Need help with itinerary. Flying into seattle. Have 10 nights, want to spend a few days in Seattle, 3 days in Vancouver, 2 in Whistler and 3 on Vancouver Island. Fly out of Seattle on 11th day at 10pm. Which direction is best to do this itinerary? Any other suggestions? We have not made reservations yet, must do so ASAP.

Thanks

If you are flying out of Seattle on your last day, you might want to spend your last three days in Vancouver (not your first three days), since Vancouver is closer to Seattle than any of your other destinations.

So, it would probably make more sense, after you've seen Seattle, to take the ferry from Seattle to Victoria (Vancouver Island). When you are ready to leave Vancouver Island, you might take the ferry from Nanaimo (approx 1 1/2 hrs north of Victoria) to Horseshoe Bay (in West Vancouver) and drive to Whistler from the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. The drive between Vancouver and Whistler is scenic and only takes about one and a half hours or so.

Hope this helps. Have a great vacation!

What method of transportation are you using and where do you plan to visit on Vancouver Island?

Car

There is no car ferry between Seattle and Victoria. I would probably drive up to Vancouver then to Whistler. From there you could either take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and drive down to Victoria (2-3 hr drive), or take the ferry From Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (about a half hour drive to Victoria.) This is assuming by "Vancouver Island" you are planning on visiting Victoria. If Tofino is in your plans, take the ferry to Nanaimo.

Once in Victoria, if you are going there, you could either take the ferry from Swartz Bay to the mainland, take the Anacortes ferry from Sidney, or the Coho ferry from downtown Victoria to Port Angeles.

For variety, I would be inclined to take the Coho but only on the first sailing of the morning. The reason for this is that there are no reservations on that ferry and it can be extremely busy in the summertime; therefore it is important to get in the lineup early. Call the day before and ask how early you can leave your car. Then you can go out for breakfast. The Coho docks right in Victoria's Inner Harbour and there are a number of hotels close by. To do this trip in reverse leaves you waiting around in Port Angeles, which many don't find too exciting.

The Anacortes ferry, my least favourite of the three, does take reservations though.

By whichever route, I would be prefer to be off the island a day before a departing flight.

Both of the above responses give good advice. Looks like your itinerary is about what mine was 2 summers ago, though we were visiting mid-summer. Since you are going in September after school starts, I suspect that you'll find prices more reasonable. I also think that unless you'll be using the ferries on weekends, it's not as crucial to have reservations long ahead on the ferries. I suspect that once you make final plans you';ll be able to make ferry reservations without peoblems. By the way, we flew into Seattle, drove to Vancouver, then to Whistler, and then back down to Vacouver for the ferry to Swartz Bay from Tsawwassen. We returned to Vancouver the afternoon of day before our flight out of Seattle, driving to Seattle and staying at a hotel near the airport.