Seattle to Vancouver for a cruise: drive, train, bus or fly

If you fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, SEA, the Canada Place cruise terminal in Vancouver is a drive, a train ride or a bus ride north across the border, or a flight. Drivers take I-5 to the border and Highway 99 into Vancouver. Amtrak Cascades trains, Amtrak's own buses and FlixBus end at Pacific Central Station, a taxi or SkyTrain ride from the ship, and on Quick Shuttle's summer 2027 schedule one run a day stops at Canada Place itself.

US prices on this page are in US dollars and Vancouver prices in Canadian dollars, written C$, each with the day we checked it. This site is independent. It is not the Port of Vancouver, Canada Place, Amtrak, a bus company or a cruise line.

Option	From	To	Time on the timetable or route	Price when we checked, 4 November 2026
Drive	Downtown Seattle or SeaTac	Canada Place parkade	About 2 hours 50 minutes to 3 hours 25 minutes, plus the border	Fuel, plus parking in Vancouver
Amtrak Cascades train	King Street Station	Pacific Central Station	8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., or 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.	From $40 on Amtrak's deals page
Quick Shuttle bus	SeaTac, downtown Seattle, Piers 66 and 91	Canada Place curbside on the morning run, otherwise downtown Vancouver	SeaTac 8:30 a.m. to Canada Place 3:00 p.m., summer 2027	$41.15 one way, one suitcase included
FlixBus	Seattle or SeaTac	Pacific Central Station	4 hours from Seattle, 3 hours 50 minutes from SeaTac at best	From $34.98 from Seattle, $35.97 from SeaTac
Fly SEA to YVR	SEA	YVR, then the Canada Line to Waterfront	Flight, then 27 minutes on the train	Set by the airline

How far is Seattle from the Vancouver cruise terminal?

About 144 miles from downtown Seattle and about 157 miles from SeaTac airport. By the two route planners we use, which work on OpenStreetMap road data, Canada Place is 143 to 144 miles from King Street Station, with 2 hours 50 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes of driving. From SeaTac it is 156 to 158 miles, or 3 hours 5 minutes to 3 hours 25 minutes. Neither planner counts traffic or the border wait, and we measured both on 4 November 2026.

Both planners take I-5 north to the border at Blaine and cross at Peace Arch onto Highway 99; one stays on Highway 99 into Vancouver and the other leaves it for Highway 91 and Knight Street. Peace Arch is the crossing Canada calls Douglas and lists at 220 Highway 99 in Surrey.

Which border crossing do you use driving from Seattle to Vancouver?

Peace Arch, where I-5 meets Highway 99, or Pacific Highway, the second crossing at Blaine. The Canada Border Services Agency lists Douglas and Pacific Highway as the Canadian sides of Blaine's Peace Arch and Pacific Highway ports. Its directory, modified 19 August 2026, shows both open to travelers 24 hours a day, with dedicated NEXUS lanes into Canada from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day.

Check the wait before you commit to one. The CBSA's border wait times page lists the current estimate for travelers at Douglas and at Pacific Highway, refreshed through the day. On the morning we read it, 4 November 2026, both showed 5 minutes, which says little about a summer weekend. British Columbia's own border page, updated 30 January 2026, says the province's wait-time system is offline after hardware faults and points drivers to the DriveBC border cameras instead.

NEXUS saves time only if everyone in the car has a card. The CBSA says everyone with you must be a member, whatever their age, and that the driver is responsible for checking. It also lists dedicated NEXUS lanes into Canada at 18 land crossings.

For the drive home, U.S. Customs and Border Protection posts waits for Blaine Peace Arch and Blaine Pacific Highway by lane type, general, Ready and NEXUS. CBP's stated goal, where the infrastructure allows, is 15 minutes in NEXUS lanes and half the general lane wait in Ready lanes. B.C.'s border page also reminds drivers that taking cannabis across the international border is illegal.

Where do you park at Canada Place after driving from Seattle?

In the Canada Place cruise terminal parkade, run by Indigo. The port says long-term parking there takes vehicles up to 198 cm, or 6 feet 6 inches, high on P1 and up to 205 cm, or 6 feet 9 inches, on P2, and that Indigo handles bookings and over-height vehicles. Indigo's own cruise parking page says cruise parkers must park on P2. Drop-offs come in by the ramp at the foot of Howe Street. The parking guide has the rates and the alternatives.

