Itinerary for OR/WA/BC in 7 days
Feb 16th, 2001, 02:49 PM
#1
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Itinerary for OR/WA/BC in 7 days
Hi! We're from midwest/east coast area. We're planning a trip to Oregon, WA,& B.C. in July,
2001. Need help with must see sights & cheap but safe & clean lodging. We'll have a rental car. We're arriving 7/13 midnight in Portland. Need to return to Portland for a cousin's wedding by 4 pm on 7/21. We're
interested in seeing the Northern Oregon Coast, Portland, Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, Victoria, Vancouver.
We love lighthouses, the waterfront/coast, magnificent nature sites, waterfalls, quaint pretty towns, and taking lots and lots of pictures. We're tireless travellers. We just want a nice 1st look of everything we should not miss on our "first visit". Will return for longer stays in one spot if we enjoyed a certain place in future visits.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
2001. Need help with must see sights & cheap but safe & clean lodging. We'll have a rental car. We're arriving 7/13 midnight in Portland. Need to return to Portland for a cousin's wedding by 4 pm on 7/21. We're
interested in seeing the Northern Oregon Coast, Portland, Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, Victoria, Vancouver.
We love lighthouses, the waterfront/coast, magnificent nature sites, waterfalls, quaint pretty towns, and taking lots and lots of pictures. We're tireless travellers. We just want a nice 1st look of everything we should not miss on our "first visit". Will return for longer stays in one spot if we enjoyed a certain place in future visits.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Feb 22nd, 2001, 11:35 AM
#3
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Wow, that's an ambitious trip for 7 days! But as long as you realize that you're going to limit your stop in each place to a day or a few hours, then you should be okay. To give you an idea how how long it would take, I've written out a timetable. (I've done this drive before)
14th - arrive in Portland at midnight
15th - drive from Portland to Mt St Helens (magnificent nature site, photograph heaven, must-see in my opinion). Spend minimum 4 hours. Drive to Seattle and spend the night.
16th - Spend the day in Seattle.
17th - Early morning drive to La Conner/Deception pass for a cute, quaint town an amazing nature setting. Drive to nearby Anacortes and take the ferry across to (cute, quaint town) Port Townsend.
18th - Explore the town in the morning, then drive from Port Townsend to Port Angeles, stopping off at the parks along the way. Take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. Make sure you have reservations!
19th - Spend the day in Victoria. In the evening, take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver.
20th - Spend the day in Vancouver (making sure you go to Stanley Park and Granville Island among other attractions)
21 - leave Vancouver at 6am, driving along Hwy 99/I-5 all the way until you reach Portland, 6-7 hours later.
Quaint little towns I can think of that will be along your route:
La Conner, Washington (a 10 minute drive off the freeway)
White Rock, BC (right on the USA-Canada border, a beachside hilly town that's a 5 minute drive off the freeway)
Steveston, BC (a historical fishing village with panoramic views, a 15 minute drive off the freeway)
Horseshoe Bay, BC (north-west of Vancouver, a very scenic bay located in a fjord in the mountains)
If you wanted to do this trip with enough time to see everything adequately, I would suggest 2-3 weeks, especially if you wanted to see some of the Oregon coast. Seattle and Vancouver can easily take up 2-3 days each. Both cities are great home-bases to explore surrounding regions, which is why 1 day isn't enough to "see the city". Anyhow, hope this helps! http://www.britishcolumbia.com and http://www.vancouver.hm will help you for searching info on BC.
14th - arrive in Portland at midnight
15th - drive from Portland to Mt St Helens (magnificent nature site, photograph heaven, must-see in my opinion). Spend minimum 4 hours. Drive to Seattle and spend the night.
16th - Spend the day in Seattle.
17th - Early morning drive to La Conner/Deception pass for a cute, quaint town an amazing nature setting. Drive to nearby Anacortes and take the ferry across to (cute, quaint town) Port Townsend.
