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Sorry about the Air Transat thing; I must have indeed been thinking about another thread/poster.
While Janis' idea of a long one-way trip is fine, I do think that with up to six weeks you could do a round-trip without rushing things. One of the reasons I mentioned Yosemite early in the itinerary is that the longer one waits during the summer, the hotter and dryer it gets in the area, and the greater risk of forest fires and/or some of the famous waterfalls in Yosemite having greatly reduced flows, or even drying up. So while you won't get the spectacular conditions in Yosemite that one experiences in May and June (when melting mountain snows fill the waterfalls) it's still better than the likes of August or September. By heading to Sunriver closer to the beginning of the trip, you'd also be able to visit Crater Lake en route, as well as some of the remarkable destinations that can be reached fairly easily from the Bend area, such as the John Day fossil beds and painted hills and remarkable Smith Rock State Park. (Not my pictures) John Day - https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...699c7fbd23.jpg Smith Rock https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4f6d855fcf.jpg Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/qsq87M53oqHvsCi88 |
DEath Valley is no place to be in the summer! I know because we went there June 2015 and left after only one night because the heat was unbearable. I also agree that Las Vegas too hot and with kids, why bother. and I second Crater Lake - one of the unexpected highlights of our two month road trip |
Actually even though it will be hot, since you are coming to Las Vegas from Europe and your husband really wants to see LV, I think maybe just 1-2 nights there to get over jet lag before you start your drive to the coast makes a a nice compromise. One thing to consider is that it is much easier to stay in a hotel just off the strip-easier to check in and check out without fighting crowds, slow elevators stopping at every floor etc. And since all the big strip hotels/casinos have free unlimited parking garage it is very easy to just hop over there when you want to stroll to see the sites. We used to stay on the strip but now we generally stay here when we go-much larger rooms too! It is called the Tuscany Suites and Casino-close to the airport and strip. The casino is in a separate building and then the rooms are in various "out building more like a 3-4 story buildings with elevators. Very easy to get in and out off
https://www.tuscanylv.com/ I would probably skip death valley though-even though most our European friends want to go there in the summer. My husband is French and when my nieces and nephews were your kids ages, we went there with them and those poor kids felt they were on a punishment march! I think a better route would be to go to San Diego via Palm Springs, which is a super cute small city and you can see part of the Mojave or Joshua Tree Park on the way down to San Diego. I don't think you mentioned if you have lodging yet in San Diego but with kids we loved both of these hotels-they are "sister properties" owned by same people and in the summer they have an old fashioned paddle wheel boat that makes trips between them across the Bay and the Catamaran Hotel has nature areas set up with birds etc. If you don't need a hotel in SD-if you are staying with friends for instance I think you can still take the boat trip which I think you would enjoy. And be sure to look at going to the Zoo-one of the best in the country www.catamaranresort.com https://www.bahiahotel.com/ https://www.bahiahotel.com/boarding-times https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/ We live in Seattle as well and all the above suggestions are good ones for our city. Another thing you might consider would be to drop the car off in the city center of Seattle (all the rental agencies will have offices there) or if you don't want to drive into the city, then you could drop at the airport and take the light rail into the city-about a 30 minute trip. Driving into Seattle can be sort of difficult and traffic can be very tough, so the airport drop off might be less stressful. Then you could take the ferry or train to Vancouver when you are ready to leave. You can even take a hovercraft called the Clipper to Victoria Island BC and then continue on to Vancouver, which would be a fun trip. Here is a description about that. Be aware that it can be pretty pricey though and may take too much time out of your whole trip, so you will have to look at your options with that in mind. From Seattle to Victoria by Clipper: The Victoria Clipper ferry operates year-round service, roundtrip 1 time per day, with the exception of trips in mid-May through mid-September, when 2 daily roundtrip services are available. The ferry features three classes of service including Economy (lower deck), Vista (upper deck) and Comfort Class (upper deck). The Comfort Class upgrade includes priority boarding, leather seating in a private spacious class cabin, panoramic views along with complimentary snacks, coffee and tea. The Seattle to Victoria Clipper ferry ride connects the United States with Vancouver Island. The Victoria Clipper ferry ride to Victoria takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, traveling direct between Pier 69 in downtown Seattle and the Belleville Terminal in downtown Victoria, BC’s Inner Harbor. https://www.clippervacations.com/sea...ictoria-ferry/ From Victoria to Vancouver By sea: BC Ferries has frequent sailings — it’s about a 1 ½-hour ferry ride — every day from Tsawwassen on the mainland (south of Vancouver and about a half-hour drive from the U.S.-Canada border) to Swartz Bay (about a half-hour from Victoria). Home | BC Ferries - British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.. Car-less travelers can walk aboard, take bikes or the Pacific Coach Line buses that go aboard the ferries and then carry passengers into downtown Vancouver and Victoria (www.pacificcoach.com). |
Parking on the Strip in Las Vegas isn't as free as it used to be.
