Hello! Starting to plan our next vacation and we are leaning toward the San Juan Islands. Not sure of exact date of travel but looking at 6-7 nights. Could really use help with days 4-6 or 7. Here is what we have so far...

Day 1: Arrive in Seattle and drive to San Juan Islands - Orcas Island - stay the night

Day 2: Spend time in San Juan Islands -stay on Orcas Island

Day 3: Spend time in San Juan Islands - stay on Orcas Island

For the remainder of the trip we would like to visit Victoria and spend maybe a full day sightseeing and the night. Also not sure if we should spend 1 more day in San Juan Islands area as that would really give us 3 full days? Possibly like to have a day in Seattle also. Can we get from the San Juan Island to Victoria? If so, do we even need to rent a car or should we do everything via shuttle? So maybe finish up with...

Day 4: Victoria (see above)- stay in Victoria

Day 5: Finish exploring Victoria and back to Seattle? - Stay in Seattle

Day 6: Head back home

Are we on the right path? Too rushed? Need to change our route of travel? Thanks!

The only way to get to San Juan Islands is by Ferry. (I do believe there is an inter island flight service-but I never tried that because of expense)..Same goes for Victoria --Although, our friends went directly to Victoria by Victoria Clipper that leaves daily from Pier 68-69 (not sure of number but they have a web site.)I am not sure you could actually get to San Juans the same day you "arrive" in Seattle..I am sure other posters will answer that..
You need to do a "search" on this site for
San Juan Islands__Washington State Ferry service,Victoria, BC ,,Canadian Ferry Lines
When are you planning this trip..
Summer months the Ferries are really crowded and long lines,,,I have heard you can now make reservations ahead..
You have a lot of planning to do....
Good Luck

Thanks Traveler! In some initial research, it seemed like the town of Anacortes is only about 90 miles outside Seattle. If we arrived in Anacortes in the afternoon I assume there would be a ferry but maybe not? I need to research that more. Not sure on time of visit as summer is really the best time to travel with work but if we can go in May that might work better. I saw the Victoria Clipper website but instead of having to go back down to Seattle I didn't know if there is a ferry to take us from the islands to Victoria? Also not sure on length of time to spend on the islands. We would like to spend a day to good part of the day hiking, take a ferry or sea kayak out to see the Orcas and maybe have day to just explore the islands. You're right, I have a lot of researching to do but I've always found good help on Fodors getting me going in the right direction. Thanks!

Let's just check that little old schedule...

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/

Topping. Thanks for the link to the ferry schedule. If you had to pick between a May visit or September, which would be better for weather, crowds & nature activities like whale watching? In addition, I'm still not sure on the intinerary and could really use some help. It appears we could go from the San Juans to Victoria but to do this we would probably not have a car. Having a car isn't a top priority as long as we can get to the SJ islands from Seattle via ferry (appears we can). I'll continue to do my research but any suggestions are appreciated. We were considering staying at Rosario on Orcas but have heard it is a little run down. As always, thanks for the help.

Topping again! I know there are some residents of the Pacific NW who post on this board who can help us out. Although I'm sure I'll have additional questions, I'm not looking for someone to plan every detail of our trip just some help with some basic questions and the flow of our itin. I've done several searches on here for previous post and found some good info. but not as much info for this location as say Chicago. Please help! A few minutes of your time to provide some good knowledge that might help a fellow passionate traveler have a better vacation experience is appreciated!

Read that ferry schedule carefully. Once you do that you will realize that the ferry from Seattle doesn't go to the San Juans. It is a passenger only ferry that goes directly to Victoria. To get to the san Juans you need to leave from Anacortes, 90 miles north of Seattle or from Sidney, BC which is 15 miles from Victoria. Somewhere you will need transportation other than walking unless you are very ambitious.

The ferries to the San Juans do not run every 15 minutes either. There just isn't enough traffic to justify it. They don't even stop at every island each way. You need to do some more searching to find the routing and the time of day that you can get on a ferry and get where you want to go.

