Things to do on a road trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC
 

Hello,

I am flying into Seattle and driving from there to Vancouver BC for a wedding. My flight lands at 8 am and we are renting a car and planning to stop at Everett for the Boeing tour and probably stop at the museum of flying, heritage and combat museum. I am guessing we wrap these two by 2pm.
we need to be in Vancouver at around 6/7pm. That gives us a bit of cushion to stop at places on our way.
I appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

I agree with marvelousmouse. The other thing you could do is stop at Whatcom Falls, on the east side of Bellingham. It just takes a few minutes to see the falls, or if you have time you can do a short walk.

What month is this and what day of the week? It can make a big difference.

Route options -

1. Boeing tour, then ferry to Whidbey Island, up Whidbey to Deception Pass, across to the mainland, up I-5 to the BC border, in to Vancouver. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/2zQzNSTMMrqgyLDP7

2. As above but adding Chuckanut Drive and the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/DbYpkXbeAKaL6ZD58

3. Bypass Whidbey Island but add La Conner, Fairhaven, and Steveston, Vancouver's fishing port. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/hmBBUxfoyowxd5g76

Things to note:

1. Border delays are generally longer coming into the US than coming into Canada, but no guarantees.

2. The ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island can require a one-boat wait (ca 30-40 min.) in peak travel periods, such as weekend mornings.

3. Langley and Coupeville are very picturesque waterfront villages on Whidbey Island; La Conner is equally picturesque. All three can become quite congested with visitors, particularly on weekends. Deception Pass is a terrific destination but requires at least a couple of hours to explore.

4. Chuckanut Drive, aka WA Hwy 11, offers some excellent scenery leading to the Fairhaven district of Bellingham. However it's slow going.

5. There's a big tunnel on BC 99 under the Fraser River which has reversible lanes in order to accommodate peak commuter volumes. These lanes will be for southbound traffic in the afternoon and early evening, resulting in your northbound drive being subject to some pretty bad slowdowns. There aren't any convenient work-arounds absent a longish detour.

6. You might consider hustling to the border and spending a couple of hours in Steveston, Vancouver's fishing port. There are a number of decent waterfront cafes, and the town is fairly pleasant (used as the location for the "Once Upon a Time" TV series.)

Google Maps tends to be pretty optimistic on times for these routes; I'd add 20% - 30% at least, not counting waits for the ferry or border lineup times.

Thank you all! We are flying in from CA. We are planning to visit the boeing museum and the musem of combat at Everett.
I belive we will be museumed out by then.

I love all the recommendations-the waterfalls and the historic Belhaven district and the scenic drive leading up to it.
As much as I love the ferry into the Widhney island, it adds a lot more time to our travel to Vancouver.

ANy other suggestions and activities that are kind of well known in the local area onlly?

Thanks

Thank you mms.

Any recommendations on reasonably priced totem poles/masks either along the way on I-5 or in Vancouver?

If you want to view - not take home with you, totem poles, then Stanley Park in the west end of Vancouver BC is a good place to start. Stanley Park also had much of the Winter Olympics a few years ago.

In Stanley Park there is a little gift shop near the totem poles an they do sell souvenir ones to take home.

Totem poles are artifacts from the northern BC and southeast Alaska coastal regions, not so much from the Puget Sound/Salish Sea region (although some existed in this area.)

You might start with a look here - https://www.insidevancouver.ca/2010/...-in-vancouver/

Thank you Tomfuller, mms and Gardyloo. I will check them out