Seattle Airport to Bellingham: Airporter Shuttle Pickup, Times and Fare
The Airporter Shuttle runs SEA to Bellingham 10 times a day, about 2.5 hours, from the Arrivals Drive curb. Book ahead. Times, pickup spot and fares.
The Airporter Shuttle, run by Bellair Charters, goes direct from SEA to Bellingham 10 times a day, seven days a week. The first coach leaves at 8:30 a.m. and the last at 11:30 p.m. The ride to the Bellingham stop at 4 Points by Sheraton takes about two and a half hours by the Airporter’s own schedule. The schedule prints no fare. Uber’s Bellingham to SeaTac page lists the Airporter at about $50, and that is the southbound direction.
The SEA departure row has no asterisk, but every northbound stop after it does. The asterisk means a prepaid reservation made 24 hours ahead, and Bellingham is one of those stops. Book before you fly.
Where to find the Airporter at SEA
Go to the baggage claim level and walk to the south end, past Carousel 1. The Airporter boards at the curb outside Doors 00 and 02, under the Airporters sign, next to Checkpoint 1. SEA’s directory puts the Airporter’s pickup along the curb near Door 02, at the south end of that level.
Inside, the airporter check-in counter sits near Door 00 in the Gina Marie Lindsey Arrivals Hall. Our baggage claim guide shows which carousel your airline uses.
Don’t go up to garage Level 3 for this one. Premier’s vans and the Bellevue shuttle board there, and our shared shuttles guide covers that area. If you can’t find the curb, the Ground Transportation Information Booth helps with airporters at (206) 787-5906. Our information desks page shows where the booth sits.
Northbound times from SEA
Every trip leaves SEA at the time in the first column. The other columns come from the Airporter’s northbound table.
| Leaves SEA | Burlington | Bellingham (4 Points by Sheraton) | Bellingham Airport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. | 10:25 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 11:15 a.m. |
| 10:00 a.m. | 11:55 a.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:45 p.m. |
| 11:30 a.m. | 1:25 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 2:15 p.m. |
| 1:00 p.m. | 2:55 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 3:45 p.m. |
| 2:30 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. | 5:05 p.m. | 5:20 p.m. |
| 4:00 p.m. | 5:55 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:45 p.m. |
| 5:30 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 8:20 p.m. |
| 7:30 p.m. | 9:20 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:10 p.m. |
| 9:30 p.m. | 11:20 p.m. | 12:00 a.m. | 12:10 a.m. |
| 11:30 p.m. | 1:25 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 2:15 a.m. |
The coaches also stop at Marysville (Tulalip Hotel Casino) and Stanwood. Ferndale is the last stop, 10 to 20 minutes after Bellingham Airport. Six trips add a stop at the Seattle Convention Center or Paine Field in Everett:
| Extra stop | Trip leaving SEA | Stop time |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Convention Center | 8:30 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. |
| Seattle Convention Center | 11:30 a.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
| Seattle Convention Center | 7:30 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. |
| Paine Field | 10:00 a.m. | 10:40 a.m. |
| Paine Field | 7:30 p.m. | 8:20 p.m. |
| Paine Field | 9:30 p.m. | 10:20 p.m. |
The Airporter doesn’t run on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or Easter.
What it costs against the other ways north
| Option | Cost | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airporter Shuttle | About $50 (Uber’s route page). Rome2Rio’s estimator shows $45 to $90 to 4 Points by Sheraton | About 2.5 hours to 4 Points by Sheraton (Airporter schedule) | Boards at the Arrivals Drive curb |
| FlixBus | From $20.98 on FlixBus’s Seattle to Bellingham page | FlixBus lists 1 hr 34 min on its Seattle route. The trip from the airport can run longer | Boards outside Door 2 on the Arrivals Drive, but SEA’s directory lists it only to Everett and Seattle northbound. Bellingham stops are Fairhaven Station (401 Harris Ave.) and Lincoln Creek Park & Ride |
| Link, then bus or train | Link is $3 to downtown (Sound Transit). Rome2Rio shows $39 to $84 for Amtrak Cascades onward | Link takes 39 minutes to Westlake (Sound Transit’s timetable). Rome2Rio puts the Amtrak Cascades trip at 3 hr 38 min in all | Bellingham’s tourism site says Amtrak Cascades and Greyhound use Fairhaven Station |
| Uber | About $266 (Uber’s route page, Bellingham to SeaTac) | About 110 minutes (same page) | A historical average, so the app’s live quote wins |
| Fly SEA to BLI | $350 to $700 (Rome2Rio) | 54 minutes in the air (Rome2Rio) | At that price it only makes sense when a connection is already booked |
The Airporter boards at the airporters curb and reaches Bellingham without a change downtown. FlixBus costs less, but CheckMyBus lists only two airport departures a day against the Airporter’s ten. Our light rail guide covers the Link ride, and our SEA to downtown guide compares the other ways into the city.
What one traveler filmed
The YouTube channel Val’s Curious Compass filmed the trip from the airport to Bellingham.
The driver loaded the bags. Inside, the seats reclined and had footrests, with a USB port and a standard outlet beside them. A restroom sat at the back, and the coach was about two-thirds full.
The driver’s announcement mentioned transfers at Burlington toward Anacortes and the ferries. The driver also warned of lunch-hour traffic in and out of Seattle. The Airporter’s schedule page gives no bag limit, so ask when you book if you’re traveling heavy.
If your flight is late
The schedule doesn’t say what happens to a prepaid seat when your flight runs late. Ask the Airporter’s shuttle line at (866) 235-5247 before you book.
Going the other way
The earliest southbound coach leaves Ferndale at 3:35 a.m. and reaches SEA at 7:00 a.m. The last arrives at 9:50 p.m. Most southbound stops need the prepaid reservation. The exceptions are the 4 Points by Sheraton stop from 7:10 a.m. on and the Burlington stop from 7:50 a.m. on.
Sources
Our pages:
- Scheduled airporters
- Shared shuttles from Seattle airport
- Baggage claim at Seattle airport
- Information desks
- The Link light rail from SEA airport into Seattle
- Seattle airport to downtown: every option and what it costs
- App-based rideshare
- Taxis
Official and company pages:
- Airporter Shuttle: Bellingham to Sea-Tac schedule and Sea-Tac to Bellingham northbound table (Bellair Charters)
- Seattle to Bellingham bus (FlixBus)
- Bellingham to SeaTac routes (Uber)
- Ground transport in Bellingham (Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism)
- SeaTac to Bellingham options (Rome2Rio)
- Seattle/Tacoma Airport to Bellingham bus (CheckMyBus)