----------------------------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 Not all the services on the site are free, but the "demo" area offers, for any given departure city, slightly outdated (i.e. several days old) information about the lowest fares in each category (e.g. companion fares, standard excursion, 21-day advance, refundable, etc.)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.