Transport from Anacortes to Seattle Amtrak
 

My beloved and I are going on a cycling tour in the San Juan Islands that ends in Anacortes where we will overnight.
The following day (Saturday, July 25) we need to catch Amtrak from Seattle back to Oregon.
The train departs @ 1420.
Problem: have not been able to find reasonably priced transport from Anacortes (or vicinity) to Seattle downtown.
I've checked one way car rentals but almost all are closed on Saturday even in Mt Vernon (closest larger town on I-5).
Anyway, ideas welcome.
Thanks in Advance.

Uber or Lyft. Pick your poison.

There's no cheap way to get from Anacortes to Seattle- it will cost you in time or money. You can catch the Amtrak (the same train that goes through Seattle on the way to Portland) in Mount Vernon, which is around 20 miles from Anacortes. Uber/Lyft from Anacortes to Mount Vernon is probably your best bet, although Skagit Transit does have bus service (not sure how frequent it is these days). Have a great trip. The San Juans are amazing.

There is no Amtrak Cascades service north of Seattle now. Sounder does not go north enough.

So it is either rental car or Uber. But since rental car has been ruled out by OP, Uber it is.

Skagit Transit operates hourly bus service from Anacortes to Mt Vernon. From there, you can catch Amtrak directly to Portland.

EDIT: Above poster indicated this might be suspended due to Covid, so double-check.

Or, since you like cycling, just bike to Mt Vernon. Should only be around a 1-2 hour ride. Not the most pleasant, but perfectly doable. or bike all the way to Seattle via Whidbey Island (longer but pleasant).

If money is no object, you can also fly (this is FT after all...). Kenmore Air (local seaplane company) operates regular flights from the San Juans to Seattle. You’d have to ship your bikes back, though.

I think Amtrak is still running the Thruway bus all the way to Bellingham, but only 1 trip per day, so the schedule might not align. Good idea about the airport shuttle, but not sure if they will take a bike.

There is usually a bus service from the Anacortes ferry terminal to SeaTac which operates a dozen times a day, but it is not running at all due to COVID-19 demand reductions. There are buses from Burlington and Mt. Vernon to SeaTac and Seattle:

https://airporter.com/shuttle/schedu...ham-to-seatac/

https://www.greyhound.com/en/ecommerce/schedule

I think Uber is the answer. Good luck!

I ran both scenarios for OP. None of them are good.

The Amtrak Thruway Bus does not connect with Amtrak Cascades now. Specifically, the Thruway Bus won't depart from Mt Vernon Station after the only Amtrak Cascades departs from Seattle.

This is same with the airport option. While OP can take Sound Transit 574 to Tacoma Station, it is about 1 hour of travel.

Uber/Lyft will be unavoidable. The only matter is the distance involved and how much.

Rideguru estimates $164 for a sedan (maybe not suitable for 2(?) bikes). For an SUV, the price jumps up to $278. At that price, I'd be inclined to make some phone calls to the shuttle companies, and inquire about bike surcharges.

How are you getting to the San Juans in the first place?

Thanks so much for the feedback!
I've pieced together the various responses, added other ideas, & came up with a kind of Frankenstein itinerary and it's cheap.
* Downtown Anacortes > March Point Park & Ride on Skagit Transit bus 410 ($1, 10 minutes, 0855-0905)
* March Point Park & Ride > Mt Vernon (Skagit Station) on Skagit Transit bus 40X ($1, 20 minutes, 0940-1000)
* Mt Vernon Skagit Station > Downtown Seattle (Bolt Bus Terminal) on Bolt Bus ($8, 85 minutes, 1040-1205)
* Bolt Bus Terminal > King Street Amtrak station on foot (4 minutes)
And the times (with CV19 schedule changes factored in) match nicely to get us to Seattle to catch our train @ 1420
Comments or concerns?
Thanks

Yes - Re-work your plan entirely. As you have said:

Based on your first step of the plan:

As Downtown Anacortes is 10th St & Q Ave, Route 410 only departs at 8:55 am on weekdays. For Saturdays, Route 410 departs 10th St & Q Ave around 8:23 am instead.

So if this is wrong, I don't know how many of your schedule can be wrong as well.

Ahhh thanks so much for exposing that flaw.
I double-checked the other parts of the plan and they are OK... just the first segment needs to be adjusted to (Saturday) 0923-0935
Thanks again!

Amtrak Cascades from Albany (OR) > Seattle
Amtrak Bus to Mt Vernon (coming back on Amtrak bus, the schedule did not even come close to a reasonable fit)
Skagit Bus to La Conner - from there the cycle trip/tour starts