Hi,
I am planning a 7 days trip to the Seattle area in July. We are a group of 4 adults in our 50s and are primarily interested in beautiful views, beautiful coastline drives and visiting the San Juan Islands. We are arriving in Seattle and will probably rent a car. Please post any info about "Not to miss" attractions, recommendations on lodging (less than $100 a night if possible) and using the ferry service with a car in the summertime (I have heard this can be a time consuming process). Thanks so much,
Kara

How about spending 15 minutes looking at a current guidebook in your local library or Barnes & Nobels or Border books etc. Why think strangers have to hand you on a plate a whole vacation itenerary? You're 4 adults, can't even one of you spend 15 minutes looking at a guidebook for information this general and so available in bookstores or even online?

Hi Kara. Seattle to the San Juans to Victoria is a good 7 day trip. I'm not sure you can go from the San Juans to Victoria....Is there a ferry crossing there?
On the San Juans, you'll want to visit Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. It's an interesting island with some history (the Pig Wars?). Probably you'll want to go to Orcas Island, too, and ride to the top of the mountain there (the high point) to catch the views. If you're lucky, you'll see whales.
I wish I could be more helpful. I think there is nothing wrong with your posting a travel question on a travel board, and I hope you get a good response.

Checked it out and you can take the Anacortes Ferry to the San Juans and Sidney BC, so you can easily get to Victoria that way. Anacortes has a great chocolate shop in it on one of the main streets, but I don't remember the name. They actually produce the chocolate themselves, on site, if I recall. If you have any time there, ask around. On your way to Anacortes, if you go that way, you may want to stop in LaConner, which is an artsy town with great shops.
You'll have a great trip!

Is that $100 a night in US or Canadian dollars?

In Victoria visit the Royal BC Museum (downtown) and, if you like, Butchart Gardens (out of town). Hatley Park at Royal Roads is a gem although you have to drive through some ugliness to get to it. For a waterfront drive, start on Dallas Road near Beacon Hill Park and drive through the Uplands neighbourhood. Mt. Doug has a very good viewpoint if you don't mind a bit of an walk from the parking lot.

For spectacular scenery in Vancouver cross the Lion's Gate Bridge to West Vancouver or even drive some of the Sea to Sky Highway. Stanley Park and Granville Island are just a couple of Vancouver's attractions and, unlike in Victoria, there are lots of good restaurants.

Ferries can be a pain. You can reserve between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen (Victoria/Vancouver) but you still have to be at the terminal half an hour before the sailing. Aim for an odd-hour sailing.

I don't really know Seattle but I was just checking this out because we are planning a trip there as well....I just read Dan's response and I'm wondering why he is even on this site? Isn't that what it is for, to get advise from people who have been there? No book can describe real experiences from real people. You are a real JERK Dan, stay off this site....

Thanks for all the great info so far. We are getting lots of good ideas. Which, by the way DAN, is the purpose of this site!!! Yes, I could go to the library if I happened to live by one or I could go spend $15 on a guide book written by someone who may or may not know my specific travel interests. BUT, wouldn't it be more effective to consult the people on this board who either LIVE or RECENTLY visited the Seattle area? I appreciate all the great help the other posters have provided but DAN---get a life!!! Stop trying to be the FODOR'S NAZI, your lame posts are not welcome here.
Kara
ps-by the way, I have helped many people on this site plan Caribbean vacations over the past three years. I have seen your ridiculous responses elsewhere on this web page, why do you even bother logging off if you don't want to participate in a positive manner?

In Seattle be sure and spend some time downtown. Pike Place Market is a great spot to hit in the morning and have a great lunch in one of the many fine restaurants there. And watch out for flying fish! From there you can keep on the tourist theme and head up to the Seattle Center and up the Space Needle. If it's a clear day (50/50 in July) you'll be able to see North to where you will be heading (San Juans, Olympic Mountains). Ferrys can be a bit of a pain but, hey, you are on vacation so don't stress it. It's a great way to get more good views of Puget Sound and you may see some whales as well. Visit Friday Harbor and maybe a couple of the other island towns and then I would recommend heading to Victoria for a day or so. Buchart Gardens are worth the trip alone but the bit of old England is a great experience.

