THE CROSS-BORDER JOURNEY
Plan the border before you plan the pickup.
A private transfer arranges your ride. Government authorities decide entry. Check the requirements for every passenger and confirm the transport details before you reserve.
Prepared by Metro Elite Transfer · Official sources checked September 11, 2026
Start with your direction of travel.
Vancouver to Seattle or SEA
You are entering the United States by land. Use the official U.S. guidance that applies to your citizenship and travel status.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection: visitorsSeattle or SEA to Vancouver
You are entering Canada by land. Check Canadian travel and identification requirements. A flight into SEA and a drive into Canada are separate entry events.
CBSA: travel and identification documentsYour pre-booking checklist
- Check each passenger’s required travel documents with the relevant authority. Check guidance for children or other special circumstances.
- Give dispatch the complete route, travel date, luggage, and any flight details. Ask them to assess a practical pickup time.
- Confirm how border waiting, additional stops, an entry refusal, or a changed flight affect the fare and reservation.
- Keep your travel documents with you. Do not send passport scans through a quote request.
Use current border information.
Published wait times help with planning, but they do not guarantee the queue when you arrive. A reservation does not provide priority border access.
- CBP wait times: entering the United States
- CBSA wait times: entering Canada
- SEA Airport ground transportation information
Passports, visas, ESTA, and eTA: check your own situation.
A valid passport is a useful starting point, but the exact entry and carrier requirements depend on citizenship, residence status, age, and travel mode. A booking confirmation does not replace travel documents or permission to enter.
Entering the United States
If you travel under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, check the ESTA requirement for land entry as well as flights. CBP advises applying at least 72 hours before a planned land arrival when ESTA applies. Other travelers may have different visa or document requirements.
CBP: ESTA and land entryEntering Canada
A Canadian eTA relates to eligible air travel; it is not a substitute for a visa required for land entry. Check your citizenship and status using the official requirements. Being admitted to the U.S. does not establish permission to enter Canada.
Canada: check eTA and visa eligibilityChildren and special travel needs
Check each child's identification requirements. Review official guidance on consent letters and custody documents if a child travels with one parent or another adult. Confirm child seats, access needs, and luggage with the transport operator separately.
CBSA guidance for travel with children and minors
Can you walk from Vancouver to Seattle?
Walking the whole corridor and walking through a border port are very different plans. We have not verified an end-to-end pedestrian route or its distance. The roughly 230 km city-to-city road distance is not a walking itinerary.
For scale only, walking 230 km at an assumed 5 km/h would require 46 moving hours. At 25 km per day, that is about 10 walking days. Those calculations exclude detours, rest, weather, border processing, and any SEA Airport extension. They do not establish a safe or legal route.
There is no transport ticket for walking, but meals, accommodation, equipment, and onward rides still need a budget. For a border crossing on foot, confirm the port's pedestrian facilities, opening hours, and document requirements first. Use designated processing facilities and legal pedestrian routes; do not follow a highway navigation route on foot or treat a park visit as entry clearance.
Check with CBP's Blaine port and the CBSA office directory. Arrange transport on both sides in advance if needed. Our private transfer is an alternative to coordinating separate rides around a pedestrian crossing.
For a flight, plan more than the drive.
SEA advises a 2-hour airport arrival allowance for domestic flights and 3 hours for international flights. YVR recommends at least 3 hours for U.S. and international departures. Confirm airline check-in and bag-drop deadlines too. Add the drive, border time, and stops before choosing pickup time.
SEA airport planning · YVR arrival guidance
For a SEA arrival, collect your bags and complete any U.S. arrival procedures before the road transfer. For a high-stakes flight or cruise connection, our advice is to consider traveling to the departure city the day before.