Bellingham airport to YVR Vancouver Airport for $42 RT. Just wondering if it's realistic to consider Amtrak instead.

$42.00 Round trip for the bus is a good price. The train can be as high as 20.00 each way if you travel on a weekend day and don't buy very far in advance and it's around a holiday or peak season in the summer. I was paying 20.00 on Sundays a lot last summer. It can be as low as 13.00 on a weekday in advance, in the winter. The bus in Vancouver is 2.50 but you are going at least two zones which is 3.50 and maybe you are even three zones, don't know. Your transfer should get you all the way to the airport though.

You could get hung up at customs either way you go. It's a little more likely on the bus though. This is how they do the border on the bus. You go through the truck crossing and there's a building with a circular driveway just for the busses. You pull up there and the driver takes all the luggage out from underneath the bus and puts it on the sidewalk. Meanwhile they are rounding up agents to process you inside. Then when they are ready you all get off the bus with all your stuff and get your luggage and go inside and wait in line, just like how you do at an airport when you get off an international flight. Hopefully everyone has their paperwork in order and all goes smoothly. They x-ray your bags most of the time and then when they are done inspecting the bus you can get back on.

The trouble is sometimes you get there and there are 3 or 4 busses ahead of you. Not often but it does happen. So you can sit there for 45 minutes or an hour before you even go in. And then if someone in your group needs a visa or is missing something in their documents or puts up red flags and gets searched and interrogated, it can hold you up for quite a while while your driver waits for that unfortunate person.

On the train it is different and they do it when you get off the train in Vancouver. You get off and wait in line to get into the station. They only just added a little more extension of the covering to wait under if it's raining when you get off. I guess they are pretty organized though and don't let you off the train until there is room for you to wait in line under the covering if it's raining. Then you talk to a customs agent and show your passport etc, hopefully they ask you a couple of questions and wave you through. Every once in a while they take you aside to immigration for questioning. Hopefully that doesn't take too long. When you talk to customs and immigration agents, you only answer the question they asked, with the shortest most direct answer. You don't volunteer information. Just answer the questions, that's all they want.

You ought to plan a train trip on the Cascades to Vancouver, or on that Vancouver train southbound which is the one that goes south in the evening, while they still have the Superliner equipment on it. I have really enjoyed the Superliner set that they are using, and they have had a couple of different lounge cars on it different times. I missed the Pacific Parlor Car when they had it on for a couple of weeks, but lately they had the View Car back on with the windows that go up into partial skylights, love it. The other lounge car they have most of the time is kind of stupid. But I like all the Superliner cars better than the Talgo cars which are the ones you would ride if you were going from Bellingham to Seattle in the morning or coming back up at night on that train. I haven't seen how they remodelled the Talgos, they are fixing them up with new upholstery and everything, but the new ones haven't been running on our routes in Bellingham yet as far as I know. I am not crazy about the Talgos after I got spoiled on the Superliners and you should ride the Superliners before they take them away. I have heard three different things about that lately. I have heard we are keeping them, I have heard they are gone in June, I have heard they are gone in October. So who knows.

 

[r_ur_pets_fixed]

WOW! Thank you so much rmadisonwi and Cascadia!! Truly helpful and informative responses. Quick Shuttle it is then. I'll allow plenty of time for delays. I kinda thought that the bus would be a better option for this trip, but it's helpful to have the scoop from those who have 'been there done that'. No way I want to do three bus connections - especially since I'll have Mom with me. (DH has agoraphobia and doesn't travel. OTOH, my sister and I call Mom our adventure girl.)

I like the idea of planning a train trip in the northwest . We live in California, but try to drive up there at least twice a year so Mom can visit her two remaining cousins. Adding a pre-planned train trip on a scenic route would be fun. And hopefully Amtrak will decide to keep the Superliners. Thanks for the suggestion!

Yes, I'll be driving up this time too, and could drive across, but the bus straight to the airport sounds so much simpler. Plus, hopefully we can leave Mom's little old van-conversion motorhome with a relative, and not have to pay over $50/wk for long term parking.

You asked "where to?"... we're going to take a river trip from Belgium to Switzerland. I am soooo looking forward to this trip. Fly into FRA, hopefully high speed DB ICE train from Frankfurt to Cologne, then Thalys from Cologne to Brussels. Plus a few regionals. Variety of scenic trains in Switzerland depending on weather. I've heard the Glacier Express is spectacular, but that would involve daily packing and unpacking, which is probably too much for Mom.

 

[Cascadia]

You asked "where to?"... we're going to take a river trip from Belgium to Switzerland. I am soooo looking forward to this trip. Fly into FRA, hopefully high speed DB ICE train from Frankfurt to Cologne, then Thalys from Cologne to Brussels. Plus a few regionals. Variety of scenic trains in Switzerland depending on weather. I've heard the Glacier Express is spectacular, but that would involve daily packing and unpacking, which is probably too much for Mom.

That sounds fantastic, I hope you have a wonderful trip! How exciting for you!

 

[r_ur_pets_fixed]

Thank you Cascadia. Yeah, I'm excited.

Feel free to suggest anything else I should consider for future trips to your area. Train or other. Up until a couple of months ago, I was looking into a late May trip up the Columbia on a paddle wheeler. Then Mom started looking at the Europe brochures for the same time period. Maybe next year for the Columbia.

 

[Gregory F.]

Forget Amtrak - last trip the wife and I took from Vancouver to Seattle on Amtrak there was a three hour delay because one of the locomotives broke down and wouldn't start (that will make you REALLY late for a flight!) and we had to wait for another to arrive. Take a QuickCoach.com to the airport and then a bus or a cab - usually costs me $25 Cnd from Downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver airport - the airporter buses are ok. The new skytrain link from the airport to downtown vancouver will be operational in late 2009 (hopefully).