Amtrak bus to or from Vancouver

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Kenneth

Service Attendant
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Oct 14, 2011
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Southern Illinois
Is anyone familiar with the bus to or from SEA and VAC. To get closer to the travel times I would like, one direction will be on the bus and one on the train. I have never been on an Amtrak bus. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
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I've gone VAC-SEA on the bus and the train. Train's better, in my opinion. At Vancouver a southbound rider and the bags go through Customs and Immigration there, then when the train crosses the border into the US a couple of agents will come aboard for quick checks. Bus riders south have to get out of the bus at the border and take their stuff through the full monty black jackboot examination of baggage and interview with an agent. Train is much less scary and oppressive.
 
If this is purely an excursion/joy ride, then of course you'll want to book the train both ways. It's a beautiful ride, though depending on your

departure and the time of year, you might be riding after dark.

If, like many Amtrak riders, you are actually using the service to be somewhere at a particular time, then book the departures that best suit

your travel needs. The previous poster's description of the "full monty black jackboot examination ... and interview" is ridiculous. Yes, getting

off the bus at the border is inconvenient but you have to clear border formalities regardless of your mode. At least with the bus, you only come

into contact with agents once, not twice like on the train. If crossing the border is "scary" then you're probably better off staying stateside in the

first place.
 
I did SEA-VAC at 1am on the bus last summer, due to the CS being 3 hours late. The driver was great.

We had to get out at the border with our bags and get grilled by immigration.

They asked all the usual questions, then asked "How many guns do you have at home?" Heh.

We were probably stopped at the border around 10 minutes.

I would have much preferred to overnight in Seattle and then take the train up the next day, but it would have cost 1500 more points. (I'm not sure why Amtrak cares, but they do.)

It turned out okay; I napped on the train as soon as it got dark and again on the bus and spent the rest of the night drinking coffee at Timmy's.
 
I've never taken Amtrak's bus from Seattle to Vancouver, but I have taken BoltBus.

The experience of crossing from the US into Canada on the bus is much better than crossing from Canada to the US.

The Canadian facility was well staffed (3 agents checking passports), they didn't bother X-raying most bags and while the agents were much more physically intimidating, they worked fast. The US facility had very few agents (1 person was checking passports for all the bus passengers), they insisted on X-raying every bag for contraband and every agent was working as slow as molasses.

On the other hand, crossing from Canada to the US is better on the train since you go through passport control/immigration before boarding the train.


By the way... I HIGHLY suggest you go to boltbus.com and compare prices for the trip. BoltBus tends to be cheaper than the AmBus and the service is just as good if not better (all of the buses used by BoltBus have free WiFi, not sure about the AmBus).
 
If it fits your schedule I recommend taking the train between SEA and VAC in both directions! I-5 traffic is nothing to write home about,and crossing the border via bus is a hassle! Really not much to see via the Freeway either!

Watching the scenery as you roll along Puget sound heading to Vancouver and having a coffee and pastry is much better than any bus! And has been said, going through Customs and Immigration ( don't forget your passport)@ Pacific Central Station in Vancouver is a breeze!

I used to live in Vancouver and have crossed the border hundreds if times, the Train is the way to roll!
 
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By the way... I HIGHLY suggest you go to boltbus.com and compare prices for the trip. BoltBus tends to be cheaper than the AmBus and the service is just as good if not better (all of the buses used by BoltBus have free WiFi, not sure about the AmBus).
On the BoltBus I rode from Seattle to Vancouver the wifi was unusable most if not all of the ride. Worst part of the ride, besides the nasty bus lav that hadn't been cleaned in awhile was the US Immigration station where there was one person to process our bus while at least a half-dozen other officers just stood around talking among themselves. Outside of the bathroom and spotty wifi the major issue was outside the control of Bolt.
 
Thanks for the info. I am just out riding for fun. Part of a 7,500 mile trip. My visit to Vancouver, beside the train ride, was to pick up some coins and bills at the bank for my collection. So didn't need all the time between the morning and evening train.
 
By the way... I HIGHLY suggest you go to boltbus.com and compare prices for the trip. BoltBus tends to be cheaper than the AmBus and the service is just as good if not better (all of the buses used by BoltBus have free WiFi, not sure about the AmBus).
On the BoltBus I rode from Seattle to Vancouver the wifi was unusable most if not all of the ride. Worst part of the ride, besides the nasty bus lav that hadn't been cleaned in awhile was the US Immigration station where there was one person to process our bus while at least a half-dozen other officers just stood around talking among themselves. Outside of the bathroom and spotty wifi the major issue was outside the control of Bolt.
Huh. Very different experience than what I had.

The lavatory had obviously just been cleaned before my trip, the WiFi was stable and usable for most of the trip, including while in Canada which allowed me to keep messaging with my wife for free (the AmtrakConnect WiFi is shut off north of the border) and the WiFi system also offered free streaming movies (I watched Life of Pi). BoltBus does make 2 stops along the way (Bellingham & the Immigration station) and the driver pointed out to passengers that there were "real" bathrooms available at each stop.


There's plenty else to do in Vancouver for a fully day. If your just riding around I'd also recommend riding SkyTrain. It's one of the most unique urban rail systems in North America.
Seconded. The SkyTrain is very unique and a fun ride. Since its automated the trains show up very frequently and you can sit in the "drivers seat" and look out the windshield.
 
I made sure we took the train from SEA to VAC, we spend the night in SEA knowing the EB will late and may be bussed, so we changed our ticket to arrive SEA the day before, and took the first train out to VAC and enjoyed the view along the water up.
 
I'm coming into Seattle on the Coast Starlight, staying the night there and taking the morning train to Vancouver. BUT on the way back, I'm getting off a cruise and the 2 trains are pretty much not workable.Early morning and fairly late evening. Hard to hang around a city all day with cruise luggage. So it's been suggested to me to take Quick Shuttle direct from the port to downtown Seattle..will spend the day and night there and then back on the Coast Starlight home.
 
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