Seattle or Portland??

[stinkymonkey]

My boyfriend and I are travelling from San Francisco to Vancouver over 3 weeks, and are a little unsure about Seattle and Portland. Would you suggest visiting both? We're planning on a day and a night in each. Would that be enough? Thanks.

[UKCraig]

Bearing in mind you'll be looking to sleep someplace each night... you might as well make a couple of those places Portland and Seattle!

How long you spend in each place depends on what interests you and how much time/money you want to spend there.

How's the rest of the trip looking? With three weeks to do this trip you can visit some wondeful places. There are many, many suggestions on this very site (and forum) and we'll be happy to answer any specific questions that you may have.

[packman]

I just spent a few days in the Portland area last month and loved it. You are about 2 hours from Astoria and the ocean and about 40 minutes from the Columbia River Gorge which contains tons of beautiful waterfalls. Mt. Hood is also close and Mt. St. Helens. Portland has a nice downtown on the waterfront and an area called the Pearl District (which I missed) that is supposed to be a happening place.
I have yet to make it to Seattle, but on the way up there a detour through Olympic National Park is very scenic and worthwhile.
Have a fun trip.

Brett

[stinkymonkey]

Thanks, we are heading that way so makes sense to vist both. Here's the rough plan for the rest of the trip, so any tips or ideas would be great.
San Francisco - couple of days
Drive north through Napa Valley heading to Crater Lake
Head over to the coast and then driving north to Astoria
Then back inland to Mt Hood,
then head back to Portland and north to Seattle.
We're giving ourselves just over a week to do this, and then have about the same amount of time in Canada.
Thanks!

[stinkymonkey]

Hi there
Trying to find suggestions of car rental companies that will provide a vehcle that we can rent in San Francisco and drop off in Vancouver, Canada.
Any ideas?
Thanks

[Midwest Michael]

I think you will find it is very difficult to find anyone who will allow you to rent in San Francisco and then drop it off in Canada. You'll probably have better luck trying to drop your car off in Seattle or Bellingham, WA and then find other transportation onto Vancouver.

[UKCraig]

Can you possibly drop off in Seattle and then cross into Canada using an alternative form of transport? Taking a car over the border can be tricky enough without having to arrange to drop it there. Of course, there's nothing to stop you picking up a second rental car from the local depot if you still need a car on that side of the border.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Taking a car over the border can be tricky enough without having to arrange to drop it there.

While it would be a problem to drop a USA car hire in Canada (I am not sure it is even possible) it is not a problem to simply drive it across. At least not for USA passport holders, I don't know what the ramifications would be with a Scotland passport.

Mark

[UKCraig]

Sorry, a better choice of word would have been problematic.

By that I mean all the hassle (and likely the increased expense) of getting the correct permission and insurance from the rental company and then the aggrivation of proving to the border control people that, not only do you deserve to be let into their country, but you're not stealing a car to boot!

It is not something that I have done myself but we were talking to a British couple at the Canadian/US border at Niagara Falls a couple of years ago. They were having all sorts of aggravation getting across. We were on foot and were through in 15-20 minutes but, unbelievably, they were only just crossing two hours later when we were walking back into Canada. I would like to think that was the exception rather than the rule and I would love to hear of the experiences of others.

However, apart from all that, I suspect your main issue will remain finding a company who will allow you to drop a US registered car in Canada.