Planning Pacific North West Trip
 

Just turned the investigative stage into high gear.

Planning for the very end of July 2008 and lasting between 10 and 14 days. TBD.

Would hope to not rent a car other than for a few day trips from Vancouver and/or Seattle if worth it. Travel between major cities would be by train (Vancouver to Seattle and Seattle to Portland if included).

Flying from Ft Lauderdale to Vancouver. Then on to Victoria, Seattle and possibly Potland if I can be convinced it's worth the effort.

Our style is to wander on foot around various areas of a city to see the sights. We are used to getting around by public transportation.

While we're not big museum goers, we have been to many of the main museums (Met in NYC, Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Louvre and D'Orsay in Paris, Prado in Madrid, etc).

Meals play a very minor role in our day.

At this point I'm trying to determine the length of time in each area based on our interests, whether or not to include Portland or end in Seattle and any day trips that would be of interest.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Coming to the PNW and not wanting to see the outdoors is an interesting concept.

Yep, I suggest you do some preliminary investigation, then come back with questions. If Oregon is going to be part of this trip, you just can't come here and not see the coast.

I have to agree...the Pacific Northwest is at its best in places you need to take a car or ferry to...that said, the cities you listed are very enjoyable, although probably much less packed with interesting sites than NYC, D.C. and European cities. I can't imagine coming here in July without doing either the San Juan Islands or Mt. Rainier, and the Oregon Coast and B.C. coast are also lovely and have much to offer.

bbqboy, beachbum, voyager61

I don't remember writing that we didn't want to see the outdoors or the coast.

I did mention that we're not really museum goers and was hoping not to have a car as the primary mode of transport between areas.

I also mentioned that I am quite interested in renting a car while we are in certain places for daytrips.

I will research further.

The point we're trying to make, Myer, is that to see the PNW, you will need a car for more than just a few day trips. And, you haven't said anything about your interests other than what you <b>don't</b> generally like to do.

As voyager said, people don't come here for unique, cultural, city experiences. They come for nature and the outdoors, most of which can't be accessed via public transportation.

You're big into photography, right? All the more reason to have a car.

Myer, the outdoors is an integral part of everyday life out this way to an extent that doesn't exist back East. Salmon fishing in sight of Skyscrapers. Hiking Urban Mountains. Stuff like that.
Cities are fun, but not the reason for living in this part of the World. That's all we're sayin'. :)

Much of what is worth seeing in the Pacific NW isn't really do-able by day trips from the cities--you'd be better off having a car to travel from city to city, stopping at some of the amazing scenic areas on your way.

You *can* do it the way you're envisioning, but you'd miss a lot.

Thanks all,

I will rethink and try to develop a path.

While a lot of what we've done is in cities, we've also been to small towns and stop to enjoy scenery.

I'll do some work over the next few days and repost.

Thanks.

I thought the main part of the question was whether or not to include Portland in this trip. For that question I would have to say that it depends on whether you're doing 10 or 14 days. With 10, I'd say no; with 14, maybe. I like Seattle and Vancouver more than Portland, but others will undoubedly disagree.

My main question is--have you been to this area before? If not, you really should allow time for some of the spectacular areas such as Mt. Rainer, Olympic Pennisula, San Quan Islands, etc. etc.

I'll disagree. As a living &amp; dearly loving Seattle long-time resident, I don't do outdoor activities (though the OP never said anything one way of the other).

With two weeks you could do a very nice cities-only tour including Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle, that would not require car rental.

I'd skip Portland since you need to be 'convinced' it's 'worth the effort' (never a good start imo). You'd have time to include a night's stopover on the San Juan or Whidbey Island.

While I agree to see the area would be better in a car, many travelers simply don't like to drive - and perhaps its a way to save money. I think many travelers can still enjoy most places without a car.

Myer said they would rent a car for a few day trips, and I think that will be enough to get a feel for the beauty of the PNW.

Our first visit to Portland a couple of years ago was for 2 weeks, ( from Jax Fl ) we flew in..no car. Stayed in the 5th Avenue Suites ( now the Monaco Portland) and rented a car for 2 days.
One day we drove to the Historic Highway/Falls/Dam second day we drove out to Cannon Beach.
We visited the Museum once because we like museums, whether they are in a big city, world famous city or in a small town or city.

Portland could be the second half of the Seattle/Vancouver trip, gotten to by Amtrak.. from Seattle or the other way round.
I love PDX Airport...btw...great airport, always on time, rarely terribly crowded, clean and new..

If your style is to wander on foot, Portland is good for that, as it is a very walkable, not too large city with plenty of opportunities to take breaks ..shopping, drinking , eating, parks etc.
But I won't try to convince you as to the worth of the effort...it has to appeal to you..regardless of it's appeal to others.

Have fun making the decisions ..

Ahhh!!!

Now my original post doesn't sound quite as dumb as it did yesterday.

Suze,
The only reason I'd have to be convinced about Portland is that I didn't think of it originally. Nothing negative or positive.

No, I've never been to the area before. I once changed planes is Vancouver.

We are not indoor people (except for my wife and shopping-there was never a bad mall).

We can spend hours walking around cities and towns as we've done many times in North America and Europe.

We were in NYC &amp; Philadelphia in September and walked almost all day every day.

I was in Southwest Utah in June and hiked almost non-stop for a week.

You can see photos (if interested) at:
www.travelwalks.com

I just wanted to know if it's possible to do this trip without having a car sitting in the hotel garage all day.

As to the number of days, I haven't decided and it's basically open and depends on the various destinations. Between 10 &amp; 14 would most likely be it as too many less wouldn't be worth it and too many more would be a lot.

What would cause me to include Portland is if it really adds something different and compelling to the trip, or if I chose to drive between Seattle and Portland it gave us some spectacular scenery we couldn't see in a daytrip or two from Seattle.

Stay in Seattle. You don't need to see Oregon.

lol bbqboy

Stay in Portland, you don't need to see Seattle :D

bbqboy, Scarlett,

Very funny!!!

Since we're on the US board now, how about Portland AND Seattle and skip Vancouver.

Would that make everybody here happy?

Have to put in my two cents. If I was in Vancouver I'd ferry to Victoria and stay over night, tour Buchart Gardens. Vancouver is a beautiful city with great Asian restaurants,Stanley Park and Gastown. Then take the high speed ferry from Vancouver to Seattle. I think once in Seattle I'd rent a car for a couple of days, visit the wineries in Woodinville, drive to Mount Rainier or Mount Baker. There is a lot to see in Seattle so another two days or so there would be a treat for your wife (Shopping in mind)! Portland is a great city but that should be another trip so you could see the shore, mountains, city, and wineries without feeling rushed.

Ok.

What is the better (more scenic, schedule, cost, slower, faster) way of getting to Victoria from either Vancouver or Seattle?

Any other reason to select one mode over another?

Take the Victoria Clipper from Seattle to Victoria! Very fun.

There's nothing particularly scenic about the drive between Seattle and Portland, unfortunately. It's a 3-hour straight-shot south down the I-5 freeway.

I guess you can go to Portland if you want ;-) but I've lived here 20 years and never have (sorry Scarlett)