Unless you have something specific you want to see in Portland, you may want to pass on it. The train trip from the SF area to Portland is quite long - about a day if I recall. Flying from Portland to Seattle isn't cheap. Only Horizon/Alaska Airlines covers that route and they charge quite a bit. There is NO ferry from Seattle to Vancouver,BC. your options are rail, air or bus - all quite good and fair priced- except the air option. Boxing Day is an officially recognized holiday across Canada. Most places will be closed. Travel options on Boxing Day are functional - VIA Rail and airlines are open, but volumes are large as many people head home. Can't help you on the East Coast stuff.

Other than the Boxing Day question, which has been answered, you are mostly asking about US travel. Perhaps better asked on the US forum?

But I'll give you a start with this one: »»Is a Niagara-Lancaster-Washington DC-Philadelphia route a worthwhile on via train? ««

Via Rail operates in Canada; Amtrak is the US train company. To travel the route you suggest by train, you would have to do Niagara to New York City, New York City to Lancaster, Lancaster to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Washington.

Thanks Gonzo_Kerouac and ron!

I was unsure about where to put this- I might delete this post and move it to the US Forum.

Might give Portland a miss, and fly San Fran to Seattle.

I've had a closer look where things are, the ferry that I'm investigating goes from Seattle to Victoria, not Vancouver.

Weighing up these two options- Victoria or Vancouver, which would you pick to spend a day in? We're into seeing local/cultural stuff, not really into the night scene.

Victoria and Vancouver are two very different cities. Victoria is a smaller town populated with older people and students and visited by many tourists. It's lovely in December with all the Christmas decorations. There is a very good museum and lots of lovely places to eat. Butchart Gardens gets all decorated for the season with lights and is supposed to be beautiful.
Vancouver is a much larger town but there is still a nice atmosphere and there is tons to do including many inside things and because of the time of year and the almost likely possibility of rain (probably no snow) you many find more to do. There are ski hills close to town that have snow if that is what you are looking for. There are many indoor malls and many museums and a really great art gallery. If I knew more what you were interested in seeing it would help.

With this amount of time, and so much to cover, it would be wise to fly to Seattle, skip Portland, skip Victoria (you simply don't have enough time to allocate to getting to and from Victoria), and give Vancouver as much time and attention as you can afford.

You're already covering crazy amounts of distance, and in that case it is much better to stick to the highlights without trying to get cute.

Good luck.

gotta agree with Northwest Male - i'm not even sure that ferry directly from Seattle to Vic runs in December. even if it does, it's expensive. going to Vic for a day just to to rush back to the Van airport isn't worth it. although, once in a while there's cheaper air fares going east than from Vic- but it's rare. make sure you check on that Seattle to Vic ferry. here's a link to carless travel around NW Washington and Southern BC:
http://www.northsoundconnections.com
this doesn't include Bolt Bus - now running Seattle to Van- very cheap.

ausadventurer... your best option for the US portion of the trip would be to rent a car in Toronto, visit Niagara Falls and then Fly out of Buffalo Airport to NY City...

... the Buffalo drop of your canadian rental car is one of the few allowed by some of the car agencies but it does allow you to tour the Falls area with a car... there are several flights from Buffalo to NYC...

Lancaster Region is centered around farming so it is much quieter around winter holidays... probably not worth going that much out of the way...

Once you complete NYC there are several travel options for travel to PHIL/ WASH and all other points...

Regarding Boxing Day - one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that it is the BUSIEST shopping day in all of Canada. The majority of stores are open because of Boxing Day Sales. Personally, I avoid it like the plague because the malls/stores are just insane with crowds... but it's far from dead on December 26th.

Back to Boxing Day - Robyn is correct for Vancouver but Ontario is way more buttoned down so I'd check to see if stores there are as crazy as stores here. Although if you are in Niagara Falls, it's such a small town I doubt much will be happening. You might try to see if theres a winery open that day though.

"buttoned down"?? I don't think you've ever been in Toronto on Boxing Day. Here's a sample from just one shopping mall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDOyq2h2nZk

In Ontario, if a store is in a designated "tourist area" then they are allowed to be open on Boxing day. Course that also includes most shopping malls. Most grocery stores are open as are Hotels/restaurants. Some independent stores/restaurants will be closed. Niagara Falls will be open.

And just an FYI - East Coast in Canada does not refer to Ontario/Quebec (that's Central Canada) East Coast is Nova Scotia/New Brunswick/PEI

"...in Niagara Falls, it's such a small town I doubt much will be happening"

Niagara Falls is a city of 83,000 and, with 14 million visitors a year, the top tourist destination in Canada. Although summer is the main season, the week from Boxing Day to New Years Day is the busiest of the year, with almost all of the 15,000 hotel rooms full. People come for the Falls, Winter Festival of Lights, the indoor waterparks, the attractions, and the largest outdoor New Years Eve concert in the country.


"...Niagara Falls will be open"
Yes, all the gates on the roads into the city will be up!!
Seriously, I hope this means that things in the city will be open. And they will - every store, attraction, restaurant, etc. is open on Boxing Day.

You are really trying to do too much in the time you have. I'd choose either West Coast or East Coast, and not try to do both in one trip. As you are traveling in early winter, the West Coast will be better.

I'd fly to LA, rent a car, then drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, detouring to Napa/Sonoma if you're into wine and perhaps to the Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks to see the big trees (you can also see them in Muir Woods just north of San Francisco). You could easily spend a week or more driving between LA and SF.

Although I'm not hot about visiting Portland either, there are several interesting things to do around there: drive up the Columbia River Gorge, then visit Mount St. Helens. The latter will take you inland on I 5 a bit, but it's worth it to see the power Nature can unleash.

Drop the car in Seattle and then ferry to Vancouver. You can easily spend a month or more without seeing all there is to see on the West Coast.

Boxing Day is not celebrated in the U.S., but New Year's Day is--one generally given over to watching American college football

You can't ferry to Vancouver, dwdvagamundo. Vancouver is only a 3 hour drive north of Seattle. Maybe you're thinking of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

I don't often visit the Canada forums. but will respond to some of your questions with my honest opinion.
Is flying to LA your only option? Flying to Hawaii and spending a day recovering from the jet lag and then flying to San Francisco may make sense. The train from Emeryville (San Francisco (Coast Starlight) leaves in the evening and arrives in Portland 17.5 hours later (mid afternoon). I have slept many nights in coach on this train on my way back home to Oregon.
Rent a car in Portland and see some of Oregon and then either return the car at Portland and take an earlier Amtrak Cascades train either to Seattle or all the way to Vancouver.
From Seattle Amtrak runs 2 trains and 2 buses to Vancouver each day.
The ViaRail 'Canadian' only runs 3 days per week from Vancouver to Toronto. I much prefer the Amtrak Empire Builder from Seattle (or Portland) to Chicago. It is cheaper and runs every day.
I think flying from Chicago to New York (or Philadelphia) would make sense. The Amtrak Pennsylvanian goes west out of Philadephia through Lancaster. I'm thinking the Amish will be celebrating Christmas and not much interested in entertaining tourists.
The Amtrak Northeast corridor trains run between Boston and Washington DC including New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.
I rode the 'Canadian' several times but from now on I'll stick with the Amtrak daily schedule trains for less money.