Vancouver to belingham travel advice

[petersichel]

As somone who could be flying to Vancouver airport,how easy is it travelling from Vancouver airport to bellingham? and What would be the best option? thanks, just weighing up the options.

[Adam Steer]

Hiya,

This is some advice I got a while back from Coach Murdock about getting from Vancouver airport to Bellingham. Hope it helps.


There are a couple different options to get from Vancouver to Bellingham. When you arrive you can go to the info desk near the baggage claim and get a ticket for a shuttle bus that stops at Bellingham airport on its way to Seattle. I’ve taken it once before. http://www.quickcoach.com/ Here’s another similar service http://www.maximatours.com/bus-vancouver-seattle.cfm You can also take it from Bellingham back to Vancouver, but I found that the time didn’t match my flight well, and I took the greyhound instead. You’ll have to find your own way from the airport to the hotel in Bellingham, not all of them offer free shuttle service.

You can also take the Greyhound. To get it from Van to Bham take the Airporter shuttle downtown to the bus station, then catch the next bus to Bham. Last time I took the quickcoach shuttle on arrival (cause it saved me going downtown) and the greyhound for the trip back. In either case plan for delays at the border. If some (#$@$# - censored :D) doesn’t have their papers in order the whole bus is held up. It can take an hour to get off the bus and clear customs. I’ve found that its slower going into the states. Canada customs is easy on return, but there’s often just one person working. Check the greyhound schedule online. I usually take the 10am greyhound from Bellingham and catch the 4pm flight out of Vancouver. That gives you time to catch the airporter from the bus stn to the airport and get checked in. I think the 10am greyhound is the earliest one.

[Paul K]

You will need a passport; check http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html, Travel.State.Gov.

[Ryan Murdock]

In addition to what Adam posted above, you can also catch the train. It runs from the same station in both Van and Bellingham. Last time I had a return bus ticket but the northbound hound was very late leaving Seattle. The train was coming at the same time, so I got a refund and bought a one-way train ticket instead.

Where are you coming from? I usually take the morning flight west from Toronto (you'll have several options when you get there and can just hop the shuttle or hound, whatever is coming soonest), and then the 4pm flight outta Van on the way back (gives you enough time to get back across the border).

Flying through Seattle involves many transfers and a lot of time. Through Van it's usually one direct flight.