Booked: Seattle/Vancouver. Come share ideas!

[incognitotoday]

We booked at trip for Seattle/Vancouver in September for one week. We will be renting a car, and as of right now, "C" has been there 3x, so he has an idea of things he'd like to show me/things he'd like us to do, but of course, I want to research some "off the beat - non touristy" things to do.

Any suggestions!?

We have our sights on spending a day or three in Vancouver as well, at the www.longbeachlodgeresort.com/. Anyone ever been there?

TIA!

[travelingjen]

How much time do you spend on planning in Vancouver and Seattle?

Do you plan on taking a ferry from Vancouver over to Vancouver Island and then driving to Tofino? Or are you flying to Tofino from Vancouver? Depending on which ferry you take from the Vancouver area, your drive to Tofino from the ferry landing could take 3-5 hours. More info on the ferry routes and airline options can be found here: www.gotofino.com/

What time of year will you be here? My recommendations on things to do/see will vary based on the time of year!

[incognitotoday]

Jun 12, 2012 0:19:26 GMT -5 travelingjen said:

How much time do you spend on planning in Vancouver and Seattle?

Do you plan on taking a ferry from Vancouver over to Vancouver Island and then driving to Tofino? Or are you flying to Tofino from Vancouver? Depending on which ferry you take from the Vancouver area, your drive to Tofino from the ferry landing could take 3-5 hours. More info on the ferry routes and airline options can be found here: www.gotofino.com/

What time of year will you be here? My recommendations on things to do/see will vary based on the time of year!

We are spending one solid week out West. Splitting the time up between Seattle/Vancouver will be based on things suggested to us and how long they take. I really want to spend one if not two nights at that resort, so a 3-5 hr drive is worth it to me.

We will have a car, so more likely than not, driving, if it is do-able. We will be there in the beginning of September!

[travelingjen]

September is one of the best times to come to Seattle! :-)

Since he has already been to Seattle, I am assuming he will probably take you to Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, etc.

Some of my favorites in Seattle include:
-Going to the top of the Smith Tower for a great view over the city
-Kerry Park in Queen Anne (best view anywhere of Seattle, IMO)
-Gas Works Park (another great park overlooking Seattle and Lake Union)
-Seattle Public Library
-Museum of Flight (located just south of Seattle)
-Woodland Park Zoo (this is truly one of the best zoos in the country)

Outside of the city, I often take visitors to Snoqualmie Falls, Woodinville Wine Country, and up to Boeing in Everett for a tour of the massive factory.

I normally recommend taking at least one ferry ride but since you'll be doing that from Vancouver to Vancouver Island I wouldn't duplicate your efforts in Seattle.

With seven nights (assuming two will be spent in Tofino), I would spend three nights in Seattle and two in Vancouver.

[Deleted]

Blog posts for Seattle here:
www.weezermonkey.com/p/usa.html

Blog posts for Vancouver here:
www.weezermonkey.com/p/international.html

[Deleted]

The Underground Seattle tour was really cool.

[incognitotoday]

Love these suggestions, thank you!!!

[baconista]

I posted below in a thread about Vancouver. Lots of good suggestions in that thread.

As for Tofino, it is beautiful, but it will take an entire day to get there from Vancouver: drive to ferry terminal, wait for ferry (get a reservation if it's the summer), take 1.5 hr ferry ride,and then drive for 4 hours to Tofino, the latter of which is along a narrow, windy road. It is not really worthwhile for 1 night...if you are going to go, stay at least 2 nights so that you actually have a day in Tofino.