trip lengths? About This Page:

[hall0731]

Ok. When you go to a new destination or somewhere that is not wdw, how long do you stay? Am I nuts spending 9 days in Seattle/Portland and everything in between? I was going to shorten it so we could take another trip somewhere else, but there is so much I want to see up there.

[chezp]

That sounds like a reasonable length of time to me. I'm guilty of packing everything into too short a time, because we usually end up with a number of destinations on my vacations and not enough time for each.

[Chelledun17]

We typically take nine day vacations (one week and two weekends) if we are doing multiple cities in an area. For example, we spent nine days doing San Francisco/Napa Valley/Yosemite and nine doing Las Vegas/Grand Canyon/Zion. I think it would be tough to do Seattle, Portland, and everything in between in much less than a week!

[SarahJ]

We never do real vacations for anything less than a week. We're taking 2 weeks at the end of the month to do just the Northern Oregon coast.

9 days for Seattle/Portland and everything in between seems like a great length. You'll really get to enjoy some of the great sites in our area without having to rush. What are your plans for your vacation?

[christiejay]

For our regular family vacation every year, whether WDW or not, we always spend about a week, maybe a few days more, it just depends on dh's work schedule. We try to plan as much to do as possible, planning based on whatever info we can find online. If we can't find very much info online, then we just figure it out once we arrive. Maybe we can pick up some brochures for something different, or stop at a place that looks interesting. Or perhaps we just take it easy at the resort. But regardless of destination, we still stay the same amount of time.

[jimmymac]

It's not too long if you have things that you're interested in doing. I used to split up my vacation like this: 2 weeks in Europe, 1 wek at WDW and 2 weeks with my family during the summer

[hall0731]

Originally Posted by SarahJ

We never do real vacations for anything less than a week. We're taking 2 weeks at the end of the month to do just the Northern Oregon coast.

9 days for Seattle/Portland and everything in between seems like a great length. You'll really get to enjoy some of the great sites in our area without having to rush. What are your plans for your vacation?

I know we are going up to San Juan Islands for a whale watching trip. We are planning on these so far:

snoqualmie falls, northwest trek, mt.st. helen, seattle downtown area, pike place market,sea star tour of the "deadliest catch" boat, chittam locks,Zoo, aquariam, and a few things I am forgetting.

My DH has decided he doesn't care to go to Portland now. I don't think we would need 9 days in just Seattle. We are not theatre or heavy museum goers at all, unless it is something very interesting.

[mom2twingirlies]

I think you need at least 9 days for any vacation, unless it is a very specific planned 1 thing.

[SarahJ]

Sounds like you have great plans for your visit here. Keep in mind that Mt St Helens is a fair distance from Seattle, so that may take an entire day on it's own. Northwest Trek is a good full day as well I think. But a lot of the Seattle City sites can be easily combined. You could do the Aquarium and Pike Place Market or other waterfront sites on the same day.

Don't miss Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. It's a Seattle Institution and worth a gander.
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop online

You might also be interested in the Seattle Underground Tour.
UNDERGROUND TOUR

Woodland Park Zoo is really wonderful. Make sure you visit the new Penguin exhibit while there.

[hall0731]

Sarah,
Those were some of the things I had forgot to mention. I have heard reviews about the underground tour not being good. What is your opinion. Also, beings we are not taking our son, is the haunted tour any good?

[Disneybine]

Just a thought: If your DH isn't interested in going to Portland, how about heading north to Vancouver instead? IMO, that would be a great combination with Seattle!

[cattayhi]

Usually go for 2 weeks - but this trip 9 days as dh has to get back to work

[SarahJ]

Originally Posted by hall0731

Sarah,
Those were some of the things I had forgot to mention. I have heard reviews about the underground tour not being good. What is your opinion. Also, beings we are not taking our son, is the haunted tour any good?

This is going to sound pathetic, but I've never done either the underground tour or the haunted tour. I have friends who have though and they've enjoyed it, but I can't give a personal recommendation.

Something I can recommend is the Museum of Flight. Even if you're not a museum person, I think the Museum of Flight is worth a visit.

What kind of things are you and your DH into? Maybe I can make some additional recommendations.

I have a friend who recently rented a seat on a racing sailboat for a few hours sailing around Elliott Bay. She said it was amazing! Here's their website.
Lets Go Sailing Seattle, Emerald City Charters

[hall0731]

I love anything history. I think my DH is the type that has to be engaged in something. He isn't into "gardens" such forth.

The only thing that could complicate the situation is I might be pregnant during this trip.

[KathyL]

When we go to Disney, 5 to 7 days is fine. When we travel elsewhere, such as the Caribbean, we usually try for at least 10 days. We figure we usually have two days for travel and want to have enough time left to enjoy and relax.