I'm not quite sure what your questions are here. Are you going to drive to Anacortes and leave the car there, or take it over to Orcas Island?

As far as May v. September, the weather is usually better in September. But spring is glorious in the San Juans, and it is much less rainy there than in Seattle, so May might be fine too.

As far as the Orcas themselves, the resident L-Pod is vacationing in California right now. They are expected to return in May or June, but they haven't announced their exact date.

http://tinyurl.com/2drlfm

I live in Seattle but unfortunately don't know the answers to any of your questions!!

May and September are a toss-up. Likely September is better, but you never know.

I've only gone to the San Juans from Seattle. Same for Victoria. (On separate occasions).

jbjayhawk, I have only gone to San Juan Island and Anacortes from Sidney, BC, so it was kind of in reverse of what you're doing. I haven't been to Orcas to make a comparison but my husband and I loved San Juan Island. Someone there told me that they thought it would be easier for people to just come over on foot by ferry or air (http://www.sanjuanairlines.com/), then rent a car. That might work better in a round trip situation.

So, assuming you have a car the whole time, reserve on the Anacortes ferry to the San Juans and then to Sidney (Victoria). It doesn't cost any more to book your space.

Don't underestimate the traffic. It took us much longer to drive south from Anacortes to where we were going than we expected and that was at night in the dark. It might be the same heading north, depending on the day, time of day, road construction, etc.

From Victoria, I would either take the Coho ferry from downtown Victoria to Port Angeles, or the BC ferry from Swartz Bay (past Sidney) to the BC mainland.

Can we get from the San Juan Island to Victoria?
Yes, although if you mean by ferry, the terminal is in Sidney, about a half hour's drive from Victoria.

If so, do we even need to rent a car or should we do everything via shuttle?
Is there a shuttle from the Sidney ferry dock to Victoria? Not that I know of. I'm sure you could rent a car, or take a city bus which doesn't run very often and would be awkward, or get a taxi.

As for the Clipper, I've never gone that route but it would be worth a look if you wanted to try going without a car. Maybe they have package deals. On this kind of trip, I think I'd rather have a car.

September is normally nice in these parts.

Thanks for the help gang! Enzian, one of my main questions was the flow of our trip. Logistically, it makes more sense to visit the SJ islands then jump to Sidney (down to Victoria) then to Seattle vs. going to SJ then back to Seattle then over to Victoria then back to Seattle to fly home. Maybe this isn't so bad and the way to go?

April, I think we would stay on Orcas but visit 1 or 2 of the other SJ islands. We would also visit the SJ during the week to help avoid the weekend rush. You posted some great info.

Sounds like September is a great time to visit. Thanks again. Any additional thoughts are welcome. I'm sure I'll think of something else as I dive into this further. Enjoy your weekend!

I'm a big fan of the islands & go annually & some years two times if esp. lucky. (rarely)
And yet, don't live close to there at all.

Feel free to email me directly w/specific questions you have left, as may just be too much to post here.
(my answers) ;-) Am happy to help.
We love 'em...and also have done Victoria a number of times, and other parts of Vancouver Island, and also the Gulf Islands.

I'd advocate 3 days is possible on an island to catch its pace more.
But I love both Orcas & San Juan so much...'tis tough w/your time limitations. Any way you could lengthen trip beyond 6 days total,
if you want to include Victoria, too?

As long as you don't travel on a Friday(to islands) or a Sunday from the islands...and try not to pick 'prime time' either on week nights, it can be very doable to do them from Anacortes.
Islands big enough...you'll either need to rent a car on them, or I probably recommend just taking your rental car there. BUT...again,
if you must travel at peak times...
I guess adv's to walking on.

