Trip to Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver
 

We are planning a trip for next August. Does this sound plausable and doable?

Arrive Seattle by plane. Spend PM In Pioneer Sq area. Take ferry to Bainbridge Island to Port Angeles. Sleep in PA; 2 days in Olympic Nat. Park(Hurricane Ridge,Lake Crescent, Ho rain Forest, and Ozette Lake). Take ferry to Victoria and spend 2 nights in the inner harbour area. Day 1 seeing sights locally and on day 2 going to Buchtart Gardens. Take the ferry to Friday Harbor after Buchtart to the San Juans and spend 2 nights there. Take the ferry back to Victoria and catch the ferry to Vancouver BC where we will spend 2 days. Return to Seattle for a 2 night stay. (Total 10 nights)
Questions: 1)If we wanted to see Whidbey Island and the Ballard or Hiram locks , is it worth it ? Can we do it in our way back to Seattle? 2)What should be seen on the San Juan Islands?(We are in our fifties and like hiking and would like to do whale watching.) 3) Can anyone recommend hotels or BB's in Port Angeles, Victoria, Friday Harbor and Vancouver that are centrally located, have A/C and breakfast for about $200? 4) Is there a better way to do the ferries? (we chose the way I explained above because, except for Seattle to Bainbridge Is., all the others take reservations.)

Are you going to be on foot?

Going back and forth from Canada involves getting through customs, so we think it is better to do Canada all at once (not break it up with the San Juan Islands). I'd be interested in knowing if others agree. If you're on foot, this might not be a problem. I don't know about the reservations issue.

You might want to substitute the Gulf Islands of Canada for the San Juans. Here's an alternative:

Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, Victoria, Gulf Islands, Vancouver, Seattle.

Ballard Locks are in Seattle (same thing as the Hiram Chittendon locks). They are worth seeing while you are in Seattle.

Whidbey Island is nice, but I don't think you'll have time for it.

Thanks Orcas for the insight. What is there to see on the Gulf islands and is 2 nights too much? (We are renting a car at the airport.) Is customs at Victoria a big time problem?

Buchtart Gardens is a must see, but 1/2 day is enough...was for us and we love exploring gardens! :-)

We went to Seattle and Victoria in August 2005, but your trip is much more ambitious than ours. We flew to Seattle and took a Kenmore float plane to Victoria (expensive but something we'd wanted to do for years). We were in Victoria for 5 days and Seattle for three.

Victoria is a big favorite of ours and here are a few suggestions for things to do/see:

Craigdarrach Castle; Ft. Rodd Hill & Fisgard Lighthouse; tour Parliament Buildings; don't miss the Royal British Columbia Museum; take a carriage or trolley ride; we did an Orca Spirit whale watch and had lots of sightings; shop at Bastion Square; walk on Government Street.

Unlike most, I was a bit underwhelmed by Butchart Gardens. It is expensive and it seemed overpriced (entry fee, restaurants and gift shops) and extremely commercial to me. The gardens are beautiful, but there were hands out everywhere.

Have a drink in the Bengal Lounge at the Empress Hotel (there was a good jazz trio when we were there). Eat at the Irish Times pub or Pagliacci's for pasta and music.

We stayed at the Delta which was very well situated. They have a dock where the harbor ferries (little water taxis) stop and we were taken back and forth to town in minutes. Watch the ferry ballet to the Blue Danube on Saturday mornings.

We took the ferry to Seattle and stayed at the Pioneer Square Hotel. You must visit Pike Place Market and see the original Starbucks. Ride the Waterfront Streetcar, visit the wharf, walk about Pioneer Square (take the underground tour), ride the Ducks for something different (we preferred the Ducks ride in Washington, D.C.). Unfortunately I'm told the Seattle Art Museum is closed for renovation, but should be open by the time you go. We very much enjoyed lunch and touring the galleries there. We went to Jazz Alley for dinner and jazz.

Hope this helps a bit. Any questions, e-mail me.

We've been to several Gulf Islands, mostly by boat. We often take bikes to get around but rented a car on Saltspring the last time we went. I can't tell you much about accomodations, since we stay on the boat. The Gulf Islands are a lot like the San Juans.

Saltspring is the largest island. A lot of artists live there and there is a fantastic Saturday market on Ganges, the main town, where many artists bring their works. Last time we were there, we picked up a map at the tourist center that included in-home studios, wineries and bakeries, etc. We spent a day visiting a couple of parks (Mt. Maxwell and Rucker Park), some studios, the Saltspring winery (great wine tasting - also has a B&B), a small cheese factory, bakery. We had a great day and didn't have time for the southern half of the island.

Rucker Park is on the water and has hikes to huge trees and typcial beautiful northwest water access (rocky beaches, granite outcroppings). It also has an old farm with buildings you can visit. Mt. Maxwell is high, and offers wonderful views and hikes. The road was pitted. There is another mountain park that is supposed to have great views as well but you have to leave your car part way up as the road is so pitted. My husband has bad knees so we didn't visit that one. I think you might like it, though.

We also like Galiano Island and Montague Harbor Park, which is on the water. There is one teeny tiny town on Galiano Island at the ferry landing. South Pender Island has a beautiful hotel called Poet's Cove.

There is a really interesting island off of Sidney, on Vancouver Island, called Spencer Island. It is a marine park. In summer, you can take a passenger only ferry from Sidney to this island and visit the long spit that juts out in the water and has a large salt water wetland area with all kinds of tidepools and birds. You can walk out on the spit and look down at your feet and see all these little animals in the water. The views are spectacular from Sidney Spit.

I believe you could also drive north to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and get a ferry there. Gabriola Island is on the way from that point.

You might consider posting on the Canada Board about the Gulf Islands.

Barney18,

sounds like a great trip. We visited Vancouver (2 nights), then Victoria (3 nights) and Seattle (3 nights) this past August. The weather was awesome, the people were friendly.

We enjoyed Abbeymoore Manor B&B in Victoria as much as any place we've ever stayed. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's about a 10 minute walk from the inner harbor, in a beautiful neighborhood about a block from Government House (which has awesome gardens and views of the Cascades from the back of the house).

In Seattle we stayed at Inn at the Harbor Steps and were very impressed. The location is great--just south of Pike Place Market (and an easy walk to Pioneer Square, although we didn't think that area was comparable to the Market).

You could easily make Buchart Gardens an afternoon, as it's only 30-40 minutes from Victoria.