Seattle, Vandouver, and what else?
Mar 24th, 2016, 03:25 PM
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Seattle, Vandouver, and what else?
My husband and I are celebrating our anniversary in late July with a trip to the Pacific Northwest for 10 days, We have never been and move quickly, but at the same time don't want to spend the whole vacation moving to the point where we don't see anything. We plan to visit Seattle and Vancouver for 2-3 nights each, and are trying to determine where to go the other nights. Is it worth it to travel to Victoria or San Juan islands? We would love to see Olympic National Park. Any recommendations on ideal 10 day itineraries in this region would be greatly appreciated! We are both in our late 20's and love exploring cities, hikijng, kayaking, would love to go whale watching as well!
Mar 24th, 2016, 04:00 PM
#2
A ten day itinerary could look something like this -
Fly into Seattle and get a car, drive to Vancouver. Visit Vancouver for a couple of days, then ferry to Vancouver Island and visit Victoria. There are excellent whale watching services out of Victoria.
Take the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula and use PA as a base for visiting Olympic National Park. Spend one (long) day visiting one of the scenic beaches near La Push on the coast and doing the Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh rain forest. Visit Hurricane Ridge outside of PA the next day, then travel to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry. Finish with a couple of days in Seattle and you're good to go.
Three days going to and in Vancouver, two on Vancouver Island, two on the Olympic Peninsula, three back in Seattle.
You could do this in reverse, although crossing the border by road from Canada into Washington typically takes considerably longer than northbound.
If you don't want the expense of the car ferries, you could take the train from Seattle to Vancouver and back (rent a car in Vancouver if you need one) then drive from Seattle to Port Angeles. If you still want to visit Victoria, use the PA - Victoria ferry as foot passengers, do the whale watch and then return to PA that night. The train between Seattle and Vancouver is inexpensive, scenic and comfortable; there are two a day in each direction, early morning and early evening.
Fly into Seattle and get a car, drive to Vancouver. Visit Vancouver for a couple of days, then ferry to Vancouver Island and visit Victoria. There are excellent whale watching services out of Victoria.
Take the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula and use PA as a base for visiting Olympic National Park. Spend one (long) day visiting one of the scenic beaches near La Push on the coast and doing the Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh rain forest. Visit Hurricane Ridge outside of PA the next day, then travel to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry. Finish with a couple of days in Seattle and you're good to go.
Three days going to and in Vancouver, two on Vancouver Island, two on the Olympic Peninsula, three back in Seattle.
You could do this in reverse, although crossing the border by road from Canada into Washington typically takes considerably longer than northbound.
If you don't want the expense of the car ferries, you could take the train from Seattle to Vancouver and back (rent a car in Vancouver if you need one) then drive from Seattle to Port Angeles. If you still want to visit Victoria, use the PA - Victoria ferry as foot passengers, do the whale watch and then return to PA that night. The train between Seattle and Vancouver is inexpensive, scenic and comfortable; there are two a day in each direction, early morning and early evening.
Mar 24th, 2016, 04:36 PM
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Considering the interests you state, I suggest you rent a car for three or four days and drive first to the foot of Mt. Rainier (which is a great experience and has been an annual ritual in our family for many decades).
From Mt. Rainier, do a clockwise loop around the Olympic Peninsula: Olympia, Lake Quinault, Kalaloch, Ruby Beach, Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, Hurricane Ridge and back to Seattle.
From Seattle take a whale watching cruise to the San Juan Islands (such as the one given by Argosy). Then take a bus or train to Vancouver, a ferry and public transport to Victoria (a delightful town), and from Victoria take the Clipper back to Seattle.
HTtY
PS After visiting Mt. Rainier, spend the night in the Olympia area before doing the ONP loop. Port Angeles has several motels, and Sabai Thai is a very good Thai restaurant.
don't want to spend the whole vacation moving to the point where we don't see anything Counterintuitively, the more you move, the more you'll see.
From Mt. Rainier, do a clockwise loop around the Olympic Peninsula: Olympia, Lake Quinault, Kalaloch, Ruby Beach, Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, Hurricane Ridge and back to Seattle.
From Seattle take a whale watching cruise to the San Juan Islands (such as the one given by Argosy). Then take a bus or train to Vancouver, a ferry and public transport to Victoria (a delightful town), and from Victoria take the Clipper back to Seattle.
HTtY
PS After visiting Mt. Rainier, spend the night in the Olympia area before doing the ONP loop. Port Angeles has several motels, and Sabai Thai is a very good Thai restaurant.
don't want to spend the whole vacation moving to the point where we don't see anything Counterintuitively, the more you move, the more you'll see.
Mar 24th, 2016, 04:57 PM
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Thank you, this is very helpful! Would you recommend taking time to go to Whistler and possibly staying there one night or just spending all 3 nights in Vancouver? Also, is Victoria worth the ferry trip? It looks beautiful and we are trying to decide if we should go for the day, spend the night there, or just concentrate on ONP, Vancouver, and Seattle.
Mar 24th, 2016, 05:24 PM
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Victoria is a delightful town. We try to go there at least once a year. I wouldn't advice you to go there if you can't spend at least one night.
Vancouver is a great city with a spectacular natural setting and Stanley Park.
The drive to Whistler is scenic, but Whistler in a modern ski resort. It's no Aspen or Telluride.
If I had three nights, I would spend two in Vancouver and one in Whistler (for a change of scenery). However, I am old and you are young. Vancouver is loaded with young, active, outdoorsy people like yourselves. On a winter day of the kind that keeps Seattleites inside, crowds of Vancouverites are biking, running, and enjoying every other kind of outdoor activity.
HTtY
Vancouver is a great city with a spectacular natural setting and Stanley Park.
The drive to Whistler is scenic, but Whistler in a modern ski resort. It's no Aspen or Telluride.
If I had three nights, I would spend two in Vancouver and one in Whistler (for a change of scenery). However, I am old and you are young. Vancouver is loaded with young, active, outdoorsy people like yourselves. On a winter day of the kind that keeps Seattleites inside, crowds of Vancouverites are biking, running, and enjoying every other kind of outdoor activity.
HTtY
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