We have 3 couples going to Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver from Oct.1-8. We travel on Oct1 and 8 but still have half days for sightseeing. My question: Is it better to go to Seattle then Victoria to Vancouver or reverse this and go Seattle to Vancouver to Victoria. Any suggestions on this and other ideas for our trip would be appreciated. I have learned a lot from reading the other post. Any recommendations for hotel/B&B would be great.

Due to the different ferry services, some of which do not take advance bookings, it would be helpful to know how you plan to travel from city to city before making any recommendations regarding the order of your visit.

If you're not using a car then the better route would be Seattle to Victoria via the Victoria Clipper, (but beware this can be a rocky ride), then from Victoria to Vancouver via the PCL bus which goes from the heart of tourist Victoria to just East of Downtown Vancouver and the fare for which includes a much calmer Ferry ride.

We plan to rent a van in Seattle.

From the information given, I'm assuming that you have booked flights to and from Seattle and that you plan to rent the van at Seattle airport. Although I have only vacationed in this area twice, may I make the following suggestions. You can cut your ferry costs and open up other travel options by waiting to rent your van until you get into Canada. I would suggest taking the Gray Line Airport Express shuttle service that services the major downtown Seattle hotels from the airport and the Quick Coach from Seattle to Vancouver http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/tr...shuttlebus.htm
Seattle has lots of transportation options including a city bus free ride zone, a monorail system, and a free trolley system along the waterfront. By staying downtown at one of the big hotels which are serviced by both shuttle companies (see above website) you could easily do Seattle without a rental. Vancouver, however, is not so user friendly. I'd recommend reserving a rental car at the airport where you will be dropped off by the Quick Coach from Seattle. After seeing the sights in Vancouver, you can then ferry over to Victoria www.ferrytravel.com After you've finished sight seeing there, you can turn in your rental car and ferry back to Seattle via the Victoria Clipper and pay for only one trip with the vehichle cost instead of three. Then take the Gray Line back to the airport....... Or you could fly back via sea plane from Victoria's harbour. Both of these are options that you wouldn't have with a US rental car which you cannot leave in Canada.

In that case drive to Vancouver, take the Ferry to Victoria, from Victoria take the Ferry to Port Angeles or Anacortes and drive back to Seattle.

If following Gary's last suggestion, be aware that the Coho Ferry to Port Angeles does not take reservations.... miss the boat and you'll miss your flight!

retired_teacher's advice is best. I cede the floor.

I'm not a local, Gary and don't claim to be an expert on the area.......... but I did have the experience (and the adrenalin rush) of being the third to last vehicle to load on the Coho last fall! Just wanted to be sure that they knew all of the restrictions to their options.

Thanks all for the advise. We will consider all these options before deciding.