Seattle to Victoria

Many people include a trip to Victoria from Seattle. Its only 86 miles by air from dowtown Seattle to downtown Victoria.  So it is a 20 minute flight by Horizon Air, a one-hour flight by Kenmore Air Floatplane, and at least a half-day undertaking by any other form of transportation. Generally it takes 6 hours to drive there because of the ferry - waiting in line,  boarding, sailing, debarking.  The next-fastest way to flying is the Victoria Clipper high-speed catamaran.  It is passenger-only, but bicyles are allowed if you pay a small extra fee in advance.  Victoria is full of bike trails and bike ways.  The Visitor's Center on the Inner Harbour has bicycle maps for sale.   Victoria is a delightful city full of 'old English charm', plus the splendid Butchart Gardens.  If you wish to spend the nite that would be the best as there is lots to do. Visit the Royal BC Museum or take a free tour of the Parliament Buildings.

Ferry

The easiest way to get to Victoria is by Victoria Clipper . They also offer trips to the San Juan Islands. This is a passenger-only ferry. While that might sound like an obstacle, it's not really.  Nearly everything that is of interest to a tourist is in Victoria's downtown core. A convenient strategy is to take the Clipper to Victoria and then take a double decker city tour.  They offer this in conjunction with a trip to the wonderful Butchart Gardens. It is recommended that you visit the Gardens later in the afternoon when the crowds have thinned out. ®

Money saving hint:  Most weeks the 1/2 price ticket booth at Pike Place Market has had 1/2 price Victoria Clipper tickets for departures on Tuesday, Wed, or Thursday.  With that package the fare would be currently $72.  There might be better deals if you buy your tickets in advance but this is a good deal for last minute.  The Ticket office is on 1st and Pike at the very entrance to the market, towards the street and near the newstand.  They also have 1/2 price tickets for all major shows that haven't sold out.

Seaplane

For the truly adventurous there also is Kenmore Air , with many daily flights between Lake Union and Victoria's Inner Harbour, though it's pricier than any of the other options.  Note, however, that Kenmore Air has a luggage restriction of 25 lb per passenger, which makes it more suitable for day trippers than for long term visitors to Victoria.   

Car

Most of the other options for getting to Victoria will involve considerable driving.  That's not always a bad thing, as there are wonderfully scenic routes to get you to these ferry locations.  The best boat is BC Ferries, however it leaves from Tsawassen which is across the Canadian border, so you have to deal with the ferry lines and the border.

Another possibility is the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes WA to Sidney BC.  Anacortes is about 50 miles north of Seattle.  Allow plenty of time.  There are two daily departures during the summer.  This ferry winds thru the San Juan Islands and is very scenic, but be aware that currently there are only vending machines on board for refreshments.  There is a snack bar at the ferry dock and several restaraunts nearby.

Another option is the M/V Coho , a private ferry from Pt. Angeles Washington (also known as the Black Ball).  To get there you would be driving thru the Olympic Peninsula in the area of Hurricane Ridge and Olympic National Park.  You could easily spend a day or two visiting Pt. Townsend (Victorian homes), Pt. Gamble, Sequim, and Port Angeles before heading to Victoria. 

If you're out on the peninsula and want to go to Victoria for the day, you can just walk onto the Victoria Express .  Parking is available near the dock, and walking on is very easy from this site.  It's only about a 90 minute ride.

Victoria to Vancouver

If you want to visit Vancouver it's also very easy. There is a bus from downtown Victoria that will take you to the BC Ferry. That ferry runs every 60 minutes in summer and will take you to Tswassen. On the ferry you will find a ticket counter for PCL busline. They have a bus onboard which will take you downtown Vancouver. Any hotel in downtown Vancouver will be very convenient.

For additional travel options between Victoria and Vancouver, consult Inside Vancouver : Getting from Vancouver to Victoria here at TripAdvisor. 

Seattle to Vancouver 

Car

If you have to take the car be prepared for long waits at the border. Waits of 60 minutes are not uncommon.

