Jennifer

We are flying into Seattle late Wednesday night for a long summer weekend, leaving Seattle Sunday. We'd like to see both Vancouver and Victoria. Is this possible? <BR><BR>My thoughts were to drive to Vancouver (estimating 3 hours) early Thursday morning, spending Thursday and Friday nights in Vancouver. We'd then like to get the earliest transportation to Victoria on Saturday morning, spend the night there and leave mid-morning Sunday afternoon to drive back to Seattle for our 5 p.m. flight. <BR><BR>Is this a good itinerary or should we do Victoria first, then head to Vancouver? <BR><BR>Will we have adequate time to see and do enough in each locale or should we skip Victoria, and save it for another trip? <BR><BR>We definitely want to enjoy Vancouver, see the sights and sample some of the nightlife and restaurants, but don't want to feel like we've seen it all by the time we leave (we want some incentive to visit again) and don't want to feel like we've spent our whole trip traveling. <BR><BR>Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for all the help!

traveller

I think that you are cutting yourself short for time.<BR><BR>Having never spent a lot of time in Van but having also spent a lot of time in Vic, I would go for a good weekend in Victoria.<BR><BR>It depends on what you like, Vancouver is a big city, with the big city frills, Vic is a smaller city but has the outlaying benefits such as Sooke and farther north that are easily accessible (sp?) <BR><BR>I love Victoria, there are great hotels/motels bed and breakfasts, wonderful antique alley, the harbor. It is a truly unique city.<BR><BR>If I only had four days/three nights I would spend them in Vic and spend another four days/three nights in Vancouver on another trip.<BR><BR>JMHO<BR>

deej

i agree with traveller that time will be tight. assuming you don't get hung-up at the border, you'll have about 1 1/2 days in van and about 1 day in vic. you could easily spend all your time in 1 city. <BR><BR>both cities are beautiful, but my suggestion would be to save victoria for another trip and spend your time in vancouver. if you want to get out of the city, you could easily go up to whistler or visit the gulf islands.

April

If you did decide on both, I would do it in the order you have planned. If you took the Coho from Victoria to Port Angeles, you should be able to leave your car in the ferry lineup and wander off until near departure time. There are many hotels close to the Coho dock. You can call the ferry office the night before and they should have a good idea of how busy it might be. <BR><BR>If you take the BC ferries try to get on the larger ships that seem to run on the odd hours and be aware that there could be waits if you don't have a reservation.<BR><BR>From Vancouver, even if you don't go all the way to Whistler, part way is worth it for the views (or drive through West Vancouver). Vancouver is the place to get a room with a water/mountain view.

allan

Depends what you want. Victoria is more British than Britain and is known for the newly-weds and nearly-deads. Vancouver is a large cosmopolitan city. You CANNOT do both in 3 days, we won't let you. If its Victoria take the ferry right from Seattle or the San Juan ferry from Anacortes. The Coho from Port Angeles isn't very scenic and it would take you a long time to get to Port Angeles from Seattle. If Vancouver, count on a long 3 hours from SeaTac airport south of seattle to Vancouver depending on Seattle traffic and border waits.

John

It's hard to get from Vancouver to Victoria in less than around 4-5 hours, and in midsummer one needs to allocate a minimum of 6 hours to get from Victoria to Seattle. Because of border delays on the freeway from Vancouver to Seattle (which can be up to 2 hours or more depending on your luck), the Victoria-Port Angeles ferry can actually be quicker, but that route is complicated by long waits for the ferries across Puget Sound at the south end, worst of course on Sundays. The Swartz Bay - Tsawassen BC ferry is scenic but only gets you to the jam at the US border. The San Juan routing is also scenic but slow. All of these options will stress you in such a short trip and, bottom line, should probably rule out a Victoria visit if you're driving.<BR><BR>UNLESS - you hop a float plane (CDN$198 round trip) from Canada Place in Vancouver that lands in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, right in the middle of the tourist zone. It will obviously be more expensive than driving and ferry, but if you're set on Victoria it's the best way to get there quickly (and oh so scenic a ride) and allow you to spend Sunday getting back to Seattle in a saner manner.<BR>

Jen

Actually, from a local's perspective, Victoria isn't "more British than Britian" - but that's a slogan used by the tourism industry to lure tourists in. If you've ever been to England, or if you're European, you won't find Victoria British at all. But if you're from the North American continent, you might find a bit of the English charm in Victoria attractive.

Jennifer

Thanks all for your very thoughtful replies. As it stands, I think we've decided to just explore Vancouver this visit. We were hoping to save a bit of money on airfare by flying into Seattle, however, neither of us relish the sound of that drive, so we're going to bite the bullet and fly into Vancouver. As for Victoria, it sounds lovely and I look forward to returning to Canada soon after to explore the city and outlying areas. Again, thanks for all your help.