help! family-kids Itinerary for 2 weeks - Seattle, Vancouver areas
 

looking for itinerary advice for an very-relaxing 2 week vacation with family & 6,7 year old kids, visiting July/Aug 2011.

initially destination was Toronto , changed my mind to Vancouver & neighboring areas , after glancing over few threads, as they have much more to offer (nature,scenic).

1) should we fly to Seattle or Vancouver(canada), from Dallas.
2) wish to spend, 1 week in Seattle & 1 week in Vancouver, but flexible
3) suggest day-trips only , anything that is kids-friendly, beaches, cablecars, treehouse etc
4) like to be very RELAXED tour.
5) kindly recommend family/kids friendly hotels for stay
6) we are vegetarians, don't want venture miles away from city, where vegetarian food becomes a challenge.

thanks in advance.

Good Lord yes. Apologies to Torontonians but there really is no comparison for a vacation.

1. Fly to whichever is the cheapest, after making allowance for any difference in car rental rates at the two (assuming you are renting a car ?). Without sparking a heated debate, Canadian formalities (immigration, security etc.) tend to be less intimidating than US.

2. Add a diversion to Victoria BC (Vancouver Island) on the way up or down. It does overplay its British heritage to some degree, but worth a visit anyway.

3. You'll get lots of personal suggestions. For Vancouver the Grouse Mountain Skyride (cable car) and Capilano Suspension Bridge are easy half-day (at most) outings. There are beaches within the city limits - English Bay, 1st/2nd/3rd beach, but IMO Spanish Banks is the best.

5. Tough call. I'd stay away from the downtown core as most there are business-oriented, although the Westin Bayshore is worth looking at. Don't go too far out though (Burnaby, North Shore) as the traffic can be annoying. Somewhere in upper Granville or along Broadway perhaps.

thanks Wally Bird.

quick price scan shows, flying to Seattle is cheaper than Vancouver BC.

suggest some ideas, please
- book a multi-city trip, landing @ seattle & returning from Vancouver BC
- fly from/to Seattle
- multi-city trip, land @ vancouver & fly out from Seattle

will be renting a car(cross-border trip) , do i need SUV to drive in these terrain?

is there a less known Seattle airport CLOSER to Vancouver , to reduce the drive-time to the border.

kindly let me know if this thread belongs to "Canada" forum or "West" ?

You won't be going anywhere that needs an SUV or 4WD. Bellingham (KBLI) is roughly halfway between Seattle and Vancouver. If you do a multi-city you'll incur a one-way fee on the car rental; and other than maybe a delay at the land border it's an easy drive between the two (outside of rush-hour 7-9am, 4-6pm).

Whistler is a nice, albeit longish day trip from Vancouver, and the drive between the two is gorgeous. Lots of fun kid activities up at Whistler. Minigolf, renting bikes to ride around the lake, peak-to-peak gondolas, etc.

You might even consider cutting a day off of Seattle and Vancouver and spending a a night or two up there.

Shannon Falls makes a nice stop along the way.


As for Seattle, lots of fun things to do. Depending on how many activities you want, you might consider picking up some of these ... http://www.citypass.com/seattle

When my kids were that age, we spent a lot of time at Pacific Science Center, and the area surrounding Seattle center. Kids love the big fountain on a hot day! The childrens museum is also right there. Woodland Park Zoo and the attached rose garden is also a big hit. Wandering around Pike Place market or the waterfront is always fun. Watching the boats go up and down through the Ballard Locks, and playing on the beach at Golden Gardens are options as well.

If you have little girls, there is a The Doll Museum in Bellevue.


Also consider:
Seattle Underground Tour
Theo Chocolate Factory TourWild Waves
Remlinger Farms

I'd probably fly into Seattle and get a car for the whole trip, returning it to Seattle. But collect it at one of the downtown car agency stations rather than the airport, in order to save $$$ on airport taxes and fees. You can use the light rail to get from the airport to downtown, or just pop for a one-time only cab or limo. You can return most downtown cars to the airport when you're done - that will save both time and money.

With a car you have more flexibility on where to stay. Downtown hotels in both Seattle and Vancouver tend to be quite pricey during cruise season, and parking charges for downtown places are very high.

For Seattle, have a look at a local hotel chain for family-friendly places, typically with free parking - http://www.silvercloud.com/ . I'd especially recommend the Lake Union and Mukilteo properties.

As for activities, where to start? Head over to the Olympic Peninsula for a day or two - mountains, rain forests, vampires... Or to the San Juan Islands - whales, bike rides... or to Mount Rainier or to Whidbey Island or head to Vancouver via Victoria...