Here are a few hints to help you plan around these delays. First of all tune your radio to 1130 am. That is a Canadian radio station that gives border crossing times every 9 minutes.  Alternatively, there's an electronic readerboard that shows the wait times at the various crossing points as you go through Bellingham on I-5 north (note that the Pacific Hwy crossing is referred to as SR 243) that shows all 4 crossings, and then another one as you approach Blaine that shows the main Peace Arch and truck crossing wait times.

There are four primary border crossing stations. They normally give the Canadian name vs the USA name so both are listed.

The first one will be Peace Arch-Blaine (the one on I-5 if you made no turns).

The second will be Pacific Hwy-truck customs. This usually a shorter wait and even though it says trucks there are car lanes available. 

Another traffic issue to consider if you use one of thes above crossings is the reversible lane through the Massey Tunnel south of the Vancouver Airport.  Between 3-6 PM, all traffic heading into Vancouver on Rt. 99 is compressed into 1 lane going through the tunnel because traffic coming from Vancouver is given 3 lanes rather than the usual 2, and the resulting backups can delay you 30 minutes or longer.  So either leave Seattle by no later than noon or consider waiting until later in the evening (but then you'll have Seattle/.Everett rush hour traffic to deal with).

If there is a 45 minute or longer wait at either and you want to avoid the hassle, get off I-5 in Bellingham. Look for the Mt. Baker exit. If you see the Bellis Fair Mall, you've gone too far, but that is another way to get to the same spot. You are going to head towards Lynden, which is a cute little town right on the border. Its primarily inhabited with people with Dutch ancestry and they have a lot of little shops with a dutch motif. Its a good spot for lunch. There are two ways to get there. If you take the Bellis Fair exit you will going up the Guide Meridian towards Lynden. If you take this route go into Lynden. To visit downtown turn right at the cemetary. Look for the signs to the border. If you take the Mt. Baker exit its a lot more scenic. If you take the Mt. Baker Hwy exit you will see a series of shops and retail restaraunts etc. Get in the left lane and you will see a left turn lane. That will take you on Hannegan Road. You will be going down a little hill and you will be going straight north thru some nice farm lands. You won't see a lot of signs but you can't go wrong. Finally you will get to a 4 way stop. That will be Front Street in beautiful downtown Lynden. Have lunch and look around. Its easy to get to the Lynden border crossing from downtown. You will crossing at the Lynden-Aldergrove crossing.   This crossing is almost never busy and it will probably take less than 10 minutes to enter Canada.  Its a good tradeoff versus waiting at Blaine for quite a long time.  It will however probably take you 30 minutes to get to Lynden and you should be aware than when you cross the border you will hit Hwy 1 west into Vancouver.  From the border to Vancouver it will be approximately the same amount of time as crossing at Blaine.  You will find it's a good tradeoff in time and sightseeing.  Listening to 1130 am will give you the difference in wait time between Blaine-Peace Arch vs Lynden-Aldergrove.  

The fourth crossing east is at Sumas-Huntingdon which is only good if you are already at Mt. Baker, but it is another alternative.  Both of the latter are also good if you are planning to avoid Vancouver and are headed east into the Okanagan Valley or headed away from Vanc.

Be aware that if your a Canadian citizen several rent a car companies have warnings prohibiting renting a car in the US and driving it into Canada.  Look at Alamo for more details.  On occassion posters in the forum have suggested just not telling the customs officer, but according to Alamo your car may be impounded at Canada customs.  Be upfront with your rental car agency.  NO similar restriction applies to US citizens driving across the border, but make sure the cross border use is approved.  Here is the exact wording:               Rental Vehicles & Insurance
Canadian citizens are prohibited from driving a non-Canadian rental vehicle into Canada, except under hardship circumstances (where a special permit must be obtained, and there are restrictions on where the vehicle may be driven.) There are no similar restrictions on United States citizens renting a Canadian rental vehicle. A valid rental contract is required in all circumstances, so when arriving at Customs, be prepared to show your rental contract.

