BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm torn and I need your help.

I'll be going to SF in July with a friend, from where we'll be travelling to Vancouver for a couple of weeks. My friend suggested we rent a car and drive up to Vancouver from SF, and leisurely make pitstops along way at different points of interest in CA, OR & WA. I know it's a long drive (at least 16) but we don't mind because we're doing it for the adventure. But we intend to fly back to SF.

Now nothing has been decided. Of course, there's the other option of flying both ways. But when I checked online, the prices are pretty crazy. I suppose because July is peak travel season. Flights started at around $400.

That said, driving up has become more than just for the adventure. Now it becomes a much cheaper alternative. (no worries about motels - we have free lodging in Portland). So anyway, here are my questions which I'd appreciate your insights on:

1. Has anyone done the drive up north? Did you take the fast route or scenic route? What was it like? Worth it?

2. Do you know any other cheap fares, other airlines that ply the SF-Van-SF route that I'm not seeing?

3. Should we decide to make the drive up, can you recommend points of interests along the way that you feel we shouldn't miss? This could be in the form of legendary burger joints,charming cafes, scenic pockets of nature, quaint bookshops etc, these are preferred over larger tourist sites actually.

4. Best rent-a-car companies that will let us rent from SF, and deposit at Vancouver.

5. And any other things you feel would be good for me to know.

Thanks so so much! I've never done a road trip this long in the US, and I'm really excited about it.

I used to live in Eureka which is 300ish miles north of San Francisco so I've done quite a bit of travel up and down the coasts. You are welcome to contact me directly as well.

From San Francisco you have three main routes north. Highway 5 which goes up the middle of California (which you reach from heading east on 80 to connect with it), Highway 101 which is somewhat inland for a ways then ends up along the coast further north, or highway 1 which goes 200 miles or so north and then runs into 101. 5 is the fastest way to go. Even so, once you get aways north there are interesting things to see. 101 is second fastest and 1 is very slow but very scenic. You didn't mention if you like nature particularly, I do, so I'm going to mention some beatiful natural spots.

Highlights on 1 include beautiful ocean visits and cliffs. It's very slow going though so you need to have plenty of time because it will take pretty much all day to get from SF to Willits. To do this you'd take the Golden Gate Bridge (101) out of SF then turn towards the coast at Mill Valley. If you take either the 101 or 1 route, I would recommend stopping at Mt. Tamalpais for beautiful nature. It's a park of rolling hills and ocean vistas, I'm very fond of it.

On 101, there are several redwood parks you can visit when you get further north, these are after the reconnection of 1 back to 101, so you won't miss them if you choose the 1 or 101 route. They are in an area called Avenue of the Giants and it adds a bit of time if you take that detour but if you're into big trees it's worth doing at least once.

Another place I really like on the 101 route is Prairie Creek which is now part of the Redwood National Park. It has a place called fern canyon which is incredible for walls of ferns going up each side. Plus there are elk there which are easily seen.

When you get up past Crescent City, you have a choice of heading inland to meet up with 5 or continuing on 101. If you'd like more trees and big rocks in the ocean, then continue on 101. There are seals up along the Oregon Coast and lots of old-style tourist traps if you enjoy that sort of thing. Lots of little shops selling myrtle wood souvenirs (at least there used to be). If you go inland, you can go to the Oregon Caves which I thought were fun caves to visit. That road would connect you with 5.

Now if you head the route on 5 from SF, Mt Shasta is quite impressive as you get further north. You will miss it if you go up 101. There's strange old volcanic looking landscapes up there. There's lots of legends about UFOs and psychic stuff around Shasta too.

In Oregon on 5, you will travel in a broad valley. It's pretty enough scenery, plus there are towns like Salem and Corvallis there which are nice enough stops. I also like that there's a town called Goshen (which always makes me laught when I think of Fire Sign Theatre's line "Are we in Goshen yet?" )

In Washington, there's plenty to explore. If you get a chance and are into nature, I'd recommend the Ho Rainforest which is incredibly beautiful. It's out of the way along the coast, but it's really worth visiting if you like rain forests. Of course it has rained everytime I've been there.

I'll try to think about restaurants, bookstores, or other stops to mention to you in a later mail. Just thought I'd rattle off my first thoughts to help you in the beginning.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

Take the scenic route

Interstate 5 is a miserable slog. Every town has the same boring collection of Chevron stations and Taco Bells.

Hiway 101 through Northern Cali and the Oregon Coast is fantastic, beautiful, and has lots of cheap camping and lodging options.

Look at spending the night camping in Redwoods NP, or at an Oregon State Park. (Some Oregon State Parks even have cheap cabins and yurts you can rent ... book EARLY.)

When you get to Washington, you can continue up 101 through Olympic National Park, then combine ferries and driving to get you to Vancouver, BC via Victoria, BC. Alternatively, once you hit Astoria, OR at the north end of the Oregon coast (or Gray's Harbor, WA), you can head over to Interstate 5 and see Seattle.

Go the scenic route. It will take a bit longer to drive, but it's well worth it.

I have to tell you that driving through northern California has been one of the highpoints of my life. And it's been a somewhat longer life, I think, than most here on BootsnAll

The scenic route, as mentioned by Skimaxpower, is the way to go. I often think fondly of my time spent driving through and hiking in in the Redwoods and in Eureka. But remember that was 25 years ago . . .

I just did the drive up and down from Van to SF and back.
Of course, we were pressed for time (we were strictly SF bound) so we took the I5 only to make it in 15 hours....

However, for you to rent from one country and drop it off in the other is very expensive. We had looked into a rental as well, from Van to SF and it would have costed way more than we had budgeted for. I recommend that you just take a car that can handle the mileage and do it both ways. Just maybe do it this way - Take the scenic either going up or coming down, and the other just take the I5 if you're in a hurry.

