Car rental from Vancouver to Seattle

[JenPinks]

Does anyone have any first hand experience with renting a car after disembarkation in Vancouver and driving to Seattle and leaving it at the airport?
Any rental car company you used and liked?

 

[DisneyConvert]

I have flown in/out of SEA, rented automobiles there, driven up/back to Vancouver. It is far (+5 hrs) including an ever-lengthening stop at the Border. I also took a bus once (that takes longer).

DW did her United magic and snagged us non-stops to YVR for our August trip.

 

[JenPinks]

I have flown in/out of SEA, rented automobiles there, driven up/back to Vancouver. It is far (+5 hrs) including an ever-lengthening stop at the Border. I also took a bus once (that takes longer).

DW did her United magic and snagged us non-stops to YVR for our August trip.

I wanted to bus from Seattle to Vancouver and car back after we get off the ship since our flight doesn't leave until 10:50pm I wanted to drive around Seattle for the day.

 

[DisneyConvert]

I wanted to bus from Seattle to Vancouver and car back after we get off the ship since our flight doesn't leave until 10:50pm I wanted to drive around Seattle for the day.

So you want a one-way, one-day car rental from Vancouver to SeaTac? That shouldn't be a big deal (not sure about co$t as depending on direction it can be pricey).

Note that the "Canada Line" in Vancouver connects the port to points south in Richmond and YVR airport (where the rental car pick-up locations might be). And SeaTac airport is south of Seattle.

Good luck on your adventure!

 

[Mark D.]

We did one-way rentals between Seattle and Vancouver this past summer. Avis had the best price for the return trip, so we used them. The biggest downside was the fact that the Avis counter is not at the port. So you have to take their shuttle to the rental place. Their shuttle is a 12 person van, so you might have to wait a bit or just walk several blocks to the counter. And then the rental place itself is on the small side. Small enough that we had to leave luggage on the sidewalk (with someone watching it), while I got the car. It's not a horrible experience -- just inconvenient. Alamo and National have counters at the port. We used Alamo for the trip north because it was cheaper -- we just dropped the car off at the port and went straight to the ship.

Watch out on the pricing. Some rentals will look more expensive, but have unlimited mileage. Others may appear quite a bit cheaper, but will have a per-mile rate attached.

 

[xlxo]

• Alamo, National and Enterprise have a small fleet inside the cruise terminal. Book early if you need the luggage friendly minivans.
• Avis requires a shuttle or taxi
• Hertz like to see people drag their luggage for 3 blocks
• Other rentals may be cheaper because they require a taxi.
• may be border congestion if it's a long weekend

Quick Shuttle offers the best convenience. Pickup at the cruise terminal. Drop offs at Seattle or SEATAC.

 

[JenPinks]

• Alamo, National and Enterprise have a small fleet inside the cruise terminal. Book early if you need the luggage friendly minivans.
• Avis requires a shuttle or taxi
• Hertz like to see people drag their luggage for 3 blocks
• Other rentals may be cheaper because they require a taxi.
• may be border congestion if it's a long weekend

Quick Shuttle offers the best convenience. Pickup at the cruise terminal. Drop offs at Seattle or SEATAC.

So should I just worry about the car rental when I get to Seattle?

 

[xlxo]

Depends....

• how many of you are travelling?
• How much are you carrying?
• when do you want to travel? Date and time? In general Mondays are good if it isn't a long weekend. You want to avoid rush hour in Vancouver and Seattle.
• do you want to explore Vancouver post-cruise before leaving for Seattle.
• how much would the car rental cost vs taking the $50/$60 bus?

 

[JenPinks]

I had no idea it cost $180 to rent a car for 1 day! Wow!

 

[JenPinks]

Depends....

• how many of you are travelling?
• How much are you carrying?
• when do you want to travel? Date and time? In general Mondays are good if it isn't a long weekend. You want to avoid rush hour in Vancouver and Seattle.
• do you want to explore Vancouver post-cruise before leaving for Seattle.
• how much would the car rental cost vs taking the $50/$60 bus?

3 people, leaving on a Monday, want to explore Seattle for the day as our flight leaves at 11:00pm that night, and $180 for the day.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wanted to bus from Seattle to Vancouver and car back after we get off the ship since our flight doesn't leave until 10:50pm I wanted to drive around Seattle for the day.

I live around here and don't want to drive around Seattle for a day. And I was just up there last night!

What do you want to do in Seattle. It's entirely possible a car isn't needed. Also, when will you be in Seattle? Alaska cruises are in the summer and there are many festivals etc in summer in Seattle that make it even worse.

I had no idea it cost $180 to rent a car for 1 day! Wow!

It's not always that high. Car rental is an extremely supply and demand drive ncommodity, and then you have the issue that they have their own reasons for wanting cars here versus there, so if you are taking it "here" they'll give you an amazing price but if you're taking it "there" they will charge more.

 

[JenPinks]

I live around here and don't want to drive around Seattle for a day. And I was just up there last night!

What do you want to do in Seattle. It's entirely possible a car isn't needed. Also, when will you be in Seattle? Alaska cruises are in the summer and there are many festivals etc in summer in Seattle that make it even worse.



It's not always that high. Car rental is an extremely supply and demand drive ncommodity, and then you have the issue that they have their own reasons for wanting cars here versus there, so if you are taking it "here" they'll give you an amazing price but if you're taking it "there" they will charge more.

Oh lord, you have scared me now! lol
I just didn't want to be dropped off from a bus will all that luggage trying to get around all day.
Would it be wiser to rent one in Seattle after we get off the bus?

 

[DLgeeks]

We did the drive from the port to the Seattle area last summer and it was pretty easy, about 3-4 hours depending on the wait at the border. We were able to get a great deal with Alamo through Costco - so if you have a membership you might try that. In our case we were staying with family in the area for a week afterwards so it made sense to drive down rather than fly/bus all four of us.

 

[GPaLarry]

Probably does not apply here, but an FYI. We live in Portland, OR and my son and family are coming up from LA to join wife and me on DCL cruise to Alaska in June out of Vancouver, BC. Son, with four, is flying into Seattle and I wanted to pick him up on the way to the port. Dilemma was to either rent a mini-van one way up and one way back to avoid paying parking for a week while inactive or to rent the mini-van for the eight days and pay for parking. Rental told me they can not let a mini-van go to Canada and be left because of the demand for that kind of vehicle here during the summer. So I must pay for rental and parking...rats! Be sure to check with your rental agency about taking your car out of country. Good luck!!

 

[JenPinks]

We did the drive from the port to the Seattle area last summer and it was pretty easy, about 3-4 hours depending on the wait at the border. We were able to get a great deal with Alamo through Costco - so if you have a membership you might try that. In our case we were staying with family in the area for a week afterwards so it made sense to drive down rather than fly/bus all four of us.

Do you call Costco or Alamo?

 

[JenPinks]

So I booked through Costco and it came out to $180CAD which is about $134 US dollar which isn't bad at all for a smaller SUV. Thanks for everyone's help!