https://gamboool.com/las-vegas-hotel...k-on-the-strip IMO, Death Valley is worth driving through. Yes, it's HOT, but there are interesting things there. |
>>Parking on the Strip in Las Vegas isn't as free as it used to be.<<
barbara beat me to it. More and more places on the Strip are adding parking charges |
Oh thanks for the correction about the LV parking-good to know! That looks like it is recent-oh well I guess maybe lyft or uber wouldn't be too much or you can just pony up for the self park.
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Originally Posted by jeverett
(Post 16971820)
Some thoughts on the northwest leg of your trip. What are you planning to do in Sunriver for seven days? Not that there isn't plenty to do around there for seven days, especially if you love the outdoors, just curious. I would highly suggest seeing Crater Lake National Park if you're staying for a few days in that area (on a weekday - not a Saturday or Sunday to avoid huge crowds). Bend and Sisters are also fun towns to spend time in. I'd suggest a drive on Highway 242 over McKenzie Pass, stopping at Dee Wright Observatory, and admiring the stunning volcanic landscape and mountains. Plenty of hiking options around there, and you'll want to have your camera on the ready. Then stop in Sisters for a leisurely afternoon, which is a rustic western themed town.
For Seattle, if you time your visit there on a weekend, I'd suggest the Ballard Farmer's Market on Sunday. One of the best farmers markets and charming neighborhoods you'll find anywhere. I think you could easily add a third day there and not run out of activities. A day trip via ferry to Bainbridge Island or the San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor) is a great day trip. The Pike Street Market is always a must, but if you can avoid it on a weekend and time your visit earlier in the day, especially with kids, I'd recommend that. It is just smashed with hoards of people and it's just excruciating pushing through the crowds and waiting in long lines to get into any of the popular spots. You mentioned four days at Olympic National Park, which seems like a lot to me if you're not doing some substantial hiking into the back country. I think two days, maybe three, is sufficient to see the area. Be sure you stop for oysters at Hama Hama Oyster Saloon on Hwy 101 in Liliwaup along Hood Canal. And if you want an unbeatable view of Puget Sound, on a clear day, drive or hike up to the Mt. Walker viewpoint near Quilcene, where you get an incredible aerial vantage of Puget Sound and be able to see downtown Seattle, Mt. Rainier and the surrounding area from across the sound. The kids will love Cannon Beach. Gorgeous beach, and Ecola State Park is nearby for hiking. One of the great thing about Oregon beaches is they are public and you can walk for miles. The town itself is fun - lots of candy and ice cream shops - and I would highly recommend the Cannon Beach Smokehouse for lunch. Astoria is my favorite coastal town in Oregon, and there's plenty to do, such as the Astoria Column, the Oregon Film Museum, Astoria Riverwalk, and the Maritime Museum (very interesting). You'll have to visit Frite and Scoop along the Riverwalk, and visit the Fort George Brewery. Astoria is my favorite "walking town" with its charming old victorian houses and the Flavel Mansion, beautiful river views along the river walk, and historic downtown area. If you're headed south down 101 any further than Cannon Beach, I'd recommend a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory (kids love this) and even further down is the town of Newport (another one of my favorite towns on the coast) where you could spend a day. After that, you could head east on US Highway 20 towards the Cascades and on to the Sunriver area. I'd also recommend Silver Falls State Park, which is a 7 mile loop trial that will take you to about 10 waterfalls. Down towards the Redwoods, be sure to take the Howland Hill Road detour, which is a dirt cutoff road that bisects the Jedediah Smith State Redwoods and takes you into Crescent City from Highway 199. In my opinion, this is the best of the best of the redwoods. The road winds through massive trees that will blow your mind. The Boy Scout Tree Trail is about halfway down the road and is a must if you enjoy hiking. The Prairie Creek Redwoods are also lovely (often times you can see wild elk there), as well as the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. For a longer day hike, you can hike from the Prairie Creek Redwoods visitor center over the ridge into Fern Canyon, which is amazing with it's fern covered canyon walls. It's about an eight mile hike round trip through primordial redwood forest, and worth every step. A few more ideas down in redwood country. Patrick's Point State Park is gorgeous just north of Trinidad. And