Renting Car in Vancouver returning to Seattle?

[MinnieMomMe]

We rented from Avis (757 Hornby Street) location and it was nice and easy. I walked to pick up the car, drove back to the port to pick up the family and we were off. Drive was nice and it didn't take too long to get over the border. Drop off was nice and easy at the airport.

Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping to hear. We are renting from the exact same location. I saw it was a 12 min walk so I'm also very glad to hear that's what you did and it worked out well. I think we'll do the same! Thank you so much!!!

 

[MinnieMomMe]

I don’t know what sort of reviews you’ve read about Avis but I feel they are perfectly fine.



If you enter the pickup and drop off info and they come up with a price, then it’s ok to drop off in Seattle. I don’t know why the first responder said there would be an issue taking the car across. Cross border rentals are common and fine.

I’d rqtger drive the normal way. If your family are Psych fans, stop in White Rock since that’s where they filmed many scenes. There are little places to stop along the way down the main highway.

But yeah with Canada day then the 4th, things are going to be busy and expensive and there’s going to be traffic.

Looked on Yelp and they have 2.5 stars with lots of disgruntled customers complaining of long lines and waiting hours to get a car. One person got charged an extra $100 for drop off to Seattle beyond what was stated in the contract. So...hoping they were just bad days. The Wonder is the only ship arriving that day, so hopefully that helps, but given so many locations are closed that day, we shall see! Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And "think happy thoughts"!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I do think that there is an issue of dropping cars off cross-border that makes it a lot less simple than cars simply crossing state or provincial lines. If the car is licensed in Canada then it can't really be driven in the US which means it has to be rented to someone driving it back, etc. I am sure it's done, I just foresee issues and also I wonder whether that's the reason for the high cost. Quick Shuttle seems to be a really good option for what you're looking for....

 

[lilsonicfan]

Also, I have been to La Conner and Deception Pass and while both are beautiful, I'd probably lean towards seeing one or the other (at most) and then heading into Seattle. It's quite a detour to go down the island.

 

[Intr3pid]

You are done with the mountains south of Vancouver along the I-5 corridor. While the islands south of Bellingham are nice, you will have just walked off an Alaskan/BC cruise - you will already have had the eye candy!

If you go into North Cascades, it's a long detour but a potentially comparable trip.

If you can stomach the costs, you can take the ferry to Vitoria and then one from Victoria to Seattle. (No cars needed.) There is also a ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, which allows access to the Olympic National Park.

Beyond that, you can fly, take a train, or ride a bus between Vancouver and Seattle.

 

[woody64]

Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping to hear. We are renting from the exact same location. I saw it was a 12 min walk so I'm also very glad to hear that's what you did and it worked out well. I think we'll do the same! Thank you so much!!!

It was maybe a little longer walk due to traffic lights and traffic, but very easy to do. We chose to take all of our luggage off with us because we didn't want to miss our flight in Seattle. You just have to tell the port workers that you are picking up and not dropping off and they will direct you to a different area.

One sad note, after packing up just as we got to street level leaving the port for Seattle, we saw and heard a lot of emergency vehicles. It turns out that was the morning the stuntwoman for Deadpool 2 was killed during a stunt just down the street.

 

[cruiser21]

Looked on Yelp and they have 2.5 stars with lots of disgruntled customers complaining of long lines and waiting hours to get a car. One person got charged an extra $100 for drop off to Seattle beyond what was stated in the contract. So...hoping they were just bad days. The Wonder is the only ship arriving that day, so hopefully that helps, but given so many locations are closed that day, we shall see! Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And "think happy thoughts"!

We stood in line for an hour to get an Alamo car at Seattle airport. We waited an hour in the kiosk line and then were told we had to see a live person for renting a car to cross the border. We were able to go to the front of the line to see a rep. We left Seattle airport about 90 minutes later then I planned. I was told by a person next to me in line that it's always this way during Alaska cruise season. I go into every trip thinking it's an adventure and fully prepared for something to not work out the way I expected it. I can then share my experience on these boards.....I also get a lot of great advice from other posters.

 

[MinnieMomMe]

It was maybe a little longer walk due to traffic lights and traffic, but very easy to do. We chose to take all of our luggage off with us because we didn't want to miss our flight in Seattle. You just have to tell the port workers that you are picking up and not dropping off and they will direct you to a different area.

One sad note, after packing up just as we got to street level leaving the port for Seattle, we saw and heard a lot of emergency vehicles. It turns out that was the morning the stuntwoman for Deadpool 2 was killed during a stunt just down the street.

I'm thinking we may walk off the Wonder with our luggage as early as possible to stay ahead of the pack. Thanks again for the great tips.

