Summer trip to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver- questions (Independence: car rental, rentals)

[Creo]

Greetings, forum readers.

While I have been doing my own research for a summer trip to the Pacific NW, I know that I only have one mind and no experience going there, so I am reaching out for some feedback for planning my trip.

I would like to hit Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland, though there may be a side trip that gets added.

1 The first issue is time: I can do this between June 21 and July 11 or else between July 24 and August 11. I reckon the weather will be hotter (which I prefer)/less likely to have lots of rain in late July and August, but I don't know if one time frame is better than the other.

2 The second issue is the order of cities. Currently, I am looking into flying into Vancouver June 25 and out of Portland July 6, but I don't know if it's advised to visit the three cities in one order or the other.

3 Another issue is timing: my current idea (Vancouver 25-29, Seattle 29-July 2, Portland July 2-6) would have me in Vancouver and Portland for two weekends and Seattle only during weekdays. What do you think about being in those cities for those days of the week?

Also: I would love to take advantage of festivals and cultural things things that I enjoy (ex. dance, music, film, BOOKS, food, experiences that are typical of the city/region and not found elsewhere). This concept dictated the idea of going to Vancouver first, as there is a jazz festival with acts the 26-28 I may pay to see. Would you alter my dates in order to be present for certain festivals/events? If so, why/which ones?

4 Finally, it seems that getting from one city to the next will be more or less painless (although the cheapest train tickets seem to be sold out)- there are rail and bus options. However, I have zero experience flying to and from the Pac NW. Does it make sense to go with whatever momondo.com or some other website dishes up, or should I be looking elsewhere? Which airlines should I try for/avoid, and which times of day would be ideal (many flights arrive in Vancouver at 11:28 PM, and I don't know if that's fine or if it would mean having to pay a lot for a cab versus finding an earlier flight and taking the train downtown).
*I had thought of taking Amtrak from Chicago to Portland and maybe returning via bus or train, too (I am not under really strict time restraints), but the buses are 2 days+ and the TRIPADVISOR reviews of the last year of that Amtrak route paint a bleak picture. I think flying is probably best.

For now, I think those are the most urgent things. Any other comments/feedback on this forum or via PM are also welcome.

Thanks so much in advance for any input.

[Leisesturm]

If you are going to fly, get those tickets booked yesterday. Do not consider the bus. Do not consider the bus. Repeated for emphasis. Vancouver, BC or Vancouver, WA? There are some really cool galleries in Seattle, but, in general, BOOKS, film, music acts, art... these have a national distribution. Chicago is not Peoria, you certainly have something in Chicago that gives one an experience similar to Powell's Books I should think. I cannot understand wanting to come to the PNW to sample the usual entertainments of home.

The allure of the PNW is the combination of natural beauty with some of the usual cosmopolitan offerings to help pass the downtime between hikes or day trips or whale sightings.

[bler144]

It's a long way from Chicago to the west coast by rail or bus. And rail in particular I'm not sure you'd save much if any money vs. just flying.

The catch being that you'd want to look at if you were flying in/out of one city, or doing a circular route. Which would probably cost a bit more but would be more time effective.

I also can only speculate what customs will think of such a route, and don't be surprised if you get some add'l scrutiny, although perhaps less so now that marijuana is legal in both WA/OR. lol

The Waterfront Blues Fest is in Pdx July 2-5 Home | Waterfront Blues Festival, though personally I don't know that you'd get the most bang out of your buck spending most of your trip at festivals which you can do in Chicago vs. actually checking out the cities themselves - Powell's, Stanley Park, etc.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Chicago is not Peoria, you certainly have something in Chicago that gives one an experience similar to Powell's Books I should think.

Chicago has a lot of great small to mid-size independent book stores, but having lived there I can't think of anything on the order of Powell's. And my Chicago friends who visit are book fiends and definitely make a Powell's stop when they come out.

There used to be a really nice Border's on Michigan Ave, which, in terms of stock was still just a Border's, but it was a beautiful space.

[Roz7]

You should have good weather both date options. You can easily fly Chicago to Northwest cities. American, Alaska or Southwest. I'd try to avoid United as they often have delays. Once out here, I totally get the jazz fest in Vancouver idea. Only might consider hitting Vancouver that July 4th wkend as needless to say it's not a holiday in Canada so might have less traffic there withe everyone else off work.

