OT- Vancouver/Seattle

[DearDaisyinDurham]

I've only had one trip to Vancouver but was so hooked. The ocean was awesome and I stayed right at the edge of Stanley Park.

One thing I didn't get to do was go to Seattle, so does anyone have tips for that, for my next Vancouver trip? TIA!

 

[dsneygirl]

We were in Seattle in the fall of 06 and loved it. Unfortunately it rained the entire week but what can you do. DH was at a conference and I was able to take DS (then only 4 months old) by myself downtown to explore/shopping etc. Everything was easy to navigate and everyone was very friendly. The market is amazing. Had the best clam chowder of my life. We did not do the Space Needle as the weather was so crappy we figured we wouldn't see anything.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

We were in Seattle in the fall of 06 and loved it. Unfortunately it rained the entire week but what can you do. DH was at a conference and I was able to take DS (then only 4 months old) by myself downtown to explore/shopping etc. Everything was easy to navigate and everyone was very friendly. The market is amazing. Had the best clam chowder of my life. We did not do the Space Needle as the weather was so crappy we figured we wouldn't see anything.

Thanks dsnygirl,
It rained a lot when I was in Vancouver but I had a couple of sunny days so spent those at the beach. I would rather have rain than snow, especially now! All this snow is EEK!

Love your picture btw, so adorable.

xoxoxoxo

 

[dsneygirl]

Thanks
After Seattle we spent 4 days in Vancouver which is rained (near torrential) the entire time. Kind of soured us on Vancouver.

 

[BC Disney Lover]

We live an hour away from Vancouver and have done Seattle a few times. The last time we went we used Citypass and loved it. Everything included was great but we were especially surprised at how much we enjoyed the Museum of Flight.
http://www.citypass.com/city/seattle.html

 

[endy]

We've been to Seattle twice. Last July we went for a week and it only rained 1 day. We used that day to go to a mall & movie. We love the aquarium & zoo. Also really like the zoo in Tacoma. My favorite is Northwest Trek, it's a wildlife park an hour or less south. Ride the Duck tour is amazing too. We've done the Harbour Hopper tour in Halifax and loved it too. It's a vehicle that drives on land and water and tours are 1 hour, narrated with history & trivia facts.
Traffic in Seattle is horrible.
Take in a baseball game, lots of fun too.
I didn't overly like the market. It's jammed packed with people and hard to keep an eye on my kid. Tho he liked the street performers.

 

[drag n' fly]

The market is cool. My fav pacific northwest city is Portland!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

We live an hour away from Vancouver and have done Seattle a few times. The last time we went we used Citypass and loved it. Everything included was great but we were especially surprised at how much we enjoyed the Museum of Flight.
http://www.citypass.com/city/seattle.html

That's good to know. I did the City Pass for Vancouver and loved it, great way to see so much.

 

[BC Disney Lover]

There`s also a ferry that goes from Victoria to Seattle if you`re planning to see Vancouver Island. I don`t know the cost because we haven`t done that route yet.

 

[c&m]

We go to Seattle every couple of months. It makes for a great weekend getaway. Some of our fave things to do are:

- the Science museum in downtown Seattle (free if you hold a Science museum annual pass from a participating science museum)

- Pike Place Market. Great for lunch. Love watching the fish throwers and I always buy a bunch of dried flowers (they have really nice dried flower arrangements).

- Woodland Park Zoo. Really nice zoo. Our kids love it!

- Paul Allen's music museum.

- Shopping at Bellevue Square. We usually stay in Bellevue at the Hyatt as the place is safe and hopping in the evenings. Try having dinner at Manzana's or the Cheesecake Factory.

If you do go, avoid staying in downtown Seattle. The downtown core usually is very quiet after 7pm once all the office workers leave to go back to the suburbs. There are lots of transients and homeless who do roam the downtown area. When I used to stay downtown Seattle, I had the hotel front desk warn me not to wander around downtown after 7pm because it was a bit rough out there. We always choose Bellevue (about 25 minutes away from downtown) as it is perfectly safe and you'd see people and families walking around late at night.

Have fun!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Thank you everyone, awesome ideas!

 

[BELLEDOZER]

It depends on wether you are driving or flying to Vancouver. If you are driving, it's about a 2 to 2 1/2 hr drive, and may be more due to the lineups at the border. It's a long drive, but if you leave around 6 or 7am the lineups at the border are not that bad. It's a nice drive, and very scenic. Have been as far as Bothell, WA, and Monroe WA driving, and both are on the outskirts of Seattle. If you are flying to Vancouver, I would suggest to talk to your travel agent to see if you can book a side trip to Seattle for the day, or can arrange for a couple of days as part of a package. Good luck in planning your trip!!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

thanks Belledozer!! xoxoxo