kaybe341533

My husband-to-be and I are planning a west coast road trip for our honeymoon, from mid-July to late July but our dates are flexible. We plan on spending at least 2 weeks and flying into Seattle and out of San Diego. I was wondering what the "can't miss" places were along the way and if there were any particular places to stay that we should consider. I read about the Channel House in Oregon and that seems beautiful! Thanks for your help!

egret

In Washington, I would make sure to go to Port Townsend and Port Angeles. In Port Angeles, you can take a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. San Diego is a wonderful destination, so is the Northern California coast. I would be sure to spend time in both. Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

Orcas

Two weeks isn't very long to take in the west coast. It's over 1200 miles between Seattle and San Diego and there are so many interesting places to go in between. Have you thought about focusing on one area or another?

Sights to see going down: Seattle, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St Helens, Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Redwood forests, San Francisco, Monterey, Route 1, Hurst Castle, Humboldt State Park, San Diego....I'm barely scratching the surface here.
You will need to focus in - Seattle 2 days, 2 days at Mt. Rainier, 1 day Mt. St. Helens, 1 day Columbia River Gorge, 3 days Oregon Coast, 4 days San Francisco, 3 days California Coast taking in Redwoods....I'm at 16 days and counting and I've barely begun...

rjw_lgb_ca

Don't forget the second-largest metropolitan area in the US, with the largest number of museums, its own colorful history, world-class arts and restaurants and theatre, and an existence that isn't centered around "being pretty for the tourists"....

You have to drive through it, you might as well drink in a sip or two.

Rhardy5554

In San Diego, I would want to stay at the Inn at Rancho Bernardo. On Vancouver Island, I'd stay at either Sooke Harbour House or the Aerie.

kaybe341533

We might be able to stay a few more days, all depends on work and etc. We just want to get as much out of the trip as possible - this is a very helpful website!

maw

I'd recommend you buy the newest version of "Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest" to help with romantic trip planning-they give ideas for romantic lodging,restaurants,sights/parks etc(there may also be one about Northern Calif)..hubb and I have found some great spots with the Best Places books..and the great travel forums like this one

kaybe341533

THANKS!! I just ordered a few books from Amazon and I added that to my purchase. What great advice!! Still doing a lot of research on the trip and wondering about maybe just doing Seattle to San Francisco...we'll see though!

christy1

That is a good book and should help your planning quite a bit. I think you're idea to do SF-Seattle would be much better-trying to do the whole coast sounds like it would be a stressful trip without enough time in any one place.

starrsville

I have an old edition of Best Places to Kiss in California. Great book!

lenlu

Well, if you're driving up the coast, I can speak to Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast as being a quaint little town with a stunning beach, pretty good food, Ecola State Park for hiking and even a spa should you need it. Many places to stay for varying budgets but I like The Ocean Lodge or The Cannon Beach Hotel (where you check in...they own several buildings). Late July for Oregon and Washington is better. The obvious is that there are many things to see but if you narrow down your interests, you can have a great trip, fitting it all in. In Oregon, Timberline Lodge is on Mt. Hood and not far from Portland. You can stay or go for the day. Mt. Ranier and St. Helens are beautiful if mountains are your thing. Crystal Mountain is now offering sunset dinners (summertime) at the top of the mountain with incredible views of Mt. Ranier. It's really fantastic. You take the chair lift to the top and the brooks babble, the wind wisps through the trees and the wildflowers are in bloom. Otherwise, check out the beaches. Portland is a great little city to stay in with endless things to do. Again, all kinds of hotels...I like The Governor. Seattle and the islands are also beautiful. I'm from Vancouver, Canada and love Vancouver but it's a lot to ask to include Vancouver Island or Vancouver to this already packed schedule. San Juan has Friday Harbor and Orcas Island--which are really beautiful with countless places to stay. The Inn at Langley is romantic on Whidbey Island if you want to stay close and I agree Port Townsend and Port Angeles are good little towns to visit. You could do Port Townsend from Seattle for a day. Depends on how far you want to travel. Salish Lodge has some serious pampering and is also close to Seattle. Everything during summer is considered the "on" season so just be aware. I'm not an expert on SFO but we had a cocktail at the top of The Mark Hotel and it was really awesome. Anyway, I'd really do later July. We all joke that it rains every 4th of July then the weather heats up.

kaybe341533

Okay...thank you very much for your help!! Lots to process....we are staying at Almost Paradise at Mt. Rainier for the 15th and the 16th...and then Crater Lake Lodge for the 20th and the 21st. We would love to hit the coast in between (recognize there is some driving involved.. maybe up to 4/5 hours a day - I'm from RI where driving across the state takes 45 minutes!!). Any suggestions? Was thinking about the 17th in Cannon Beach, the 18th in Depoe Bay, and the 19ht in Florence?

Thanks!

kimamom

I would definitely consider the Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach. It just ranked #21 on the Conde Nast Traveler's list of Top 100 Mainland US Hotels list.

We haven't stayed there since we have a beach cottage about ten minutes away in Seaside, but have enjoyed a very nice dinner there. The property is very pretty!

We stayed at the Rancho Bernardo on our honeymoon, 25 years ago. We will back in the San Diego area for our anniversary this year and we are looking forward to stays at Hotel Del Coronado and the Montage in Laguna Beach. Have fun! ***kim***

lenlu

I have to respectfully disagree about the Stephanie Inn despite its accolades. I've had the fortune to stay in Leading Hotels of the World properties around our beautiful globe and I find the Stephanie Inn grossly overpriced for what you get, including a nice room but not one worth $350 a night. Have dinner instead there. It IS on the beach which is great but there are many properties on the beach. Your itinerary below sounds great. I think Florence is pretty, it's quiet and a nice beach town. Depoe Bay you could in theory due for part of a day. You can go to Moes, see the Wax Museum and shop but you don't need to stay if you prefer to move up the coast. Many of the drives are really pretty so you might not mind it so much. From the Mountains to the beach is a bit of a hike I'm afraid. Depends on traffic/weekend traveling will be worse.

NWWanderer

The Stephanie is quite nice but I agree with the previous poster that it's overpriced. I prefer the Ocean Lodge next door for that reason.

I'd stay 2 nights in Cannon Beach and skip Depoe Bay, then go to Yachats and stay one night at the Overleaf before you head inland to Crater Lake. The view of the crashing ocean waves there can't be beat, IMO. 3 one night stays in a row seems like a lot to me, and while the Channel House is nice, I'm not sure it's worth breaking up your trip so much.