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Hi all! My health woes will likely make me have to cancel my trip to San Antonio, Austin, Kansas City, and Springfield IL planned for this March (I will have to reschedule some time in future) but I'm still hoping I'll be recovered enough, healthwise and financially, to make my Pacific NW trip planned for May or June. But I have a few questions:
(1) If I do the VIARail train on Vancouver Island, do you suggest I (a) take it all the way round trip, returning to Victoria; (b) just take it to Nanaino and get off for a few hours to see Nanaino and then catch the southbound back to Victoria; or (c) spend an extra day taking the train all the way round trip but getting off in Nanaino on the return trip and overnighting in Nanaino, taking a bus back to Victoria the next day? Does anyone have a recommendation for a good convenient hotel, not too expensive, in Nanaino? What is Nanaino like, touristwise? Is it compact or spread out? Is the train stop convenient to the downtown (or tourist area)? Also, will the train trip be reasonably nice even if it's very rainy?
(2) What is the Amtrak bus like between Vancouver, BC, and Seattle? Is it a pretty ride? Is it very bumpy? The 6PM train departure to Seattle doesn't look convenient for me this time, so I think I'll need to take one of the buses.
(3) I think I want to spend 1 night in Oregon, using the Cascades, rather than Coast Starlight, between there and Seattle. I am interested in visiting state capitols but also often like college towns. So, of Salem, OR, and Eugene, OR, which would you recommend for overnight?
Thanks for the info.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Sorry to hear of your health problems. I hope you have a good trip to Canada in the spring. The Pacific Northwest is one of my favorite parts of North America.
If you're traveling from Seattle to Victoria, rather than going to Vancouver by bus you can take a high-speed catamaran ferry right to Victoria. I recommend this; there are, as I recall, several daily departures. It's a spectacularly beautiful trip. You can then do the round-trip to Courtenay (I'd skip Nanaimo -- not much there), and take the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver. That is also a beautiful trip (bus from Victoria gets on the ferry at Swartz Bay, goes to Tsawwassen, drives rest of way to Vancouver).
CP Ships used to run ferries from Nanaimo to Victoria, but I don't believe they operate any longer.
Try to spend some time in Vancouver. It's a wonderful city. And if you can work in the Vancouver -- Seattle Talgo, that's a wonderfully scenic trip as well.
Can't help with hotels in Namaimo. As I said, not much there.
Posts: 614 | From: Merchantville, NJ. USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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Hope you will enjoy your Northwest trip.It is indeed chock full of beautiful scenery provided by mother nature. I didn't know a train still ran on Vancouver Island. Most of all I hope you recover from your present health woes. Speedy recovery to you so you can take more train trips!
Posts: 498 | From: New Hope, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Personally, I would try and avoid the bus from Vancouver back to Seattle. Even though the trip at night on the Cascades will not be a scenic one, the customs check at the border via bus was a real pain the first and only time I will ever do that again.
Posts: 337 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I hope you're ready to travel again by May or June. I'll take a stab at number 2 -
In 2004 I rode the VIA Malahat northbound Victoria to Nanaimo. I would have liked to go all the way up and back BUT the train was not operating any further north due to a trestle fire. I had contemplated waiting five or six hours until the train returned BUT decided once I stepped off the train in Nanaimo that I instead wanted to walk to the Greyhound Station and ride the first bus I could get back to Victoria.
My impressions of Nanaimo were not particularly favorable. The train station was nice enough BUT it was locked and apparantly there is no agent or indoor waiting available. The rail station is out-of-the-way in an older neighborhood probably 15-20 blocks from downtown. They are downhill blocks however!
The Greyhound Station is behind a seedy motor hotel and a bar (would not go there after dark!) which may not even still be in business.....the place was on it's last leg in 2004. The walk itself was OK but the scenery reminded me a whole lot of Patton Avenue in West Asheville, NC....that is car lots, repair shops, and fast food joints. Maybe there is more to this town that I totally missed BUT I would certainly opt for spending the off-train time in Victoria rather than a night in Nanaimo if I had it to do again.
Hotel in Victoria - We stayed at a Best Western Property (there are at least two in town) that was just a couple of short blocks from both the inner harbour and the parliment building. It was a good location and a fair, fair price.
Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Let me try to persuade you to take the train from VAC to SEA. There isn't much to see from the bus on I-5, while much of the train's running is along Puget Sound. In June the sun sets after 9 pm, so most of the ooh-and-aahs will still be visible. There may be a spectacular sunset behind the Olympic Mts and once it gets dark you'll be near Seattle anyway. The nude beach near Edmonds, however, will most likely be empty by the time your train passes. (Take the Empire Builder or Sounder commuters for that view.) If you haven't been on the Talgos yet I think you'll find them comfortable and accessible. It might be a good idea to schedule your arrival in Seattle on a night when the Seattle Mariners don't play a home game to avoid congestion near King Street Station. I've lived in the Northwest all my life and I still love the train ride north of Seattle.
For travelers interested in the San Juan Islands, there is ferry service between Bellingham and the islands during the summer months. The service isn't operated by the Washington State Ferry system, but it does provide access to the San Juans without going through Anacortes. It looks like you would have to spend a night in Bellingham to make the connection however.
Posts: 78 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by jp1822: ...the customs check at the border via bus was a real pain the first and only time I will ever do that again.
I can second the emotion regarding the bus southbound....a REAL pain and a real hassle. Would NEVER do that again. A very long delay at the border thru customs in processing everyone off the bus...one...at...a..........time.
Take the train.
Posts: 497 | From: Clarksburg, West Virginia | Registered: Oct 2003
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Last year I did take the train south from Vancouver and loved it; I also took the Clipper and bus/ferry via Victoria to get up to Vancouver and loved that too. I'd be happy to do either again BUT whether I do tje train in both directions or go up via Victoria and back with the train, the times mean that I would have to stay in Seattle overnight on the way up AND on the way down. And, based on last year's experiences, I'm just not all that fond of Seattle.
I thought about staying in Bellingham on the way down, instead of Seattle, but the hotels near the train in Bellingham (that Fairhaven neighborhood) are rather high priced--too high for a mere overnight. And if I decide to actually do something in Bellingham, like take that San Juan Islands ferry, then I'd have to stay TWO nights. . . . though, it's a thought . . .
Also, while on the train, I passed a very nice town (or what looked like a town) right near the border, called White something. But I cannot seem to find it (and there wasn't a stop there anyway).
Any other ideas on how I could avoid an overnight both up and back in Seattle and still avoid that pesky Seattle-Vancouver bus???
On another note, any input from anyone on the Salem vs Eugene Oregon stopover I'm thinking of making? If you've been to both, which do you prefer, and why? Both tempt me, but I won't have time for more than one.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Eugene is a great town, but we loved it especially for its location - midway between ocean & Cascades. If you're only looking at an overnight, I would defer to someone who's visited more recently.
I believe Mr Toy often goes to Salem to visit family - perhaps he can make a pitch for Salem. You could try contacting him at his website or sending a private email thru this forum.
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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My impressions of Nanaimo were not particularly favorable. The train station was nice enough BUT it was locked and apparantly there is no agent or indoor waiting available. The rail station is out-of-the-way in an older neighborhood probably 15-20 blocks from downtown. They are downhill blocks however!
...
There hasn't been a station agent in a very long time - over 30 years, I believe. The station is normally unlocked by a local caretaker near train time. But there was a fire a couple of years ago and perhaps a waiting room area has not been restored.
The station is a lot closer to downtown than 15 - 20 blocks. We have walked it several times in 10 - 15 minutes. The waterfront area of Nanaimo is quite attractive. For a day trip, as an alternative to spending over four hours in Nanaimo or a quick turnaround in Courtney, many people recommend Qualicum Beach. Although I have yet to go there, it is considered a pleasant place to break your trip and, with 2 1/2 hours, a good place to get lunch. There is no food or beverage service on the train.
Posts: 216 | From: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jul 2000
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When I rode the train to Courtenay the conductor suggested Qaulicum Beach as a stopover; said, "All you'll see is trees the rest of the way to Courtenay". He was right, but I still wanted to ride the whole line.
The town near the border is White Rock, but no, I don't think the train stops.
Since Seattle is one of my favorite places, I'm a bit puzzled by Sojourner's reaction. Try the Edgewater Hotel, built on a pier (but NO FISHING, please) and decorated in Northwest style. Not cheap, but really nice.
Posts: 614 | From: Merchantville, NJ. USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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