Message: Kara, you may want to check the Gray Line Tours as they do this very trip. Even if you don't use them,there is some information as to how to plan your trip. I enjoyed this in 1990.

Dan.... your such an ass... this is what the web site is for... give it up.

Hi Kara:

You will love your trip and you've picked the best time to come (however, everyone else will be here plus the locals doing their summer vacation, so plan ahead!). If I were doing this trip, I would spend 2 nights in Seattle (lots of good information on many posts of what to see and do in Seattle) then take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, and from there, drive to Port Townsend for the night (perhaps staying at Manressa Castle). While in Port Townsend, visit the quaint old town and Dungenous Spit State Park on the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The next morning, I would take the Blackball ferry to Victoria and would spend one night there (be sure and see Butchart Gardens in the evening staying at dark for the fireworks, and the Empress Hotel perhaps for high tea -- lots of other stuff to do within walking distance of the inner harbor). Then I would take the Swartz Bay ferry to Horseshoe Bay (a little north of Vancouver) and take the scenic route along the water and over the Lyons Gate Bridge into Vancouver. Stay 2 days in Vancouver downtown. A zillion things to do there; it's an absolutely gorgeous city. Then I would drive back to Seattle (2-1/2 hr. drive) stopping in Laconner to stroll and have lunch. If your flight is early, perhaps you would book a hotel around the airport to skip the drive from downtown Seattle, but if you have time, perhaps take I-405 southbound from I-5 and swing over to the Eastside and stay in Kirkland which is on Lake Washington -- very nice place to visit. Have fun!

West End B&B is a good one in Vaancouver, though about $135 US. If you like Japanese food, you'd be hard pressed to eat $10 worth at the Gyoza King a few blocks from the West End. Whistler is a 2 hr. drive to the north from Vancouver, but the ski village there is worth it as is the very European Durlacher Hof B$B owned and operated by an Austrian couple.

How about something a little bit different? I would consider staying in a bed and breakfast on Bainbridge Island (better value and beautiful location) and then taking the ferry into Seattle for your sightseeing there. You can walk onto the ferry for cross sound trips -very easy and very civilized commute- enjoy downtown, Pike Place, Pioneer Square, etc, on foot (also free bus service in downtown area.) Then drive from B.I up to Port Townsend. Spend the morning there. Hop on the Pt.Townsend/Clinton ferry and drive up Whidbey Island through Deception Pass (beautiful) to Anacortes ferry. This takes you on the back road to Anacortes which runs along the water and is quite lovely. Ferry to Orcas (my favorite) or Friday Harbor. There are a number of great little places to stay on Orcas and the town of East Sound is charming. From Orcas, you can catch the Wash. State Ferry to Sidney. You can make advance reservations for this boat. Head from Sidney to Victoria. Spend a night in Victoria. Ferry over to Horseshoe Bay and Vancouver. enjoy Vancouver and then head south on I-5 to Seattle with perhaps a stop in Bellingham- the old town of Fairhaven is cute- and a drive down Chuckanut Drive to connect back up to I-5 near the town of La Connor. I'd get a good book on B & B's and smalls inns for the Pacific Northwest. They would probably provide best value for accommodations.

Kara, I too am in the research stage, so all of the great advise you're getting is interesting to me also! Word of warning: I have been advised, by posters on this board and the ferry people themselves, that the Black Ball ferries originating in Port-Angeles and Victoria are often backed up up to 24 hours! The only way to avoid this, it seems, is to either take the very first ferry in the a.m., or to take an alternative ferry route.

Kara, I think one thing to bear in mind is that the Puget Sound/San Juans/Victoria area in July is inundated by visitors, so it’s essential that you plan ahead if you want to stay at interesting, affordable places, or compete for space on crowded ferries, etc. Also, as somebody already said, seven days is a bit short if you want to explore the San Juans, see Victoria, and still have time for Seattle and/or Vancouver. It’s doable, but you’ll have to rush a bit, and some things just won’t get seen.

