jbsingh

I am driving with my family from LA to Vancouver BC in last week of December 2016 and coming back to LA in first week. I have 14 days in total. Any suggestions on 1) Attractions 2) Vegetarian restaurants 3) Weather guidance etc.

Thanks

janisj

Horrible idea unfortunately.

Not only is one week too short to drive from LA to Vancouver if you want to do anything much more than drive -- no time for detours/sightseeing along the coast for instance - then you want to do the same thing in reverse. But -- an even bigger problem is you are trying this in the depth of winter -- w heavy snow and heavy rain elsewhere possible any time during the period.

Fly to Seattle, explore Seattle, train to Vancouver, explore Vancouver, maybe travel over to Victoria and explore a bit - maybe spend a couple of days in Portland, then fly back to LA from Vancouver or Seattle or possibly Portland.

Kathie

It is likely to rain every day from northern California onward. In some areas along the coast there will be slides, blocking roads and even the railroad. I agree with janisj - plan to fly either all the way to Vancouver and spend time in Vancouver and Victoria or fly to Seattle and train to Vancouver. The only problem with the second plan is that if there are landslides blocking the tracks, you'll be put on a bus to Vancouver. (Yes, I've had to happen!)

You will find vegetarian food everywhere. Every restaurant will have vegetarian food options.

Since you have two weeks, if you fly to Vancouver, you'll have lots of time to explore Vancouver and Victoria.

elbegewa

Of course you could do it. But...

I've driven Seattle-LA and SF-Vancouver on 2 week (or less) trips lots of times, including in winter, but ... (1) I've driven in snow, ice, and heavy rain for my entire life and am comfortable in it ... and am used to and comfortable with driving long distances (2) my cars have been well-equipped (with either winter tires or Mud & Snow tires - your tires make all the difference in safety in snow, ice, and even heavy rain), (3) I've usually been interested in "getting there" and doing all my sightseeing at the destination, with little sightseeing on the way. If ALL 3 of the above things are typical of you, go for it ... but if ANY 1 of those things is not typical of you, don't do it and fly and/or use the train.

In the northwest we have been very lucky with mild winters for the last few years. But THIS December the weather has been awful (or great, for us skiers) ... We've had many days of torrential rain, some days of snow extending from just north of Redding CA to Vancouver BC, and some days in the last week have had ice storms that have coated the roads in ice in Portland, Vancouver BC, and Bellingham WA areas. http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2016/1...tland-and.html and http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...ters-1.3892399

Check the weather for various locations along the route. The standard long-range forecasts are at http://www.accuweather.com/ . at https://weather.com/ and at https://www.wunderground.com/


A great website that gives easy to grasp charts of the historical averages for temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, length of days, etc. at any of many locations is at https://weatherspark.com/

The Central Valley of CA often has dense fog in winter. The most likely prototypical snow or ice spots would be possibly on the I-5 grapevine south of Bakersfield, or more frequently the Siskiyous at the OR/CA border (check Dunsmuir or Yreka CA or Ashland OR - realizing that those are lower than the pass and likely the weather on the pass is worse), and the Willamette Valley in OR (check Eugene and Portland), and from Seattle north (check Seattle, Bellingham, and Vancouver BC

Notice the article about next week's weather at https://weather.com/storms/winter/ne...er-second-week.

If you still want to drive, the fastest way is via I-5 (barring delays due to fog, snow, or ice). Google maps says that's roughly 21 hrs wheels turning *each way*, not including stops for sleep, food, gas, sightseeing, or weather delays (that's driving about 8 hrs each for 3 days, or driving 4 hours each for 4 days, each way). Remember, during winter you will have much shorter times of daylight.

By going along the coast you can avoid the probability of snow (but in a few places it's still possible to meet snow). But it's longer - 25 hrs wheels turning time - along more curvy 2-lane roads and more susceptible to heavy rain, high winds, and washouts or trees blown down.

If you did go via the coast Gardyloo has some great suggestions at http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ly-january.cfm . You'd have to pay attention to the forecasts for heavy rain/wind, snow, ice, and fog to determine where to best cut over from the coast to I-5

elbegewa

oops, in the eighth paragraph above "or driving 4 hours each for 4 days, each way" should have read "or driving *5+* hours each for 4 days, each way" .. and again, that's driving wheels turning time, not including stops or delays.

tomfuller

Another possible way to go would be to take the Amtrak Coast Starlight north from Los Angeles to anywhere from Eugene OR to Seattle WA and then driving from there to Vancouver.
Does the entire family have passports?

