Brian in Atlanta

Looking at taking 5 days around Memorial Day to check out one of these combos. We'd do the holiday weekend in the city and then a couple nights at one location on the coast.

We're low 30's, like to eat and drink and walk and shop. Not budget travelers, but appreciate good value hotels. For the coast portion, would prefer a small beach town that invites walking (not too desolate or spread out).

Sorry if this is a difficult question. Would love to hear your opinions. Thanks.

jeanne

Hi Brian:

Either of these is a good choice. I live in Seattle and given your criteria, here are a couple of ideas:

In Washington, you could see Seattle and then Long Beach (or if you want something a different from the coast, one of the San Jaun Islands. Long Beach has nice long beach walks, good restaurants, etc.

In Oregon, the classic combo is probably Portland and then Cannon Beach-again, nice shopping, eating and walking. I personally think the Oregon coast is prettier, but that is just a a personal opinion-but I also happen to think Seattle has more to do of the 2 cities-so it is kind of a toss up. Also, during that time, Seattle will have the Folk Life festival going on, so there should be lots going on in terms of music, etc. I don't know about Portland, they may have something equivalent going on.

And if it makes a difference, the distances are about the same between the cities and the beaches I mentioned-although Cannon Beach may be a bit closer to Portland-I can't remember.

Gary

No desire to offend any Oregonians ou there, but as far as cities go, Seattle is in an entirely different (superior) league from Portland. And I was kind of disappointed with the Oregon coast (incl. Cannon Beach), not that Wash's is better...it's not.
But I'd choose Seattle hands down.

April

I was also disappointed in Cannon Beach, not with the beach itself but with the atmosphere of the place. That said, I would choose Oregon hands down. Beautiful, wild coastline, forests, dunes and such fascinating place names - I think it's underrated. At the risk of being slammed, I've always found Seattle to be a rather grubby, uninteresting city.

John

IMO the northern part of the Oregon coast, the parts most accessible from Portland, are unfortunately less scenic than the southern coast, which is a long day's drive from Portland. Cannon Beach is okay, but a little too kitschy for our tastes. Lincoln City, which has a lot of motels and resort-type accommodations, is (again IMO) a ghastly 10-mile long strip mall with the ocean visible intermittently.

The Washington coast is way more remote once one gets north of Aberdeen & Hoquiam, and incredibly wild and scenic in the Olympic NP stretch. Unfortunately, there are no towns to speak of, and very limited accommodations. The southern WA coast towns, except Long Beach and Ilwaco, are flat, boring, and frankly tend to be a little depressing. Big timber depression areas, these.

Can I suggest an alternative? Weekend in Seattle, then ferry to Victoria BC, and explore the west coast of Vancouver Island, maybe by car to Tofino or some such. Gorgeous scenery, interesting towns (Victoria is fun for sightseeing, food, shopping...) and prices are pretty good because of the CA$ weekness. Just a thought.

Margaret

I have spent the vast majority of my life in either Oregon or Washington and always on the western parts of the states. IMO the Oregon coast is way, way, WAY above the Wa. coast insofar as beauty. I'd rate the Oregon coast a 10 and Wa (anywhere within a day's drive of Seattle as you ask for) a 4. As for Oregon we prefered Manzanita to Cannon Beach although if you love to shop Cannon Beach may be just right for you. It's upscale shops mostly. Seattle is a more interesting city than Portland IMO too, but the coast in Oregon is so fabulous that I would always vote for Oregon for a brief trip above Washington.

kim

I think that Cannon Beach is wonderful--I guess everything just depends on your perspective. If you're more interested in the beach part of you vacation I'd definitely do Portland/Cannon Beach; but if the city part is key I'd have to choose Seattle. As previously mentioned, Victoria could be a nice alternative to "beach."

What no one has mentioned, and is important to keep in mind, is that Memorial Day is likely to be nasty weather here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest--I can recall cold and rainy as well as 90 degree days, but either way the coast is usually cooler and stormier than inland. Just don't expect sun and fun in the sand and you're less likely to be disappointed.

Terri

My husband and I were in Oregon in September. We started out in Portland spending 3 days then took off for the coast. We went to Astoria (not much there that we could find) and then headed down the coast stopping at each town to eat or walk around. Unfortunately it was very dreary and misty that day. Seaside and Cannon city were nice little towns with lots of shops and places to eat but since we didn't spend much time there I can't recommend it. We ended up in Pacific City for the night. We stayed at Cape Kiwanda which is near the beach and right across the street from the Pacific Brewing brewpub (that made us happy) The actual town isn't close to the beach though. The next night we stayed in Newport with friends. Nice town. Bigger. We spent our last night in Troutdale near Portland at a place called the McMenamins at Edgefield. It's like a little village. Along with the hotel there is a winery, brewery, pubs & bars, beer garden, a couple restaurants, a theater, shops and more. We had a great time there and it was reasonably priced. The next morning it was very quick & easy getting to the airport.

All in all, we really thought the Oregon was beautiful. Next time we will check out the southern part.

Hope this helps. Even though I'm not an expert on Oregon I wanted to try to help since you gave me some good feedback on New Orleans.

Brian in Atlanta

Thanks for the responses. Oregon won. Will save Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria for a longer trip.

Thanks again.