How to Take the Bus From Seattle to Vancouver Airport

Need to make your way north from Seattle to the Vancouver airport?  Turns out, it is actually quite easy to take a bus from Seattle to Vancouver Airport. 

Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links. What does that mean you ask? I may earn a small commission, but you won’t pay any extra. These links also help fund and support my page.

Having lived in Seattle since I was 18, I’ve been to Vancouver, British Columbia probably close to two dozen times.  Maybe more?  But in all those times I had flown once (as a connecting flight) and every other trip has been by driving across the border.  I’ve never even taken the train. 

That all changed earlier this year when an amazing flight deal from Vancouver to Crete popped up in my email from a flight deals newsletter I subscribe to.  Since I had the time, and I had never been to Greece I figured, why not?  But that did leave one extra step, I had to figure out how to get from Seattle to Vancouver without a car, because I was flying back through Seattle. 

Amtrak Bus From Seattle to Vancouver Airport

My initial thought was I would finally have a reason to take the train from Seattle to Vancouver, but Amtrak proved me wrong.  

There are only two daily train services from Seattle to Vancouver, BC.  One at 8:30 am, and one at 6:00 pm.  They do however offer a connecting bus to Vancouver BC from Seattle throughout the day. 

And as it turns out, the bus is actually better than the train for multiple reasons.  Not only are there more departures available, it costs less AND there is a bus to Richmond which is where the Vancouver International Airport is located. 

With the train, you would go all the way into downtown Vancouver, then have to head back south via SkyTrain (public transit), or a taxi/rideshare (which will not be cheap) to get to the airport. 

The bus includes: power at the seat, a foot rest, reclining seats and adjustable air vents.

Amtrak Connecting Bus Route

Another major benefit of the bus over the train is the route.  The train has five stops in Washington between Seattle and Vancouver.  There is however no stop at the border, as all border control is done at the Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. 

The bus on the other hand is non-stop (minus the border) from Seattle’s King Street Station to Richmond BC.  Your Seattle to Vancouver Canada bus will drop you off at the Sandman Signature Vancouver Airport Hotel & Resort in Richmond.  After you depart, you will hop on the hotel shuttle which will take you directly to the airport.  This is about a 10 minute drive.  

If for whatever reason you are reading this and want to go to Vancouver and not the airport, the bus will continue on and stop at the central train/bus station. 

Amtrak Bus From Seattle to Vancouver Airport Schedule

In addition to the twice daily train, Amtrak has bus service from Seattle Washington to Vancouver Canada four times every day.  

The schedule shows each route at approximately 3 hours.  If you know Seattle (and even Vancouver) traffic, you know that 3 hours leaving at 4:45 pm is wishful thinking.  Those HOV lanes only get you so far.  Now I’m sure they have some sort of data to back this up but give yourself extra time.  You don’t want to miss your flight because you didn’t account for traffic, or possibly a busy day at the border. 

Even my random Tuesday morning bus with no border traffic, and about 8 people on the bus was 15 minutes late due to standstill traffic south of Bellingham. 

Daily Schedule

• 10:45 am – 1:45 pm
• 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
• 4:45 pm – 7:45 pm
• 9:00 pm – 11:45 pm

Find route schedules and availability on the Amtrak website. 

Amtrak Bus Seattle to Vancouver Ticket Prices

For whatever reason, maybe due to international taxes, the price of the train to Vancouver is stupid expensive.  A partially refundable ticket (with no changes) is $84 in coach.  Now compare that to the train from Seattle to Vancouver Washington, which is the same amount of time (probably longer) and starts at $27.  

The bus is $60 for a partially refundable ticket (with no changes).  So compared to $84, and a direct airport drop off, that’s a pretty good deal.  You can also book a fully refundable (with changes) ticket for $66. 

These tickets include one personal item and two carry-on items.  The online policy states two checked bags may be accepted.  This is really just the same verbiage as their train baggage policy.  Even if you only have one carry on size piece of luggage, the driver will put it in the luggage hold below rather than have you store it in the overhead luggage bins. 

Seattle Vancouver Border Crossing by Bus

I’ve only ever crossed the border by car, so I wasn’t sure about the process or how long it would take since border times are hit or miss.  

The Amtrak bus goes through the United States / Canada border crossing in Lynden, WA instead of Peace Arch in Blaine.  If you’re unfamiliar with driving across the border, Peace Arch is the main crossing on I5, and it’s also the busiest.  On weekends border crossings can take 1-2 hours, or longer. 

This crossing is typically not quite as busy but it requires driving off the interstate and is significantly smaller than Peace Arch.  Lynden is also where trucks are typically routed.  My trip happened to be midday on a Tuesday, so there was no one at the border. 

Once you arrive, you have to take everything off the bus.  Luggage, personal items, all of it.  Then you head inside to go through the border patrol process.  This took about 10 minutes which included a bathroom break.  After everyone on the bus is done, you reload your luggage onto the bus and continue north.  

Quick Shuttle bus Seattle to Vancouver BC 

Quick Shuttle is another service that offers a coach bus from Seattle to Vancouver BC.  Their buses offer WiFi and USB ports at each seat.  There is also a toilet on board if you can’t hold it for an hour to Marysville. 

Quick Shuttle Route

Unlike the Amtrak which only departs from the downtown train station, this bus service has multiple stops in Seattle.  In addition to a downtown pick up next to the convention center, they also stop at each cruise terminal. This is quite helpful for any cruisers that want to continue their trip up to Canada. 

