Travel

Flight

SeaTac Airport (SEA)

This is the largest airport close to Bellingham and the most common place to fly into. Bellingham is approximately 1.5-2 hours north of SeaTac, traffic depending. You can rent a car or carpool with family, but there's also a great Bellair Airporter shuttle that goes straight from SeaTac to Bellingham (and visa versa). The shuttle is comfortable and easy to get to right from baggage claim, but reservations are highly recommended. Sometimes people find cheaper deals flying into Vancouver (need a passport or enhanced drivers license), or Paine Field Everett. Bellingham airport is most convenient but generally most expensive.

Flight

Bellingham Airport (BLI)

This is by far the closest and easiest airport to Bellingham, but it can be pretty expensive, especially from the east coast. There are; however, regular cheap direct flights from certain west coast cities like Palm Springs, San Diego, Portland, and Phoenix. It depends on the time of year for each city. Check Alaska and Allegiant airlines for good deals.

Flight

Vancouver, BC Airport (YVR)

Believe it or not, it's sometimes cheaper to fly into Canada first, but don't forget your passport or enhanced drivers license. You'll have to cross the boarder to get back down to Bellingham. A little shorter and easier of a drive than from SeaTac but there is no shuttle unfortunately. All that said, this is one of my favorite airports to fly in and out of because security is faster and easier. Consider this as an option if you want to stay after the wedding for a fun Canada side quest.

Flight

Paine Field, Everett WA (PAE)

Super suave, easy-breezy airport in terms of security, accessibility, etc, but you'll pay a price for it. This airport is north of Seattle, and about one hour south of Bellingham, so you'll have less traffic to deal with. The Bellair Shuttle also makes stops here, but only a few per day and you absolutely have to make a reservation via phone to confirm the shuttle. This is a great airport to use if you're lucky enough to find a deal or fly from a city with direct routes, otherwise it's probably our least common airport to use.

Shuttle

Bellair Airporter Shuttle

August 22, 2026 4:00 am - 11:00 pm

https://airporter.com/ This is a great way to get up to Bellingham directly from SeaTac airport. It costs approx $50 one-way, or $100 round-trip. Check out their website for the shuttle schedule, but it runs approx every two hours starting around 4am through 11pm every day of the week. It's a comfortable Greyhound-type bus with bathrooms and you can sit back and enjoy someone else driving you up I-5. Picks up outside of baggage claim at SeaTac and drops of right in front of departures. We highly recommend getting reservations ahead of time because sometimes the busses fill up. You can chance it and see if the driver has space, but be prepared to find an alternate option if you don't have a reservation. *Pro tip for reservations - if your flight time landing is within 20-30 min of a scheduled bus departure and you're not sure if you can make it from the gate to the shuttle by the time it leaves, book the reservation for the later shuttle. You can always show up and ask to get on an earlier shuttle and the drivers will allow it most of the time unless the bus is full. I've never been turned away. Worst case scenario, you take the next shuttle you were booked for anyway. Sometimes has short delays because traffic, so best to give yourself some buffer time heading back to the airport for flights out, but they do have a good policy about delays. If you needed to get home the next morning, you could attend the wedding service and then possibly take off back to Seatac, shuttles start running around 4am headed south. If you do book the shuttle, the best stop to get off at in Bellingham is actually the Four Points by Shearton Hotel. You can also go to the Bellingham airport, this hotel is slightly more central.

Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham Hotel & Conference Center

$$ Standard mid-range hotel with comfortable rooms and a good restaurant. Just outside of the downtown area, so not as walkable as some others, but easy uber ride to the venue. Best factor for this is its one of the stops for the Airporter shuttle so you can get dropped off right at the hotel door if you take the shuttle up from SeaTac.

Hotel

Heliotrope Hotel

$$ This is a motel that was renovated to have a fun modern vibe. They only have a handful of rooms, but it's in a quieter part of downtown and has good reviews from friends who've stayed. Walkable to parks, tons of local food and beer spots and fairly close to our wedding venue.

Hotel

Hampton Inn Bellingham Airport

Hotel

SpringHill Suites by Marriott Bellingham

Hotel

TownePlace Suites by Marriott Bellingham

Hotel

Hotel Bellwether

$$$ This is the closest hotel to our venue. Sweeping waterfront views. You can walk 0.5 miles around the marina trail and get to the wedding. It is a swanky waterfront resort hotel though, so rooms don't come cheap, especially in summer. If you feel like splurging, this would be the one.

Hotel

Fairhaven Village Inn

$$$ Historic hotel in downtown Fairhaven (basically part of Bellingham) More on the pricey side. But cool! Waterfront views, extremely walkable area including the gorgeous Taylor Dock / Boulevard park experience (Robin's favorite place in Bellingham).

Hotel

The Chrysalis Inn & Spa Bellingham, Curio Collection by Hilton

$$$ For anyone who wants to turn this trip into a true vacation experience! As the name suggests, this is both a high-end hotel and Spa in one. With waterfront views and the Taylor Dock boardwalk experiences right out the front door. Grab dinner on the water and soak in the spa vibes!

Hotel

Hotel Leo

$$$ Classy hotel in the heart of downtown. Great brunch. But on the pricy end.

Travel Note

AirBnB Note

AirBnB has great places everywhere. Just make sure to read the reviews. If a lot of people have given a high rating we generally book it. There likely won't be any airbnb's within walking distance to the venue, so if you book something within the Bellingham city limits and rent a car or can uber you will be fine. We may also ask some friends to pick people up.

Train

Amtrak Cascades Route

Amtrak has a beautiful train route along the coast running from Portland, OR up to Vancouver, BC and stopping in Bellingham along the way. This is a great option if you're in the PNW and don't want to fly. They only run routes twice a day though, so book tickets early - they fill up fast!