Trinidad itself is a fascinating little town and a hippy enclave. They have their Trinidad Art Nights on Fridays during the summer, and has a sort of "time warp back to the '60s" feel. There's some lovely beaches right around there as well. Arcata is fun on a Saturday. They have a really great farmer's market. For breakfast, I would recommend the Samoa Cookhouse, which is an old logger cookhouse that's now a logging museum and serves old style all-you-can-eat logger breakfast. Just across the bay on Hwy 255 from Eureka. A little further down Hwy 101 south of Eureka about 20 miles in Fortuna is the Chapman's Gem & Mineral Shop, which is worthwhile and fascinating. There's some really fantastic mineral and fossil specimens there. And, if you're not redwooded out by this point, the Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a little further down. These are the more 'touristy' redwoods where you'll find the drive-thru tree (that you have to pay money to drive through), and are the ones you see in the postcards. There's more traffic, RV parks, and tourist traps around here, but I'd still highly recommend driving down the Avenue of the Giants, which is absolutely amazing. Hope some of this gives you some ideas. Cheers! |
After carefully reading all of your comments we decided to skipped Vancouver and fly directly to Seattle, and then fly back from las Vegas. stay a bit longer in Seattle and see more of Oregon (make several day trips to from Sunriver to some of the places that you have suggested such as painted Hills, smith rock, MT. Hood, Crater lake, etc.), as well as to spend more time in Cannon beach and also visit other towns from there. We will go to San Diego via the coast and one night before we head back home, we'll drive early to las Vegas and be there for one night. When our kids are older hopefully we can go back there and do a tour around the national parks in that area.
This thread has been so helpful in planning our trip that we couldn't be more thankful! |
You've made some tough but IMO necessary decisions/cuts. It will be a wonderful trip and yes -- go back to Las Vegas and the southwest National parks when the kids are older. When they are adults would be best but that will be a looooooong time for the 2 year old ;)
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I think that sounds like a great trip-1 night in Las Vegas will at least satisfy your husband's curiosity about it and then you can come back to explore the parks near there another time.
What did you find for flights from Netherlands to Seattle-it looks like you are based there? I am asking because we fly every summer from Seattle to Europe (my husband is French) so if you have any good deals I would love to hear about them :) And if you need any help thinking about neighborhoods in Seattle I would be happy to chime in. Using airbnb or similar site is usually a good idea here in Seattle-there are many nice kids-friendly neighborhoods close to downtown. It looks like a very nice trip! |
Originally Posted by jpie
(Post 16975926)
What did you find for flights from Netherlands to Seattle-it looks like you are based there? I am asking because we fly every summer from Seattle to Europe (my husband is French) so if you have any good deals I would love to hear about them :) And if you need any help thinking about neighborhoods in Seattle I would be happy to chime in. Using airbnb or similar site is usually a good idea here in Seattle-there are many nice kids-friendly neighborhoods close to downtown. Sure please if you have recommendations of areas to stay will be great. Thank you! |
Originally Posted by janisj
(Post 16975864)
You've made some tough but IMO necessary decisions/cuts. It will be a wonderful trip and yes -- go back to Las Vegas and the southwest National parks when the kids are older. When they are adults would be best but that will be a looooooong time for the 2 year old ;)
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Originally Posted by jeverett
(Post 16971820)
Down towards the Redwoods, be sure to take the Howland Hill Road detour, which is a dirt cutoff road that bisects the Jedediah Smith State Redwoods and takes you into Crescent City from Highway 199. In my opinion, this is the best of the best of the redwoods. The road winds through massive trees that will blow your mind. The Boy Scout Tree Trail is about halfway down the road and is a must if you enjoy hiking. The Prairie Creek Redwoods are also lovely (often times you can see wild elk there), as well as the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. For a longer day hike, you can hike from the Prairie Creek Redwoods visitor center over the ridge into Fern Canyon, which is amazing with it's fern covered canyon walls. It's about an eight mile hike round trip through primordial redwood forest, and worth every step.
