I cannot wait to share my tips (and lots of photos) for Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and Vancouver, Canada. I love both travel and photography, so I can wait to share both with you!
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
We had planned our trip to Vancouver months ago and I noticed Mount Vernon, WA is right off the highway on our way to Canada. It is about an hour north of Seattle, WA. Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is the month of April and has been on my bucket list since moving to the PNW! We choose to visit Roozengaarden Display and it was gorgeous!
Tips/Suggestions:
-They accept card, so don't be mislead with ATMs out front and pay $4 fee!
-They offer military discount
-Check the weather and dress appropriately
-If looking for the best photo op, go early or at sunset! Less crowds and gorgeous skyline with the mountain! Also, wear white to stand out with the variety of tulips
-Go during the week! Again, less crowds.
Vancouver, Canada
We picked going to Canada for Jonathan's spring break because we went back in July of 2017 and loved it so much. My time in WA is also coming to an end so I wanted to check off a few things on my bucket list. It was quite a bit colder going in April as it is more north, than July. We got lucky and it didn't rain! Vancouver was such a blast and hope you enjoy our guide!
Getting There
We drove 6-7 hours from Spokane, WA using I90 and I5 on a Wednesday morning. We stopped to get Chick-Fil-A in Seattle and the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on the way. The border wait time was not bad, maybe 15 mins or so. You can also checkout the wait times online here. Uber and Lyft are not yet in Vancouver, so you will need to rely on water taxis, taxis or public transportation.
Airbnb
We stayed in an Airbnb in Yaletown, balcony view above. The rental was a one bedroom apartment with a gym, included parking and balcony. The location was amazing and probably the most important feature to us. I would recommend staying near the attractions you want to visit. We stayed in the "hospital district" back in 2017. While we paid less, I found it very convenient to not to drive across the Granville Bridge and navigate looking for parking. Haven't checked out Airbnb before? Use my link for $55 off your next trip!
Must Dos
-Bike Stanley Park! It is voted number one park in the world. We drove last visit and didn't see as much as the road doesn't go along the coast line the entire time. It was also a great exercise and did not feel 6-7 miles (took less than two hours). We did get lost and missed the turn so biked all the way to Granville! We got our rentals from Yes Cycle.
-Enjoy the seafood the area has to offer! We had seafood/sushi each meal!
-Vancouver Aquarium! Great option for kids. Offered student and military discount too.
-Water taxis
-Granville Island
Must Eats
-Yamato Sushi! We found Yamato in 2017 and ate there every day. Did that again this trip! It is very inexpensive and very fresh. My crunch roll was less than $5 CAD which is around $3.75 USD. Their miso soup is hands down the best I have had too! Hot tea is free and served with every meal. It is a smaller restaurant and happened to be two blocks from our airbnb. They are on DoorDash and do not accept Visa cards. They also do $1CAD to $1USD if paying in USD, so bring a MasterCard or CAD! Haven't checked out DoorDash before? Use my link to get $10 off your first order.
-Heirs Pears; great breakfast! Healthy options and the restaurant a few blocks down from us. I ordered the fruit granola bowl and it was delicious.
-YEW Seafood; more upscale seafood restaurant. It is located in the Four Seasons, second floor. YEW was our night out and we indulged in some amazing food, drinks and dessert.
Whale Watching and Seaplane Experience
We booked our seaplane and whale watching tour ahead of time through tripadvisor. We scheduled the departure for 8:30am. We flew with Harbour Air and no issues flying to Victoria. It was about 35 minute flight and very scenic. There were about 15 seats on the plane. When getting into the plane, all bags are put in the back so be sure to grab your phone or camera for the flight!
Once we arrived in Victoria, we went down the dock to check into our Orca Spirit covered boat tour. I specially requested Jonathan to book covered as I did not want to be wet and cold when we were in Victoria and staying in Vancouver. Thankfully they offered it the day we wanted to visit, or so we thought... We walk in to check in and they confirm we are on the zodiac boat. I asked if that is the covered as I haven't heard the name before and it was not on our receipt or booking confirmation. They said no, that's the uncovered boat! They don't have covered today and their sister company is cancelling their only tour today. So we could have a full refund and not go, or just go on the uncovered. Of course I wanted to go, I mean we spent good money to go to Victoria to have a higher change of seeing orca whales (Jonathan's favorite animal) and we were already there. The problem was we clearly were not dressed for it. We were reassured that the jumpsuit they gave us and extra gear would be more than enough. We agreed and ended up being sat in the third row. It was the first row of three people. Stranger, Jonathan and I in order. The first 40 minutes was straight ice cold salt water being thrown at my face. With the set up, I was miserable, but thankfully brought sunglasses to shield my eyes. Once we finally got onto smooth waters, it was not as bad. We did see seals, eagles and dolphins, but no orca whales which was disappointing. The company has a whale guarantee so if we are ever back in Victoria we can go back on the tour. The last hour navigating back to the pier was the worst experience. The wind and waves were so bad. The guide said it was the second worst waters he have been on. We could not go back on our own, we waited until a larger boat (happened to be a covered tour boat) could drive first to break the waves for us and the other boat that went out. By this time, I am literally soaked head to toe!
Once we got back to the pier, I had no idea what we were going to do. We were in Victoria, so we didn't have a place to back to shower or change of clothes. We ended up taking a taxi to the closest mall and bought all new clothes. It was very nice to have warm and dry clothes! We then got a taxi back to the pier to eat at the restaurant there since we had not ate all day. I just wanted to be back to our airbnb in Vancouver. We went to check into our returning flight back to Vancouver and the representative stated all remaining flights have been cancelled. I was so upset about the day. Thank goodness for Jonathan and his positive outlook. But long story short, the winds died down and we were able to grab seats on the one of two only flights that were cleared to go. Once back in Vancouver, I was over the moon for a warm shower and comfortable dry clothes! Lesson learned, don't agree to do something you're not prepared or want to do!
Tips/Suggestions
-Pay attention to the conversion. Many places take USD and MasterCard/Visas, but some places do not. Also, note prices are listed in CAD not USD.
-Try to visit during Canada Day; we visited during 2017. It falls near the Independence Day in the US. There was a large parade downtown and big celebrations during our trip.
-Take breaks and pack comfortable shoes! We easily walked 15k steps.
Discount Links
Airbnb link for $55 off your next trip.
DoorDash link to get $10 off your first order.
I hope y'all enjoyed this blog post and as always, thank you for the read.
Samantha