 Here is a good website for historical border crossing wait times:

Train

You also can use Amtrak to get from Seattle to Vancouver.  Note, however, that the Cascades train covers the scenic rail route only twice a day in each direction.  Amtrak's other offerings actually are buses that use the less scenic road route.      

One suggestion is to take the Amtrak train from Vancouver back to Seattle. In summer it stays light till late 9:30 or so and the train leaves at 6 pm and follows the water back to the border and into downtown Seattle.

The two trains a day run from each city at approximately 7:30 am and 7pm. (check Amtrak for exact times).  The evening train out of Seattle is a continuation of the train from Portland, and therefore does not always leave on time. The other trains are usually on time leaving and within about 10 minutes of on-time arriving.

More detailed information about Amtrak's evening train from Vancouver to Seattle is available on the TripAdvisor page entitled Inside Seattle : Getting Here from Vancouver by Train.

Bus

Quick Shuttle offers a bus service from Seatac Airport, downtown Seattle, and Bellingham Airport to Vancouver Airport, downtown Vancouver and Vancouver's cruise ship terminals.  You should be aware that Quick Shuttle makes several stop in downtown Vancouver and once across the border makes a few more making the one way trip to Seatac about 5 hrs  While not always the fastest option it is logistically well situated if your leaving a Vancouver cruise and leaving via Seatac airport. .  Also you should know that the downtown Seattle stop is near the Space Needle and not in the city center as in Vancouver.  Another option is Amtrak bus that runs at several times during the day before the evening train from Vancouver.  It makes no stops and stops in the Seattle King St Train Station which is in Pioneer Square on the south side of downtown Seattle. Greyhound also runs bus service between Seattle and Vancouver. There is a direct bus, and one with stops in every tiny town inbetween. Try to take the direct, if you aren't wanting to get off somewhere else. The Greyhound depot in Seattle is at 9th and Stewart, in Vancouver it is the same as the train station.Greyhound often sells out on busy weekends, it pays to reserve in advance. QuickShuttle rarely sells out.

Crossing the border hints

 As of June 1, 2009 all US citiczens are required to have a passport for land crossings to Canada. Prepare appropriately.

Whille its seldom a major issue there are times when if one parent only is traveling with minor children the customs agents have the right to ask to see a notorized statement from the other parent giving them permission to leave the country.  This is something that comes up from time to time and its better to be prepared.

Also Canada has different regulations on what is considered a felony and what is considered a 'weapon'.  Drunk driving convictions while not a felony in the US are considered felonys in Canada and you can be denied entry for being convicted under that regulation.    A drunken-driving conviction is treated under Canadian immigration law like a felony offense, making travelers inadmissible to Canada. People with DUI convictions have been turned back more frequently in recent years as border security has been tightened with more jurisdictions sharing computerized information on travelers — and turning up long-ago offenses.

Americans with DUI convictions who want to visit Canada can apply for what's called a "Minister's Approval of Rehabilitaton," which will give them permission to enter. You can get details on the Web page of the Canadian Consulate General in Seattle on what makes visitors inadmissible to Canada and what to do about it:

http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am....  Also mace while pretty common in the states is considered carrying a weapon in Canada, so better to leave that behind.

There are border crossing hints listed above, but if you do decide to drive and want to exchange any left over Canadian currency or paper $$ stopping at the Duty Free stores are often a good way to get rid of foreign coins.  They most always will exchange CDN coins for US even without a purchase, but easy if you buy something they will take what you have then let you pay the balance in either currency.

Off-Site Links:

http://www.butchartgardens.com
http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/  
http://www.victoriabc.ca/victoria/par...
http://www.victoriaclipper.com/
http://www.kenmoreair.com/  
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index...
http://www.cohoferry.com/  
http://www.victoriaexpress.com/  
http://www.amtrakcascades.com/  
http://www.quickcoach.com/