Seattle - Vancouver - Victoria - Olympic NP (Ferries)
Jun 9th, 1999, 02:27 PM
#1
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Seattle - Vancouver - Victoria - Olympic NP (Ferries)
Hi, I'm a little bite confuse about the messages I read in the forum about the ferries between :
Seattle
Vancouver
Victoria
Olympic NP.
I want to see this four towns. What are the best towns to take ferries to do this trip ?And which are the best roads ? we have five days.
Thank's.
Seattle
Vancouver
Victoria
Olympic NP.
I want to see this four towns. What are the best towns to take ferries to do this trip ?And which are the best roads ? we have five days.
Thank's.
Jun 9th, 1999, 09:43 PM
#2
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Posts: n/a
Hi, Bruno,
About the only way to see all these places in 5 days goes as follows:
1. Car ferry (Washington State Ferries) from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, drive to Port Angeles via US Highway 101, visit (a small part) of Olympic NP - Hurricane Ridge Area;
2. Then (not the same day) Black Ball car ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria;
3. Then BC Ferries service to the mainland (we prefer the Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen route - more scenic), drive to Vancouver (BC Hwy. 99)
4. Return to Seattle by road, BC 99, US Interstate 5.
...or reverse directions. It's a lot for 5 days if you count full days in Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle.
Good luck.
About the only way to see all these places in 5 days goes as follows:
1. Car ferry (Washington State Ferries) from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, drive to Port Angeles via US Highway 101, visit (a small part) of Olympic NP - Hurricane Ridge Area;
2. Then (not the same day) Black Ball car ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria;
3. Then BC Ferries service to the mainland (we prefer the Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen route - more scenic), drive to Vancouver (BC Hwy. 99)
4. Return to Seattle by road, BC 99, US Interstate 5.
...or reverse directions. It's a lot for 5 days if you count full days in Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle.
Good luck.
Jun 10th, 1999, 08:11 PM
#3
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Who wouldn't be confused! Here is ferry information as I understand it, which may or may not be 100% accurate. In a nutshell though, you could just follow John's advice in the previous message.
There are several options. The BC ferries from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria (Sidney) are the most frequent, sailing hourly in the summer, usually from 7am to 9pm. The trip which passes through the gulf islands takes an hour and 35 minutes.
Black Ball's Coho sails from Port Angeles right into downtown Victoria. I read somewhere that the crossing time is 1 hr 35 minutes although I thought it was a bit longer. Near the end of the loading, cars are stuffed on at interesting angles.
The Anacortes Ferry (Washington State Ferries) runs less frequently I believe. It gets to Victoria (Sidney) in probably 2-3 hours.
The Princess Marguerite III runs only in the summer (and maybe not all next year) from Seattle to Victoria in about 4 hours. It's a pleasant, if not scenically riveting, trip. On the Victoria side the ferry docks at Odgen Point which is a 20 minute or so walk from downtown. Reservations are recommended.
There are also passenger-only ferries:
The Victoria Clipper blasts from Seattle to downtown Victoria in 2 (or 3?) hours. I've heard of people feeling ill on that trip if the sea is choppy.
The Victoria Express (2 or 3 sailing per day?) runs from Port Angeles to Victoria in an hour and half.
The Victoria Star apparently crosses from Bellingham to Victoria in 3½ hours.
I know nothing about these last two.
For what you want, I would take the BC ferries from Vancouver, and the Coho to Port Angeles (or the other way around).
There is an excellent ferry map at: http://ferrytravel.com/map_tophalf.htm
and more information at: http://ferrytravel.com/links.htm
There are several options. The BC ferries from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria (Sidney) are the most frequent, sailing hourly in the summer, usually from 7am to 9pm. The trip which passes through the gulf islands takes an hour and 35 minutes.
Black Ball's Coho sails from Port Angeles right into downtown Victoria. I read somewhere that the crossing time is 1 hr 35 minutes although I thought it was a bit longer. Near the end of the loading, cars are stuffed on at interesting angles.
The Anacortes Ferry (Washington State Ferries) runs less frequently I believe. It gets to Victoria (Sidney) in probably 2-3 hours.
The Princess Marguerite III runs only in the summer (and maybe not all next year) from Seattle to Victoria in about 4 hours. It's a pleasant, if not scenically riveting, trip. On the Victoria side the ferry docks at Odgen Point which is a 20 minute or so walk from downtown. Reservations are recommended.
There are also passenger-only ferries:
The Victoria Clipper blasts from Seattle to downtown Victoria in 2 (or 3?) hours. I've heard of people feeling ill on that trip if the sea is choppy.
The Victoria Express (2 or 3 sailing per day?) runs from Port Angeles to Victoria in an hour and half.
The Victoria Star apparently crosses from Bellingham to Victoria in 3½ hours.
I know nothing about these last two.
For what you want, I would take the BC ferries from Vancouver, and the Coho to Port Angeles (or the other way around).
There is an excellent ferry map at: http://ferrytravel.com/map_tophalf.htm
and more information at: http://ferrytravel.com/links.htm
Jun 11th, 1999, 09:28 AM
#4
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That's helpful information about the ferries. I'd like to add another ferry question. Is there a ferry that goes directly from Seattle to Whidbey Island? I thought I read there was one, but now am not sure.
If you had a choice between going to Bainbridge Island or Whidbey Island for the day, which would you do?
Thanks.
Jun 11th, 1999, 10:00 AM
#5
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(For Rebecca)
No, you can't go directly from Seattle to Whidbey Is. The most direct route is via the Mukilteo (mainland) - Clinton (island) service; Mukilteo is about a 30-minute drive north from central Seattle (a bonus is you drive past the Boeing 747/777 assembly building - the largest building in the world.) Another (very indirect) route to Whidbey is via ferry from Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula; or one can drive north from Seattle to Anacortes (where the San Juan Islands ferries depart) then south across Deception Pass to Whidbey, thence south down the island eventually to the Mukilteo ferry.
Bainbridge Is. is very nice but rather more suburban in character; Whidbey is much larger with several interesting small towns (Coupeville, Langley) and generally rural in nature. A trip to Whidbey is a full day's outing, whereas Bainbridge can be seen more quickly. Both are absolutely worth the effort.
No, you can't go directly from Seattle to Whidbey Is. The most direct route is via the Mukilteo (mainland) - Clinton (island) service; Mukilteo is about a 30-minute drive north from central Seattle (a bonus is you drive past the Boeing 747/777 assembly building - the largest building in the world.) Another (very indirect) route to Whidbey is via ferry from Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula; or one can drive north from Seattle to Anacortes (where the San Juan Islands ferries depart) then south across Deception Pass to Whidbey, thence south down the island eventually to the Mukilteo ferry.
Bainbridge Is. is very nice but rather more suburban in character; Whidbey is much larger with several interesting small towns (Coupeville, Langley) and generally rural in nature. A trip to Whidbey is a full day's outing, whereas Bainbridge can be seen more quickly. Both are absolutely worth the effort.