Before you drive up, check that your cruise comes back to Vancouver. If it ends in Seattle, as some do, the car stays in Vancouver.

How do you take the Amtrak train from Seattle to Vancouver for a cruise?

Amtrak Cascades runs two trains a day from Seattle's King Street Station to Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. On Amtrak's timetable for 4 November 2026, train 516 leaves Seattle at 8:30 a.m. and reaches Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., and train 518 leaves at 6:00 p.m. and arrives at 11:00 p.m. Both stop at Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mount Vernon and Bellingham. Amtrak Cascades says Pacific Central Station is open from 4:30 a.m. to midnight and handles checked baggage during those hours.

Amtrak also sells four buses a day between the same two stations, run by Cantrail with a stop in Richmond, B.C. On the same timetable they leave Seattle at 10:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and reach Pacific Central 4 hours 15 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes later.

Fares change with the date. Amtrak's Seattle deals page showed Seattle to Vancouver from $40 for 16 December 2026 when we read it on 4 November 2026, without saying whether that fare was for the train or the bus.

Amtrak says every service across the border is subject to inspection by Canadian and American officials. When you book, you give your date of birth, citizenship and the details of the ID you will carry, and Amtrak passes them to customs in advance. Carry that same document, the original, and one per passenger.

The 8:30 a.m. train reaches Vancouver at 1:30 p.m., and the ride on to Canada Place comes after that. Compare that with the check-in time your cruise line gives you. In our view the safer plan is to ride up the day before, since there is one morning train and a border between you and the ship. The hotels guide covers where to stay.

How do you get from Pacific Central Station to Canada Place?

By taxi or by SkyTrain. Pacific Central is at 1150 Station Street, and VIA Rail's page for the station names Main Street-Science World as the SkyTrain station for it, near the corner of Main Street and Terminal Avenue.

• Taxi. The flat fare the port quotes, from C$16, runs the other way, from the cruise terminal to downtown hotels and Pacific Central. The Passenger Transportation Board sets it at C$16 with GST during the cruise season. From Pacific Central to Canada Place the meter runs, which the board's Rule 9 set at C$3.75 to start and C$2.18 a kilometer, GST included, when we read it on 4 November 2026.
• SkyTrain. Take the Expo Line from Main Street-Science World to Waterfront, 7 minutes on TransLink's station-to-station table, and walk next door to Canada Place. Both stations are in fare zone 1, so an adult tap fare was C$3.50 when we checked TransLink on 4 November 2026.

Is there a bus from Seattle or SeaTac to the Vancouver cruise terminal?

Yes. Three companies run buses north, and on Quick Shuttle's summer 2027 schedule (1 May to 30 September) one run a day stops at Canada Place. Its winter schedules have fewer runs, and none of them stops there. Holland America's Vancouver port page points travelers from Seattle to Quick Shuttle's service and to Amtrak.

Quick Shuttle from SeaTac to Canada Place

Quick Shuttle's summer schedule for 1 May to 30 September 2027 has four northbound runs a day from SeaTac, at 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. At SeaTac it picks up on the lower arrivals level outside Door 2. Its northbound fare was $41.15 one way with one suitcase, or $50.05 refundable with two, in US dollars, when we read its site on 4 November 2026.

Only the 8:30 a.m. run, which also calls at Pier 91 and Pier 66, drops at Canada Place, curbside near the Pan Pacific Hotel, at 3:00 p.m. The others stop across the street from Waterfront SkyTrain station, outside 660 West Cordova Street, which the port says is next to the terminal; the 8:30 a.m. run stops there too, at 3:15 p.m. Its cruise shuttle page says the pier pickups run on ship days only and need a reservation 24 hours ahead. There is no 2028 timetable on its site yet.

FlixBus and Amtrak buses to Pacific Central Station

FlixBus runs from several Seattle stops and from SeaTac airport to Pacific Central Station. On 4 November 2026 its Seattle page listed at least 5 trips a day, a fastest time of 4 hours and fares from $34.98. Its SeaTac page listed at least 2 a day, 3 hours 50 minutes at best and fares from $35.97. Amtrak's four daily Cantrail buses, above, run from King Street Station to the same station.

