Weekend Family trip to Pacific NW: Vancouver, Seattle, or Portland?

[smiles33]

We're in CA and want to take an extended 3 day weekend trip in June right after school gets out to somewhere in the PNW. I went to Seattle and Vancouver 25 years ago with my parents but can't recall much other than going to Granville Island and Stanley Park. My dad loves the outdoors (he's a big fan of national parks) so we got dragged to a lot of places.

Yet my family's priority is to relax and eat good food. We don't do the typical tourist thing (e.g., take photos of scenic spots/tourist sites, go to local museums, hike for 2 hours to see the view from a peak, etc.). If it's food-oriented, we'll consider doing it (e.g., cooking class, browse a farmer's market, go on a street food tour, etc.).

We actually did a weekend in Portland in June last year and loved it, but DD1 had broken her ankle 2 days before we left. Thus, we spent most of the time relaxing in our AirBnB reading books or watching Netflix (two activities we don't do much in a typical week at home). We did take 1 outing a day, but she had to navigate Powell's and the Farmer's Market at PSU with a knee scooter so we minimized our activities. Many of our meals were eaten at the AirBnB via delivery services!

I'm tempted to return to Portland as we enjoyed the great food, low-key vibe, and didn't get to see as much as we would have if DD1 hadn't been injured. Yet I also know we have limited time/money to see new places and am tempted to take them to Seattle or Vancouver. We all have Global Entry, so I'm less worried crossing the border and going to Vancouver.

I'd love to hear from other folks re: PNW spots with tweens who love to eat (and read)!

[HannaAddict]

I would do Portland or Vancouver BC. The Oregon Zoo is great and love the smaller scale of their urban core. Their is nice embassy suites right downtown in a cool older building. We love Vancouver BC too. amazing food and more. Seattle is a disaster right now with city council not enforcing any rule of law and homeless (aggressive and with serious issues) on literally almost every corner. It is outrageous. Traffic is awful and construction everywhere. Also, Portland has no sales tax and is cheaper for nice hotels and Vancouver is great with strong dollar compared to Canada.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

We did Seattle last summer and didn’t experience any of the problems highlighted by pp. We did do mostly touristy stuff but stayed in an Airbnb in Fremont so had a fun neighborhood to explore on foot that was more residential (didn’t encounter homeless people like we did in the city either). Loved our Theo chocolate tour. Don’t cut Seattle off your list of considerations but any of your choices are fine, I’m sure.


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[California]

Your post made me laugh as my DC could easily someday write, "Our mom loves the outdoors and dragged us to multiple national and state parks!"

I've been to all the cities you listed. Given the scenario you described, Vancouver BC would be my pick. IMO Vancouver feels a little extra special for kids because, while it's close, you are going into another country and there's foreign currency, a younger drinking age (which my kids, at least, noticed), and a hard-to-describe different Canadian vibe! Plus poutine is pretty likable as a comfort food.

[smiles33]

HannaAddict: I haven't been to Seattle in years, but the traffic, construction, and significant visibility of homeless people sounds a lot like San Francisco right now. My younger DD actually commented last year while we were in Portland, "Wow, this is like a cleaner, nicer SF!"

SnuggleBuggles: I'm glad you had a great trip to Seattle. I'm going to research it some more, but I'm inclined to avoid it since we tend to criss-cross all over cities while on vacation trying different restaurants. Bad traffic and construction makes that challenging.

California: LOL! I wonder if the love of the outdoors is a cycle that affects every other generation as you crave what you didn't get as a child? My dad never got to spend much time in the scenic outdoors (he grew up in an urban city) so that may be why he loves the national parks and dragged us to so many of them. My kids still get to do outdoors stuff but most of that is via school field trips, summer camp outings, or via DH (he takes them to do archery, hiking, etc.). I happily take them on urban vacations to seek out new cuisines. I'm asking them to research the 3 cities, too, and we'll take a vote. I just wanted to get some preliminary ideas to get them started.

Thank you all! I'm personally leaning toward Vancouver now. We went to Montreal a year and a half ago for a week and loved it (and enjoyed trying poutine!), but it's too far from CA for a 3 day trip. While there won't be something other than English spoken in most places, I'm sure Vancouver is gorgeous and it will be new to my tweens. I also did a quick scan of Vancouver food options and read about the Richmond Night Market. My kids loved exploring 6 different night markets when we were in Asia a few years ago, so that sounds tempting.

I welcome more comments and tips!

[SnuggleBuggles]

We used Lyft most everywhere and the only snarl was near Pike Place market near rush hour. Otherwise we had no troubles! We rented a car too (just opted not to drive if heading downtown or could walk). I’ve been far worse places traffic wise.


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[essnce629]

We went to Seattle last winter break and to Vancouver over the summer. Being from Los Angeles I didn't think the traffic or homelessness in Seattle was anything like LA, where we truly do have homelessness on every corner. We had a rental car in Seattle and don't remember having issues getting around, but maybe because we went during the cold rainy season vs summer? There was a bunch of construction directly across from our Airbnb apartment but that didn't bother us. We were walking distance from plenty of restaurants. If your ultimate goal is eating and relaxation I'd probably choose Vancouver. DS1 loved trying the poutine everywhere we went and comparing them. Some were absolutely delicious and others were mediocre. We also had a fun time just renting bikes and leisurely riding around Stanley Park for a couple of hours. It's so pretty. I think a food tour in Vancouver would be pretty fun!

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