Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BY TRAIN
Amtrak
(
&
800/872-7245;
www.
amtrak.com) offers service from Van-
couver, B.C., to Seattle, a trip that
takes about 4 hours. From Portland to
Seattle takes about the same length of
time. One-way fares from Vancouver
to Seattle or from Portland to Seattle
are usually around $25 or $30. Book-
ing earlier will get you a less expensive
ticket. Amtrak also operates a Euro-
pean-style (meaning fast and on time)
train between Vancouver and Eugene,
Oregon.
Like the airlines, Amtrak offers sev-
eral discounted fares; although they're
not all based on advance purchase,
you have more discount options by
reserving early.
BY FERRY
If you are traveling between Victoria,
B.C., and Seattle, several options are
available from
Victoria Clipper,
Pier
69, 2701 Alaskan Way (
&
800/888-
2535,
206/448-5000, or 250/382-
8100 in Victoria; www.victoriaclipper.
com). Throughout the year, a ferry
taking either 2 or 3 hours makes the
trip ($61-$127 round-trip for adults).
IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS
CLEARANCE
The visitor arriving by air, no matter
what the port of entry, should cultivate
patience before setting foot on U.S. soil.
Getting through Immigration Control
might take as long as 2 hours on some
days, especially summer weekends. Add
the time it takes to clear Customs, and
you'll see that you should make a very
generous allowance for delay in plan-
ning connections between international
and domestic flights—an average of 2
to 3 hours at least.
In contrast, travelers arriving by car,
by ferry, or by rail from Canada will
find border-crossing formalities some-
what more streamlined, though not
nearly as easy as they were before the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Air travelers from Canada, Bermuda,
and some places in the Caribbean can
sometimes go through Customs and
Immigration at the point of departure,
which is much quicker.
3 Getting Around the United States
For specific information on traveling
to and around Seattle and Washing-
ton, see “Getting There” and “Getting
Around” in chapter 2 and “Getting
Around” in chapter 4, “Seattle.”
BY PLANE
Some large airlines (for
example, United and Delta) offer trav-
elers on their transatlantic or transpa-
cific flights special discount tickets
under the name
Visit USA,
allowing
mostly one-way travel from one U.S.
destination to another at very low
prices. These discount tickets are not
on sale in the United States and must
be purchased abroad in conjunction
with your international ticket. This
system is the best, easiest, and fastest
way to see the United States at low cost.
Get information well in advance from
your travel agent or the office of the
airline concerned, since the conditions
attached to these discount tickets can
be changed without advance notice.
BY CAR
The United States is a car
culture through and through. Driving
is the most convenient and comfort-
able way to travel here. The interstate
highway system connects cities and
towns all over the country, and in
addition to these high-speed, limited-
access roadways, there's an extensive
network of federal, state, and local
highways and roads. Driving will give
you a lot of flexibility in making, and
altering, your itinerary and in allowing
you to see off-the-beaten-path destina-
tions that cannot be reached easily by
public transportation. You'll also have
easy access to inexpensive motels at
interstate highway off-ramps.
BY TRAIN
International visitors can
buy a
USA Railpass,
good for 15 or 30
