----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hello,
Here's a file which I prepared for ARLIS Delaware Valley Chapter. It
includes the ground-transportation info. you requested.
Ed Deegan
Univ. of Pa.
Fisher Fine Arts Library
[log in to unmask]
VANCOUVER TRAVEL INFO. FOR ARLIS-DVC
There's a wealth of WWW-based information, but many "lowest-fare" sites,
plus some airline and car-rental agency sites require that
you "register" with them. On the assumption that registering would bring
me an eternity of travel-related junk e-mail, I have not explored most
such sites. The one site for which I made an exception is INTERNET AIRFARES
(www.air-fare.com), which promises (plausibly?) not to promulgate the
e-mail address which one must provide in order to enter it. Not
all the services on the site are free, but the "demo" area offers, for any
given departure city, slightly outdated (i.e. several days old)
information about the lowest fares in each category (e.g. companion fares,
standard excursion, 21-day advance, refundable, etc.) for major destination
cities. Some of the cited fares are airline-specific, but most are offered by s
all major airlines. Here are the most pertinent quotations, which were
valid as of 12 Nov. 98 (FWIW, these prices are roughly consistent with
some prices I gleaned from the websites of individual airlines):
Phila.-Vancouver (round trip):
Lowest standard excursion (14-day advance purch.; travel Tue., Wed. or
Sat.; Sat. stay-over; complete by 31 Mar. 99): $453 [Air Canada]
2nd-lowest stand. excursion (14-day advance purch.; Sat. stay-over):
$503 [Air Canada]
Lowest 21-day advance purch.: $538 [all lines flying this route]
Phila.-Seattle/Tacoma (round trip):
Lowest standard excursion (21-day advance purch.; Sat. stay-over): $398
[all lines flying this route]
Balt./Wash.-Vancouver (round trip):
Lowest companion fare: $358
Lowest standard excursion: $358 or $398 (varies with restrictions)
Lowest 21-day advance purch.: $532
Balt./Wash.-Seattle/Tacoma (round trip):
Lowest companion fare: $298
Lowest standard excursion fare: $299 [complete by 16 Dec.98], $316
[complete by 10 Feb.99]
Lowest 21-day advance purch.: $398
From the above, I draw three unsurprising conclusions:
- It's usually significantly cheaper to fly to Seattle/Tacoma
than to Vancouver.
- It may be cheaper to fly from Balt./Wash.--Southwest Airlines
serves that airport, and puts price pressure on their competitors.
- It's too early to shop for actual fares for travel next March.
AIRPORT WEBSITES
Philadelphia (PHL): www.phl.org
Baltimore/Washington (BWI): www.bwiairport.com
Seattle-Tacoma (SEA): www.seatac.org
Vancouver, B.C.(YVR): www.yvr.ca
Each of these sites offers information about (and often links to), airlines
which serve the airport, availability of ground transportation, car
rentals, etc. Some also provide links to information about the areas they
serve.
I assume that many members will choose to fly to Seattle-Tacoma. Here's
what I've learned about travel from there to Vancouver:
AIR SHUTTLE: Horizon Air [link on Sea-Tac website].
Direct-to-Vancouver departures at 6:30 A.M., then every hour on the
half-hour until 7:30 P.M. Travel time is about 50 min.(there are other
flights via Portland). Lowest fare for the route is $162.04.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
Seattle to Vancouver driving time is about 3 hours.
Quick Shuttle (a bus shuttle service) 800-665-2122. Sea-Tac to
Vancouver service, with departures at 7:45 and 10:00 A.M., 12:30, 4:00 and
7:30 P.M. Departures from Vancouver (pickup at Hotel Vancouver **by
advance reservation**) at 6:00, 7:15, and 9:45 A.M. There are later buses
which leave from a hotel about a 5-min. taxi ride from the Hotel
Vancouver. Round-trip fare is $61.00.
Greyhound offers shuttle service from Sea-Tac to Seattle, with departures
on the hour and 40 min. past the hour from 6:00 A.M. onward. Travel time
to Seattle is about 25 min. Fare is $7.50 one-way, $13.00 round-trip.
Seattle-to-Vancouver buses depart at 7:45 and 11.30 A.M., 12:15, 3:45,
5:40, and 9:30 P.M. Travel time is 3.5 - 4 hours. Fare is $20 one-way,
$40 round-trip.
Car rentals at SEA-TAC:
Prices quoted do not include 18.3% tax or 10% "concession recovery fee".
Avis, Hertz and National have both service counter and cars on-airport;
Thrifty has a counter on-airport but cars are off-airport.
AVIS: Full-size, 4-door sedan $92.00 per day(assuming no discounts), with
unlimited mileage. Intermediate-size sedan $85.00.
Insurance is an additional $16.99 per day. They have a rental car
return station on Hornby Street, beside the Hotel Vancouver.
www.avis.com (206) 433-5231
HERTZ: Full-size, 4-door sedan $63.99 per day (assuming no discounts), with
unlimited mileage. Intermediate-sized sedan $58.99.
Insurance is $8.95 per day for liability only, or $16.99 for
loss/damage waiver. They have return locations in downtown
Vancouver, but I don't know if any are near the hotel.
www.hertz.com (206) 248-1300
NATIONAL: www.nationalcar.com [requires registration for inquiries]
(206) 433-5501
THRIFTY: Full-size, 4-door sedan $70.99 per day.
They have rental locations in Vancouver, but the web site
doesn't explicitly mention dropoff locations.
www.thrifty.com (206) 246-7565
As far as I can tell, the other car-rental agencies with links on the
SEA-TAC website don't have downtown Vancouver drop-off points.
