Bellingham- International travel options (YVR?) (Seattle, Vancouver: new home, living in, costs)

[Moonshot]

Hello:
Bellingham meets a lot of the criteria I have right now for a new home town. I do a lot of international travel, though, so I want to understand how people that live there handle logistics:

With regard to making international (non-North America) flights out of Bellingham:
- Living in Bellingham, would flying out of YVR (Vancouver, BC) airport be practical? Are there specific pros/cons?
- Flights from Bellingham to SEA- worth spending the extra $$$ for increased travel options?
Examples or experience appreciated.

Oh, and: What about family from out of state visiting Bellingham? Fly to Bellingham (through a connection), or YVR? What is typical or practical?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

[CrazyDonkey]

Direct flights to/from Las Vegas, San Diego, and Denver on Allegiant Air, Portland on Alaska Airlines.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/new...195472524.html

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by Moonshot

Hello:

Oh, and: What about family from out of state visiting Bellingham? Fly to Bellingham (through a connection), or YVR? What is typical or practical?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

It depends on schedules. (For us the choice is Bellingham or Seatac.) My sister flew into and out of Bellingham on a recent visit, and I have used it for one trip. (I saw quite a few Canadians there, if you want to give any meaning to that.) Usually, though, there is no flight going where I want to go on the day I want to go there. If your days and times are very flexible, it's a good choice.



When YVR is the other option, you also have to consider border waits at different times of the day.



Another option is to use Seatac and take the airporter bus. Also, starting next year several airlines will be flying out of Everett.


Sometimes it just comes down to where you'd rather be sitting: at an airport, on a plane, on a bus, or in your car.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by Moonshot

Hello:
Bellingham meets a lot of the criteria I have right now for a new home town. I do a lot of international travel, though, so I want to understand how people that live there handle logistics:

With regard to making international (non-North America) flights out of Bellingham:
- Living in Bellingham, would flying out of YVR (Vancouver, BC) airport be practical? Are there specific pros/cons?
- Flights from Bellingham to SEA- worth spending the extra $$$ for increased travel options?
Examples or experience appreciated.

Oh, and: What about family from out of state visiting Bellingham? Fly to Bellingham (through a connection), or YVR? What is typical or practical?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

For international travel, YVR is a safe bet. It's a quick drive and it's on the south side of the city in Richmond (rather than driving through the city of Vancouver itself), so traffic is usually okay. My wife's co-workers and plenty of our friends use the airport because they have a ton of int'l nonstop connections and are quite often cheaper than Sea-Tac. Sure, border wait times vary, but all you have to do to remedy that situation is get a Nexus pass and you're good to go.

Sea-Tac is fine, but you can easily get stuck in traffic and it can be a PITA to arrange parking. I use the Bellair Airporter shuttle for work all the time- to domestic destinations. But for int'l connections you need to budget in a good amount of time.

I also fly out of Bellingham whenever possible. It has limited options and is often more expensive, but if it's within $100 or so of a SEA ticket price I'll choose it every single time. Most connections (apart from Allegiant) are through Seattle, but from there you can fly to anywhere.

Anyway, you've got a fair share of options.

[Moonshot]

Thank you-- these are all responses along the lines of what I was thinking/hoping.

[Pahn]

Whenever I go that way, I take the Bolt Bus rather than the Airporter. It's direct to downtown, then you can hop on the light rail and get to the airport that way. It's faster than the Airporter (since it's nonstop) and it costs far less.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by Pahn

Whenever I go that way, I take the Bolt Bus rather than the Airporter. It's direct to downtown, then you can hop on the light rail and get to the airport that way. It's faster than the Airporter (since it's nonstop) and it costs far less.

Interesting, though two hours vs. 2.5 equals out or even adds a little time when you add a rail connection. And there are a lot more Airporters per day, which is especially important to me for catching early morning flights to the east coast. I hear you about the price, but for me, the difference in price between an uber back and forth to Cordata (BoltBus) vs Lakeway (Airporter) really eats into the cost differential. But I may look into sometime it if the logistics work out!

[JackLonsdale]

YVR is the superior airport for international travel, especially if we're talking about Asia or Europe, in terms of choice, frequency, and cost/value. The other commenters have given some good feedback about transportation options. If driving, it's ideal if you are travelling with other passengers so that you can use the HOV lane right up to the Massey Tunnel (an area that tends to get congested in the morning).

Otherwise, Bellingham Airport for convenience and regional destinations, and SeaTac for national/US/West Coast, particularly if you are a Alaska/Delta loyalist.

Bellingham is spoiled for choice when it comes to air travel options. And don't forget about Abbotsford's airport if you're looking for value flights in Canada (ie, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto)...

[StealthRabbit]

Get your NEXUS card (Canadia equivalent to Global Entry, but less expensive and beats a WA DOL "Enhanced" DL) and use YVR, tho domestic USA bargain fares will be ezr to find at USA hubs (Fly from Bellingham to LAS or similar)

Avoid SEA-TAC (traffic + long waits + beyond Seattle)