A few more ideas down in redwood country. Patrick's Point State Park is gorgeous just north of Trinidad. And Trinidad itself is a fascinating little town and a hippy enclave. They have their Trinidad Art Nights on Fridays during the summer, and has a sort of "time warp back to the '60s" feel. There's some lovely beaches right around there as well. Arcata is fun on a Saturday. They have a really great farmer's market. For breakfast, I would recommend the Samoa Cookhouse, which is an old logger cookhouse that's now a logging museum and serves old style all-you-can-eat logger breakfast. Just across the bay on Hwy 255 from Eureka. A little further down Hwy 101 south of Eureka about 20 miles in Fortuna is the Chapman's Gem & Mineral Shop, which is worthwhile and fascinating. There's some really fantastic mineral and fossil specimens there. And, if you're not redwooded out by this point, the Humboldt Redwoods State Park is a little further down. These are the more 'touristy' redwoods where you'll find the drive-thru tree (that you have to pay money to drive through), and are the ones you see in the postcards. There's more traffic, RV parks, and tourist traps around here, but I'd still highly recommend driving down the Avenue of the Giants, which is absolutely amazing. |
Just very quick since I'm dashing out -- re the dirt road jeverett mentions -- it is perfectly fine road . . . However rental agencies almost never allow taking their cars on unpaved roads. And if anything should happen -- minor or major, the insurance would be voided. So while is it a nice detour -- I definitely would not take that road in your situation.
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As a Nevada resident, honestly,. with kids, give Las Vegas a miss. Also, Las Vegas in July or August? Lord now. How about several days of 113. There ARE things to do besides the strip but I would suggest going to the Chamber Of Commerce or other city website and see what's there. In the end, if you must, you must. A bazillion people from all over the world visit there each year. I think the suggestion of Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur, OR, depending on what highways you choose, you could spend a couple days at Lake Tahoe and Truckee. Both are a couple of hours from Sacramento.
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"And if you need any help thinking about neighborhoods in Seattle I would be happy to chime in. Using airbnb or similar site is usually a good idea here in Seattle-there are many nice kids-friendly neighborhoods close to downtown."
Seattle has many nice neighborhoods that are still within the city but not right downtown in the "the business" and tourist core. Here is a map of the core Seattle neighborhoods by name. The core business and tourist area is outlined in yellow. Some neighborhoods that I would target for airbnb type rentals with kids you age would be these-they aren't in any real particular order-but they all should have fairly good access to the areas you probably want to visit:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...869f1cf611.png |
I agree with jpie's suggestion for neighborhoods. I personally love Ballard, and yes the core of it can be noisy on the weekend nights, once you get even a block away it is very quiet. One of our kids has lived there for quite a while, and the other just moved from Ballard over to Greenwood. The one in Ballard has lived in 3 locations within the area, and even now is in the heart of it, right by the hospital and it isn't very noisy at all. You can hear some music on the weekend nights, but that's it, FWIW.
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Yes-I totally agree. As you get closer-just post a link to properties you are considering-or even nearby crossroads and I am sure that there are a few of us here in Seattle than can give you a pretty clear idea of what to expect around the neighborhood. And I do think your would like Ballard being from Europe-has good density for walking and if you get a place with double pane windows or more like for a home, just a block off the main street I think it will be fine. There are also other nice neighborhoods in other sections of town but these seem to be good choice with kids your ages.
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I live on Capitol Hill, so can help with rentals there or in Central District (Seattle). As you can see on the map those are a bit more convenient for doing downtown things than being further north.
But my personal favorite residential neighborhood, is what looks like Roosevelt (Maple Leaf) and Ravenna on the map above. |
Yes-I would normally have listed Capital Hill area-we love that neighborhood and lived there for 20 years. But finding a property for a family of six could be tougher there-but who knows-it will depend on what's available when they actually want to think about booking.
Just a note sundolph-when I took a quick look at airbnb rentals for next summer for larger groups there are lots of places listed in West Seattle. We love the neighborhood and actually lived there a few years too-but one caution I would give is that because it is on a peninsula looking across at downtown Seattle, the traffic can be really terrible trying to get in and out of that particular neighborhood during rush hours. That may or not matter to you since as tourists you may be able to avoid traffic rush hours-but just thought I would mention it since there are so many houses for rent there for families. |
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