Quick Shuttle also has a SeaTac to Vancouver bus if you need to transfer between airports without flying.  Or maybe you’re coming from the South Sound, you could make your way to the Seattle airport and then catch the shuttle. 

However there is a downside to all their pick up locations, unfortunately, this means the journey will be slower.  They don’t just pick up in Seattle and at SeaTac, they also stop in Marysville at the Tulalip Outlets, and the Bellingham Airport. Once you cross the border they also stop in Surrey prior to the Richmond drop off. 

For the Vancouver Airport, they will drop you off at the River Rock Casino.  This casino does not have a shuttle to the airport, you will have to take the SkyTrain or a taxi.  The SkyTrain Bridgeport Station is located just outside the hotel.  From here you will get on the Canada Line. There are two routes from this station, so make sure you’re on the one going to the airport (YVR-Airport Station), and not the Richmond-Brighouse Station.  The train will take about 10 minutes (once it departs), and runs about every 8-9 minutes during the day. 

Quick Shuttle Seattle to Vancouver schedule

The Quick Shuttle schedule is honestly pretty confusing.  In the summer, they have a shuttle from Seattle to Vancouver airport 2-4 times a day, but it depends on the day.   

Shuttle buses do not run daily in the winter, and the schedule changes every month.  I recommend skipping their schedule page all together, and just go directly to their booking page to see if your day is available, and which times are offered.  

Quick Shuttle bus prices 

The Quick Shuttle prices are quite a bit less than Amtrak.  The cheapest bus from Seattle to Vancouver airport is $41, however it is non-refundable.  This includes one personal item and one suitcase.  They do have a “refundable” ticket which I will call “partially” refundable because they say that it is refundable “minus applicable non-refundable fees”.  What are the “non-refundable fees”? No idea, they don’t list those anywhere.  There is a $10.50 reschedule fee that you can purchase, but only with a ticket.  

The “refundable” ticket is $50 and includes one personal item and two suitcases. 

SkyTrain Ticket Price

In case you missed the note above, there is no shuttle from the River Rock Casino to the airport.  The easiest option is the SkyTrain.  From the casino to the airport, the ticket is $3.50 CAD ($2.50 USD). 

The return is where things go off the rails (pun intended).  For whatever reason, there is an airport surcharge to use the train, but only if you leave the airport.  This is an extra $6.50 CAD, so nearly double the regular ticket price.  This brings the total of the return fare to $10 CAD ($7.20 USD).  

That means if you happen to have a round trip and need a shuttle from Vancouver Airport to Seattle, you will pay roughly $10 USD extra on top of your bus fare. 

Other Seattle to Vancouver Buses

Amtrak and Quick Shuttle are really the only options if you want to get a bus from Seattle to Vancouver Airport. 

There is no Greyhound bus from Seattle to Vancouver airport, it only goes from the Seattle Bus Station to Pacific Central Station in Vancouver.  

Likewise, Flixbus, another popular bus service, does not have any buses from Seattle to the Vancouver Airport.  Like Greyhound, they depart from the Seattle Bus Station to Pacific Central Station.  However, they also have a route from the University of Washington to Pacific Central Station.  

What is the best bus from Seattle to Vancouver Airport

When comparing routes, number of stops, and price, I would vote for the Amtrak bus.  For only $10 more you get a non-stop bus that will get you directly to the airport without having to take public transportation once you get to Richmond.   

That said, if you are somewhere besides downtown Seattle, like SeaTac Airport, or even one of the cruise ship terminals, it might be easier to get the Quick Shuttle, which will pick you up at that location rather than having to get to the train station.  You just need to plan a little extra time for the additional stops, and getting on the SkyTrain once in Canada.  

My Seattle to Vancouver Bus Review

While I haven’t taken the train to Vancouver BC, I have taken the train to Vancouver WA and Portland multiple times. The service is definitely different.  The train has a bar car with food and drinks.  There are bathrooms.  You can pick a coach or first class seat.  The views are amazing.  The Cascade train is an experience, not just a journey from point A to B. 

I won’t say I had low expectations going into this bus ride, but they weren’t high.  I took a MegaBus down to Portland to visit friends once to save money.  The drive down took nearly 5 hours.  I vowed I would never make that mistake again (and I have driven every time ever since). 

The Amtrak bus definitely exceeded my expectations.  While I was disappointed that there wasn’t WiFi on board, and like every other bus service they do not believe in tray tables, everything else was great.  My driver was friendly and prompt.   There were maybe 8 people on the bus, so there was plenty of room to get a seat and spread out.  And I was pleased to find that the seats reclined and had footrests. 

Aside from some traffic south of Bellingham everything else was very smooth. 

It also wasn’t clear when booking the ticket where exactly we got off in Richmond.  I was extremely pleased to find out that there was a free shuttle to the airport from our drop off location.  I expected I would have to call an Uber, so this saved me time and money. 

My ticket was only $50 just a couple of months ago, so they have clearly raised the prices over the summer.  But considering I can’t even get an Uber from my apartment in Queen Anne to SeaTac for $50, spending $60 to get to the Vancouver Airport seems like a bargain. 

Now that I know I can easily take a bus from Seattle to the Vancouver Airport, I will be checking flight deals from YVR even more frequently. 

From Seattle to Vancouver Airport Frequently Asked Questions

Additional Puget Sound Posts