Timing-wise...yes, 90 min is about right from SEA-TAC. And if you fly in at a time that would make it stressful to try to catch ferry that same day...consider an overnight in La Conner which is quite sweet & close to the Anacortes ferry terminal. (15-20 min)

Check it out...info online. Is just a nice way to catch your breath before hurrying to a ferry. (esp. if flights not conducive w/ferry times)

Happy to help more...good luck!
Btw, we usually go in May...love Spring there. But, understand dry weather more 'guaranteed' in Sept.
In May, we enjoy generally seeing whales (even from shore on San Juan!)
but again, this can vary from year to year, but find later May quite good for this. (have more luck than in high summer when more pods are supposed to be around) It's more when you more feel a 'need' for a vacation...probably let that dictate things. Also, long days of May/June fun...sunset is so late!
But, again...best to go when it flows well for you & your home life. Enjoy!

Email: [email protected]

Oooo...need to qualify 90 min from airport as long as not rush hour in Seattle. Nice to arrive on a Saturday,
if you can.

Also, you can reserve space to Victoria from either Anacortes OR
directly from the islands so that is cool & convenient! Means no issue to leave islands on a Sunday, as long as doing the 'international' run. (as you can have reservations) But you probably wouldn't be leaving on a Sunday if arriving to begin w/on a Saturday.

Just to butt in a moment... Daydreamer, how does Orcas compare to San Juan Island? We loved the historical sites, varied terrain, farmland, parks, charming road names, etc., on San Juan Island. I know this is impossible to answer really, but do you think we would love Orcas as much, or is it more like BC's Gulf Islands? Can you recommend a good place (or places) to stay on Orcas?

April,
Have to run errands this afternoon but I'll post a reply tonight.

If you've not yet been over to Orcas even for a day trip, you *must* include a stay there soon, if you could tack on a few days to your beloved San Juan.

We adore BOTH. Originally, Orcas was our fave, but have come to appreciate San Juan's subtleties as well. Like you, like the history & 'feel' & enjoy the easy access to shoreline & parks, too.

Orcas shoreline is more privately owned, HOWEVER, it's natural beauty is gorgeous & its park there (Moran) is alone worthy of a visit. You get stupendous views (second to none there) from Mt Constitution.

We've also been to the Gulfs...hmmm...to compare?
I'll save that for tonight.
But please, don't miss experiencing this sweet island, too.

The San Juans are gems.

Oops! Excuse the darn typos
like it's vs. its! :-\

For posting fave lodging, is there an email where I can just send you a list of our faves?

Not sure if Fodors sets up a way to do that. Or like I said before, can email me directly & I'll send you our faves.

Daydreamer, you may email me at april444(at_symbol)hotmail.com. Thanks.

Hmmm, that turned out weird, but you know what I mean.

We love Orcas island. Our typical plan is to fly into Seattle, rent a car, drive to Anacortes, get on a ferry if early enough or stay overnight for an early ferry the next morning. Factoring in the ferry time is important; it will take longer both coming and going then you expect.

Once on Orcas, we recommend the Spring Bay Inn, a fantastic, quiet B&B that includes kayaking every morning. www.springbayinn.com Wonderful folks and great accomodations.

3 days is barely enough time as far as I'm concerned. You can do a day trip to San Juan island if you like; I'd leave the car behind and tour what you can on foot and then return.

Enjoy,

Hans

I live in Seattle, and last we visited, Rosario was very nice, but perhaps a bit 'genteelly run down'. We don't care too much about that..the location os supurb. One thing, as mentioned above, ferry lines here get long and tedious..for that reason, you may want to consider September, as most of the tourist types have taken their kids and gone home for school, etc, and the weather is usually still fine. Summers are without equal here. We, DH and I, have a summer cottage on one of the SJ islands, and there is no place on earth I would rather be than there...I think the only way to get to Orcas is by ferry, if I/m not mistaken.

Ps. There are several long articles in today and yesterday's paper about rude people who won't wait in ferry lines, and are always 'jumping' them (sorta like they do on the freeway, and the state is considering making it a ticketed fine. Anyway, hope you come and have a wonderful time.