<p>We might be traveling to Seattle/Vancouver over the school spring break (first week of April).</p>
<p>Couple of questions for those who either live there or know the area well.</p>
<p>We only have 4-5 days, don’t mind the touristy places, love sightseeing and also, my son is a big music fan.</p>
<p>With these parameters in mind, what would you recommend visiting? </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Emily.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1079443-need-pacific-nw-trip-advice.html?highlight=northwest[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1079443-need-pacific-nw-trip-advice.html?highlight=northwest</a></p>
<p>Don’t forget your passports!</p>
<p>I believe EMP in Seattle is enlarging their Jimi Hendrix exhibit.
Are you touring schools?</p>
<p>No, we just have the $99 companion ticket offer from the credit card and decided to go there. </p>
<p>I am wondering about the weather - would it be too cold and rainy there in April?</p>
<p>And thanks for the EMP suggestion - my son loves Hendrix :-)</p>
<p>Vancouver: Huns Wun-Tun House on Robson for yummy,inexpensive Hong Kong style food. [Looking</a> toward the busy kitchen | Yelp](<a href=“http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6orZf1tg8rY_znng-YKgDg?select=2Keg9vnF7BMObLJWwEvmbw]Looking”>http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6orZf1tg8rY_znng-YKgDg?select=2Keg9vnF7BMObLJWwEvmbw)</p>
<p>You never know about the weather. When we went there in April for a family gathering, it was warm and absolutely gorgeous! My sister had arrived a week before us and it was cold and rainy.</p>
<p>The weather will most likely be cool and rainy. It’s pretty much like that all year round except for August and September. However, that doesn’t detain the Pacific Northwest folks from getting out and about.</p>
<p>I would recommend taking a ferry from Seattle to Vancouver/Victoria. It is quite nice. In Vancouver, go to Stanley Park. Vancouver is a very cosmopolitan city, so you can find pretty much anything you want to do there. I like to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors there. </p>
<p>Seattle has the space needle if you want to be touristy. Do it at night when you can see the city from the top of the needle. The museum right nearby is very good.</p>
<p>Pike’s Place is a tourist trap, but the ambience is fun. One time I took a boat ride around the city, found that to be quite interesting. Nordstroms has their flagship store there if you want to shop. </p>
<p>If you can get to Victoria, it’s worth the visit.</p>
<p>Emily, love those companion fares! Will say that I love Chinatown in Vancouver when I went there years ago, very reminiscent of HK, with great food to match. </p>
<p>Not to hijack, but yet not deserving of a separate thread…I’ll be there in Feb. driving Bellingham/Seatac for a 7:30 AM flight. Will I face any traffic congestion driving through Seattle area on I5, 5:30 to 6 AM?</p>
<p>We did a Seattle/Washington State trip for son’s graduation. Absolutely loved it. Took a whale watching cruise out of Anacortes, Island Explorer. Saw tons of killer whales. During spring break is grey whale season. Trying to go back. On the way back from Anacortes to Seattle to fly home, we drove through Whidbey Island. So gorgeous. The mountains, the water, my absolute favorite place on earth. Snoqualmie Falls, of Twin Peaks fame, absolutely gorgeous. We also enjoyed the Boeing plant in Everett, as well as Microsoft’s campus and the Museum of Flight. We were there in June, and the days were so long, sun didn’t go down until nine o’clock. We often packed two days worth of sightseeing into one day. Can’t wait to go back.</p>
<p>The rooms are smallish, but within walking distance of Stanley Park & English Bay.
[Downtown</a> Vancouver Hotel - The Sylvia Hotel on English Bay - British Columbia, Canada](<a href=“http://www.sylviahotel.com/]Downtown”>http://www.sylviahotel.com/)</p>
<p>Great lakes mom, you will most likely see little to no traffic during those travel times. At 6 am today it took me under 15 min to get from the airport to the downtown Mercer St exit.
