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Vancouver/Seattle trip
Septus
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My fiancée and I are trying to do an outdoorsy trip in late August. We're kind of clueless on what our other good options are, but going to Vancouver seems like at least one good option. I'd like to take advantage of the proximity of Seattle and visit that city as well, but I'm not at all clear as to how I should travel between both. It makes sense to fly to Seattle and rent a car, but that'll be more expensive than adding a third leg to the flight and/or Amtrak maybe, but also a speedy option and gives us the flexibility of having a car. Any thoughts on what works well? Will I need a car if I want to do much hiking in Vancouver? The big national forests seem like they'd need it.
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For outdoors trips in late august, I'd actually recommend swinging through Northern California, as it will be prime-time weather wise, and you can incorporate a quick wine country jaunt if you're into it, as it will be right near harvest time. Zion and Arches are also amazing places, albeit very hiking-centric.
It seems like there might be some great parks in the city, particularly Stanley Park, but not for hiking, and for that I'd need a car to get to the mountainous terrain. I just don't know if that's a key part of a Vancouver trip or if there's plenty else to do.
I'm also assuming that renting a car in Canada, as an American citizen doesn't work.
If you do make it to Seattle, and the weather is a little worse than anticipated, do check out the Experience Music Project. And if the weather gets better, there's a little amusement park there during the summer, and the science center! And you can wrap up the evening with dinner at the Space Needle.
As far as car rentals and international borders, I'd just call various rental agencies and ask them what their deal(s) are for that sort of thing. I'd wager, especially in Vancouver/Bellingham being as close together as they are and the sheer volume of travel between those cities on a day-to-day basis.
Generally money and with a drivers license from almost any country in the world you can rent a car in almost any country in the world. It's the hospitality business, just like flying and hotels.
I mean.. Canada IS backwards igloo country so things could be different...
There are lots of busses that go to some of the mountains for hiking. I know there's one that goes to Grouse, which is pretty nice, and I'm fairly certain that there is one that goes to Cypress too, which is a nice mountain.
Obviously with a car you're even better, since if you don't mind the long trip you can head up to Whistler. Also if you want some wine tasting you could take a long trip over to Okanagen. And a shorter trip there's Harrison hot springs, which is pretty nice.
For just lounging around in cool places Stanley Park is definitely pretty nice, and walking around Downtown Vancouver in certain spots is pretty nice(Granville street's always nice to just walk along, lots of shops and bars, etc.)
There's also the cool touristy stuff that everyone should do, like Capilano Suspended Bridge(Free busses from Waterfront), the Vancouver Aquarium is pretty nice, Science World is always pretty fun, and there's the Harbour Centre elevator(Think space needle).
Also, it seems like the Amtrak between the cities is quite nice? I'm thinking that's the best option, and we just consider whether to get a car for just one day in either/both Seattle and Vancouver.
If it were me looking for an outdoorsy vacation in Washington, launching from Vancouver, this would be my itinerary:
I would take the ferry from Vancouver to Anacortes, WA. I would rent a car at the ferry terminal in Anacortes, then visit Deception Pass (home of the state's busiest campsite, with exceptionally beautiful scenery you may recognize from The Ring [though significantly less creepy in real life]). Anacortes is pretty easy to spend a couple hours in (Anacortes even has a nationally-known independent music scene and a Cool Record Store owned by a guy I kind of know, and neighboring Edison has great farm-fresh food, as well as an amazing junk shop in neighboring Edison that I guarantee will have the perfect souvenir). I might budget a night here to relax and rest, but far more likely, I'd head straight down to Seattle for a day or two after wandering around Deception Pass.
For bonus scenery points, you can drive half of the way to Seattle via taking Deception Pass and driving through Whidbey Island, and take another ferry back onto the mainland to continue the rest of the way to Seattle.
In Seattle, do Seattle stuff. When you're done, go back to Anacortes and get on the ferry to Orcas Island.
On Orcas Island, go to Moran State Park. You can hike or drive to the top of Mount Constitution (the view is worth your entire trip), and there are hikes to be had in the surrounding forest, and lakes which are great to swim or paddle a boat around in in the summer. They have vacation houses can rent at the park, or you can just stay in town. The town of Eastsound is full of shops and EXTREMELY friendly people, and you will get major bonus point for going to Hogstone's Wood Oven, an amazing farm-to-table pizza place co-owned by a friend of mine. They run both the farm and the pizza place, so the guy cooking your extremely-delicious pizza will have raised and harvested both the pig and the basil he's putting on there himself.
After Orcas Island, I'd pop back on the ferry (it's free to travel inter-island) and go to Friday Harbor on San Juan island. There's a whole downtown waterfront that is fairly touristy, but is still pretty cute and plenty of good seafood (and at least one antique shop that is verified worth popping into). The countryside of the island has a lavender farm, a really good gin distillery in the woods, a picturesque bayside resort with restaurant, and lots of beautiful beaches to walk on. And, like all of the other islands in the chain, there will be places to rent bikes or kayaks, or go on whale watching tours (which is honestly a pretty good bet–my family used to timeshare a yacht and take it through these islands a couple times each summer, and every trip would generally include at least one orca encounter).
I've also heard good things about Lopez island (same ferry system), but I haven't spent any time there so I don't know much about it. I DO know that bicyclists tend to love it there, for whatever that's worth. This is the point where I generally return to Anacortes, though, so then you'd just return the rental at the dock and ferry right back to Vancouver.
So... that's my pitch. I swear the San Juan Island tourism council isn't paying me, I just goddammed love those little islands.
Yes, yes you will.