Flying into Vancouver

[TJA]

We are near Buffalo NY airport and I'm beginning to research airfare so I can be prepared to book flights for August 2017 Alaska cruise.

I guess I'm open to anything, but being that we've never flown to Vancouver and never done the Alaska cruise, I'd like to keep things as simple as possible. I did a forum search and know that flying to Seattle might be cheaper, but I'm not sure if that's the easiest way for us.

So I'm looking for thoughts from anyone who has flown from Buffalo or nearby, what airline did you use, etc. Thanks!

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• Is this an early-August or late-August trip? I recommend early August or July for better and dryer Alaskan weather. August does offer more wildlife opportunities.
• Vancouver has more activities than all the Alaskan ports combined. Plan for extra days at your bonus port. Late July/Early August has complimentary fireworks!
• Vancouver has higher landing fees than Seattle.... so there are air fare savings.
• $35 ($28 USD) for a cab carload w/ luggage from YVR airport to downtown Vancouver. Door to door convenience.
• $50 for the Seattle airport shuttle into Vancouver. 6 to 7 daily trips to meet your schedule.
  http://www.quickcoach.com/schedule.htm
• Some like to take the train into Vancouver...
  • same price as the shuttle.... however you need to add additional transfer costs from airport to train station. then train station to hotel/shuttle.
  • there are two daily train tips..... one has you arriving very late at night. The second train departs very early.... possibly requiring the additional cost for a hotel
  • many recommend trying to get the West window seats that is more scenic. To secure those seats on the morning trip may mean getting up at 4am or 5am from that Seattle hotel to wait at the train station. So much for a relaxing vacation.
  • in addition to the train... there are other buses.... but again you need to get from airport to the train station.
• the cruise terminal to Vancouver is 35 minutes of travel. Seattle needs you budget an extra 4 to 6 hours of travel time.
• a variation is to fly into Vancouver, but leave via Seattle. You get to see both cities.

 

[Johnny Quest]

We are near Buffalo NY airport and I'm beginning to research airfare so I can be prepared to book flights for August 2017 Alaska cruise.

I guess I'm open to anything, but being that we've never flown to Vancouver and never done the Alaska cruise, I'd like to keep things as simple as possible. I did a forum search and know that flying to Seattle might be cheaper, but I'm not sure if that's the easiest way for us.

So I'm looking for thoughts from anyone who has flown from Buffalo or nearby, what airline did you use, etc. Thanks!

Well did Alaska Member cruise 2015. Flew Air Canada philly to vancouver through Toronto. You should check their fares from Buffalo or drive to Toronto if it's close enough. Seattle was too much logistically for us.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Not sure if it's any cheaper, but don't forget to check West Jet out of Hamilton (YHM) and out of Pearson (YYZ), as well as Air Canada. Hamilton is a much smaller airport and closer to Buffalo, but it might not have as many flights as Pearson (Toronto) has.

 

[TJA]

I'm going to check into all of these suggestions -- thank you all!

 

[anricat]

I'll second the recommendation for WestJet. We're flying in from Texas, so I know we are originating from a different place, but WestJet was the least expensive by a lot. We were able to score air for $330/person from Austin round trip, which is about half of what I thought I was going to pay. On the way there we are on American to LAX and then WestJet into Vancouver. On the way back, we're on Delta all the way, but we still booked through WestJet for half of what Delta was going to charge for the same itinerary. We booked pretty much the day fares came out (11 months in advance). The prices have only gone up since then.

Regrettably, we booked through Travelocity who have been HORRIBLE in helping me deal with some schedule change issues that resulted in some impossible connections (and then cancelled reservations when they tried to fix it - it was a giant mess). WestJet, on the other hand, has had incredible customer service (after Travelocity washed their hands of my issue, WestJet picked up all the pieces). Very short hold times and agents who have gone above and beyond really turned Travelocity's nightmare around. I haven't flown them yet, but in terms of their customer service, I've been impressed so far.

 

[bumbershoot]

I did a forum search and know that flying to Seattle might be cheaper, but I'm not sure if that's the easiest way for us.

People who fly into Seattle are incurring extra expenses with rental cars or Amtrak and at least one extra night in a hotel. It's really for people who want to see Seattle while saving a bit in airfare.

Flying into Vancouver is definitely THE easiest way. I would combine that with a cab ride to my downtown Vancouver hotel to keep the ease-of-transportation going.

 

[deanimal]

One thing to think about when booking flights is that there is a pretty significant difference in the Canadian and US dollar right now. Depending on which web site you use, the Canadian flights may show up in Canadian currency. So $400 Cdn from Hamilton to Vancouver is actually a little less than $300US from Buffalo to Seattle. But then if you're researching from the states some websites will show you the pricing in US even on Canadian flights. It can get complicated so make sure you check!

 

[TJA]

One thing to think about when booking flights is that there is a pretty significant difference in the Canadian and US dollar right now. Depending on which web site you use, the Canadian flights may show up in Canadian currency. So $400 Cdn from Hamilton to Vancouver is actually a little less than $300US from Buffalo to Seattle. But then if you're researching from the states some websites will show you the pricing in US even on Canadian flights. It can get complicated so make sure you check!

Yikes, ok thanks. I started looking up airfare on West Jet and Air Canada as recommended above and was more concerned about the route and time of flight.

There are so many factors to consider about where we originate, such as bag fees. It looked to me like if I start and end in Canada, then 1st bag is free. I need to look into that more. I'm going to make a spreadsheet today of comparisons.

 

[TJA]

People who fly into Seattle are incurring extra expenses with rental cars or Amtrak and at least one extra night in a hotel. It's really for people who want to see Seattle while saving a bit in airfare.

