Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria Island
 

We are planning our first trip from Florida to the Pacific N.W. during the end of May, 2016.
We will have apx. 9 days. I have booked the first 3 nights in downtown Seattle as we arrive very late in the evening of the first night,and we plan to return to Seattle on our last day, as we have a very early flight back to Florida..
That leaves us apx. 5 nights to either spend in Vancouver or should we divide our nights between Vancouver and Victoria Island.

The city of Victoria is on Vancouver Island...Victoria Island is in the Canadian Arctic. Common mistake. No biggie.

I think that you will get the most bang for the buck by taking the Victoria Clipper from the Seattle waterfront to Victoria's Inner Harbor (www.clippervacations.com). The Clipper is a catamaran and the trip can be bumpy, but it is a quick way to get to Victoria, which is a charming, walkable city. If a boat trip is not appealing, take the train from Seattle to Vancouver. The logistics of trying to do both cities in the time available would be difficult.

You really are on the 'cusp' of... whether to <I>waste the time</i> going to Vancouver Island and have it be <I>time-cost effective</i>.


While I can appreciate arriving and wanting to have time to recover from the flight, and the time change, I don't think <b>THREE nights</b> are necessary in Seattle, right off the bat.

I mean, there <b>is enough to see</b> here, and all, but when the rest of your trip is demanding <I>(considerable attention)</i>, you just might pay a little price for dawdling before getting on the road.

(I would do <u>two</u> nights in Seattle... giving you a 'base' downtown for that one full day of sightseeing)

If you can avoid it, don't rent your car until you are ready to LEAVE downtown Seattle, and just take the <b>"Link Light Rail"</b> from the airport into the city. (it's really easy, but there is a long, safe walk from the center of the airport to the rail line, which runs often) (compare rental costs vs. the airport, AND consider the $40-ish nightly parking charge at lots of downtown hotels to better understand what I mean)

With all that said, <b>Vancouver is awesome by itself, and you could really enjoy your entire remaining trip there alone</b>.

The ferry and transportation to and from Victoria is an aggravating drain on anyone or anything, even though it's less than 100 miles from Seattle.

The notion of a day trip to Victoria is crazy, so that would demand at least one night <I>(for the sake of common sense)</i>.

And it's so easy to turn one night into two... but <b>at the expense of Vancouver</b>... and that <I>doesn't make grand sense</i>.


To make the whole thing most <I>cozy</i>, I think I would do the first two nights in central Seattle, then <b>four</b> nights in Vancouver (Skipping Victoria - <b>although, too, I understand that <I>getting there while you can, from so far away, makes sense</i></b>)... then two more nights IN central Seattle-ish... and finally a last night near the airport, for that early flight.


BUT the 2nd batch of two nights targeted for <I>"Seattle"</i>, really affords you the freedom of finding another spot, somewhere in the Western Washington area... dedicating much more of your time to actual seeing the area, and not so much in transit across the water.

Heck, maybe two nights in the Burlington/Mount Vernon area, <b>surrounding a day trip across the <u>North Cascades Highway </b> </u> (to Winthrop and back) is just the ticket.

OR, you could be similarly creative and use those two nights to return to the USA and take that same, <I>North Cascades Highway</i>, and maybe circle all the way around <b>Mount Rainier</b> (involving a path through eastern Washington) before returning to the airport.

Clearly, Victoria <b>is up to you</b>... I can always go <I>"tomorrow"</i> (but <I>tomorrow</i> hasn't arrived for 30 years).

Lots to consider...

We are now planning to divide our 9-day visit between Seattle and then onto Vancouver. While in Vancouver, we may rent a car for a few days to do a little "exploring" on our own; perhaps visiting the little towns, i.e. Whistler, etc. and also Stanley Park. Can you recommend any Vancouver hotels?
Thank you again for your helpful suggestions. We seem to agree w/your advice that travelling to Victoria may be trying to see too much in too little time.
Thank you.

You can see Vanvouver using the "hop on, hop off trolley."
We bought tickets at our hotel.

Check the Travel BC website for info on what to see and do.
Need to think about the name of hotel I stayed at.

<i>perhaps visiting the little towns</i>

There is no more interesting town in Canada than Victoria.

If you do the do the Seattle - Vancouver - Victoria - Seattle routing, you will return home wondering why you didn't think of that in the first place.

HTtY

I stayed at The Rosedale on Robson. Good location, suite hotel, kitchen in room, restaurant and bar on main floor.

Recommend The Flying Pig for dining in Yaletown.

... as for <I>Vancouver hotels</i>... the mere <b>locations</b> right in the center of the downtown hubbub are the most appealing aspect of most any of the larger, nicer hotels there.

When I stay in central Vancouver and use <I>Priceline.com</i> to get a <b>random-to-me</b> hotel there, I am always quite content to let fate decide which 3-star or 4-star location I'll get.

Central Vancouver is fairly compact, and generally flat enough, so you really can't go too far wrong.

I don't know if this linked map of central Vancouver hotels will afford you any perspective:

http://www.greatervancouverhotels.co...ctions-map.htm


<b>Robson Street</b> is a central shopping area, with lots of tourists and locals darting about.

<B>Granville Street</b> is filled with nightlife and a bit of wildness.

Also, Vancouver has <u>more <I>"normal"</i> people roaming the downtown streets at all hours of the night than most anyplace you'll ever see in North America</u> (relative to its size), so safety is quite likely.

<b>The worst</b> area in central Vancouver is perhaps at or near to the intersection of <b>East Hastings and Main streets</b> (at the far right edge of the linked map), but by <I>American standards</i> it is relatively tame.

The scenery in the area is clearly best when looking north (beyond the top of the linked map)... so if you land a hotel down near the water in that direction you could get lucky and land a room with a great view.

I definitely wouldn't concern yourselves too much with specifics regarding Vancouver hotels, as there are SO many things to see and do, it would be OK to let your <I>random location</i> determine some small amounts of your Vancouver experience.