laminmd

My husband and I are visiting Seattle and Washington for the first time ever next June. We will be in the Seattle area for around a week. I figure 3 solid days in the city, but then there are a number of day trips we'd like to take to places like Mt. Ranier, Mt. St Helens, the Wenatchee Valley (wine tasting) and Leavenworth, Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, etc. Are we better off renting a car and going independently for those days or signing up with EverGreen Escapes who seem to run (recommended) tours to these areas? We will eventually end up renting a car anyway to get to the Olympic peninsula and then over to Victoria and Vancouver Island for the rest of our trip. Thanks for your thoughts.

lennyba

I would just rent a car. None of those places require a tour guide or are difficult to get to. You might want to narrow it down a bit, though - that's a lot of places in different directions to do justice to in four days.

happytrailstoyou

Whidbey Island is often done as a day trip from Seattle, but not the San Juan Islands.

Also, Mt. Rainier is the most popular day trip from Seattle; however, since you are interested in wineries, consider the ones in the Yakima Valley. Drive there via I-90, stopping at Snoqualmie Falls on the way.

Spend the night in the Yakima area. From Yakima, drive to the east side of Mt. Saint Helens and then on to Mt. Rainier. Spend the night in Paradise Lodge (book soon), and from there drive to the Olympic Peninsula, spending your first night at Lake Quinault Lodge.

suze

Wait and do the San Juan islands as part of the Victoria/Vancouver leg, not as a day trip from Seattle.

I consider "day trips" from Seattle places like Snoqualmie Falls, Mt Rainier, or Whidbey Island. But Mt St Helens, Wenatchee Valley, or Leavenworth are pretty substantial drives, so I'd suggest staying 1-night at those spots.

laminmd

This is helpful. Since I only have 2 weeks total and I'm trying to cover a lot of ground, I need to eliminate some of these places. It's easy to take the Wenatchee valley and Leavenworth off the list but I am having more trouble deciding if I'd rather trade off time at Mt. St. Helens or Mt Rainier for time in the San Juan Islands and Whitbey Island (on the way to or from Victoria and Vancouver Island). Advice?

happytrailstoyou

Even after all these years the sight of the destruction at Mt Saint Helens (especially from the east side) is an experience you won't forget, and Mt. Rainier is justifiably the premier scenic attraction of the state.

In the summer, I do everything I can to avoid the long lines of cars attempting to get on a ferry.

Were you visiting me, rather than send you to the San Juan Islands, I would suggest the drive over the North Cascade Highway to spend the night in Winthrop before returning to Seattle via 97Alt and Highway 2 across Stevens pass (which would include a stop in Leavenworth).

Alternatively, after a night in Winthrop, you could visit the Wenatchee wineries and pop into Leavenworth before taking 97 south over Blewett Pass heading toward Mt Saint Helens, Mt Rainier, and the Olympic Peninsula.

Gardyloo

Can I recommend you focus on one of your threads rather than getting the same advice twice?

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-seattle.cfm?1

6abc

HI just returned from a 9 day trip to Washington. I posted this short trip report on another site so I will share this with you.

Started in Rainier. Stayed at Paradise Lodge. Two perfectly sunny beautiful days. We were blessed as it snowed the morning we left. The lodge was also closing for the season soon. Got to see the first 2 shows of the Ken Burns NP special which was shown in the beautiful Paradise Lodge lobby.

We did 2 hikes---Skyline trail which went part way up Rainier and the next day Pinnacle Peak trail. Two perfect hikes for our short stay. We could not get a good photo at Reflection Lake the water was not quiet enough.

We met an 86 year old man and his 3 younger friend all in the 70's on the way up the Pinnacle trail. How refreshing....From there we went to see the old growth of trees at Grove of the Patriarchs. They only word to describe our 2 days there was AWESOME and then to wake up to snow coming down the day we were to leave was just icing on the cake.

The lodge was great. Love the NP lodges. The rooms are your typical NP rooms. Food was fair and VERY expensive...so bring lots of your own snack foods if you plan to go. We paid $8 for a muffin and a cookie at the coffee shop. Not complaining just stating the facts.

Headed down to Mount St. Helen's. It was all fogged in but worth the detour just to go to the visitors center.

After our visit here we headed to our one night stay at Mount Olympic NP. It was a long drive in heavy rain but we got to our hotel at Sol Duc Hot springs in time for dinner and the a dip in the hot tubs. So cool!!!! we were in these 108 degree tubs with rain pouring down on us.

Checked out next morning and on the advise of the girl at the desk we drove over to the coast to La Push where 3 wonderful beaches are that you hiked to and can view the stacks in the ocean. We hiked to beach 3. Went through some wonderful rain forests and then it opened up to the the beautiful beach and the ocean. WOW.

Not much time for anything else but we got a taste of the rain forests and headed to our next destination which was Port Townsend where we had to catch the ferry the next day.

With no reservations made we looked in our AAA book and our Moon Publications book our 2 bibles when we travel and found a perfect place to sleep for the night a beautiful Victorian house called The James house...an elegant breakfast got us started the next morning for our 2 ferry rides to Oracs Island.

Thanks to Marta's advise our ferry planning went without a hitch.