In the cities, Seattle's zoo is one of the best in the country; Vancouver's aquarium one of the best in North America. Stanley Park in Vancouver has it all - trails, wildlife, kids' entertainment, fountains to run through, tidepools to explore; Seattle has a fish ladder at the Ballard Locks where kids can see salmon from inches away. Visit the Pike market in the morning then head to Bainbridge Island on the ferry from Seattle, right below the market. Get some Shakespeare in a tent on the beach at Vancouver - http://www.bardonthebeach.org/ - pick up snacks at the Granville Island market and just walk along the seawall to the performance. Many, many other options...

I'd also agree on the Whistler idea - lovely drive, plenty of family-friendly accommodations, lots of activities, plenty of meal choices given your preferences.

(One note - forget the Capilano bridge - $$$ - and head to the Lynn Canyon bridge instead - http://www.findfamilyfun.com/lynncanyon.htm - and use that website for lots of other ideas for your family.)

For aviation buffs (well, this is Flyertalk) two things - the Blue Angels will be in Seattle for Seafair weekend (Aug. 5-7) and the next weekend will be the Abbotsford Air Show - one of the biggest - at Abbotsford BC, not too far from Vancouver. http://www.seafair.com/ http://www.abbotsfordairshow.com/

Edited to add: Remember, passports...

sincere thanks for excellent suggestions.

my 2 week plan is shrunk to 1 week, personal unavoidable situation.

truly, to see beautiful Vancouver, i need 2+ weeks.

back to whiteboard.

debating Colorado...

any recommendation to cold/nature/scenic place, to escape Dallas 100' weather would be greatly appreciated. (for a week)

thanks for your kindness.

Yellowstone or Grand Teton national park might suit you, if wanting pristine nature. You can fly into Jackson, WY.

As for your original decision to switch from Toronto to Vancouver, while both are great tourist destinations, Toronto is actually better for most tourists and has a lot of "best in the world" attractions for kids (such as the Ontario Science Center, the ROM, etc.) as well as being one of the 5 best theatre towns in the world (on par with NYC and London). Vancouver and Seattle are great cities, but can't hold a candle to Toronto when it comes to cultural attractions, and the surrounding 200km area has lots of scenic touches (everything from Niagara Falls to thousands of lakes). I think you sold Toronto short, it really is better for most vacations than the west coast would be.

The mountains are rarely visible though.

Not sure why you think you can't do one week with Seattle and Vancouver. Vancouver is not that far of a drive from Seattle. Or just spend the one week in Seattle where there is much to do. I personally wouldn't start rethinking of somewhere to go especially since it's almost mid-July and airfares are so expensive for the rest of the summer. Realize that both Seattle and Vancouver are cruise ship ports so you could always plan on taking a cruise next year and see both cities along with Alaska.

I'd still pick Seattle.

Several years ago, my wife & I did a one-week trip:

We flew into SEA and drove immediately to Vancouver. We stayed 3 nights in West Vancouver in a residential area. (All of our stays were in b&bs.)

In Vancouver, we toured Stanley Park (biked and visited the Aquarium) and Granville Island. We took the tram up Grouse Mountain. There are kid-friendly lumberjack shows and animals there. Also great hiking. We also visited the free suspension bridge at Lynn Canyon Park.

We took the ferry from West Vancouver to Vancouver Island and drove to Victoria, stopping at a winery on the way.

We stayed in Victoria 2 nights, taking an orca watching tour and visiting the Royal British Columbia museum, which was kid-friendly and quite interesting. We also visited the Butchart Gardens.

We took the ferry to Port Angeles, Washington, where we stayed 2 nights. We hiked up Hurricane Ridge, walked through Hoh rainforest, and visited some beaches and a waterfall in the Olympic National Park.

Finally, we drove and took yet another ferry to Seattle, where we toured Pike Place Market and saw a Mariners game before catching our red-eye flight back home.


So there's plenty to do, especially since you have an extra week. I would have taken my kids on all of these activities, except for the winery tour.

Oooh, I'm sure you guys will regret staying only one week north of the border. You will love Vancouver and the surrounding areas. There are tons of things to do around here, especially for kids. I suggest you do your homework before arriving and decide which ones you want to see. As a place to start I suggest www.littletots.ca or www.findfamilyfun.ca. They have lots of kids attractions and activities for the Vancouver area.
Also try the vancouver parks board website: http://vancouver.ca/parks/

Have fun!!