You can Amtrak between cities, or check into car rental. While you can do a lot in 4 nights in each city, I'd consider a car rental in Portland, to go the columbia river gorge and at least a quick visit to the Pacific coast (90 min from downtown portland). This is also a great bus option for NW cities: https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by Creo

Greetings, forum readers.

While I have been doing my own research for a summer trip to the Pacific NW, I know that I only have one mind and no experience going there, so I am reaching out for some feedback for planning my trip.

I would like to hit Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland, though there may be a side trip that gets added.

1 The first issue is time: I can do this between June 21 and July 11 or else between July 24 and August 11. I reckon the weather will be hotter (which I prefer)/less likely to have lots of rain in late July and August, but I don't know if one time frame is better than the other.

2 The second issue is the order of cities. Currently, I am looking into flying into Vancouver June 25 and out of Portland July 6, but I don't know if it's advised to visit the three cities in one order or the other.

3 Another issue is timing: my current idea (Vancouver 25-29, Seattle 29-July 2, Portland July 2-6) would have me in Vancouver and Portland for two weekends and Seattle only during weekdays. What do you think about being in those cities for those days of the week?

Also: I would love to take advantage of festivals and cultural things things that I enjoy (ex. dance, music, film, BOOKS, food, experiences that are typical of the city/region and not found elsewhere). This concept dictated the idea of going to Vancouver first, as there is a jazz festival with acts the 26-28 I may pay to see. Would you alter my dates in order to be present for certain festivals/events? If so, why/which ones?

4 Finally, it seems that getting from one city to the next will be more or less painless (although the cheapest train tickets seem to be sold out)- there are rail and bus options. However, I have zero experience flying to and from the Pac NW. Does it make sense to go with whatever momondo.com or some other website dishes up, or should I be looking elsewhere? Which airlines should I try for/avoid, and which times of day would be ideal (many flights arrive in Vancouver at 11:28 PM, and I don't know if that's fine or if it would mean having to pay a lot for a cab versus finding an earlier flight and taking the train downtown).
*I had thought of taking Amtrak from Chicago to Portland and maybe returning via bus or train, too (I am not under really strict time restraints), but the buses are 2 days+ and the TRIPADVISOR reviews of the last year of that Amtrak route paint a bleak picture. I think flying is probably best.

For now, I think those are the most urgent things. Any other comments/feedback on this forum or via PM are also welcome.

Thanks so much in advance for any input.

One note on the timing. Canada Day is July 1st and Independence Day is July 4. Expect higher crowds and perhaps costs during that time in those two cities. Because Canada Day falls in the middle of the week that week (you'll be in YVR the first weekend), the entire week - and both weekends - might be busy/costly.

By the time you hit late June, we've pretty much hit the dry season.

Skip the Amtrak. From Chicago to the Rockies is painfully boring. And even in the west, part of your time will be at night, so that'll be worthless. I believe there's really only one full daytime of travel actually in the west. And considering how expensive the sleeping areas are on Amtrak, use the airplanes.

For Books: Powell's Books in downtown PDX is very tough to beat for a bookstore.

PS: If you entertain the idea of renting a car, keep in mind that one-way rentals (e.g. pickup in PDX & drop in Vancouver or vice-versa) in the Pac NW are notoriously very expensive, despite so many people doing them. Just a heads up to ensure you calculate that fee into your expenses - best thing to do is a mock rental to see what the rate will be before you consider exploring that option further.

[Creo]

Thanks so much for the feedback. Flights are booked, beds are at least temporarily reserved, and now it's a question of figuring out how to solidify connections between cities before I move onto things actually done in the area.

I arrive in Vancouver the 24th in the early evening, currently plan to depart the 29th for Seattle, plan to leave Seattle the 2nd for Portland the 2nd of July, and have a flight out of Portland the afternoon of July 7. What do you think about distributing my time that way? I could try to leave Vancouver late on the 29th and Seattle late on the 2nd to try to maximize time in those cities or I could try to leave on the first bus out. Any suggestions?

[Creo]

Checking back in: I had an amazing time in all three cities and their surroundings. I happened to rent a car my last two days in Portland to do exactly what you suggested, Roz7, and it really helped grow my appreciation of Oregon. What a beautiful, beautiful state.

Thanks so much for your input!