I've spent a week in Seattle and am looking for the best suggestions for a 1 or 2 day excursion from the city. Anyone have any good suggestions??? Please help- looking for next weekend.

Julie, there are dozens of places that fit that description. Can you give us a few more parameters, such as do you want another city, a romantic destination, something outdoorsy?

In no particular order, some ideas are Vancouver, Victoria, the San Juans, Whidbey Island, La Conner, Mt. Rainier, Port Townsend and/or the rest of the Olympic Peninsula, the Cascades around Leavenworth (the North Cascades would be a little far for just an overnighter)...

Have you been to any of the islands? The San Juans are fabulous. The ferry trip is wonderful. I'd recommend staying overnight at least one night. You can camp if you like.

I used to live in Bellingham about 1.5 hours north which is a nice college town with some funky shops and the requisite coffee hangouts. You could stop there en route to Vancouver - it's right off I5.

Port Townsend is nice too... you really have a lot of options - you might even to go Portland OR, a lovely city. And I've always wanted to go to Victoria myself...

Julie,
Next weekend is Labor Day, of course, so accommodation may be a problem in the more popular areas. The previous suggestions are all good.

(FYI, Bumbershoot, Seattle's arts blowout, is also this weekend - a memorable experience if you like world class music, dance, poetry, drama, visual arts, people walking around with their pants on their heads, the usual.)

I'd suggest a loop east, through the Cascades to Yakima (weather still very nice), then south to the Columbia River at Goldendale (see Maryhill Museum), overnight around The Dalles, Oregon, or Hood River, Oregon, then the next day down the Columbia Gorge (on the "old highway" on the Oregon side) to Portland, then back to Seattle. It's a great trip, with amazing variety, both natural and human.

Hi all, thanks for the good tips? What do you think about Port Angeles, WA and a daytrip to Victoria,BC.? What are the places to visit in Port Angeles and Victoria,BC? What is the best Bed & Breakfast in Port Angeles?
Romantic and nice,but not expensive! Any good seafood(crabs)restaurants out in Port Angeles or Victoria,BC? thks!

Colette's (www.colettes.com) is a very nice place to stay near Port Angeles. It is a couple of miles outside of town and right on the water. You can see the lights of Victoria from your room. They have just remodeled and expanded so everything is brand new. Breakfast is awesome. I believe it runs around $150/night.

Julie, Port Angeles would be fine, and a day trip to Victoria easy and enjoyable, provided you go as a foot passenger and leave the car behind in P.A.

Definitely not upscale, but the 3 Crabs restaurant (named after the owners, actually) right on the water in Dungeness, is something of a landmark. The food is okay, the crab overpriced IMO, but the cole slaw is to die for. It's on the coast north of Sequim (pronounced "Skwim") and about a 20 min. drive from P.A.

Colette's is great (I just saw the new rooms last week) but it's *definitely* more than $150 since the remodel (I think the least expensive room is $175, although check with them for off-season rates).

In the same neighborhood and in the same vein are Domaine Madeleine and BJ's Garden Gate.

Places to visit? Way too many for two days, but in the PA area: Port Townsend (on the way), Dungeness Spit Wildlife Refuge, Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls, Sol Duc falls and rainforest. Victoria: top two are the Royal BC Museum and the Butchart Gardens. And definitely don't take your car!

I've been getting very good reports about the Blue Crab at the Coast Victoria Hotel in Victoria.

Topper

Alright!If i were to go by foot to Butchart Garden and BC Museum, how far it is to get there from the ferry terminal(victoria express)?? Where to park your car at PA that is safe? DO I have to make advance reservations for the tickets(ferry)? Is there a Chinatown in Victoria,BC?

Julie, both the Express and the Coho (the older, slower boat) dock right in the Inner Harbour in Victoria; the museum is a few hundred yards away. In PA there is plenty of safe parking near the terminal. Check out the ferry's website at
http://www.victoriaexpress.com/ for reservation links, etc. If it's booked you can almost certainly walk on the Coho, which takes 45 min longer to cross, but offers fresh air, coffee, and deck strolls, instead of bouncing along in the smaller boat.

Butchart Gdns. is way out of town, accessed by one of the, oh, say, ten thousand tour buses readily available from the Inner Harbour. Don't worry, the Victorians know what tourists like and make it easy. Careful with time management, a day trip can fill up fast.

Yes, there is a rather cute, small Chinatown walkable from the dock.

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I would personally suggest travelling to Victoria or Vancouver for a 1/2 day excursion away from Seattle. The only problem is, if you plan on going anywhere this weekend, you'd want to leave as early in the morning as possible. It's the Labor Day long weekend on *both* sides of the border.

Ferries to Vancouver Island (Victoria) are usually quite busy. If the ferry is full, you'll have to wait for the next sailing, which is usually quite a few hours away. You'd definitely want to spend a night over s you won't feel rushed.

Driving to Vancouver is an option as well, but the lineups could be long at the border due to Americans going into Canada to spend their weekend, as well, the Canadians will be going south to spend their weekend in the USA. The trick is to take I-5 all the way up to the border, but then take the last exit (exit 275?) - the Blaine/Truck Crossing exit. The truck border crossing is much faster than the large Peace Arch crossing, and can sometimes save up to 45 minutes to an hour of just waiting in line.

But besides that, everything everywhere will be busy this weekend whether you're in Seattle, Vancouver or Victoria - but don't let this stop you.

Some people forget that with Vancouver, you can tour Whistler as well. The drive to Whistler just takes under 2 hours, and it's one of the most beautiful mountain/coastal highways I've ever seen. Whistler has a really fun European styled village, and the scenery is amazing.

If you have any specific questions on Vancouver, let me know. I find a good website to check out is www.vancouver.hm

I realize that my post makes it sound like "half" a day excursion - I meant it to be 1-2 day excursion.

In Victoria, the drive to the Butchart's Gardens takes about half an hour.

If you are at the inner harbour in front of the Empress Hotel, head into town up Government Street and, after several blocks, you will see the Gates of Harmonious Interest (or something) at Chinatown on Fisgard St.

Nearby, on lower Johnson St., Il Terrazzo is a restaurant that people seem to like.

The Classic Boat Festival takes place at the inner harbour on the long weekend (http://www.vreb.org/cbf.html) so it will be busy. The Saanich Fair happens out on the peninsula for three days.

Better bring your umbrella.

Why would anyone want to spend a day in Port Angeles? What a waste of a day's vacation.