I am taking my daughter to Seattle and Oregon for her 30th birthday at the end of August, we are traveling from Vancouver Island.
We only have 4 days and looking for recommendations for fun stuff to do in Seattle and Oregon ~ we love culture, beaches, hiking, shopping, and adventures.
Also looking for recommendations of good/funky places to stay in the Portland area.… See more

With only 4 days I suggest you just pick Seattle. From Vancouver it is a 7 hour drive to Portland so there goes two days of driving. Seattle has enough to offer all on its own. I always stay in Belltown, BellTown Inn, Pineapple Suites on 5thAve are both nice small properties. Seattle hotel prices are crazy expensive in the summer.

Robert there’s a ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles which shaves off a load of time.

Sophie there’s a ferry direct from Victoria to Seattle as well.

Jillian does that ferry take cars or is it just passenger?

Debra Good point.. looks like the Clipper is a passenger only ferry.

Port Angeles ferry is car and passenger

Melody That would save the hours travelling to Van from Vic, but driving on the Olympic Peninsula is slow and their ferry lineups can be long in summer without reservations. It will still be a long day getting to Portland.....and another long day coming back.

Jillian almost $200cdn on the Clipper 1 way passenger no cars

Gladys I think gas to and from and parking in Seattle will cost more.

Jillian Yeh, but the uber fare to Portland is a bitch.

Robert there’s a train.

Jillian gas to and from seattle will be nowhere near $200 I go to Seattle from NV all the time and gas in the US is cheaper so you can fill up on your way home.

Catherin I did say gas and parking.. which will run as high as $60 for overnight depending. I'd rather sit on a train for 6 hrs than endure the clunk clunk concrete slabs and grid lock traffic of the I5. It's worse on my motorcycle. I don't know how you do that "all the time". Yuck.

Catherin Yes, costs me about $75 for gas (Canadian prices) The hotels I stay in charge me at most $30 a day for parking. The original post said they had 4 days.....so taking the train eats up the better part of 2 days just to get to Seattle and back.....that makes zero sense.

Robert costs me about $50, I stay in hotels that offer parking at a reduced rate. When I was there a month ago parking was $17.

Jillian I met my husband in the US and used to commute from Bellingham to work in WV. We used to drive to Seattle almost every weekend. I guess after all those years of doing it the drive is no big deal to me.

Debra cars, I got the 10:30 ferry and arrived in Portland at 6pm. So as mentioned still a full day.

Check out the
Inn at Northrup Station in Portland. It’s a real funky boutique hotel

Also parking and breakfast is included

Elise love that place!

The craft brew pub in Pike Market has an oyster bar with great happy hour prices. But lots of great places to eat and drink....I love to just walk about and follow my nose. The Chiluly Exhibit is pricey but I think worth the money.

Glass museum is pretty fantastic.

The hotel at the Tulalip casino is right next to the Seattle Premium Outlets shopping Mall. Gorgeous hotel with lots of west coast indigenous art and culture. The rates were very good when we visited in May 2023. We just ignored the casino. There you have shopping and culture off your bucket list. It's about 40 minutes drive into Seattle from there.

Ann great shopping!

Chihuly gallery in Seattle. Amazing

Darlene I concur! Amazing!

You might check that airbnb in Seattle and I second about just doing Seattle and not going to Portland as well. Seattle has pike place market the Chihuly glass museum at Seattle center. Great exhibit at Seattle art Museum.. depending on where you stay there is a good light rail system if you were going downtown

Both Chihuly’s museum in Seattle and the glass workshop in Tacoma are fantastic

That isnt enough time to do both. You will have one day of travel there and back. I suggest just doing seattle. Lots to see, pike place market, museum of pop culture, space needle, underground tour...

Check out a McMenamin's!

Many McMenamins check them out lots of fun!!

Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle is a highlight, especially if you like plants. I always stay at the Moore in Seattle.

I have found that the Moore Hotel on 2nd Ave (very close to Pike Place) is perfect for our needs in Seattle. Really reasonable and decent rooms. No AC may be problematic, but they provide fans.

Theresa Walking distance from the train as well. I've stayed at the Moore a few times. Great place.

Seaside and cannon beach on the Oregon coast r lovely
Seattle is nice but it’s just a big city
In my opinion
There is a great outdoor mall in Bellevue-high end

Diana forget everything else on here and go Cannon Beach in Oregon and its surrounds

Count on insane traffic between Seattle and Portland. Agree with others - do Seattle only. And a stop at the Tualip casino mall - tons of outdoor shopping. From high end to gap outlet!!

Buy the Seattle City pass...youll save a bundle on all attractions. You can buy it on groupon or the Seattle city website.

In Seattle: Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park (free!), Fremont Vintage Mall is a fun stop, walking around shops/ice cream in Capitol Hill, we also enjoyed MoPop. If you drive by Bellingham, check out Whatcom Falls, be sure to stop at LaFiamma Pizza and walk around Fairhaven (bookstore!), take Chuckanut Drive going south. I agree with others that I wouldn’t go all the way to Portland in 4 days unless you aren’t stopping much along the way?

Michelle Chuckanut Drive is beautiful and so many fun stops and shops along the way

4 days won't be enough for both. I was just in Portland with my daughter over spring break. We had a great air bnb right near the main street known for vintage clothing shops, if that is your thing. Check out trolls of the Northwest for short hikes. They are fun to see. If sticking to Seattle only, there are at least 3 of them there.

