Visiting Seattle, is a day trip to Vancouver doable? (Bellingham: cost, shop)

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

What time of year are you coming? It’s hard to beat the drive up to Paradise on the south side of Mt. Rainier.

We'll be coming June 6th-11th.

And btw, I relayed everything to my Family and they were completely against the idea of traveling to Canada for a day. If I was just me, my Wife and 2 kids (6 and 1) I would definitely do it and just spend a night there but with a variety of different ages and personalities they would prefer to just stick to one place and a day trip under 2 hours.

They are considering maybe looking into Vancouver though and seeing which one interest them the most out the 2.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

We'll be coming June 6th-11th.

And btw, I relayed everything to my Family and they were completely against the idea of traveling to Canada for a day. If I was just me, my Wife and 2 kids (6 and 1) I would definitely do it and just spend a night there but with a variety of different ages and personalities they would prefer to just stick to one place and a day trip under 2 hours.

They are considering maybe looking into Vancouver though and seeing which one interest them the most out the 2.

Hmmm. 2 hour day trip. Maybe drive east out Hwy 2 to Index. It’s only about 45 drive, mountains are gorgeous around there and there is a river for everyone to play in. Alternatively, you could hop a ferry with your car to a place like Vashon Island, explore the island, then come home whenever you want.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

We'll be coming June 6th-11th.

...they would prefer to just stick to one place and a day trip under 2 hours.

Early June can be iffy weatherwise (but has been trending "hotter").

Argosy Cruises: Harbor Tour (1 hour/$39-adult) and Locks Tour (2 hours/$54-adult).

King County West Seattle Water Taxi ($5.75-adult/free-18&under - each-way) + free shuttle from Seacrest Park to Admiral District, Schmitz Park, and Alki Beach: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro.../775#route-map

They are considering maybe looking into Vancouver though and seeing which one interest them the most out the 2.

Vancouver:

This is a winner! Skyride (Gondola) at Grouse Mountain (1-3 hours, $89-family/2 adults + 2 children, $75-adult, $65-Sr, $55-youth, free - 4&under) - "The public transit system offers regular service to and from the base of Grouse Mountain every half hour. Catch Bus 232 - Phibbs Exchange or Bus 236 - Lonsdale Quay to arrive at the base of Grouse Mountain."

[04kL4nD]

I think the PNW "secret" of being an amazing place to vacation in the summer has been out for a while, given how bad traffic is and how miserable it is getting in and out of SeaTac, which unfortunately means you either have to take a good 2-3 weeks to cover a lot of ground, or you'll need to come back multiple times to get a fuller experience. I think the odds are pretty good they will enjoy Seattle and the PNW and want to come back and explore more, and if that's the case, they can dedicate a trip to just Vancouver and beyond.

In reality, Vancouver functions much of the same way that Seattle does for Western WA; once you get out of the city limits and into the mountains, it's a completely different world of beauty. The Sea to Sky scenic highway from Vancouver past Squamish is pretty mind blowing, and that's not even factoring in what Whistler has to offer.

As another alternative, they could also do a day trip to Friday Harbor or Orcas Island (so long as they book all their tickets way in advance, get an early start, and luck out without any delays/cancellations).

Sadly, I constantly see potential visitors asking for advice on these wild/unrealistic "day trip" itineraries from Seattle, such as to Olympic National Park. People, it's literally 8+ hours of merely driving around the OP nonstop if you even wanted to try and "see it in a day"... Another I see a lot is whether they can cover all 3 NPs in a long weekend. I am used to getting up at 4am and beating the crowds from all my years of living in California, but I figured out very quickly that getting around WA isn't the same.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

I wouldn't do it, personally.

It's a great 2 night/3 day destination, so unless you're on a cruise ship or would fly back, you'll spend most of the day getting to/from Vancouver and that's a whole day you could be doing something less stressful and more relaxing.

This would be my answer, unless OP is insistent on the one-day thing. You can only jam in so much in one trip.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Hmmm. 2 hour day trip. Maybe drive east out Hwy 2 to Index. It’s only about 45 drive, mountains are gorgeous around there and there is a river for everyone to play in. Alternatively, you could hop a ferry with your car to a place like Vashon Island, explore the island, then come home whenever you want.

I sadly can no longer widely recommend all folks go to places like Gold Bar or Index. If you're white, yes, no problems. If you're not white, you will need to seriously understand the kinds of folks who live out there.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/gol...I3CNSS6GDLKXE/

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

I sadly can no longer widely recommend all folks go to places like Gold Bar or Index. If you're white, yes, no problems. If you're not white, you will need to seriously understand the kinds of folks who live out there.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/gol...I3CNSS6GDLKXE/

Yeah, I saw that. What a nut job, I’ve never really cared for Gold Bar, where he is. Index has a pretty different vibe than Gold Bar. Lots of Seattle people have weekend cabins there, great climbing/hiking and skiing nearby, cute little downtown core, interesting history museum and great swimming on the river.

[ndcairngorm]

All good advice above. I'd add that besides weekends, do avoid anything around major holidays. The Peace Arch traffic (and some nearby ones too) can be an hours-wait situation at those times.

Twelve people is a lot to corral but I'd actually consider the train as one poster suggested, because of the automobile traffic at the border. You do still have the border/immigration to get through with the train, but the possibility of long waits is not as bad. The train dumps you out right in the middle of Vancouver, and right next to the subway lines to your major attractions.

[ndcairngorm]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

We'll be coming June 6th-11th.

And btw, I relayed everything to my Family and they were completely against the idea of traveling to Canada for a day. If I was just me, my Wife and 2 kids (6 and 1) I would definitely do it and just spend a night there but with a variety of different ages and personalities they would prefer to just stick to one place and a day trip under 2 hours.

They are considering maybe looking into Vancouver though and seeing which one interest them the most out the 2.

Wrote my above note before I saw this. I tend to agree with you generally that a huge family trip to a pretty far destination in just one day is asking a lot of everyone's tempers, haha.

There are closer interesting places near Seattle - Anacortes, the drive out to the mountains east of Seattle, the Chuckanut Drive through Skagit Valley and tulip country (too bad the tulips will have already have gone by). An easy big family trip is just a ferry to one of the islands. You will get the "sea" holiday without having to go to sea. If you want to have fun in the snow, you can still do it by heading up to Bellingham and east to Mt. Baker, where the kids (and adults) can slide in the snow on their saucers (or pieces of cardboard) and have great fun and stay relatively frost-free. I think you can also do this at Snoqualmie east of Seattle but since I'm from further north have never actually done that there.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Sadly, I constantly see potential visitors asking for advice on these wild/unrealistic "day trip" itineraries from Seattle, such as to Olympic National Park. People, it's literally 8+ hours of merely driving around the OP nonstop if you even wanted to try and "see it in a day"... Another I see a lot is whether they can cover all 3 NPs in a long weekend. I am used to getting up at 4am and beating the crowds from all my years of living in California, but I figured out very quickly that getting around WA isn't the same.

This is the truth. The geography (rivers, roads, mountains) and distances (and now the crowded/sometimes blocked roads) make day trips quite the ordeal. Preparing a realistic plan is the key to enjoying the trip.