Vancouver to Seattle advice.

[Cowley]

Hello people.

I was just wondering if anyone had done this journey before? We’ve got a chance of doing a trip to Seattle from Vancouver sometime around the second week in June and the prices look reasonably decent.

Having never travelled by train in either country I’m not really sure what to expect or the best way to go about buying tickets even?

Also if anyone has any recommendations of where a good (but not too expensive) area of Seattle to stay would be that would be much appreciated too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[sierraromeo]

I’ve travelled on the Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle. I enjoyed it and would recommend. As you mention it isn’t expensive. I just booked it on the Amtrak website. I took the 06:35 train. It’s not a fast service (3hrs+ ish) but coaches were comfortable enough and the scenery is nice enough. At Vancouver you go through an airport-style security check and at the US border you can stay on the train and US border force come round to check your passports.

I stayed in a hostel right in the centre in Pikes Place. Hotels were expensive.

(I got the Greyhound back to Vancouver.)

 

[Cowley]

I’ve travelled on the Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle. I enjoyed it and would recommend. As you mention it isn’t expensive. I just booked it on the Amtrak website. I took the 06:35 train. It’s not a fast service (3hrs+ ish) but coaches were comfortable enough and the scenery is nice enough. At Vancouver you go through an airport-style security check and at the US border you can stay on the train and US border force come round to check your passports.

I stayed in a hostel right in the centre in Pikes Place. Hotels were expensive.

(I got the Greyhound back to Vancouver.)

Brilliant stuff thanks for that.

 

[MikeWM]

I lived in Seattle for a couple of years about 20 years ago, but sadly never made this journey. Hope you enjoy it!

As for somewhere to stay - I've not been back for about 15 years so everything has probably changed, but last time I went I found the U-District to offer the best combination of value and convenience (it's not downtown, but there's a lot going on, and the buses to downtown were very frequent - now there is a light rail service that operates via a new tunnel, which is probably even better).

If you are going to stay downtown, if things are remotely as they were back then, I'd recommend being closer to the Seattle Centre (space needle) end. Somewhere like Pioneer Square, and indeed the area around the station itself, may be a bit cheaper - but even 20 years ago it was a bit seedy around there, and I'd imagine it is rather worse now given what has happened recently in similar places like New York and San Francisco. (I never actually felt uncomfortable in Seattle, even when waiting for a bus late at night at 4th & James opposite the county courthouse, which had some rather *interesting* characters hanging around - but certainly some parts are rather nicer than others...)

 

[Gaelan]

I haven't done Seattle-Vancouver, but I have done another stretch (Tacoma-Portland) on the Amtrak Cascades route a few times. It's a lovely service. The coaching stock is a mix of tilting Talgo sets and standard Amtrak "Horizon" cars - I'd lean towards the former if you can manage it, although I have no idea if/how you can find the diagrams.

It's a shorter route (by North American standards) so I wouldn't expect the trademark Amtrak 8-hour delays, but I'd still budget a few spare hours to be safe - I once had a Tacoma-Seattle Sounder commuter train (the one in my profile picture!) stop for 30 minutes because of a car stuck at a level crossing. It does feel like the railway is operated with much less urgency than you'd expect in Europe.

You just buy tickets from Amtrak's website and get tickets by email. Reservations compulsory, book early for cheap prices. The train hugs the coast for much of its route - that'll be on your left going up to Vancouver, so if you get the choice, pick a side accordingly for the view you'd prefer.

At many larger Amtrak stations, you're expected to wait in the station building until the train arrives, then head out to the platform to board. King Street Station in Seattle shares its platforms with the Sounder, so I'm not sure how it works there - show up at the station, follow signs for Amtrak and you'll be fine. That being said, do make sure you check out the actual station building - I don't think I've ever been in, but from photos I've seen it's gorgeous, very much of the typical American railway terminus style.

The cafe car ("bistro car", lol) serves mediocre microwaved fare, same stuff you'd expect from an LNER cafe car. That being said, the cafe car on the Talgo sets is absolutely gorgeous (Wikipedia has a picture), so do at least pop in.

 

[Cowley]

I lived in Seattle for a couple of years about 20 years ago, but sadly never made this journey. Hope you enjoy it!

As for somewhere to stay - I've not been back for about 15 years so everything has probably changed, but last time I went I found the U-District to offer the best combination of value and convenience (it's not downtown, but there's a lot going on, and the buses to downtown were very frequent - now there is a light rail service that operates via a new tunnel, which is probably even better).

If you are going to stay downtown, if things are remotely as they were back then, I'd recommend being closer to the Seattle Centre (space needle) end. Somewhere like Pioneer Square, and indeed the area around the station itself, may be a bit cheaper - but even 20 years ago it was a bit seedy around there, and I'd imagine it is rather worse now given what has happened recently in similar places like New York and San Francisco. (I never actually felt uncomfortable in Seattle, even when waiting for a bus late at night at 4th & James opposite the county courthouse, which had some rather *interesting* characters hanging around - but certainly some parts are rather nicer than others...)

That’s really helpful Mike. Thanks for that.

I haven't done Seattle-Vancouver, but I have done another stretch (Tacoma-Portland) on the Amtrak Cascades route a few times. It's a lovely service. The coaching stock is a mix of tilting Talgo sets and standard Amtrak "Horizon" cars - I'd lean towards the former if you can manage it, although I have no idea if/how you can find the diagrams.

It's a shorter route (by North American standards) so I wouldn't expect the trademark Amtrak 8-hour delays, but I'd still budget a few spare hours to be safe - I once had a Tacoma-Seattle Sounder commuter train (the one in my profile picture!) stop for 30 minutes because of a car stuck at a level crossing. It does feel like the railway is operated with much less urgency than you'd expect in Europe.

You just buy tickets from Amtrak's website and get tickets by email. Reservations compulsory, book early for cheap prices. The train hugs the coast for much of its route - that'll be on your left going up to Vancouver, so if you get the choice, pick a side accordingly for the view you'd prefer.

At many larger Amtrak stations, you're expected to wait in the station building until the train arrives, then head out to the platform to board. King Street Station in Seattle shares its platforms with the Sounder, so I'm not sure how it works there - show up at the station, follow signs for Amtrak and you'll be fine. That being said, do make sure you check out the actual station building - I don't think I've ever been in, but from photos I've seen it's gorgeous, very much of the typical American railway terminus style.

The cafe car ("bistro car", lol) serves mediocre microwaved fare, same stuff you'd expect from an LNER cafe car. That being said, the cafe car on the Talgo sets is absolutely gorgeous (Wikipedia has a picture), so do at least pop in.

Again also really helpful.

All of this has given me enough to start planning, I’m sure I’ll be back for more questions though.