Need help with Seattle area itinerary, please
 

<BR>We are trying to organize our 10 day trip to Seattle area last week of September and would appreciate it if you would check our possible itinerary. Your suggestions and advice would be appreciated so that we can make better use of our time. <BR> <BR>Day 1 Arrive Seattle. Pick up rental car and drive to Mt.Rainier for night. Stay in Ashford area. <BR> <BR>Day 2 See Mt.Rainier. Return via Hwy 410 to I5 to spend night in Mt.Vernon area. <BR> <BR>Day 3 Take ferry from Anacortes to Sidney as foot passengers to see San Juan Islands from ferry. (Do not plan to get off on islands) Return to Anacortes same day to pick up car and stay in same area. <BR> <BR>Day 4 Drive down Whidbey Island to Keystone and take ferry to Port Townsend. Stay next 4 nights in Port Angeles. <BR> <BR>Day 5 and 6 See major sights in Olympic NP (Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rain Forest etc.) on northern and western coast. <BR> <BR>Day 7 Take ferry from Port Angeles with car to spend day on Vancouver Island or Victoria. Return to Port Angeles for night. <BR> <BR>Day 8 Leave PA via Hwy.101 south and spend next 3 nights in Seattle area. <BR> <BR>Can someone tell us how long the ferry trip from Ancortes through San Juan Islands to Sidney takes? We want to make this an all day trip but do not know if we will have time to get off at any of the islands if we have to wait for other ferries during the day. <BR> <BR>Any suggestions you can give us for a better itinerary will be much appreciated. Thanks for any and all help you can provide.

can't really comment on your itinerary but just thought you might like to look at an article in the July/August issue of National Geographic Traveler. There is an article about Seattle in it.

A couple of comments: if you're only taking the ferry from Anacortes to see the islands, then just go as far as Friday Harbor rather than getting on the boat to Sidney. Once the ferry passes by Friday Harbor, it goes out into a strait with no islands to see. So why spend the extra time and money? <BR> <BR>Please reconsider taking a car on the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. You'll probably wait hours in line on either end (even in September), and Victoria can be seen without a car (there are bus options out to Butchart Gardens).

Your itinerary has you going to Vancouver Island twice. I would combine that into one trip and do what Sheri suggests or take your car on the ferry to Sidney and drive into Victoria (about a half hour's drive), then take the Coho to Port Angeles. I would assume that by late September the ferry traffic should not be so bad.

We left our car in Port Angeles and took the smaller, faster, people-only ferry to Victoria. That gave us more time in Victoria, and we got along fine walking. There are several buses that go to Buchart Gardens, which is where we spent most of our day. It was fabulous!!