Sorry to hear the sad way your trip ended with the death of the stuntwoman. We never know when it's our time, so enjoy every moment and give thanks for every day.

 

[MinnieMomMe]

We stood in line for an hour to get an Alamo car at Seattle airport. We waited an hour in the kiosk line and then were told we had to see a live person for renting a car to cross the border. We were able to go to the front of the line to see a rep. We left Seattle airport about 90 minutes later then I planned. I was told by a person next to me in line that it's always this way during Alaska cruise season. I go into every trip thinking it's an adventure and fully prepared for something to not work out the way I expected it. I can then share my experience on these boards.....I also get a lot of great advice from other posters.

Great attitude, I totally agree. Love the Disboards. I knew I'd get great advice!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Looked on Yelp and they have 2.5 stars with lots of disgruntled customers complaining of long lines and waiting hours to get a car. One person got charged an extra $100 for drop off to Seattle beyond what was stated in the contract. So...hoping they were just bad days. The Wonder is the only ship arriving that day, so hopefully that helps, but given so many locations are closed that day, we shall see! Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And "think happy thoughts"!

The $100 thing is unlikely if she rented it as being a different dropoff. And waiting hours in line...our internal clocks are off when annoyed and in line.

I trust no one on yelp. Or TripAdvisor for that matter. I waited ages for the Alamo/national systems to wake up one morning in Anaheim and the first person in line had some ridiculous issue that took 100 years. That’s how it felt, at least. The point is that any agency can end up with issues, real or imagined.

You’re traveling on a double holiday week, going exactly the opposite direction than would avoid the holidays, so pack your patience and have fun.

I do think that there is an issue of dropping cars off cross-border that makes it a lot less simple than cars simply crossing state or provincial lines. If the car is licensed in Canada then it can't really be driven in the US which means it has to be rented to someone driving it back, etc.

I’m sorry to go back and forth on this, but I’ve simply never heard of this being an issue.

If the agency knows they’ll be renting a car going back, they’ll rent a car going there. If they don’t anticipate the car being rented to head back, they will show it as being unavailable.

Like sometimes a one way rental will be very expensive. That’s because they don’t actually want to end up with a car from point A to end up at point B. They are deterring renters from it. Other times they have too many cars leaving and not enough coming back, so it’s just not available. And other times they want those cars to be moved to some other place. I once got an astonishingly low rate on a one way rental from Phoenix to Anaheim. They wanted that Camry in Anaheim badly. So they nearly paid me to take it for them lol.

The ONLY issue I’ve ever heard of is having a round trip rental and going across a border when that’s against terms and conditions. And hopefully one is reading the T&C. T&C can cover even particular states; I’ve seen the fine print for certain seasons restricting an east coast rental car from being driven into Florida, even with “unlimited” miles. Of course the only time they’ll find out is if you’re in an accident, have a breakdown, get a ticket, or miss a toll.

 

[lilsonicfan]

You could be right that the insurance and licensing isn't an issue between Canada and the US, but that would surprise me.

 

[MelSpees]

Thank you! I did not realize that. Looking closer it is pretty circuitous, plus the ferry crossing. Now I'm thinking of going through La Connor and heading back to I-5. Do you think it's worth the extra detour to see Deception Pass? Thanks!

Whether it's worth it to you is hard to say. It is an amazing sight. It is a very high bridge with rugged coast and roiling waters below. Whidbey Island is a nice drive, but not a quick one. In case you don't know it's called Deception Pass because Vancouver thought it was the mouth of a river, possibly leading to the Northwest Passage.
LaConner has a quaint waterfront shopping and restaurant area. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[KVH]

Not sure of the price but I would second the rec for the Victoria Clipper. It may be a ferry but it's a high speed catamaran. Takes about 3 hours to Seattle. Makes for a very interesting trip. You really can't drive it any faster.

 

[kickash]

Following. We are doing 2 one way rentals: one from Seattle to Vancouver before our cruise and one from Vancouver back to Seattle after our cruise. We rent with Alamo and both rental car locations are close to our hotels in each city. We have time on our side so I am going to start looking at routes shortly. I am going to investigate the ones listed here- so glad I found this thread!

 

[xlxo]

Alamo is my first choice as they have a location inside the cruise terminal.

My second fav rental would be Thrifty's. Love their minivan's with backup cameras.

Both operate with vehicles with out of province/state plates for drop off at another location.

 

[MimiDee905]

After reading this post, we booked a one-way trip on the Quick Shuttle from Canada Place to downtown Seattle! We are really excited / optimistic about the easiness of this transport and will report back after our cruise in 38 days!

