Seattle-Vancouver BC Winter Scenic Route

[strawberrymomma]

Hello all, My family (husband, 7 yrs DD, and myself) will arrive in Seattle, WA on Dec. 22 at 9am. We are planning to drive to Vancouver right away. Stop for lunch maybe then continue on to Whisler. We were excited until we read articles how winter driving to those 2 destinations can be scary and will take more than 5 hours (if we do it straight ahead).

Help??
1. What is the best Route? We love scenic drive if possible but safety is our priority.
2. We will have a small rental car. Do we need chain to get to Whisler? Do you recommend us to bring one from SEA?

Anything helps

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Driving to Vancouver should be very straightforward, you basically jump on I-5 and head north. Its about a 2.5 hour trip, plus any delays you see for traffic and at the border.

I haven't driven to Whistler myself, but I'm sure the road gets a pretty good amount of traffic. I could see your total time to get there from SeaTac pretty easily being in the 4-5 hour range. By the time you factor in time to get your car, lunch, cross the border and other delays, I'd imagine you'd be looking at mid to late afternoon by the time you get there.

Chains wouldn't be a bad idea, but you need to check with your rental car company to see what restrictions they may have for the use of chains. You'll also need to make sure that you are allowed to take your car across the border, and have that in writing on your paperwork. Also make sure you have your passports or both your birth certificate and drivers licenses.