Holland America's coach from SeaTac

Holland America sells its own coach from SeaTac to Vancouver on sailing day for its passengers. Its transfer page says your flight must land at SeaTac by 9:00 a.m., you check in at the Cruise Bus Lobby between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., and the coach leaves no later than 10:00 a.m. It shows no price.

Should you fly from Seattle to Vancouver instead?

It means a second flight, and you enter Canada at YVR instead of at the land border. YVR's 2026 route list, updated July 2026, shows Air Canada, Alaska Airlines and Delta flying nonstop between Vancouver and Seattle, with 119 flights a week to Seattle in summer and 98 in winter. From YVR the Canada Line SkyTrain takes 27 minutes to Waterfront station, beside Canada Place.

The YVR airport to Canada Place guide compares the train, taxis and transfers from the airport, with fares.

Can a cruise from Vancouver end in Seattle?

Yes. 15 one-way sailings on our schedule leave Canada Place and end in Seattle, from 23 April 2027 to 21 August 2028, and run 1 to 11 nights. Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, Oceania, Norwegian and Virgin Voyages sell them. The lowest starting fare among them was $109 per person in US dollars, taxes and fees included, when we checked on 4 November 2026.

If you live near Seattle or fly in there, these let you travel up once and sail home, with no return trip across the border. The one-way Alaska cruises guide lists them with the other one-way trips, and the short cruises guide covers the overnight hops down the coast. Cruises also leave from Seattle itself, as Holland America's transfer page shows, but this site covers Vancouver departures only.

What documents do you need to go from Seattle to Vancouver by car or train?

For entering Canada, the CBSA recommends that U.S. citizens of any age travel with a valid passport. Its travel documents page, modified 5 June 2026, says other documents that show your full name, date of birth and citizenship are accepted, alone or combined. Examples include a birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or naturalization, or an enhanced driver's license, and you may be asked for photo ID if your proof of citizenship has no photo. U.S. permanent residents arriving by land show their green card.

Traveling with children, the CBSA asks you to carry ID for each child and copies of any custody papers, and to arrive at the border in the same vehicle as the child. Bring a consent letter if you share custody and the other parent is not traveling with you, or if you are not the child's parent or guardian.

Amtrak is stricter for its trains and buses. It accepts only a U.S. passport, passport card, NEXUS, FAST or SENTRI card, an enhanced driver's license from Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, New York or Vermont, and a few other documents from U.S. citizens 16 and over. Children under 16 can use a certified copy of a birth certificate.

The cruise line and any flight home have their own rules. The cruise documents guide covers what each line asks for.

How do you get back to Seattle after a Vancouver cruise?

By the same routes in reverse. If you drove, the car is waiting in the parkade. Without one, there are two trains a day and several buses.

• Amtrak Cascades. Train 517 leaves Pacific Central at 8:25 a.m. and reaches Seattle at 12:10 p.m., and train 519 leaves at 5:55 p.m. and arrives at 9:10 p.m., on Amtrak's 4 November 2026 timetable. Amtrak opened U.S. preclearance at Pacific Central in June 2026, so you clear U.S. customs there before boarding and, Amtrak's release of 10 June 2026 says, the train goes straight into the United States without stopping. The Government of Canada announced the preclearance the same day. Amtrak asks passengers to arrive at least 60 minutes early, and its boarding gates close 25 minutes before departure.
• Quick Shuttle. On its summer 2027 schedule, buses leave Canada Place from the cruise ship level, Bay 11 inside the terminal, at 9:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., reaching SeaTac at 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
• Holland America's coach. Its debark coach from Vancouver to SeaTac needs a flight no earlier than 4:00 p.m., its transfer page says.
• Other buses. The port says Gray Line Westcoast Sightseeing, at the terminal's ground transportation desk, can arrange bus service to Seattle and SeaTac. FlixBus and Amtrak's buses leave from Pacific Central.

For the first leg to the train, the port's flat taxi fare from Canada Place to Pacific Central Station was from C$16 when we read its page on 4 November 2026. Browse sailings by date on our schedule.