We arrived in the Rain on Orcas Island and we were a little blue about it. Then we arrived at our beautiful room at Inn at Ships Bay. Road around for awhile found a place to eat and packed in in for the night. Or so we thought...about 11pm we began to hear footsteps and animal screaming above our bed in the ceiling. Didn't sleep much that night but the Inn was wonderful about it and moved us to the suite that they had for the next 2 nights.

While on Orcas we hiked to Mt. Constitution. What great views. Next day we did a whale watching trip. They were showing off for us. When we arrived on Orcas we weren't quite sure this was a good decision. After being on Mount Rainier that was going to be hard to beat. But the island proved itself worthy of a stop over.

We next headed to Seattle. Decided to stay at the La Quinta Inn at the airport. It was only $80 the room was fine and the breakfast was not too bad. The best part was our car Rental place (Enterprise) was right down the street. So we dropped the car off a day early and walked back to the hotel. We too the 194 Bus which stopped right across the street in front of the Double Tree hotel. It only did a few stops and then headed right for down town. Took about 30 minuted. It let us out about 3 blocks from the Market. We then took the Monorail to the Space Needle, did that and then the music museum. Had some time left so head to the 3D movie and saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Great way to end a perfect vacation.

Comments on places stayed:
When in a National Park I would always advised staying at one of the lodges. Sometimes the accommodations are not the greatest but you have to realize these lodges have been around for years and are part of history. Paradise Lodge was a pleasure we looked out window and Rainier was right there.

In Olympic NP we stayed at Sol Duc Hot springs. There are wonderful pools of thermal water you can soak in after a day of exploring plus the free breakfast in the morning was great. Also the girls at the front desk were very helpful.

On Orcas the Inn at Ships bay was GREAT. Right on the water and right on the outside of town. The breakfast was a little weak and there weren't many places that had a good breakfast in town. I don't think they are into your basic pancake and egg breakfast on the island.

PLAN PLAN PLAN for your ferry rides and get there early. We were there in off season and the lines were pretty long.

Include Mount St. Helen even if it is cloudy...

As far as Seattle we did fine without a car and it had been suggested not to drive into the city and we were very very happy we did not. As I mentioned we stayed near the airport and took the 194 bus into the city. There were also many car rentals around where we stayed so maybe rent your car after you do Seattle (save some money) and the 3 days you do the city take the bus.

Let me know if you have any questions.

laminmd

6abc, happytrailstoyou, suze, and lennyba thanks so much for your help.

suze

Everyone has their own favorites. I'd also recommend heading keeping Leavenworth, thru Wintrop and the North Cascades highway. I think THAT is some of the most spectacular scenery in Washington state. Whidbey and the San Juans are OK places, but for me they don't have the *wow* factor in the same way, if you're short on time. I'm also not a big fan of Victoria but again that's just me.

laminmd

Thanks, Suze. I have already done a lot of spectacular Rocky Mountain drives, so I was assuming that the North Cascades highway was more of the same, but I could be wrong. Also, it seemed like going through the San Juan Islands (and Whitbey Island) on the way to or from Victoria/Vancouver Island made the most sense in doing a circle trip from/to Seattle.

suze

Hard to say. I guess if you're used to rugged country maybe North Cascades wouldn't be so special to you. Like I know some people love the Olympic Peninsula, but for me I just hate those soggy old rainforests (living year round in Seattle). I love the Pacific coast of Washington, but lots of people don't find it anything much.

Guess I'm trying to say that only you can pick what's the top of your list. But you definitely can't do it all in only 15 days, unless you sign up for The Amazing Race - PNW style!

laminmd

Suze, I wish I had two MONTHS to tour this area. It is so incredibly frustrating to have to skim it down into 2 weeks. No matter what I do I will feel like I'm leaving something special out. You are all quite fortunate to live where you can experience what you want when you want to see it.

happytrailstoyou

In two posts you gave us a list of places you are considering visiting and we are trying to direct you to the ones that, all things considered, will give you the most satisfying NW experience during the short time you have. No need to apologize if you disagree.

HTTY

bardo1

Some good advice so far. You definately want to head out by car after three nights in Seattle instead of doing day trips.

This will give you more time for sightseeing because you won't have to keep doubling back to Seattle.

I think two weeks is enough time to do this circle:

Seattle (3 nights)

Olympic National Park (3 nights)

(ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria)

Victoria (2 nights)

(ferry from Sydney to San Juan)

San Juan Islands (3 nights)

North Cascades (2 nights)

Seattle (12 night)

bardo1

Duh! Final night in Seattle was ONE night (not 12!)

christy1

Don't skip the San Juans or Rainier. Whidbey is so much more developed--a lot of it is pretty suburban--so I think that can be missed. I love the North Cascades but if you aren't really inspired to add more mountain days to the itinerary besides Rainier, I don't think it's a terrible thing to skip. Especially if you aren't hiking--the drive is beautiful but most of the scenery is only reached by hiking--there aren't the number of scenic drives/visitor centers/etc that more developed national parks have.

laminmd

Bardo, thanks for that itinerary. I am going to probably end up doing at least part of it. Christy1, it's helpful to know that most of the good scenery in the North Cascades is seen by hiking, which we would not have time to do in a quick drive by trip. So maybe I will take Bardo's itinerary, shorten the San Juans stay by one night, eliminate the North Cascades, and use the days I pick up to do Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens. If the weather will cooperate with me (since that will be at the end of June and not in July or August) it should work out just great. Thanks to everyone for your feedback and advice; it's really appreciated.