Gardyloo

Looks like your first post on Fodor's - welcome!

I agree that this is a pretty foul time to make this drive in both directions, but doable if you take precautions. But first, maybe you could indicate what your party comprises. Kids? Ages? Also what, if any, experience do you have in driving in wintry conditions? I would definitely try to stay to the coast and lowland areas at this time, and be aware that not only will it be wet, but it gets dark very early and you don't want to be driving after dark in wet conditions.

Basically my routine for LA-to-Seattle drives in the winter (and I've done it a lot, including with kids) is to spend the first day getting as far north as possible, preferably beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. I usually take US 101 through southern and central California rather than I-5, but (surprisingly) it can make a difference where in LA you're originating. If you're in the eastern or northern part of the LA basin (Pomona, Burbank, Pasadena etc.) then I-5 is faster, even counting the transit to the coast later on. If you choose I-5, then I make the first night somewhere north of Sacramento, and I use Calif. Hwy 20 to cut over to US 101 before continuing north. (Any east-west route past SR 20 is generally much slower and more prone to weather delays.)

The second night is spent somewhere in the redwoods, or best case on the southern Oregon coast; anywhere from Eureka/Arcata to Gold Beach, and the third night is spent somewhere around Portland. That puts you into Vancouver on the fourth night.

Southbound, same but in reverse.

These are all pretty long days - 6-7 hours wheels turning each. Accommodation is plentiful and inexpensive, and provided you stay in larger towns overnight, you shouldn't have too much difficulty in keeping to your dietary standards.

But all that said, I do wonder if flying might not be a better idea. You could look at flying into Vancouver itself, or flying into Portland or Seattle and driving from there. Taking rental cars over the border isn't difficult, although you need to make sure the car company knows your plans, and most have child seats etc. if needed. You could reduce your timetable in order to mitigate the airfare costs - fewer nights in hotels/motels, cheaper car rental, etc. - if that's an issue.

Again, welcome, and come back with more information.

jbsingh

Thanks everyone for experienced / informative suggestions. Since I don't have any experience driving in snow in past and hearing weather news about coming snow storm, we have decided to go by air to Seattle and then drive to Vancouver.

Thanks once again!!!

tomfuller

Unless you really need a car in Vancouver just take the Amtrak train or bus from King St. station in Seattle.

janisj

I actually agree w/ tom (now, tom, don't faint )

No need to faff about w/ a cross border car rental and such - If Vancouver/BC in general is your main focus -- take the train or bus from Seattle to Vancouver and rent a car if you need one to explore BC.

elbegewa

Vancouver is a difficult and expensive place to find parking, and Vancouver is very walkable, and has excellent public transport & subways (called, logically even though strangely, "Skytrain") - so agreed that train from Seattle may be preferable. (Though with a family some prefer having the mobility of a car).

For some great things to do in Vancouver at Christmas and New Years see the thread at http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...-christmas.cfm also see the good websites at https://www.tourismvancouver.com/ and at http://www.hellobc.com/vancouver.aspx

Bundle up in warm clothes and raingear and have a great time ... Vancouver is my favorite city

suze

Much better idea!!!

from suze, sitting here in Seattle

sundriedtopepo

It seems an odd vacation to me, since us Vancouverites prefer to go to Palm Springs in the winter

I hope you will spend some time in Seattle as well. Two weeks in December would be a long time to allow for just Vancouver. Consider a few days in Whistler, it's a very pretty and walkable ski village.

https://www.whistler.com/winter/

There is a shuttle bus service from downtown Vancouver to Whistler. Rooms at this time of year may be booked though. If so, a day trip is doable.

There is also a free bus that goes to the Capilano suspension bridge, if you're interested in that.

https://www.capbridge.com

Enjoy!

elbegewa

I would tend to second the suggestion that you add a few places outside of Vancouver.

If you fly via Seattle it's worth stopping here for a few days.

And I'd second the suggestion of getting to Whistler. https://www.whistler.com/ and https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-...Vacations.html

Although its focus is on skiing, its a fantastic town (a huge pedestrian-only area) interesting for non-skiers with good restaurants, shops and art galleries, and interesting museums among the attractions. If the weather is clear you could take the gondola up to the restaurant on top as foot passengers for the view. You could take the bus up from Vancouver one day, spend a day there, and bus back the next.

If you did that, don't try to go during the week before Christmas and New Years (it'll be crowded then, reservations would be hard to find & expensive), go in the week after New Years. And be sure to take warm clothes and footwear that you can wear in the snow.

And remember, to go across the US/Canada border, all of you will need passports.