Mary2Go

I have been to Copenhagen twice, unfortunately it was during late March both times so the weather wasn't great. I would love to go back in the summer! It was beautiful even in early spring and it was a very walkable city. Tivoli Gardens is supposed to be great and there were wonderful restaurants and lots of shopping. We took the train to Roskild to the Viking Museum, fascinating and then another train ride to Helsingor to Kronberg Castle the inspiration for Hamlet. I can't remember the name of the art museum you pass on the train ride there but it is supposed to be quite good. I felt safe walking around by myself. What ever you chose have a wonderful time...wish I found things like that instead of things like the unpaid tuition bill I put in my purse last week and just found!

starrsville

Day 1 - fly into Seattle early
Night 1 - Seattle
Day 2 - Seattle sight seeing
Night 2 - Seattle
Day 3 - On to Anacortes
Night 3 - Anacortes (inn right by ferry)
Day 4 - ferry to Vancouver Island
Night 4 - Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC
Day 5 - Butchart Gardens
Night 5 - Empress Hotel
Day 6 - Ferry to Olympic Penisula
Day 6 - Olympic NP
Night 6 - somewhere in area
Day 7 - back to Seattle
Night 7 - Seattle
Day 8 - fly home

That leaves Night 8
If you can squeeze in one more night (9), or cut Seattle a night short on the beginning of the trip, you have time for the kayak trip - AND to do a wonderful circle trip of the best (or my best) of the PNW.

starrsville

I just did a mapquest for Seattle to Friday Harbor (location for the kayak trip). It's in the San Juan Islands, between Anacortes and Victoria. The 3 day trip should fit in nicely in the schedule above.
Night 3 - Friday Harbor - Kayak Night 1

fun4all4

Starrsville - you are on a roll!! Amazing ideas. =D> You should be doing this trip with all the thought you are putting in to it!

Of course, like any trip, once the planning gets going I come across way more I want to do than is possible. So, I will take all these great ideas and prioritze. With limited time, I think I am going to have to pick 2 of the 3 among Victoria, San Juan Islands and Olympic. (And that doesn't even talk about the Cascades or Rainier).

Many thanks for all the great ideas from everyone. I will follow up once I have this mapped out in the next week or two.

starrsville

I've done the parts of the trip before - except for the kayak trip. Was just curious if you could "connect the dots" and get it all in your time frame. Have fun planning!

melanie8

Seattle and then over to Victoria by ferry. This was hands down our best vacation ever. I traveled with my DH and 2 sons, 11 and 15. We stayed at Hotel Andra in Seattle. It was wonderful, near Pike Market which is MUST DO, I admit I was skeptical, but only took 1 minute at the place to change my mind. Andra is also near nice shopping. We then drove to Port Angeles to tour the Olympic National Park. Here we stayed at A Hidden Haven in the Morning Dove Cottage and we were thrilled with the beauty and serenity of this setting. It was also a pretty close drive to the ferry that we had to catch to get to Victoria. If you go to Victoria you MUST stay at Prior House. It is gorgeous! The breakfast are out of this world and the hospitality of the hostess Candis is unmatched to any place I have ever stayed. We then returned by ferry and spent one night in Port Townsend at the James House, which we were not impressed with, but I don't think there is much in this small community, BUT art. I absolutely love art and I have to say the main street in this town is lined with galleries and antiques which will please, but especially the Earthern Works Gallery. Unbelievable! Actually in Victoria there are several nice art galleries, and if you fly into Seattle, you will experience one of the nicest airports I have ever been in. It is lined with local artists works. We also went whale watching and kayaking while in Victoria. Tour Craigendorch Castle (sp?)which is right around the corner from the Prior House. The homes that line the street are lovely and meticulously maintained. Everything about this trip pleased us - the scenery, the beauty, the availability of activities, food, lodging, peaceful, courteous folks. You will not be disappointed. I will return.

LLindaC

Wow- you people just planned our next summer trip, thank you very much! Fun, you are traveling enough this year. You need to stay home, organize closets, paint a room and cook gourmet meals for your husband every night.

LLindaC

Of course you know I was just kidding- I will travel on the drop of a hat, solo or not, but I'd save special firsts for my hubby. here's a good website that features tours and ideas:
http://www.infohub.com/

fun4all4

LOL Linda! I know I'm travelling a lot, but I'm obsessed > Plus, in all fairness, he did spend a long weekend golfing in Florida with his brother in January AND just came back from a week long ski trip to Park City with 8 guys....so I'm sure he'll be just fine ;-)

Melanie -
Questions for clarification....you went Seattle to Victoria to Port Angeles? Did you have a car the whole time? Did you skip San Juan Islands and just do the whale/water thing from Victoria? How did you get from Port Angeles back to Seattle? Thanks so much for the accommodation ideas as well!

starrsville

fun,
This website will help you figure out the ferry options. Some allow cars - some don't

http://www.ferrytravel.com/victoria.htm

Also use mapquest to see the ferry routes

melanie8

We did have a car the whole time, and frankly I'm not sure it is possible without one. We flew into Seattle, Hotel Andra is relatively easy to get to from the airport. Look at their website to make sure you like the decor. It is more contemporary, one reason we loved it. We took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and then drove the rest of the way to Port Angeles. We then took the Washington Ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles. You can carry your car on the WA Ferry. We then took the ferry back to Port Townsend from Victoria because I had wanted to check out those art galleries. We then drove from Port Townsend back to Seattle without getting on the ferry. Someone in Port Townsend advised us on how to do that. Victoria is also pretty hard to do without a car. We did skip the San Islands after I booked our whale watching trip out of Victoria. Visit the Prior House website as well. If you call Candis, on the phone she is also full of information. I want to go back now after thinking about all of this again.

wtm003

Starrsville - thanks for the Seattle itinerary. I'm saving this thread for future reference.

starrsville

Great! There's so much to do in Seattle, you really need more time there, but I was trying to fit everything fun wanted to do in her time frame.

And if ANYONE goes to Seattle in the spring, be sure to drive north toward La Connor. Acres of daffodils, tulips, etc. Amazing countryside. One of my favorite memories - and no one told me it was there. It was a happy accident!