 

[MinnieMomMe]

Following. We are doing 2 one way rentals: one from Seattle to Vancouver before our cruise and one from Vancouver back to Seattle after our cruise. We rent with Alamo and both rental car locations are close to our hotels in each city. We have time on our side so I am going to start looking at routes shortly. I am going to investigate the ones listed here- so glad I found this thread!

When are you sailing? If after July 4, I will post our experience with the cross country rental. Right now (and this can all change) we are planning on driving immediately to the border crossing, stopping at Fairhaven (Bellingham), Chuckanut Hwy W-11 (with possible stops), stopping in La Connor, back to I-5, Future of Flight (if time and stamina allow), and into Seattle by dinnertime.
You can check border crossing waits on the internet. There is also an app for this (Canada Border Wait times)! I plan on checking it when we head out. If the Peace Arch looks good we'll cross there. If not we'll go the extra 15 minutes to the Aldergrove border crossing (we're traveling on a holiday so it may be busy). Another great resource is historical border delays: https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/historical.aspx. You can see what historical border crossing wait times have been for the timeframe you are traveling. Lastly, since you're also coming from Seattle to Vancouver, there is an app called Canada eDeclaration that claims it will help speed up your border crossing by completing your declaration before arrival and getting a QR code.
Good luck with your planning!!

 

[FLPrincessMom]

In 2015 we rented a car at hertz after the cruise and then returned it a week later at the Seattle airport. It was no issue at all. I will say that it took almost an hour to cross the border. There was a lot of traffic. Our actual time talking to the border agent was less than a minute so i’m not sure why it took so long.

 

[kickash]

When are you sailing? If after July 4, I will post our experience with the cross country rental. Right now (and this can all change) we are planning on driving immediately to the border crossing, stopping at Fairhaven (Bellingham), Chuckanut Hwy W-11 (with possible stops), stopping in La Connor, back to I-5, Future of Flight (if time and stamina allow), and into Seattle by dinnertime.
You can check border crossing waits on the internet. There is also an app for this (Canada Border Wait times)! I plan on checking it when we head out. If the Peace Arch looks good we'll cross there. If not we'll go the extra 15 minutes to the Aldergrove border crossing (we're traveling on a holiday so it may be busy). Another great resource is historical border delays: https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/historical.aspx. You can see what historical border crossing wait times have been for the timeframe you are traveling. Lastly, since you're also coming from Seattle to Vancouver, there is an app called Canada eDeclaration that claims it will help speed up your border crossing by completing your declaration before arrival and getting a QR code.
Good luck with your planning!!

Wow, thanks for all of the info, tips, websites, and apps! Much appreciated!! We are headed up to Vancouver July 15. That will be a slightly more hurried trip as we have Fly Over Canada tickets for that night. Coming back to Seattle we are in no hurry as we fly out the next morning. After going through the Niagara Falls border crossing this past fall, I am hoping this will be the same or less! That place was ridiculous and I didn’t remember it being that crowded when we went years ago.

 

[Sparky47]

We rented from Alamo last July. We flew into Seattle on a Friday evening (late), took hotel shuttle to Hampton Inn Seattle Airport. Saturday two people went back to airport to get rental car from Alamo. We had a whirlwind pre/post trip before our cruise as my sister-in-law was battling cancer and we wanted to make the most memories possible on this trip. We spent the day in Seattle and drove up to Bellingham WA for the night (LaQuinta in Bellingham was very, very nice and the price was great ($100). Sunday morning we drove to Vancouver (no issue crossing border into Canada and it was a quick drive). We dropped off the car at the Alamo in the cruise terminal.

After the 9-night cruise, we debarked the ship and went immediately to the Alamo counter in the cruise terminal. NO issue at all and fairly quick (we were within the first 2-3 customers in line). I cannot offer the price we paid for either rental as we upgraded to a large vehicle both ways to make it easier for my sister-in-law to get in/out of vehicle. As this was a "once in a lifetime trip" we weren't pinching pennies.

We had NO issue crossing the border into the U.S. We spent the day in the North Cascades area (which was slightly disappointing due to the wildfire smoke coming in from British Columbia but would love to go back). Spent the night at a Best Western Oak Harbor, WA (Whidbey Island; again highly recommend this hotel). We took the ferrie (great ride) to Port Townsend and spent the next three days touring Olympic National Park.

Again, I am not able to share specific costs for the car rental and I do know the prices were high. Some of that was due to size of vehicle. Most importantly we had absolutely no issues with one way rentals. I highly recommend Alamo because at the cruise terminal it was soooo easy.