Suggestions for holiday in Seattle

[manishraichur]

<p>Hi<br>

i have about 5 days vacation and i am palnning to visit seattle.<br>

There r lots of options for me and i am confused.<br>

the places i want to visit are<br>

Mt Rainier<br>

Olympic national park<br>

Vancouver city<br>

Seattle city</p>

<p>Any suggestions on how should i plan my trip or should i skip something from here.<br>

Would be traveling with a 2 yr old<br>

Thanks<br>

Manish</p>

 

[al_derickson]

<p>What time of year? The high country of Mt Rainier will be under snow until July. The rainforests of Olympic NP are accessible now. Vancouver is a bit far and the border crossing can have a wait so you'd burn up a lot of time traveling. Be sure to take a ferry ride on Puget Sound. Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Museum of Flight in Seattle are all interesting.</p>

[manishraichur]

<p>I was planning on the 4th of july weekend.</p>

[charles_stobbs3]

The round trip ferry ride to Victoria, BC and back is very nice and scenic. But I think you need a passport nowadays every time you cross the border. If you rent a car, a trip up Whidbey Island and over the bridge to Anacortes is also very nice. A ferry to Bainbridge Island with enough time to walk around before your return trip is worthwhile.

[Jerry_]

<p>Be prepared for rain. It may be nice and/or it may rain. Lots of rain forest areas due to the rain that (at times) dumps on the western side of the Olympics and the Sunrise area of Mt. Rainier.</p>

<p>There is a valley with a lot of flowers, starts with a P but I can't spell it, that runs from Tacoma to Mt. Rainier on a winding road through the valley.</p>

<p> </p>

[sknowles]

<p>If you decide to visit Mt. Rainier NP, you can get information from my Mt. Rainier NP <a href="http://www.wsrphoto.com/mtstart.html">photo guide</a>. The road to the Sunrise area opens around July 2nd, and with the Paradise area on one of the busiest periods for visitors to the NP, expect to go early (before late morning) to get parking or face a drive back (no just park anywhere) to Sunries or use the Shuttle (parking in Ashford) to Paradise (starts June 18th). There should still be snow in some areas and on some trails below 6,000 ft and more above (Sunrise at 7,000 ft). Otherwise there's lots for a 2-year old, and adults too, to wander and see.</p>

[dlw]

<p>The "P" valley Jerry aludes to is the Puyallup valley. It's pronounced like Pew-al-up. It's in a very pretty area of western Washington. It's worth the visit. </p>

[gungajim]

<p>Don't stretch yourself too thin. Even this suggestion will keep you moving pretty fast: 2 days - Seattle metro area, 1day - ferry to Vancouver Island, 2 days - rental car drive thru Olympic National Park. Probably should book ONP lodging in advance for travel over the 4th. Get a good guidebook and good maps. Study them before you go and develop a tenative daily plan based on your interests. As always, be prepared to discard the plan if something better comes up!</p>

[tpurvis]

<p>Manish - Think about the trip to Victoria. It is a three hour ride on the <a href="http://www.clippervacations.com/">fast ferry</a>, most of it within view of the coast. You arrive in the inner harbor, with restaurants and shopping. You will want to visit <a href="http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1">Butchart Gardens</a>. The view of the Sunken Garden is still my go to happy place when in the dentist chair. <br>

Seattle is such a unique place, Pikes Market, the water front, Underground Tour, Top Pot Donuts, Ivers. You need allow plenty of time to explore the city. </p>

[m_h20]

<p>First of all, if you're goign in July, the weather is gorgeous...I was there last summer, and it didn't rain for an entire month, 75 deg everyday. I'm definitely an outdoors person...there are hundreds of hiking opportunities within 2-3 hours...olympic is really cool, if you catch a ferry over to teh peninsula and go to the Hoh rainforest and camp there...you can also go to the olympic coast and see the seastacks (like Ruby beach and second beach)...<br>

Rainier is also great, there are lots of cool alpine meadows. Cascades and Mt Baker also have lots of hiking<br>

In the city itself, you can always go to lake union or washington and rent a boat...there's also West Seattle.</p>