Road Trip: San Francisco to Seattle

cruiser_cork

Hi there,

I'm heading to San Francisco fairly soon and my boyfriend and I are travelling up the coast to Seattle. Thinking of spending about 4 days in San Francisco and then driving off. We are abroad for 2 weeks. Is 4 days enough to see the main sights of San Fran? Also any advice on what to see and do in Seattle? Any advise or info would be much appreciated. Also has anyone done this before?

Thanks,
Cruiser

Ballyman

I was in the middle of a detailed thread for you and I deleted it by accident and I ain't typing it out again. I was living in Portland, OR for a few months a few years ago and this was my base. I spent 5 days travelling from there to Seattle and Vancouver and another 5 days from Portland to San Francisco on two different occasions.

Basically, drove from Vancouver to San Fran and back. Cities are cities and there is much to do in all of them. Do some searches on google and you'll get an abundance to do in each place. The cities I visited en route were Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.
Obvioulsy I stopped in various towns on the way down as it's a pretty long drive.

From Seattle to Portland (4-5 hour drive) there is Mount St. Helens volcano which erupted in the 80's and half the side of it fell off. Its a very intersting site and should definitely be visited. It's about 40 minutes off I5 by car but worth the trip. The lakes around Seattle and marina are also very nice especially on a sunny day.

From portland south I drove along I5 until I almost got to the Californian border as there is little to see and do on the coast from Portland down. Some nice towns etc. but thats it. You'll get the same ding dong in CA anyway.

I drove for about 4 hours to Grants Pass. Stayed the night there. This is just basically a small US town. There are some nice forest trails and rivers in the area and the scenery is pretty nice. It's also very close to the CA border.

Following morning I took Hwy199 south to CA and onto Rt101 and entered the Redwood forest. This is an amazing place. The trees are absolutely enormous and some of the roads are completely dark due to the overhanging trees. The trees are so wide and tall that you have to actually drive through the trunk of the trees in places!! Would highly recommend this. I stopped for the night in Eureka after a 5 hour drive. Rt101 is very very slow in areas as the road is windy and narrow through the forest.
Eureka is a really nice quiet town. It has a little harbour and the weather was beautiful when I was there. I remember one pub directly opposite the harbour/bay that had without doubt the best fish and chips I have ever tasted in my life. I was there on a sunday so the sowntown area was deserted. Probably a bit more life during the week but it's not the place for mental nightlife!! Still, nice place to stop and stay the night enroute.

Looking at the map I thought I had another 3 hours drive to San Francisco or so the following day so as I was in no hurry I came off Rt101 and went onto Hwy1 a bit south of Eureka as it was a coastal drive and I wanted to see Fort Bragg also.
Holy ****. talk about slow. The road winds around the cliffs of the pacific coast and in places you were barely driving at 30mph but what a spectacular drive. The scenery was stunning, the pacific ocean at one side and the giant redwoods at the other. You can follow this road south to Napa Valley where it joins up with 101 again just north of San Fran. If you like wine then Napa Valley is the place to be. As the name suggests its in a valley so it was very very warm there but there are vineyards everywhere you look. A few tours are a must here.
However, from Eureka to Napa Valley took at least 6 hours driving. It really really is a slow road along Hwy 1 and while the secenery is spectacular, 6 hours of it is a little over the top.
I did try to get off it and back onto 101 but got lost and ended up back on 1 again!!

Anyway, follow 101 into San Francisco from Napa Valley and you come in over the Golden Gate bridge!! There is a stopping area on the north side of the bridge if you want to take a few photos.
San Fran like all the other sities has loads to do. Google it and you'll find out what to do. If you intend to go to Alcatraz then book the tickets before you get there as sometimes in summer they can be booked out for a week in advance!!

I just realised I have written a fair bit again. You'll really have a great time. it's a beautiful part of the world and I'm so jealous that I'm not there!! I did all this on my own as I was in the US on business so got bored a little quicker than someone with a travelling parner would so I ended up driving a lot but I would say take your time driving up the coast as cities are just that, cities.

Enjoy!!

cruiser_cork

Hi Ballyman wow what a long and detailed reply. Its fantastic what you have written am printing it off and taking it with me. I cant wait for the trip to be honest. The west coast is meant to be amazing! I really appreciate you going into so much detail. I will defo take your advice. Thanks again Xxx

Cruiser.