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      03-20-2019, 01:29 PM   #1
Neuera09
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San Francisco to Vancouver Road Trip

Howdy folks. I'm planning a road trip with the family this summer (June/July). We've flown to Seattle/Tacoma area last year and driven from there to Vancouver. This year, the Mrs. and our 10 year old wanted to go on a road trip so here I am planning for it.

My plan is to either stop in Medford, OR for the night then drive to Seattle/Tacoma area for a day or 2 then cross the border to Surrey then take the ferry to Victoria. Are there any cities I mentioned above I should stay away from? I also considered driving up to Eugene instead of Medford but don't know much about the area. We're still in the planning stages and we're planning up to 2 weeks for this road trip. Any recommendation (cities to stay at, places to visit, restaurants to eat at, etc) is appreciated.

Now what must have gear/tools to bring for the trip? lol

Thanks guys.

Last edited by Neuera09; 03-21-2019 at 12:40 AM..
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      03-20-2019, 05:11 PM   #2
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Eugene is a nice college town, UO has a beautiful campus.

Woodburn outlet stores outside of Portland is great and no tax.

You can take Anacortes, WA to Victoria, BC ferry on the way and then Victoria to Surrey on the way back for a nice loop instead of driving though Surrey twice.

White Rock, BC is across from the USA border and a beautiful beachfront town. In fact, many movies use the pier and boardwalk there to pretend it's the Santa Monica scene.

You are welcome to pm me. I am in Seattle and visit Vancouver quite a bit, can give you more tips.
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      03-20-2019, 10:48 PM   #3
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Make sure to use a very good radar detector in Oregon. The OHP are sneaky AND everywhere.
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      03-20-2019, 11:09 PM   #4
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Surrey is very big so if ur in the outskirts of surrey ur good, but central surrey try n avoid, it’s the ghetto area. My suggestion, don’t bother going through surrey, cross at Blaine border n dip into white rock for some food at the beach front, then take hwy99 North all the way into Vancouver n stop at some of the famous parks, then make your way through downtown traffic and cross over to start heading to the ferry terminal.
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      03-21-2019, 12:05 AM   #5
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Also, if you can, avoid taking the ferry on weekends, very long wait.

Richmond night market is a cool place to check out Asian street food. Fun games for kids as well.
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      03-21-2019, 01:23 AM   #6
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Great tips! Thank you guys. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Glad to see we have several optins. I thought I had to go through BC to ferry my vehicle to Victoria. I will checkout the WA transportation website and reserve a spot. I will stay clear of central Surrey. One of our friends moved to a townhome near the Guilford Mall. We might have to stay there for one night.

So far I listed a few places to visit besides Victoria; 1) Stanley Park 2) Sea to Sky Bridge 3) Whistler and now I'm adding 4) White Rock. The night market looks pretty cool and reminds of a scene from a Bizzare Food episode (in a good way).

Thanks for the radar suggestion. I'll definitely look into that as well. Are there any major speed traps in OR where the speed limit slows down from 65 to 40 mph?
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      03-21-2019, 01:27 AM   #7
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I would suggest to Google “Vancouver places to see” and it lists out pretty much all the best places I would recommend (eg. https://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...-in-vancouver/). Downtown is definitely a place to see as there’s always something going on (Canada Place, Olympic Cauldron, etc.), especially during summer. Are you planning on Van-Victoria only or any time for drive up north towards Whistler? That’s one place I always take any of my extended family or friends visiting out of town (summer or winter), it’s beautiful (even the drive to it, that’s why it’s named Sea-to-Sky highway) if you’re into sight-seeing. Regarding drive up to Canada from SFO, others probably can suggest better ways other than I-5. I’ve done Chuckanut Drive when approaching Bellingham from Seattle, quite a nice drive away from I-5. As for us, it’s usually I-5 drive down to Seattle Premium Outlets for some good shopping (off of exit 200 from I-5, I think), or if you’d rather shop in Vancouver then there is Designer Outlets Vancouver by YVR, which is quite good. Robson downtown shopping a bit pricy but nice to stroll, tons of restaurants all over in DT.

Have fun and safe drives!!!
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      03-21-2019, 01:54 AM   #8
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Thanks Smarty. We'll definitely visit the link you included above. We're having our little one do some of the research for places to see since she will be writing about our road trip for her summer project. We might visit a premium outlet or two. We have plenty of those here in the Bay Area. We'll probably pass at least a dozen of them before we cross the CA/OR border.

A few of my friends suggested to drive up the coastal region of CA, OR, and WA via US101 However, they said it'll probably add 6-8 hours of drive time.
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      03-21-2019, 03:00 AM   #9
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I agree with your friends recommendation about going up the coast. The extra time required can add an extra day to your trip, but, it will be worth it.

I 5 & I 84 both ways are where a good radar detector helps, being over on the coast less so the need.

Our F15s are perfect for this kind of travel, you’re going to have a very nice trip.
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      03-21-2019, 09:36 AM   #10
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There is a lot scenery to take in and the roads are all pretty good quality so not much to worry about.

