Martha

My husband and I are coming to Seattle the week of 6/18 - 6/24 while our daughters are at camp. From a friend's recommendation, I have looked into staying at the Inn at the Market while we are in town. I have already checked with the hotel, and feel I need to make reservations there ASAP. I am overwhelmed with the possibilities of what to do in 6 days/7 nights. Can anyone suggest an itinerary for a 40-something couple who enjoy exploring a city, music, good food and wine and would love to see the surrounding area? San Juan Islands/Victoria/Vancouver all sound wonderful. I've been told the Buchart Gardens are pretty. Is whale watching fun to do, or just a tourist trap?

I'm from NC and have never been to the area before. My husband traveled through there on a cross-country motorcycle trip in 1978. He has mentioned renting a car when we leave the city (I think to revisit his memories of the open road and the scenery). Would that be necessary or recommended?

Any hotel/restaurant suggestions would also be appreciated. We fly out very early on Monday morning, so should we stay near the airport on Sun. night?

Tak

The Inn at Harbor Steps is a great place to stay in Seattle. Great location!

Not glitzy, but very nice and near to everything--Pike Place Market is only a couple blocks, a fabulous museum cross the street. Cutter's was an excellent restaurant and is walking distance. Also went to San Juan Is. Had fun there also. Whale watching (orcas) was good. Stayed at Duffy House B&B. Not great, but nice. Wouldn't stay more than about 3 days.

Michele

Wow ... your trip has lots of possibilities to be a wonderful experience. First, don't expect hot weather ... our best months are August and September, but there can be a fair amount of sun in late June, too. Yes, you could rent a car when you leave the city -- but it's not necessary. For example: take the Victoria Clipper to Victoria. No need for car there (it's a great city to walk in with a wonderful path that travels all along the Inner Harbour). If you want to go to Buchart Gardens, check with the tourist center near the Empress at the Inner Harbour and get the public bus schedule. This method of transport is much cheaper, less touristy and allows you to see more of the town under "natural" conditions at your own pace. Check out www.victoriabc.com for links to great places to stay ... little and lovely B & B's abound in Victoria. Avoid tea at the Empress -- the "high tea" experience is truly a part of a Victoria visit (the town, excepting the accents, is more British than London)... look instead at other opportunities at lesser known spots (also available on the aforementioned website). Also, if you're at all interested in museums ... the Provincial Museum is extraordinary! Plan to see it. From Victoria, you could easily take ferries and public transport to Vancouver, then train back to Seattle. There are so many possibilities! If you decide to go to Victoria or the San Juans, try to design the trip WITHOUT a car to avoid the long lines of summer ferry travel. Walk-on passengers almost always can get on, but cars have to wait most of the time.

Inn at the Market, though I've never stayed there, has a great reputation.

Early Monday departure? You could check in advance about airporter service to make sure you can get to the airport on time; outside of commute hours, it's probably only a 30 minute trip from downtown Seattle.

Hope these thoughts help; I'm proud of our area and love to make suggestions to those who want to experience it!

GOL

My $.02
Assuming you are "free" to take a few days and not be tied to daughters camp, I'd seriously study a map of the Northwest US and Canada. You are really, really close to Alaska (compared to NC). AlaskaAir and others have great sales from time to time. Will you ever get so close to that beautiful state again? Only a 3 hr flight to Anchorage, and less to Juneau / Inside Passage area.

Study the National Parks in the area.

I've heard the Orcas are spectacular in/around San Juan islands.

Skip the city and hit the unique areas of that part of our world.

[We had to go to a wedding in Hood River, Ore. Flew into Seattle and realized it would most likely be only time to that "corner" of our world. Didn't want to spend it in a city when many special places were within 600 miles (1 day drive). Had many areas under consideration, including Mt. Ranier, Alaska, Redwoods in CA. Columbia River area, National Parks around Seattle....]

Have fun!

Sal

I'd definitely make Victoria one of your stops. The Royal BC Museum is one of the best I've visited. As posted above, you don't need a car. Actually, our car made the ferry trip much more of a hassle. If you're on foot you can walk right on the ferry. We waited 5 hours with our car. We took a whale watching excursion from a company out of Victoria's Inner Harbor. I've posted here before about this trip and wish that I could remember the name of the company. We went on a small boat (much, much preferable to a large one) and saw many whales up close. It was the highlight of our trip. We also love Seattle. There are so many adult activities. I could spend an entire day at the market. The salmon ladder at the locks was fascinating. We couldn't do the Boeing tour because one of our children was too young, but I hear it's excellent. Have fun,

seattlegal

I would definately recommend renting a car. There are some great scenic drive that are easy day trips. The Deception pass loop is one of my favorites.