18th - Explore the town in the morning, then drive from Port Townsend to Port Angeles, stopping off at the parks along the way. Take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. Make sure you have reservations!
19th - Spend the day in Victoria. In the evening, take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver.
20th - Spend the day in Vancouver (making sure you go to Stanley Park and Granville Island among other attractions)
21 - leave Vancouver at 6am, driving along Hwy 99/I-5 all the way until you reach Portland, 6-7 hours later.
Quaint little towns I can think of that will be along your route:
La Conner, Washington (a 10 minute drive off the freeway)
White Rock, BC (right on the USA-Canada border, a beachside hilly town that's a 5 minute drive off the freeway)
Steveston, BC (a historical fishing village with panoramic views, a 15 minute drive off the freeway)
Horseshoe Bay, BC (north-west of Vancouver, a very scenic bay located in a fjord in the mountains)
If you wanted to do this trip with enough time to see everything adequately, I would suggest 2-3 weeks, especially if you wanted to see some of the Oregon coast. Seattle and Vancouver can easily take up 2-3 days each. Both cities are great home-bases to explore surrounding regions, which is why 1 day isn't enough to "see the city". Anyhow, hope this helps! http://www.britishcolumbia.com and http://www.vancouver.hm will help you for searching info on BC.
Feb 22nd, 2001, 12:34 PM
#4
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I think this question must have been posted twice, because I know there were more answers to this...
In any event, Robyn, there are a few little details in your suggested itinerary that need to be corrected for clarity's sake: the ferry to Port Townsend goes from Keystone, on Whidbey Island, not from Anacortes. Also, the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria doesn't take reservations. For that reason, I always suggest that people do the trip in reverse (from Victoria to PA) so that while waiting the sometimes as much as 6-8 hour back-up (in high season), they can be off doing things in Victoria (there's not a ton to do in downtown PA).
In any event, Robyn, there are a few little details in your suggested itinerary that need to be corrected for clarity's sake: the ferry to Port Townsend goes from Keystone, on Whidbey Island, not from Anacortes. Also, the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria doesn't take reservations. For that reason, I always suggest that people do the trip in reverse (from Victoria to PA) so that while waiting the sometimes as much as 6-8 hour back-up (in high season), they can be off doing things in Victoria (there's not a ton to do in downtown PA).
Feb 22nd, 2001, 12:38 PM
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Justine,
Besure you check out the Victorian Islands. You can take a ferry and enjoy the beautiful blue Pacific and then visit the botanical gardens, wax museum and gorgeous villages! One of my all time favorite vacations...also, if you get the opportunity, visit Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Priest Lake, to die for!
Besure you check out the Victorian Islands. You can take a ferry and enjoy the beautiful blue Pacific and then visit the botanical gardens, wax museum and gorgeous villages! One of my all time favorite vacations...also, if you get the opportunity, visit Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Priest Lake, to die for!
Feb 23rd, 2001, 12:31 AM
#8
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Like Michele here says "Be sure you check out the Victorian Islands". Of any group of islands I have ever seen the Victorian islands are certainly the most amazing. Like something out of Brigadoon. And the ferry ride on "the beautiful blue Pacific" is also amazing. The Pacific is so still and it's amazing how narrow it is. I never knew that until I took the ferry on the Pacific ocean throughout the Victorian islands. It was truly a dream trip.
Feb 23rd, 2001, 02:44 PM
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One of the best things to see in Victoria isn't really IN Victoria--Butchart Gardens, a half-hour or so drive away. My husband and I took the people only ferry (no cars) from Port Angeles (they DID take reservations) to Victoria, wandered around for an hour, then took a city bus to Butchart Gardens. We spent 5-6 hours there (including an hour for lunch) and then bussed back to Victoria. After another couple of hours, we took the ferry back to Port Angeles and on down the Olympic peninsula. There was more to see in Victoria, but we loved every minute we spent at the gardens. We saw, from a distance, people getting off a ferry there, but I can't remember whether I saw any cars, and I don't know where the ferry went. Over to Vancouver, maybe.