Flying into Vancouver is definitely THE easiest way. I would combine that with a cab ride to my downtown Vancouver hotel to keep the ease-of-transportation going.

Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Though I think Seattle would be a great city to explore, I really don't care to do that this trip. I'm definitely looking for the easiest way to make this trip happen, so Vancouver flight it is, combined with a cab ride to hotel.

There are so many other things I need to consider, such as currency. I should probably exchange some of our money for Canadian money before we leave here considering the exchange rate.... and I need to check into which credit card doesn't charge fees for use in Canada...

 

[TJA]

@xlxo As always, great things to think about! I'm going with the flight to Vancouver and the cab to Vancouver hotel. Sounds like the easiest route for us.

 

[TJA]

@anricat
@FigmentSpark
@Johnny Quest

Thanks for the information on flights! It helps me a ton -- I really didn't know where to start, and you all have given me ideas.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

We aren't in Buffalo but we are on the East Coast. In 2013 we booked two one ways as the price and more importantly, the times worked the best and it didn't cost us any more to do it that way. We used United going to YVR and then home it was American as they were among the very few that even offered a flight home around 12pm-1pmon disembarkation day. So my advice, check one ways on the airlines you prefer or the legacy airlines to see if the price and times are good for you.

This year we ended up on American roundtrip and had booked in 9/2015 for our 8/2016 cruise and about a month ago American completely changed our flights to where basically they didn't exist from our home airport. I'm glad I checked online as they did *not* notify me about this. I think they mentioned on the phone they would have told me about 60 days out - omg. So now, instead of driving to the airport where we live, we are driving about 1 hour 20 minutes to another airport so we can take the same flights we had before. Luckily after a few calls they switched us no problem but what a pain. So my last advise, always double check your reservations, even after you've booked. We typically fly SWA within the US (but of course they don't fly to Vancouver) so we are used to them not changing flights or if they do it's not too often whereas the legacy airlines tend to change often and sometimes it's just a flight number, a few minutes here and there but this last one was major for us.

We also considered Seattle for both 2013 and 2016 and by the time we added in a hotel in Seattle, Amtrak to Vancouver and vice versa it was about the same or cheaper to go straight to Vancouver and much easier. I've been to Seattle several times and it's an amazing city but there is something extra special about Vancouver.

Heather

 

[xlxo]

I'm going with the flight to Vancouver and the cab to Vancouver hotel.

If you share your needed hotel dates.... we can provide some suggestions (with availability) for budget savings.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't exchange money ahead of time.

I believe the Capital One cards don't have fees.

Our cards have fees but they are tiny and we hardly care about them.

We tend to go to the Green Machine ATM on the street Sutton Place Hotel is on (Burrard?) just down from Robson and take out cash. Then we use that for our coffees and (veggie) Japadogs and crepes (the three food groups when we go to Vancouver).

For the hotel, stay in downtown Vancouver and you're good. There are many good hotels there and you are in walking or short can distance from Canada Place from anywhere in downtown.

We recently had a terrific time in club level at the Hyatt Regency. Alas, our great rate for it was in winter, not peak summer sailing season.

 

[lunaland]

I've lived within 45 minutes of Seattle my entire life, and visited Vancouver many times. If at all possible, I'd go directly into Vancouver instead of flying to Seattle and doing the train or bus route to Vancouver. Spend as much extra time in Vancouver as you can, it is truly a wonderful city! My extended family is from France, and when they visit we usually spend a day or two in Seattle and then take them down the Oregon coast and up into Vancouver and Victoria. Considering how much closer and easier it is to show off Seattle, that shows you how superior we think these other area's are!

 

[FigmentSpark]

I don't know if it's important to you, but by flying from a Canadian airport to YVR, you'll do your customs when you drive across the border. That will be one less thing to think about for your actual travel time. If you fly from BUF to YVR, you'll clear customs in YVR, so be aware to budget a little time for that.

 

[TJA]

If you share your needed hotel dates.... we can provide some suggestions (with availability) for budget savings.

I'm finding that since I'm over a year out, rates aren't available yet for some places. We'd most likely fly into Vancouver on either July 31 for 2 nights, or on August 1 for 1 night.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Air Canada will post their rates about 355 days out, while West Jet seems to be more like 11 months out. You can, however, use flight information for, say, this summer as a guideline for what might be offered next year. Also, if you check the prices remaining for those dates in this year (on any route/airline), you'll be better equipped to see how their sales might factor into your decisions. That's not to say that they will have the same sales (or routes) for sure next year, but it may give you some guidelines.

I have noticed that US airlines don't book as far into the future, so you may have to wait for comparative flights from BUF. Again, using this year's offerings might give you ideas of what you hope to get for next year. Good luck.

 

[TJA]

I don't know if it's important to you, but by flying from a Canadian airport to YVR, you'll do your customs when you drive across the border. That will be one less thing to think about for your actual travel time. If you fly from BUF to YVR, you'll clear customs in YVR, so be aware to budget a little time for that.

Air Canada will post their rates about 355 days out, while West Jet seems to be more like 11 months out. You can, however, use flight information for, say, this summer as a guideline for what might be offered next year. Also, if you check the prices remaining for those dates in this year (on any route/airline), you'll be better equipped to see how their sales might factor into your decisions. That's not to say that they will have the same sales (or routes) for sure next year, but it may give you some guidelines.

I have noticed that US airlines don't book as far into the future, so you may have to wait for comparative flights from BUF. Again, using this year's offerings might give you ideas of what you hope to get for next year. Good luck.

Yes, thank you, every detail is important to me. I'm in and out of the house today, but in between things I'm trying to make a spreadsheet of airline routes. Even looking into one-ways on different airlines. And your suggestion is exactly what I've been doing -- looking at this summer's routes/rates just to get an idea.