Seattle, Portland (OR), or Vancouver?

[Anonymous]

We have over a week before school starts to take a vacation with our 5 and 7 year olds. We're thinking Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, or some combo of all. Most of the family is vegetarian and one has peanut/treenut allergies; the adults are adventurous eaters but the kids are not. We like children's museums and some hiking.

Is there one place that stands out over the others? I've been to Seattle but a long time ago and without kids.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I love Portland over Seattle, but never been to Vancouver. Portland is just gorgeous, with tons of hiking/scenery/green/outdoor activities around. Also, its got a huge foodie/restaurant scene, and I'm sure you could find entire restaurants that are just vegetarian and plenty will cater to allergies. Seattle may be similar in that respect.

[Anonymous]

I've been to all three and am also vegetarian.

I'd pick Portland for the food and beer. Especially the beer. Also, good proximity to Columbia River Gorge.

I'd pick Seattle for the kid's activities. Also, good proximity to Mt Rainer and decent proximity to the Cascades.

Vancouver is a worthwhile place to visit as well but I can't think of a reason to recommend it over the other two. Good proximity to Garibaldi Provincial Park.

[Anonymous]

I've been to Seattle, but not Portland. But I've been to Vancouver, BC and it is fantastic. It is so family friendly. We spent 1 week in Vancouver and 4 days in Victoria (on Vancouver Island).

Love, love, loved Vancouver. It is the only city I think I'd love to move too.

[Anonymous]

You can do Seattle and Vancouver, but there's plenty to keep you busy in Vancouver, and it is an awesome place to visit, especially in late summer. Definitely rent bikes and ride around Stanley Park (pack swimsuits). Take the ferry over the little island with all the stuff for kids to do. Fantastic restaurants (esp. Chinatown), and visit Victoria Island.

[Anonymous]

I'd definitely go with Vancouver! I've been to Seattle, but not Portland, so I can't speak to that. In Vancouver, you can spend time in Stanley park, biking, hiking, swimming, or at the Aquarium. The science museum is fantastic, and the market on Granvillle Island can be loads of fun.

[Anonymous]

Seattle-vancouver-whistler would be a great trip

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why everyone gets excited for Whistler. Overpriced fakey town for vapid rich people.

Oh wait, maybe i just answered my own question.

[Anonymous]

I would probably pick Vancouver too, but that's just because I've never been there. It's easy to do Portland/Seattle (three-hour train ride, super easy) or Seattle/Vancouver, though. I wouldn't cram all three into a week--you'll spend too much time traveling and not enough time enjoying them. Seattle and Portland are both very veggie friendly; I imagine Vancouver likely is as well, but no clue there. The train from Seattle to Vancouver is supposed to be excellent, too (Amtrak hands off to VIA Rail Canada in Seattle, and not surprisingly, it is a much better funded enterprise!) Have fun--very jealous!

[Anonymous]

I would do Seattle plus Vancouver. Include ferry ride to Orcas.

[Anonymous]

Also your kids would prob love the Space Needle.

[Anonymous]

Dislike Portland. The whole place is a bunch of hipsters trying too hard. A ton of people living in rented rooms and earning next to nothing while trying to make some kind of point. Yeah..food is a draw but even there it is one restaurant after another trying to be as alternative as possible.
One big eye roll for us.
Now..go to the Oregon coast. That's great!

[Anonymous]

How about Seattle and Victoria? To me, Victoria is much more interesting than Vancouver- you actually feel like you are in a foreign country there. Much more interesting architecture, definitely a British feel. Plus, there are kid-friendly attractions like Butchart Gardens and you could take the ferry there from Seattle, which the kids might like, passing through the beautiful San Juans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dislike Portland. The whole place is a bunch of hipsters trying too hard. A ton of people living in rented rooms and earning next to nothing while trying to make some kind of point. Yeah..food is a draw but even there it is one restaurant after another trying to be as alternative as possible.
One big eye roll for us.
Now..go to the Oregon coast. That's great!

Gotta agree. We took our (very mainstream) family there a couple of years ago and noticed we kept getting the side-eye from all the downtown hipsters. We were just sightseeing, not trying to make any kind of point, but I guess we weren't hip enough to "Keep Portland Weird". It's a pretty city to visit, but for that reason I don't think I'd want to live there.

[Anonymous]

I'd pick Vancouver, having been to all 3. You can do a whale watch, take the boat to Victoria Island, go to the Capilano Suspension bridge park, and Grouse Mountain. I'm sure there are other kid specific activities, but those to me would be great for the whole family and would easily take a good 4 days while still leaving time for things like the aquarium.

I liked the food/beer scene in Portland, but I'm not sure it's compelling enough for a week, especially with kids in tow. As adults, we did a bunch of OR wine country things while there and that was great, but I didn't see much I felt like I would want to come back to with our 5 year old at some point.

I personally just dislike Seattle, we went there for a part of our honeymoon and it just didn't do much for me at all.