Gordon

We are planning a trip to the Seattle area for 9 days in early September. We would like to see Seattle, the Olympic Peninsula, San Juan Island and maybe Victoria.

From ready many of your posts I have pretty much decided on Seattle and Port Townsend but don't know if Victoria and Friday Harbour are worthwhile and how I would route the trip to see one or both of them in the time available. I would like not to spend a lot of time waiting for ferries and not too much time driving in any one day.

I want my last night to be in Seattle so I can catch my flight home the next morning.

Any suggestions on the logistics of this trip would be appreciated.

John

A rough circle will allow you to see all of the places you've mentioned. From Seattle you can travel to Port Townsend by a couple of different routes (via Bainbridge or Whidbey Islands) with total driving time around 2-3 hours max. From Port Townsend you can travel west to Port Angeles (about an hour) for a short drive up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP, or you can continue a couple of hours on to the Pacific coastal area of the national park for beachcombing and visits to the rain forest valleys, especially Quinault and/or Hoh. Back in Port Angeles, you can catch the Coho ferry to Victoria; following whatever time you spend in that city, you can take the Washington State Ferry from Sydney BC to Friday Harbor, stay however long, then catch the ferry back to Anacortes and return to Seattle. Or, you can do the same trip in reverse (which I recommend because the wait for the Coho in Victoria is much more pleasant than the wait in PA.)

Are Victoria and San Juan I. worthwhile? Yes, I think so - Victoria pumps its "olde England" image mercilessly, but the reality is that there are some definite visitor attractions in the city, including the lovely if overhyped Butchart Gardens, the fabulous Parliament buildings on the Inner Harbour, and a world-class museum next door. San Juan Island is also worth a day or two; it's a peaceful and historically interesting place (learn about the Pig War), and Roche Harbor and Friday Harbor are pleasant places to get a meal, a beer, or spend the night.

Just a couple of other thoughts - Olympic NP is well worth a significant time commitment, but understand that there are minimal visitor facilities or accommodations inside the park, so planning ahead is essential. Second, Labor Day weekend is when the Bumbershoot arts festival overwhelms Seattle. If you enjoy all sorts of music, dance, visual and spoken art, drama and street art, this is THE place to be in N. America that weekend. If that's not your cup of tea, give Seattle a wide berth until after the long weekend. Finally, book ahead for any and all accommodations and for ferry space on the Victoria-Anacortes (Wa. State Ferries) services, especially around the same weekend. Or be prepared to suffer the consequences.

Seattle resident

I must say that I would recommend Orcas Island over San Juan Island/Friday Harbour any day. It is beautiful, especially at that time of year. Walk or drive to Constitution Island, have lunch at the art studio/cafe in Olga, go paddleboating, eat a great dinner at Bilbo's mexican in town, then (perhaps) go to Deer Harbor for the natural hot tubs and sauna! Lots of great accomodations in all price ranges, too.

Gordon

Thank you very much for your replies. They were most helpful and I appreciate your time.

As this itineary will involve a ferry from PA to Victoria, another from Victoria to Friday Harbor or Orcas, and yet another from there to Anacortes, do you think that is to many ferries to deal given we will doing this from Sept 2nd through Sept 6th?

What sort of waits would you guess we might have for the ferries?

I wanted to finish in Seattle because I am concerned about getting to the airport for a 9:00 am flight on Tuesday Sept 10th.

Thanks

sancy

Don't know about particular ferries you mentioned, but my gdaugh called today and they went from everett area to port townsend. Would;ve had to wait for two ferries at least to take car, so they just walked on and were met by parents at other end. Reason for this post is, it could be a long wait if your driving.

John

Is it too much ferrying around? Well, not if you want to visit islands. The waits in early Sept. will be worst on the PA-Victoria services (and v.v.) and the San Juan islands-mainland service. You'll need to book for the Victoria-San Juan ferry, so it's not so much a long wait as it is preplanning. There are several sailings a day on all but the Vic-SJ route, so your wait probably won't be excessive anywhere. The thing is, these ferry rides are mostly so beautiful that it's part of the reason to go to the destinations, especially the San Juans. Getting there is more than half the fun. If you cut out the San Juan islands portion of your trip, you can walk on the ferry in PA with no wait at either end. Most of the attractions in Victoria are walkable from the Coho's dock, and there will be plenty of tour buses willing to transport you and your wallet to Butchart Gardens. Remember, Labo(u)r Day is a holiday in Canada, too, so there will be a lot of people going places in all directions.

Pat

Walk or drive to Constitution Island?
Where is Constitution Island? I never heard of this island.

BTW if the orginal poster want to see Victoria and San Juan islands from Seattle by far the easiest way is to take the Victoria Clipper right from Seattle. Passanger only. Stops at Friday Harbor and also goes to Victoria.
Takes reservations so don't have to worry about long lines. They have package trips that involve hotels too or a van to Buchart Garden. You will find the schedule for departures etc at http://www.victoriaclipper.com/sched_fares.html.