Visit the Tourism Bureau's transportation page (http://www.bellingham.org...) for more information on accessing Bellingham and travel within the region.
By plane
Bellingham International Airport (http://portofbellingham.c...) BLI has scheduled flights to Seattle, Las Vegas, and beginning January 2011, Honolulu, through Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines (http://www.horizonair.com). Allegiant Air (http://www.allegiantair.com/) has service to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs seasonal, Phoenix, and San Diego. Frontier Airlines has service to Denver. San Juan Airlines has commuter flights to the island towns of Eastsound, Friday Harbor, Lopez, and Roche Harbor, plus Vancouver, Canada.
For information on airport parking call 360 676-6286. The parking rate is $9 per 24 hour period.
Major national rental car agencies at the Bellingham Airport include Avis, Hertz, Budget and Enterprise.
New options for off-site airport parking are coming up. Designated Park and Ride (http://www.airportparking...) as well as Wiki Wiki Park n Shuttle (http://wikiwikiparknshutt...) opened in February 2011.
Amtrak
(http://www.portofbellingh...) Amtrak Cascades offers service to Seattle, Portland, Eugene and Vancouver, Canada. The train station Fairhaven Transportation Center is located at 401 Harris Avenue I-5 Exit 250.
By car
Access to Bellingham is primarily from the seven exits off Interstate 5, although travelers using the Lynden/Aldergrove border crossing will arrive via State Route 539, a.k.a Guide Meridian. Fairhaven is served by Exit 250, and downtown is served by Exit 253 Lakeway Drive.
A scenic alternative when coming from the south is Chuckanut Drive (http://www.chuckanutdrive.com) State Route 11, a winding road that follows the side of Chuckanut Mountain along the water overlooking the San Juan Islands. Turn off I-5 at Exit 231 and expect to take an extra twenty minutes to reach downtown. This route is also popular with cyclists warning: narrow shoulders and has been used frequently for national car commercials.
Another rural alternative in the eastern part of the county is State Route 9, which parallels Interstate 5 and can be accessed south of Whatcom County via Skagit County. This route carves through a valley east of Stewart Mountain and the Mt. baker foothills. On a two lane highway, you pass through small towns and by various farms, follow the south fork of the Nooksack River, and end up at the border community of Sumas on the U.S. and Canadian border. Be sure to stop in at Everybody's Store in Van Zandt for unique provisions and treats. To connect back to Bellingham, visitors should go west on Highway 542 when it intersects with Highway 9.