Touring Pacific Northwest Post Cruise

[funcruiser1]

We will be spending 2 weeks motoring thru Pacific Northwest post cruise. We will begin in Seattle and leave for home from San Francisco 2 weeks later. Any ideas, must sees, etc. Is a Vancouver a must see..how about Victoria? Best ways to get there, etc. All input is appreciated.

[slk230]

Victoria is great. It is very British as opposed to Vancouver which is very much like many large American cities in my opinion.

Go to Victoria via the Coho ferry from Port Angeles on the Olympic Penninsula. get there early as they fill up in the summer months. Watch for whales during the crossing. Plan on at least 2 days in Victoria. Butchart Gardens, high tea, the harbor.

Bring your passports to make it easier.

You can always take the other island ferry to Tsawwassen to the mainland and see Vancouver if you want to. Stop and see White Rock just north of the us/Canadian border. It's a nice little seaside town....with a big white rock!

 

Take a ferry through the San Juan islands.

You can drive all the way around Mt Rainier.

Stop at Mt St Helens just off I-5 on your way to Portland.

The drive down the Oregon coast is beautiful.

[LeftcoastBC]

That is a good way to see Victoria/Gulf Islands etc. and Vancouver. There are a couple of other ferry options also. Cross to Anacortes from Sidney but you would miss Vancouver which is a beautiful city unlike anything other than maybe Seattle for surrounding mountains in the Pac. North West.

 

There is another circle across the top of Wa. State and down through the Okanogan, Yakama etc. or down the coast. south of Seattle.

 

If you go that way don't miss Hurricane ridge in the Olympic mountains before catching the Ferry to Victoria.

[KLLund]

I would also say that when you venture from Seattle southward .. especially in Oregon .. take the coast. I-5 is the major freeway .. but other than going through the Siskiyou mtns in southern Ore .. it is just towns while the coast is beautiful with some lovely towns and places to stay. Pretty much the same in Calif .. 1-5 goes through the central valley .. flat farmlands and cities .. while the coast is gorgeous.

 

You didn't say what time of year this would be .. but the mountains are beautiful too. And the Columbia River Gorge is incredible. Weather becomes more of a factor there at some time of the year.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[Putterdude]

To miss Vancouver would to miss a city that is constantly ranked one of the most beautiful and most livable cities in the world, not to mention that it is the host to the world for the 2010 Winter Olympics. To suggest that it " is very much like many large American cities" does it a huge disservice. People flock here from all over the world to see its mountain backdrop, to visit the downtown 1000 acre Stanley Park, go the Capilano Suspension Bridge, go up the Grouse Mountain Skyride, visit Gastown and Granville Island, shop on Robson Street, go to its beaches and dine in its wonderful and very cosmopolitan restaurants. Come on up, you will have a great time here.

[jimgev]

The Pacific Northwest is filled with natural wonders.

In addition to the other sites already mentioned, a side trip to Crater Lake in Southern Oregon is spectacular. Also, don't miss the Redwoods along the Oregon/California coast.

In fact, you really should extend your trip by a few weeks. LOL

Enjoy.

:D

Jim

[calikak]

Ditto most of the other tips--I was also going to suggest maybe seeing the rain forests on the Washington coast. You can stay at Lake Quinault and do some easy day hikes into the Quinault rain forest from there. The Hoh Rain Forest is more remote and pristine but involves a very long drive down a fairly windy often-washed-out road, so I'd probably stick to the Quinault forest. Lake Quinault itself is very lovely too.

[wa.mama]

List of places you should see - from north to south

 

Whistler, B.C. (the drive there from Vancouver is superb)

Vancouver

Victoria/Tofino

Olympic Peninsula - Hurricane Ridge, Hoh rainforest, and ONP beaches

Cape Disappointment for history

Cannon Beach, Or

Tillamook ( if you like cheese and need a good stopping point)

Gleneden Beach, Bandon Beach

 

Then you're back in California and out of my territory. If your interest is towards active pursuits, shopping, food/wine then I can add specifics onto each of those destinations. IMHO I would spend more time in the northern aspects of that itinerary vs the southern, even after the Alaskan cruise, as the beauty there is unsurpassed.

[Edbynumbers]

Wow, excellent suggestions from all!!!!

 

I grew up in Port Angeles, WA and have Lived in San Francisco (and the bay area) for about the last 20 years. Still have a few hundred extended family members living on the Olympic Peninsula and return often for visits. I appreciate the area SO MUCH MORE now than I did when I was growing up . . . though it was a great place to grow up!

 

Lake Quinault and the Lodge are amazing

Rain forest worth seeing, but nice if you can visit when it's not raining:D

Amazing views from Hurricane Ridge

 

Coho Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria is fun, but very popular, so plan ahead. Growing up we traveled back and forth to Victoria and considered an extension of our hometown.

 

Finally, I have to side with the Pro-Vancouver group. Though I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I had never been to Vancouver as a child. As an adult I can't get enough of Vancouver! In my Opinion, saying Vancouver is like any large city would be like saying San Francisco or Sydney, Australia is like any big city . . . to me there is something special in each of these cities that sets them apart from a typical big city.

 

Explore and find your own favorite sites, but the recommendations given so far have been pretty darn good . . . (again, only my opinion).

 

Cruise Critic posters Rock!!! They know all the good stuff!!! :D