We enjoy visiting the Museum of Pop Culture which is great if you love music. Also the Woodland Park Zoo is fantastic. I agree with just staying in Seattle if you only have 4 days.

Nonie I second your picks

Go to the Starbucks reserve in Seattle! Very cool place for coffee, pastries, cocktails and lunch. It does get very busy though!

I would drive far south first with a boutique hotel first. The coastal drive is lots of fun. There are dune buggies and sea lion caves to see. The west coast zoo to pet baby tigers and skunks.( check reviews as it sounds like it now may have too many animals for the space)
Then drive back with a stop in Seattle pike market ( see the gum wall) and dinner at the Seattle space needle. Music museum was fun for my teen daughter. Taking hwy 5 back for shopping at tulip. Don’t forget Edaleen dairy before crossing the boarder.

Kathryn There isn't a restaurant at the Space Needle anymore- SkyCity is closed, I think renovations are happening re: a restaurant . . .

In Seattle, Pikes Place, Space Needle, and along the waterfront. In Portland Oregon, Powell City of Books, Portland Zoo and Voodoo Donuts plus anywhere along the coast of Oregon is beautiful

If your daughter’s into fun, unique bars there’s a carnival themed dive bar in Seattle called Shorty’s. They have skeeball, pinball and a few other carnival games you can play along with affordable drinks. If you want something classier but pricier $15 USD + per drink but they are well crafted and strong so you don’t need as many there’s Inside Passage which is a escapism/tiki adjacent bar they have really unique drinks that come in fun glasses. If you decide to go to Inside Passage book a reservation in advance as it’s small and fills up quick! Also if you love chicken teriyaki it was invited in Seattle, Teriyaki Madness is my favourite spot.
https://shortydog.com
https://www.insidepassageseattle.com
SHORTYDOG.COM
Shorty's - Seattle WA

spend a night in Port Townsend, especially if you take the Coho ferry over!

https://www.seattlespheres.com
Only open first and third Saturday of each month and need to make reservation in advance, but it’s free and worthy for a visit in Seattle.
SEATTLESPHERES.COM
Seattle Spheres

Personally I’d ride the Clipper and keep car at home. Traffic in Seattle area nightmare. Easy to get around Seattle so many great things as mentioned above to keep you busy.
Clipper also sells hotel packages and I find their packages hard to beat unless you’re using points of some sort. Happy planning!
In that time frame I’d chose one location. Traffic is insane. Cheers

Fremont neighbourhood (in Seattle)
It also happens to be where the Fremont Troll is, if you're familiar with 10 Things...

I would just spend the 4 days in the Seattle area with maybe a daytrip to Mount St Helens. Portland is not the nicest place anymore.

We really enjoyed our stay at the lake Oswego inn. No A/C but we spent all our time in the pool. Other places of note in Portland is Tilt (beercade with excellent menu) and Powell Books (of course).

Take the Coho, could save a 4 hour wait at the border

Mother’s Bistro is excellent - our favourite brunch restaurant - and the various Powell’s Books. It’s a great city - have a fabulous time!

I really liked ACe Hotel in Portland.

Take the Coho from Victoria to Port Angeles. If you like Victorian vibes, drive to Port Townsend and spend a couple of hours in the city. You can either take the Coupeville ferry which will take you to the other side outside mount Vernon or drive to Kingston to take the ferry to Edmonds. You can stay at the McMenamin’s in Bothell and drive into Seattle to take in the space needle, the pop culture museum, the Ballard locks, and volunteer park. I would keep your 4 days in Seattle. Portland is a long drive there and back.

I heard Portland has gone into decay because of the drug addicts

Seattle - woodland park zoo, pike place mkt, chiluly glass garden

The Museum of Pop Culture is a must see! Also the pinball museum was super cool!!! Highly recommend it if you like pinball!

Our family Loved this . Spent all day. Very immersive and hands on.
https://www.mopop.org/
MOPOP.ORG
MoPOP | Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle Washington

Pike Place market is one of my fave destinations. So much to look at. Good food. Fresh fruit and veggies. And watching the fish mongers throw the fish is something to see

The underground tour was really good.

Go troll hunting. If the link doesn't work, Google Thomas Dambo’s Northwest trolls. There's 5 in the Seattle vicinity (some are on the islands, but it's easy & quick to get there & lots of other things to see) and 1 in Portland. The Vashon troll is my favourite. https://www.nwtrolls.org/
NWTROLLS.ORG
Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King

Nicholas restaurant in Portland is a must (we always detour just to eat there).
In OR go to Cannon beach: perfect town for getaway (nice beach, cute shops and restaurants) plus you are allowed a beach fire there. My fav town is manzanita, we spent many summers there when kids were smaller. Nehalem Bay state park there, they have yurts if you can get in (sometimes they have late cancellations).

For the most fun, you have to do the dune buggy’s! I did it in Florence, Oregon with a driver. The drivers are very experienced and will make the ride exhilarating! All you see is red sand and dunes, you feel like you’re on another planet, so cool. The other thing I wish someone told me is don’t take the scenic route the whole way. You don’t see anything much of the way.

Stop at canon beach along the way. Cute little town and lovely beach.

ACe Hotel in Seattle is where we always stay. You can walk to the Seattle Art Museum from there. On our last trip we tried Spinasse Italian restaurant - Capital Hill. It was delicious. Easily enough fun stuff to do in Seattle - you could do a day trip to Bainbridge Island.