Mar 8th, 2001, 01:01 AM
#11
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Here's a better route.
July 14th - Take hwy.26 west to Cannon Beach, Oregon(80 miles).You will want to spend the day here on the beach. Stay over.
July 15th - North on hwy.101. Stop in Astoria to visit the Asoria Column for great views and visit Fort Clatsop. Lewis and Clark's final destination.Continue on to Aberdeen, Washington. Stay overnight.
July 16th- Stay on hwy. 101. Stop at the Kalaloch Rocks,Hoh rain forest, Ruby Beach(all in Olympic Natl. Park).Continue to Forks or on to Port Angeles, if it isn't getting too late. Stay overnight.
July17th- Drive to the top of Hurricane Ridge(near Port Angeles)more nice views.
Then back down to catch ferry to Victoria.Stay overnight.
July 18th- Visit "Royal Museum of BC" and Buchart Gardens.Overnight again.
July 19th- Ferry to Vancouver(Big City). Visit Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge.Stay overnight.
July 20th- Portland bound. About6-7 hrs.
Take Hwy 1 to 264st turn South for USA.At Bellingham, Washington you get on I-5.
Stop somewhere along the way if you like or straight through.
Places that I never included that are nice. Mount St. Helens, Columbia River Gorge and the Victorian town of Port Townsend, Wash.
Seattle. Drive fast! Unless you like big cities with terrible traffic.That's just my opinion though.
A bit of a rushed trip but I think you will enjoy this one. I've been to all of these places and enjoyed them all.
Maybe see about ferry reservations. They cost a bit more but I think they are worth the money. Not sure how far to book them in advance. Maybe a couple of days?
Kalaloch Rocks has nice cabins to stay in if you can get there from Cannon Beach in a day.(about 150 miles).RESERVATIONS are probably a must.
Go to exitinfo.com for hotel coupons.
You can e-mail me if you need more info.
Have Fun.
July 14th - Take hwy.26 west to Cannon Beach, Oregon(80 miles).You will want to spend the day here on the beach. Stay over.
July 15th - North on hwy.101. Stop in Astoria to visit the Asoria Column for great views and visit Fort Clatsop. Lewis and Clark's final destination.Continue on to Aberdeen, Washington. Stay overnight.
July 16th- Stay on hwy. 101. Stop at the Kalaloch Rocks,Hoh rain forest, Ruby Beach(all in Olympic Natl. Park).Continue to Forks or on to Port Angeles, if it isn't getting too late. Stay overnight.
July17th- Drive to the top of Hurricane Ridge(near Port Angeles)more nice views.
Then back down to catch ferry to Victoria.Stay overnight.
July 18th- Visit "Royal Museum of BC" and Buchart Gardens.Overnight again.
July 19th- Ferry to Vancouver(Big City). Visit Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge.Stay overnight.
July 20th- Portland bound. About6-7 hrs.
Take Hwy 1 to 264st turn South for USA.At Bellingham, Washington you get on I-5.
Stop somewhere along the way if you like or straight through.
Places that I never included that are nice. Mount St. Helens, Columbia River Gorge and the Victorian town of Port Townsend, Wash.
Seattle. Drive fast! Unless you like big cities with terrible traffic.That's just my opinion though.
A bit of a rushed trip but I think you will enjoy this one. I've been to all of these places and enjoyed them all.
Maybe see about ferry reservations. They cost a bit more but I think they are worth the money. Not sure how far to book them in advance. Maybe a couple of days?
Kalaloch Rocks has nice cabins to stay in if you can get there from Cannon Beach in a day.(about 150 miles).RESERVATIONS are probably a must.
Go to exitinfo.com for hotel coupons.
You can e-mail me if you need more info.
Have Fun.
