Aussie in need of advice - Dec Seattle round trip

Hi all,

I'm an Aussie gal (23) coming with my ma (62) to Seattle during December to visit my brother (27) who lives there.

We are planning a round road trip for about 10 days or so (flexible) mid-Dec to see the surrounding aread and a bit of Canada. Suggested destinations at the moment are:

Seattle-Portland-Olympia NP-Vancouver Island (somewhere)-Vancouver-Whistler-Cascades NP-Seattle.

We are very keen to get some ski-boarding done at Whistler and the Cascades (my first time).

I'd love some general advice on roads at this time of the year, advice for booking accommodation (do we need to or not, what's the best approach, any reccommendations etc), which city should we visit on Vancouver Island, other destinations to go, attractions to see etc, basically any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

Flip

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Actually, I'm going to guess that whatever advice I can give is going to pale in comparison to the fact that you and your mother will be together with your brother again, but nevertheless...

One of our Moderators, Judy, is from the Pacific Northwest and usually has excellent advice for what to see in that area. Here are just a few of her more recent posts on the area.

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3
Post 4
Post 5
Post 6

In general, it's usually not absolutely necessary to pre-book accommodations in the US or Canada as there are many choices available among hotels, motels and Bed & Breakfasts. So unless you want something very particular or will be travelling over Christmas, you might prefer the freedom of not having specific plans. Seattle does not see a lot of snow (which is not to say it sees none!) since the warm Pacific keeps it relatively mild, if wet. Similarly, Vancouver sees only about 6 inches (16 cm) of snow typically in the entire month of December. Obviously, you can expect much more as you head up into the mountains towards Whistler. In my own travels in that area, I have most enjoyed Victoria, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It has a European charm to it and a very compact and visitor friendly downtown. Actually my favorite parts of my trip to the island were the ferry rides over and back (we also made a day trip to Saltspring Island) and Butchart Gardens, although they probably aren't their best in winter.

AZBuck

AZBuck gave you good advice and my posts that he linked you to (Thanks, AZBuck!) are full of ideas and tips. I will be glad to help you with further suggestions as your planning progresses.

Just a hint on winter driving in the PNW. Except in the mountains, we rarely have snow or ice on the roads. However, there are times when we have what is called "black" ice. This is a thin sheen of ice on the road that you can't see that sometimes occurs when the temperature is in the 30's. The best way to deal with this is to simply watch your speed, especially when on windy roads with little traffic. Don't drive scared. Just use good common-sense.