First, some terms: If you want to take drives on scenic coast roads, you’ll need to decide if you want open ocean coast (big waves, rocks, all that) versus protected inland seashore (islands, trees, etc.) The region has both, but they’re not especially convenient to one another – the Olympic Peninsula coast, for example, or the west coast of Vancouver Island both offer spectacular wild coastal scenery, but neither are easy to get to from the inland waters – San Juans or Canadian Gulf Islands, say. Transportation across Puget Sound or the Georgia Strait is crowded, especially the San Juans ferry, and you’ll need reservations to take your car on one of the two daily international sailings on the Washington State ferry. With only seven days, you don’t want to kiss off half-day or longer waits lined up for the ferry.

One strong alternative for Victoria is to leave the car on the mainland and travel as a foot passenger to Victoria, either for a day trip or an overnight somewhere downtown. This is especially effective if you want to visit the Olympic Peninsula in Washington (rain forest, wild rocky coast, Hurricane Ridge, etc.) – you can leave your car in Port Angeles, travel on the Coho as a foot passenger right into the Victoria Inner Harbour, take a tour to Butchart Gardens or just walk around the downtown area, then either that night or the next day return to PA and continue touring. This alternative is cheaper, and there are plenty of tour operators and bus charters and hoteliers in Victoria to make it easy. This is also doable from the San Juans as well as from the Olympic Peninsula – Victoria Clipper has service to downtown Victoria from Orcas or Friday Harbor on their passenger-only boats; not terribly cheap but quick. Note the Washington State and BC Ferries’ services to Victoria don’t land downtown but 10-15 miles from the center, requiring an annoying drive into the city, whereas the Coho and Clipper boats dock right in front of the BC Parliament building. If you do decide to use the Port Angeles car ferry, plan on using it southbound, so you can ditch the car in the ferry lineup and walk around Victoria, a much more enjoyable area than the PA docks. One terrific way to visit Victoria either from downtown Seattle or Vancouver is via floatplane – again, not cheap (around CDN$200 RT from Vancouver) but what a ride, and way convenient.

Another spectacular drive (close to a “must-do” in my book) is the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and the Whistler ski resort northwest of the city. This drive (about 2 hours each way) is regarded as one of the most beautiful drives in N. America – following fjord-like inlets then into the mountains – really something.

But as I said, I think with seven days you’ll have to decide what you can forego – if you want to see just Seattle and the San Juans, that’s doable, but adding the Pacific coast or Vancouver into the planning makes it tough.

My husband and I are also planning a similar trip but the last week in June. We will be meeting our daughter and 3 friends who will be on a road trip. The timing is to match up with her 21st birthday. Any other suggestions as to places to stay in Vancouver/Victoria. I think we have our plans already for Seattle. Liked the idea about parking the car and going over on foot. How about good places to eat in Seattle (eg. any of the pier areas) Thanks!

Thanks to all. You have been a great help and I am getting all sorts of ideas. Kara

Great ideas posted. We went to the area last summer -- second time in 10 years. We love it! Victoria favorites include Butchart Gardens (I've been to many, many gardens in Europe and U.S. and this tops them all), and tea at Empress Hotel. The free tour of the Parliament Building is also quite interesting. For a WONDERFUL meal, try Sooke Harbor House about a 30-minute drive west of Victoria in the town of Sooke. It's a quaint inn with restaurant -- excellent food and beautiful scenic views right on the water. The Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler is breathtaking. For a relaxing pitstop, stop at Shannon Falls just north of Vancouver on the way to Whistler. A fun activity in Whistler is riding the tram to the top of Whistler Mountain -- have a snowball fight in July!

One more thing about Victoria. A neat B&B is Arundel Manor. Go to www.google.com and type in Arundel Manor and it will lead you to all the information you need. Very gracious hostess and delicious breakfasts.

One "not to miss" event in Seattle that is going on through the summer is the fantastic Teatro ZinZanni http://dreams.zinzanni.org/

You have to get tickets a couple months in advance but it is a spectacular show and dinner. I highly recommend it as a special evening for the 4 of you!