This DOT traffic map is a good tool - I have it bookmarked on my smartphone and always take a look at it prior to long drives:</p>
<p>[WSDOT</a> Seattle Area Traffic - Traffic Conditions and Travel Alerts](<a href=“http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/]WSDOT”>Travel Center Map | WSDOT)</p>
<p>Both I-5 and I- 405 will take you to the airport, so you can pick the less congested route. If you are traveling with a passenger, you can take advantage of the carpool lanes that usually move much faster.</p>
<p>Thanks, BB! Nice map to keep handy, as one D is N and one S of Seattle, so will pass through several times. No passengers, unfortunately on the trip to the airport.</p>
<p>If You are driving to Vancouver from Seattle or vice versa, stop by skagit valley area for the tulip festival. Check out this link for more info: [Skagit</a> Tulip Festival](<a href=“http://tulipfestival.org/]Skagit”>http://tulipfestival.org/)</p>
<p>Thanks very much everybody! Now trying to see if we can squeeze both destinations into a 5-day trip.</p>
<p>You are welcome, great lakes mom!</p>
<p>Emily, if you are going to drive from Seattle to Vancouver, you might want to add some extra time to explore the tulip and daffodil fields of the Skagit Valley. The first week of April is when the Tulip Festival officially starts. I guarantee that there will be daffodils in bloom, but tulips are a bit more dependent on the warm weather, so if March turns out to be very cold, blooming will be delayed. As you drive down the interstate, you might want to check out Bellingham, a small college town with a neat waterfront (I’m sure EK4 will be able to offer some tips about visiting). </p>
<p>If your budget allows it, the newish Fairmont hotel in Vancouver is amazing. The waterfront park housing the Olympic Cauldron is just across a street from it.</p>
<p>GreatLakesMom - you might see congestion between Marysville and Everett due to Boeing commuter traffic. The rest of the way South is ok at that time of the morning. </p>
<p>April is one of those months when it can be pouring rain and 50 or sunny and 68. Plan for rain & you might be pleasantly surprised. </p>
<p>Go up in the Space Needle on a sunny day. Don’t eat there, just go for the view</p>
<p>Pike Place Market is a combo of touristy and local shopping. You can pick up provisions for a picnic lunch at DeLaurenti or some of the shops on the east side of Pike Place.</p>
<p>The Seattle Art Museum (downtown) will have an exhibit of Gauguin’s Polynesia through April. The sculpture park north of the Market is a good place to have a picnic lunch in nice weather.</p>
<p>Is this a sightseeing ?
College visitation?
Where are you from?
What do you like?</p>
<p>Western PNW has a tremendous climate and scenic diversity within 3-4 hour drive.</p>
<p>I’m a broken record – I always say the same thing when these threads come up! Which is…
I highly recommend taking Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. Leave Seattle in early morning, arrive Vancouver mid-day. Spend one night and return on the evening train the following day. Vancouver is a beautiful city with lots of young people. Fabulous walking/biking paths surrounding the city along the waterfront. A lot going on. The Amtrak route goes right along the beach for portions of the trip, offering gorgeous views. If you go, sit on the west side of the train for the best views.</p>
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<p>There is no ferry from Seattle to Vancouver, but you could take the walk on Clipper from Seattle to Victoria (on Vancouver Island), walking around Victoria is doable and there are buses to catch to & on the BC ferries which are much cheaper and go every hour or two from the island to the mainland.</p>
<p>You can also take the quickcoach from Vancouver to the Seattle airport. So, if you wanted to do the full circuit with no car, that would work.</p>
<p>If you are renting a car, drive to Van and you can take the ferry to Vancouver island if you want to see that, too. I am not sure if you have enough time for all that, though, as the ferry ride is 90 minutes from Vancouver to the island, but then prep time and loading etc mean it takes 2+ hours out of your day, though on a sunny day it is a gorgeous ride, especially through the smaller islands.</p>
<p>Granville Island in downtown Vancouver is a great place to walk around, but fresh farmer’s market products, eat & watch boats go by.</p>