Seattle & San Juan Islands in Sept.
 

We will be traveling to Seattle Sept. 20th and are starting to plan our 6 night itinerary. I thought we might like to spend a day or two in the San Juan Islands. Any suggestions of what island would be our best choice for a one or two night stay? We enjoy beautiful scenery, quaint towns & resturants.

From what I have read thus far, the Victoria Clipper only makes the trip on Sat & Sun that time of the year. Since we are arriving in Seattle late Sat. that won't be an option. Is the Washington Ferry out of Anacortes our only other option?

Some other areas of interest might be ONP, Port Townsend & Whidbey Island. How many days would you allow to get to and visit these areas? Would you recommend one of the locations over the other to stay overnight?

Can you tell I've just begun to plan and have way too many thoughts? Any help narrowing down the itinerary would be appreciated. We even considered Victoria and or Vancouver but are trying to be realistic. We don't mind driving 2-3 hours on any given day. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

If you want to visit the Peninsula as well as the San Juans then renting a car will be your best bet, I think.

I prefer Orcas to San Juan Island but both are lovely. One night is too short of a stay IMO.

Do you have 6 nights for your entire trip including Seattle, or is that for the portion other than Seattle? How much time are you planning to spend here?

im_hooked: Your trip sounds almost exactly like mine! My hubby and I are arriving Sept 21 for 6 nights as well! I'm having trouble narrowing down all I want to see in that time frame. I really wanted to see Victoria and Vancouver, but also ONP! Wish I had 2 weeks instead of 1. I'm hoping you get a lot of responses to your post, as I am also looking for some guidance. Good luck!

We're going in early June. Flying into Seattle and spending night in Anacortes. Then ferry to Orcas Island for a one-week stay. Then ferry to Sidney, B.C., just 30 min north of Victoria. We're spending 3 nights there, then taking ferry (can't remember name) from Victoria to Port Angeles. We're driving to the Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park and staying 4 nights there before returning home. I agree with previous poster - it's really a 2 week trip!

I agree that renting a car makes the most sense for this trip. As far as which island--they all have their own magic and I don't think you'll be disappointed with whichever one you pick.