Whichever way you decide, I recommend all of Northern Cali and the Oregon coastline as well. There are some good cheap camping places (but you gotta book in advance) if you want to do it that way.

Highlights in Oregon - the more northern bit from Florence heading up back to Lighthouse Park on the Scenic highway 101 is amazing. Stop at Oswald Park if you can - it's bteween Cannon Beach and Nahalem Bay. IT's a park that's a bit more secluded. Beautiful.

Tilmook Cheese Factory in Tilmook is worth a little stop to see the local chees factory and try some cheese and have some yummy ice cream.

Cannon Beach is very touristy, but the sunsets are spectacular there.

Hello gypsy,
I have been looking into doing a long trip on the West coast and have faced the same problem with rental cars. To pick up and drop off in different places and rent for a few weeks is extremely expensive. If you are looking at having a car for 3 weeks, it may be in the neighborhood of $1,000. Maybe someone else has a suggestion of how to get a car cheaper...

you could drop off the car in Seattle instead of vancouver.........and bus it to Vancouver

quote:

Originally posted by Ramboo:
you could drop off the car in Seattle instead of vancouver.........and bus it to Vancouver

Or Amtrak to Vancouver from Seattle.

Im thinking of doing the exact same thing and would love to of ridden a motorbike but the prices i have found are in excess of 169 dollar a day to hire a bike anyone know of anywhere cheaper. Another option for me would be to buy a car then sell it when im done because i willl have it for over a month is this possible for a tourist to do does anyone know?

Yeah - I bought a car in California and drove it back to Alberta and sold it there. I lived (legally, too!) in Canada at the time. Because the car did not have legal license plates in the U.S. or Canada I had to get a special permit from Cali and at the Canadian border. When I got to Canada I just had to register the vehicle. It wasn't really any big deal - or so it seemed at the time. It paid for my trip and made some money on it too Research pays off - it was a Porsche and they were more expensive in Canada at the time.

quote:

Originally posted by KathrynD:
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I'll try to think about restaurants, bookstores, or other stops to mention to you in a later mail. Just thought I'd rattle off my first thoughts to help you in the beginning.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

These are such great tips, thank you so much! And to think that's just your first thoughts!

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
Take the scenic route

Look at spending the night camping in Redwoods NP, or at an Oregon State Park. (Some Oregon State Parks even have cheap cabins and yurts you can rent ... book EARLY.)

Love the idea. Will def suggest that to my friend. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Raffi:
I have to tell you that driving through northern California has been one of the highpoints of my life. .

That's more than enough to convince me!

I never thought about that - that it would cost much more to pick up a rental car in one country and drop off in another. We obivously haven't started on that part of the research yet.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I'm meeting up with my friend tomorrow to discuss the trip, and I'll be printing this out to show her. You guys are the best!

Everyone has given good advice - Kathryn D is right about the routes. Cutting in from the 101 to hit Shasta is a good route - the coast is soooo beautiful, that it's impossible to make any time if you take it the whole way. There are two many views to miss.

Crater Lake in Oregon is another great stop - make sure it's not fogged in if you take the long detour to see it. I made the detour and didn't get to see it.

I don't know if they fly that route, but VirginAmerica, JetBlue and Southwest tend to have the best US fares, but don't show up on most fare search engines (go directly to their websites).

Near SF -
*the German Tourists Club on the side of Mt. Tamalpais is a magical beer garden that you hike to.

*The best place to taste wine is the Russian River Valley in Sonoma county.

*You can get house rentals real cheap all up the coast at vrbo.com - or you can stay at the Jug Handle Farm and volunteer as part of your rent http://jughandle.creek.org/ .

Look for Seals and Sea Lions - in July I've seen a great group from Highway 1 north of Occidental.

You're plan is a fantastic one. You will be happy.

If you do decide to cut over from Arcata to I-5 to go through Mt. Shasta- when you get to Redding where you will hit I-5- Stop at the Sun Dial Bridge- a wonderful pedesrian bridge desined by the renowned architect Santiago Calatrava.

Also, Amtrak has a train from Seattle to Vancouver which might solve your transportation problem or an even more scenic solution would be the Washington ferry to Victoria and the BC ferry to Vancouver.

Regarding bookstores:
I've been thinking about the original question on book stores. If you get to Eureka, go to Second Street (Old town Eureka) and look there. I remember a couple of used bookstores there that are fun to browse through. If you get 6 miles further north on 101 to Arcata, try Tin Can Mailman as well. It's on the Arcata plaza which is has some nice shops and eateries on it.

San Francisco has a ton of great bookstores. Embarrassingly, I hardly ever get up there even though it's only a half hour away from where I live. When I did used to go there, I'd go to the Green Apple Books on Clement and to the Mystery bookstore in Noe Valley.

If you make it to Berkeley/Oakland and you like science fiction, fantasy, horror and/or mystery, you must must must go to Dark Carnival. That is my most favorite bookstore ever.
Just seeing the tchotchkes they have at Dark Carnival - they have all sorts of little plastic horror toys you never see anywhere else. Need a UFO which buzzes and flashes lights as it bumps around your house, get it there.

For food:
If you do go to Oakland, on Piedmont Ave, go to LoCoco's for penne al sugo. It's wonderful.
And in San Francisco, go out on Geary to 23rd and eat Thai food at Khan Toke. Food and atmosphere are both great. Just make sure not to have socks with holes because you have to leave your shoes with the shoeman.

Thank you so much for all your tips! You guys are great!

Or, you can take Amtrak from the Bay Area up there. They have special trains/routes/fares that can be really flexible & include stops along the way. They have options for taking your bike along. A couple of friends of mine just did that a month ago and LOVED it a LOT more than they expected.