Northwestern Washington & the San Juan Islands - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 197

Bellingham International Airport is northwest of town off I-5 exit 258 and is served by
Alaska Airlines ( www.alaskaair.com ) and Allegiant Air ( www.allegiantair.com ) , with regular
flights to Seattle, Las Vegas and Hawaii. San Juan Airlines ( www.sanjuanairlines.com )
flies daily from Bellingham to the San Juan Islands and BC.
BOAT
Bellingham is the terminal for the Alaska Marine Hwy Ferries (AMHS;
www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs ; 355 Harris Ave) , which travel once a week up the Inside Passage
to Juneau, Skagway and other southeast Alaskan ports. Passenger fares to Skagway start
at $363; add a small car (up to 15ft) for $820. Cabins for the three-day trip cost an addi-
tional amount and can be hard to come by, so reserve well in advance.
At the time of writing there were no regular passenger ferry services from Bellingham
to Victoria, BC or to the San Juan Islands, but this could change so check online or at the
Alaska Ferries terminal.
BUS
Greyhound buses serve Bellingham on the Seattle- Vancouver run, with three heading
north to Vancouver ($20, two hours) and another three going south to Seattle ($14, 2½
hours). The depot (Harris Ave) is in the same building as the Amtrak station in Fairhaven.
The Bellair Shuttle ( www.airporter.com ) runs around the clock to Sea-Tac airport ($34)
and Anacortes ($11). You can also reserve Ferndale and Blaine pickups/drop-offs. It
stops at the Guesthouse Inn, just off I-5 exit 253; and at Bellingham airport. Quick
Shuttle ( www.quickcoach.com ) runs comfortable buses with free onboard wi-fi between
downtown Vancouver and Bellingham airport five times a day (one way/round-trip $28/
49).
TRAIN
Daily Amtrak ( www.amtrak.com ) trains from Vancouver, BC (from $15, one hour 50
minutes), and Seattle (from $30, two hours 25 minutes) stop at the train depot at the end
of Harris Ave, near the ferry terminal.
Getting Around
The city has a fairly extensive local bus system run by Whatcom Transportation
Authority ( www.ridewta.com ) . Bus 15 connects downtown Bellingham with the Bellis Fair
shopping mall, buses 105 and 401 run to Fairhaven and the Alaska ferry terminal, and
bus 50 runs out to Gooseberry Point and the ferry embarkation for Lummi Island. Fares
start at $1 for local trips.