I drove around 80 mph if not more basically the entire way. Didn't have much problems. I drove with some friends who were visiting for the first time, so we drove from San Jose on CA-1 up to Leggett before getting back to I-5. The goal was skiing in Whistler so we didn't stop much. We did the border crossing at Peace Arch, spent I think 15 minutes to get through. Coming back was more of a hassle (US immigration was way more strict--a friend of mine actually received a paper I-94, hadn't seen one of those in a while). Only thing I forgot was Canada uses metric (haha) so make sure you are not driving 80 mph in a 80 kmh zone

There is nothing you need to stay away from if you mean from a safety perspective. Just be sure to bring a raincoat for Seattle. I don't think there is any way to screw up the trip really. It's all very beautiful up there and the people are all pretty nice with none that crud we have in and around the Bay Area.

Don't forgot those passports
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      03-21-2019, 09:52 AM   #11
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Enjoy the road trip. I did that a few years back, LA to Whistler. 1 month trip.

It will be easier for you since from SF to Portland is 7 hours closer.
I will be doing another road trip this summer from LA to Seattle.

Since you have a 10 years old, here are what to do in Seattle that you need to book.
- Boeing Factory Tour
- Space Needle (Book for lunch or dinner, I was lucky that there was an opening when I was there. They said usually need to book a few months out).

I was trying to drive fast, but after a few hours of driving, I did my math.
Going 90mph or 80mph, won't save me that much time. If I get pull over, it will actually cost me more time.
I just follow the traffic and try to stay on the right lane.
Have fun and be safe.
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      03-21-2019, 01:11 PM   #12
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Guildford mall is abt 15mins away from surrey central lol, just avoid king George Boulevard n 104-108 Ave area. Also check out capilano suspension bridge, very nice forested area if ur into hikes. If ur going into Stanley park, maybe visit the Vancouver aquarium as well? But since ur from SF then seaworld probably is a lot better than Vancouver aquarium.
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      03-22-2019, 12:32 AM   #13
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Thanks again for the info guys. My kid gave me partial list of places she wants to see. By the looks of things, it'll take us about a month before we get to Canada. Lol
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      03-22-2019, 02:18 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuera09 View Post
Thanks again for the info guys. My kid gave me partial list of places she wants to see. By the looks of things, it'll take us about a month before we get to Canada. Lol
Pacific West Coast have a lot to offer.

Even after a few trips along the coast, there are still plenty of places to see and visit.

I even been to Leavenworth, WA in Summer and Winter. Winter is the best, its nickname is Christmas Town.

So, take your time and prioritize.
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      03-23-2019, 12:26 AM   #15
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      03-23-2019, 01:11 AM   #16
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Done. Thx
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      03-23-2019, 06:16 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alphaod View Post
There is a lot scenery to take in and the roads are all pretty good quality so not much to worry about.

I drove around 80 mph if not more basically the entire way. Didn't have much problems. I drove with some friends who were visiting for the first time, so we drove from San Jose on CA-1 up to Leggett before getting back to I-5. The goal was skiing in Whistler so we didn't stop much. We did the border crossing at Peace Arch, spent I think 15 minutes to get through. Coming back was more of a hassle (US immigration was way more strict--a friend of mine actually received a paper I-94, hadn't seen one of those in a while). Only thing I forgot was Canada uses metric (haha) so make sure you are not driving 80 mph in a 80 kmh zone

There is nothing you need to stay away from if you mean from a safety perspective. Just be sure to bring a raincoat for Seattle. I don't think there is any way to screw up the trip really. It's all very beautiful up there and the people are all pretty nice with none that crud we have in and around the Bay Area.

Don't forgot those passports
Pro tip: if you want Canada to stamp your passport you apparently have to ask. We went thru entry and they just electronically scanned ours.
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      03-24-2019, 10:44 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJayhawk85 View Post
Pro tip: if you want Canada to stamp your passport you apparently have to ask. We went thru entry and they just electronically scanned ours.
I actually prefer my passport isn't stamped if possible. I don't care about tourist benefits some countries offer. I have to travel a lot and some countries use like half or full page stamps it's infuriating; I used to be you could add visa pages, it wasn't so bad, but now they only allow the 52-page non-standard books I have never been able to get the full ten years. I sign up for automatic entry whenever possible to avoid stamps and such. Recently finally got the automatic gate card for Japan so I don't end up with half page wasted for every entry.

The US is actually one of the worst; they seem to be in give-no-fkx mode and stamp anywhere sometimes over a visa or one top of another stamp. They don't seem to give stamps out now either which is great.

As for Canada I have NEXUS, so I don't even need to present my passport.
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      03-24-2019, 12:01 PM   #19
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I live in Vancouver so feel free to ask questions. Consider doing the horseshoe bay to nanaimo ferry and the victoria to port angeles ferry as your route back if you take the roads up.
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