Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco

[mbcdefg]

MH and I want to go to the northwest this summer (he's a teacher). Neither of us have been there before. We plan to fly from Newark NJ out to Seattle, then rent a car and drive down to Portland and then San Francisco, and fly home from SFO or a surrounding airport if fares are better.

I'm thinking we'd do about a week total, including flying time, but is that enough? I'm at a M-F office job with 11 vacation days a year, so I could stretch it to 6 or 7 days off from work so that we could have 8 or 9 days for a trip. How should we divvy it up - 2 days each in SEA and PDX, and 3 in SF, and then the two flying days on either end?

We'd like to do a coastal driving route if possible, at least partway. Is there a good route that we can follow that allows us to see the coastal scenery, but doesn't drag too much? Is it best to schedule an overnight stop between the three major cities, or sleep in the major cities each night?

We like walking around in the city, thrift/antique shops and flea markets, craft beer, good food, and off-the-beaten-path type of stuff. We're not interested in shows, or museums unless they're something really unique. We live a stone's throw from NYC, so if we can get it in NYC then we'd rather skip it in another town in favor of something locally unique. MH really wants to stop at Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa. We'd also like to see some redwoods and Cannon Beach.

If you've followed me this far ... I plotted out a map just now to include this stuff and starting from Seattle it looks like we'd go down Rt. 101 South to Cannon Beach, then get to Tillamook and head east into Portland. Then go down Rt. 5 South through Eugene and cut west to Crescent City and the Jedediah Smith Redwood park, and back down 101 South to pick up 1 South through Fort Bragg. Back on 101 South through Santa Rosa and finally San Francisco.

Thanks for any input.

[mdgirl]

I think you'd be a bit crunched doing all 3, especially if you're taking a more scenic route driving. Those driving portions are going to eat up the better portion of a day. Since it sounds like your priorities are Portland and west/south, it probably makes more sense to fly into PDX and out of one of the SF airports.

Regarding your question about where to stay overnight, I'm not sure what the advantage would be to staying outside of them other than being cheaper. But then you're spending more time getting to and from the city. If you just do two, though, it would be neat to throw in a overnight by the coast in Oregon or Healdsburg (maybe?) to mix it up. Also, I think SFO will be your best bet for direct flights back to the east coast.

[wanderlustfoodie]

You won't have much time to explore the cities with all the driving you'll be doing. I would pick two of those cities, at most. Or one of those cities and environs. Like Seattle and Vancouver/Victoria. Or SF and Napa/Sonoma. Or you could just approach this with the mindset of a roadtrip but just do so knowing you really won't be seeing much of the cities at all.

[Deleted]

While the coastal drive is beatiful, that is A LOT of driving for such a short period of time (and I'm someone who jams a lot into my vacations!)

[lolo]

I can recommend a delightful B&B on the coast of Mendocino (3 1/2 hours north of sf) if you decide you are keen.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2014 19:23:39 GMT -5 kooshball said:

Highway 101 is nice for about 20 miles and then it becomes highly annoying and a pain in the ass. 2 lanes, very curvy, slow speed limit, varied speed limit from going through towns. I can't imagine driving all the way through Oregon on 101.

I would say the drive from San Francisco up to the Oregon border - once you get past say Santa Rosa (and even up to this point its not bad, just traffic) is a beautiful drive. 

That's about as far as my sanity can handle in a car so I can't comment on the Oregon/Washington drive.  I always fly to these locations.

[mbcdefg]

Thanks ... maybe we'll save Seattle for another time, in that case?

Fwiw though we don't mind driving long distances. We drove from NJ to Chicago twice ... Once RT, and this past summer we did NJ-Chicago in a day, then Chicago-St Louis-Louisville-Pittsburgh-NJ to get back home.

We'll do some more research. Any other recommendations would be nice - thanks!

[jaime183]

That's a long drive... I think it will be rushed in a week.
I'm in portland so if you decide to stop here I can give more info.
I would drive to Cannon beach, then in towards Portland from there. I love Cannon Beach though. I haven't done the drive to CA for awhile so I don't have much advice there.
if you did decide to stop in Crater Lake (amazing), you would need to book a hotel room soon... or just be willing to drive there and out in one day and stay in a town on the way

[jaime183]

if you did decide to do all 3, I wouldn't drive the WA and OR and CA coast... too much coast and too many slow roads

[shell24]

We went to Russian River in summer of 2012. It was a lot of fun and a nice alternative to all the wine! I've never been to Portland but I love Seattle and San Fran. Friends that live out that way adore Portland. I've spent weeks in both cities and think that one week for even just 2 of the cities wouldn't be enough!

[mrsjrd23]

I'm in PDX and your itinerary is not doable. Driving 101 from Seattle is not that great, you have to drive the edge of the Olympic Peninsula (basically head south then west) If you do SEA and PDX, drive I-5 to Portland then head to the coast and drive 101 in Oregon - WAY PRETTIER and SCENIC) the roads is open to the ocean views a lot more. If you drive the coast without stopping from Cannon Beach to SF is about 13 hours - again no stopping. I'd suggest drive Cannon Beach to Lincoln City or so, then cut back over to I-5 and then can cut back over to 101 in CA.

If I were planning the trip, I'd personally just do Portland. You can get awesome food, awesome wine, the coast, microbrews, gorgeous scenery, waterfalls, and urban life easily all in one. I would do 2 nights in Portland, 3 on the coast - Cannon Beach for 2 and then perhaps Newport or Lincoln City, then you can head east to Crater Lake for 2 nights and 1 final night in Portland to fly out. 8 nights total. Even that will be a lot but more doable.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions about Portland.

[mbcdefg]

Thanks for the advice! We'll re-work out plan and make a few cuts.

[clseale]

I agree that it seems to be a lot for that time frame. I have to add this tip. If you're stopping in Santa Rosa to go to Russian River, once you leave there, and head to San Fran, I'd also suggest stopping in Petaluma for Lagunitas. What a fun trip!

[ckinla]

I did a week in Seattle last fall with a 2 day trip to Portland (via train). I honestly feel like we didn't have enough time to see it all (especially Portland - we only hit a few spots). I am planning a return trip to Seattle to explore it more!

[thejen626]

I would fly into Seattle, drive down i5 to Portland, then drive out to Cannon Beach. Then drive down 101 to Lincoln City, then cut back over through Salem (and wine country!) and drive back down I5. Then hit Crater Lake and continue south.

[minion]

I live in Seattle and we take this route every year to Rockaway. But go I-5 until Longview then cross over to 101 until Tillamook. Lots of ocean, enough towns to stop by. Then going to Portland is actually perfect. Let me know if you need help with things to stop at along the way between Seattle and Portland. Astoria has the Goonies house.