Deception pass loop. Drive north from Seattle to Mt Vernon on I-5 (about 45 minutes north). Take the Anacortes exit. You'll pass through the beautiful Skagit Valley. You'll see signs for Deception pass. It's actually a channel that divides the Whidbey Island from the mainland. Spectacular! If you can, I'd recommend staying at a BB on Whidbey and taking some time to explore this lovely island. We've stayed at The Inn at Penn Cove and I recommend it highly. There are also some very good B & Bs in the town of Langley. Don't miss Langely. It's a great town full of interesting shops and good restraunts. You can catch a ferry in Clinton that will drop you off in Edmonds, just 20 to 30 minutes from Seattle. As natives, we prefer this trip in the summer to the crowded San Juans.

Martha

Thanks for your responses, especially about the car/no car. I am still undecided about that one. It sounds as if the car will be a drawback as far as the ferries, but would allow for more scenic exploring outside of the cities. I guess we need to decide our priorities.
(Seattlegal, The Deception Pass loop sounds interesting if we go the car route. I think it will appeal to my husband, as well as the Sea to Sky Highway near Vancouver.)

I was mistaken, we arrive late on Monday, and leave in the afternoon the following Monday, so I'm thinking of staying around the airport the first night to save some money and then heading out from there.

Given that we probably need to end up in Seattle on Sunday night to fly out on Monday afternoon, (I hate to be rushed at an airport), what order would you advise for seeing Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle? And is there any way to squeeze in a visit to Orcas?

Sal, was the excursion you took the Prince of Whales Whale Watching? I have read about it, and it has the small boats. Also, if we make it to the islands, would we see the whales enough from there and, therefore, not take the time to go on a whale watching boat in Victoria?

Any comments on these places to stay:
Magnolia Hotel in Victoria
Sutton Place in Vancouver
Spring Bay Inn or Turtleback Farm on Orcas

Thank you again for all the information. I am really getting excited about seeing your part of the world.

Sal

Martha,

Prince of Wales sounds familiar (other than for the obvious reason!). As I said, they're located in a small store front right on the inner harbor.Be sure that your tour includes a naturalist as your guide. IF you're lucky you can see whales at a distance from the beaches of the San Juans. However, nothing beats this experience on the open water. It's pretty incredible to have one of these creatures swim up to and under the boat! You're right, it will take up quite a bit of time (at least 4 hours) , so you have to decide if it's a priority for you. The whales are more active and more abundant at certain times of the year, so check that out before deciding. Ask how many sitings there have been in recent excursions. By the way--we stayed at the Blue Horizon in Vancouver. It's in the heart of everything on Robson. Each room is a large corner room with windows on two sides and the views were incredible.

kam

There's a float plane that will take you right in front of a romantic little hotel on one of the islands. Someone on a plane to Seattle told me about it, it sounded great, I wrote it down and guess what????? Seattle is a good destination for about 2-3 days. Then I would venture out. We were there at exactly that same time last year but didn't make it to Victoria because of high winds and the ferry turned back. Think it was a one in a thousand chance though. We're going to try again soon.

kam

Sorry, Martha, hit the button too soon. We also stayed at the Inn at the Market and loved it. It's such a pleasure to walk the short block down to the market for coffee in the morning or dinner at night. Great location, lovely hotel with pretty rooftop patio. Book now!

ldsant

Inn at the Market is very nice - it's right in the market. You can take a ferry (walkable from your hotel) to Bainbridge Island, Whidbey, Vashon. I would also highly recommend going to Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens - they're really quite lovely - especially in the summer although you should know that this is the tourist season here and it can get crowded.

Restaurants - some of my favorites (I've live here for 11 years now):

Canlis (need to make reservations)
Herbfarm (need to make reservations NOW)
Sostanza's - Madison Park
Hunt Club in the Sorrento
Campagne (French food - right beneath your hotel) although I like the Cafe Campagne too (less expensive)
Pigalles (in the market)
Adriatica (food is good, but view has changed with a bldg that just went up)

You can take Kenmore air (I think you can make reservations via the web actually) and go to the San Juan Islands. Or, you can drive to Anacortes and take the ferry. Friday Harbor is nice, but Orcas is really nice.

Vancouver is about a 3 hour drive with customs - reminds me of Seattle a lot, but a bit cleaner and more polite people. Robson Street is nice, the museum is OK, Capalino Park with the suspension bridge is pretty cool.

If there's anything else you need, please feel free to email me. I hope you love Seattle - except for the traffic it really is a beautiful city!