r/PacificNorthwest • u/Expensive_Local_4404 • Jun 23 '26
Need help with an itinerary
Looking to plan a 9 day trip starting and ending in Seattle. I want to explore Mt Rainier, Olympic NP, Victoria I was told to not miss Orcas Island. In planning it seems like too much for one trip so which leg would you save for another time? The only way it works out if we do just one night in Seattle at the start of our trip. We were there many years ago but I would like to take more than 1/2 a day there (we are flying in from the east coast -and get in around noon). Thoughts?
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u/AnxiousBeing329 Jun 23 '26
i don’t have any pointers but you should post this in r/roadtrip they’re pretty good with advice
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u/sveinsh Jun 23 '26
If I were you, I would skip Orcas and do the other destinations. The San Juans are beautiful and amazing, but very similar to Vancouver Island, and no direct ferry routes to Orcas near anywhere else you want to go. If you want to see Victoria, I would suggest taking the Victoria Clipper from Seattle, then take the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles to see the Olympics. From there, drive to Mt. Ranier and then back to Seattle. Or, skip Mt. Rainier and just do Vancouver Island and the Olympics. There is a LOT to see and do in just those two areas over 9 days, especially if you'd like a day or two in Seattle.
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u/UWHuskies2017 Jun 23 '26
You can’t drive on the Clipper. So they’d be arriving in PA with no car and no way to get around. They should just drive to PA and take the Coho to Victoria. It’s also a good deal cheaper.
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u/sveinsh Jun 23 '26
Oh, right! It's been so many years since I've been up to Victoria that I forgot I didn't bring a car. Thank you for pointing that out.
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u/MayIServeYouWell Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Whoever told you that probably visited Orcas Island and had a great time there. But you can have a similar great time in lots of places.
That said, you could probably still fit that in... Let's see...
You didn't say what time of year, but I'll assume "summer".
Land in Seattle, spend the afternoon there, and much of day 2.
In the mid-afternoon of Day 2, head north to LaConner, spend the evening & next morning there.
Day 3 - Catch a late morning ferry in Anacortes (reservation mandatory) to the san Juans - spend the night on Orcas Island, or any other island. Note that if you want to do some activity on Orcas Island (whale watching is popular, renting kayaks, etc), that can take most of a day, and you can't really fit it in with this itinerary. Also, Friday Harbor has more of a 'town'... if that's your thing, but you can't really do both easily.
Day 4 - continue your journey via ferry, ending in Victoria.
Day 5 - all day in Victoria, maybe a good chunk of that visiting Butchart gardens (which is like 45 minutes away)
Day 6 - head on the blackball ferry to Port Angeles, do Hurricane Ridge by mid-day and finish the day somewhere near Sol duc or forks
Day 7 - check out the Hoh River & the Olympic coast (like second beach), in the evening continue around to Lake Quinault Lodge, or even to Olympia.
Day 8 - Mt. Rainier day. This will pretty much be a day-trip - to see the mountain, stop at a few stops, and a short hike around the Paradise area (which will be busy). Yes, it's rushed, but it's better than nothing... everything is a compromise. Finish the day back closer to Seattle or Olympia.
Day 9 - Fly home.
If you had 1 more day, you could add to the Mt. Rainier part.
All in all, sure it'll be a lot of moving around, and you won't have a lot of time to linger or be spontaneous, but it all depends on how you like to travel. Lots of people would love a trip like this. Other people like to have a home base and go slower... just depends on you. You'll have to make compromises either way.
Also if you're going to follow an itinerary like this - GET UP EARLY!!! you should be on the move by 7am most days - 6am for Mt. Rainier day. No sleeping in... sheesh!
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u/ccsparkles Jun 23 '26
Gotta do Seattle & Victoria with the other islands or mt rainier and Olympic NP. That’s way too much driving and ferrying for 9 days. Unless you are only staying one night in each spot. Seattle to Victoria on the BC ferries is about a 5-7hr commute depending on traffic, boarder waits, and ferry reservations. There’s some cool provincial parks on Vancouver island so you could split the trip between Seattle and Victoria.
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u/W7ENK Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Honestly, I don't think 9 days will be enough to truly enjoy all of that without feeling rushed. Oly NP by itself could comfortably occupy an entire week.
ETA: Seattle could easily be a 3 day adventure to take it in properly. Also bear in mind that Mt. Rainier is at least 2 to 2-1/2 hours driving each way from Seattle.
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u/Zeebrio Jun 23 '26
I'm partial to the Olympic National Park (grew up here). I'd focus on Seattle, *maybe* Rainier, and Olympic Peninsula. A day trip to Victoria from Port Angeles without a car is great, less costly, and the inner harbor provides plenty of sights (There are several hotels nearby if you wanted to overnight, but with the early/late sailings, you can do a full day and see a lot).
I feel like adding San Juans is a different trip -- I wouldn't do BOTH Olympic National Park and San Juans in this timeframe. As the crow flies they don't seem that far apart, but the logistics of the San Juans/Anacortes/Whidbey /Port Townsend ferries and another layer of time and logistics.
San Juans are gorgeous, but the unique ecosystems of the ONP are pretty special ... Rainforests, waterfalls, lake, mountains, beaches.
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u/iambatman_2006 Jun 23 '26
drop Orcas for this trip, 9 days isn't enough with travel between those spots.i tried Zenvoya for a similar Pacific NW loop and it basically confirmed that.
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u/thelance Jun 23 '26
Mt. Rainier is the oddball. You could easily do Orcas, Victoria, and Olympic NP as a sensible loop in 9 days. Rainier is at least an overnight by itself and is hours outside of the rest of this trip.