vacation: seattle and vancouver or new york and toronto

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
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Originally posted by: LS20
my family vacation
mid august

where to go..we've been to neither places
I say NY and TO. 2 great places to visit. Not to mention one of the biggest concerts in history is going down in TO this month.

Of course I am a bit biased here. (lives in London, Ont 2 hours from TO)
 

Freejack2

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
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Toughie, I've been to NYC many times and it's definitley worth the trip. There are some things to keep in mind but I need to know, are you flying or driving.
If you're flying do you plan to rent a car?
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
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Spent a week in Seattle the week of the Windows 95 launch...beautiful weather...I'd go there...hit NY in the spring or fall
 

LS20

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Jan 22, 2002
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Originally posted by: Freejack2
Toughie, I've been to NYC many times and it's definitley worth the trip. There are some things to keep in mind but I need to know, are you flying or driving.
If you're flying do you plan to rent a car?

flying, definately, from texas. i might drive with friends there (if its seattle) and fly back with family. we're gonna rent a car also. whats the policy regarding rental cars and political lines? we want to fly intra US and then drive accross the border
 

gopunk

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Jul 7, 2001
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i voted for ny and toronto, but i live in seattle so i may be biased :p if you're chinese, then probably seattle/vancouver because vancouver has pretty a pretty good chinatown
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
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Originally posted by: LS20
Originally posted by: Freejack2
Toughie, I've been to NYC many times and it's definitley worth the trip. There are some things to keep in mind but I need to know, are you flying or driving.
If you're flying do you plan to rent a car?

flying, definately, from texas. i might drive with friends there (if its seattle) and fly back with family. we're gonna rent a car also. whats the policy regarding rental cars and political lines? we want to fly intra US and then drive accross the border
You are better to drive over into Canada. Just bring all necessary ID just incase. Renting a car here can be a pain. You will have a good time in Canada. :)

Don't worry about Mad Cow or Sars or West Nile. ;)

There are quite a number of US ATOT members that come to Canada for a vacation every year.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
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Mid August huh? How mid? The last night of the big fireworks show in Vancouver is August 9th. It's definitely worth checking out. There's about half a million people along the beaches of English Bay watching the off shore show. It's great.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
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***********************
Seattle and Vancouver !!!!
***********************

OMG - 1000 hands down cooler than NY and Toronto....




 

Freejack2

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
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Originally posted by: LS20
Originally posted by: Freejack2
Toughie, I've been to NYC many times and it's definitley worth the trip. There are some things to keep in mind but I need to know, are you flying or driving.
If you're flying do you plan to rent a car?

flying, definately, from texas. i might drive with friends there (if its seattle) and fly back with family. we're gonna rent a car also. whats the policy regarding rental cars and political lines? we want to fly intra US and then drive accross the border

I'd recommend not renting the car until you are ready to drive to Toronto. In New York city it's by far cheaper to take the subway and cabs than to drive. Every place you go in NYC you will get reamed 10 ways to Sunday for parking. You're best bet is to get a good deal on a hotel in Manhattan. Places like hotwire, priceline, and others will get you some nice deals in NYC. Done right NYC is a place you'll be glad to have visited. Also from what I hear Toronto is a very very nice place to visit. (Someday wife and I will have to go there).

Mind you Seattle I hear is nice too but I don't think it has as much to do as NYC does.

 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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Originally posted by: silverpig
Mid August huh? How mid? The last night of the big fireworks show in Vancouver is August 9th. It's definitely worth checking out. There's about half a million people along the beaches of English Bay watching the off shore show. It's great.

One of the things I miss about not living in Vancouver anymore. :(
 

jagr10

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Jan 21, 2001
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If you're big on scenery then go with the West Coast vacation. It's beatiful in Seattle and Vancouver and even Victoria. Alot of movies are filmed in BC because of the scenery. If you're more into big city stuff then there's more to do in NY/Toronto (Theatre, Paramount Canada's Wonderland, CN Tower, Empire State Building, more and bigger shopping malls, etc).

Personally, i'd take the NY/Toronto trip.
 

LS20

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Jan 22, 2002
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Originally posted by: silverpig
Mid August huh? How mid? The last night of the big fireworks show in Vancouver is August 9th. It's definitely worth checking out. There's about half a million people along the beaches of English Bay watching the off shore show. It's great.

oooh, missed it by a hair. we actually just planned to leave texas on the night of the 9th, but we might be able to go on the 8th instead if this event is a must-see. we dont really have a date to come back, but it'll probably be a 7-day thing.

are there anything else worth seeing in the area? ill be checking out some travel books later today
 

simms

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Sep 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: gopunk
i voted for ny and toronto, but i live in seattle so i may be biased :p if you're chinese, then probably seattle/vancouver because vancouver has pretty a pretty good chinatown

toronto also has a great chinatown. in fact Chinese are #1 in population in the Greater Toronto Area (that is when white people are broken into their background/heritage... there are still a lot more Caucasians, but if you were to break it down to Italians, Polish, etc, then Chinese comes out #1).

--Simon
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
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Originally posted by: LS20
Originally posted by: silverpig
Mid August huh? How mid? The last night of the big fireworks show in Vancouver is August 9th. It's definitely worth checking out. There's about half a million people along the beaches of English Bay watching the off shore show. It's great.

oooh, missed it by a hair. we actually just planned to leave texas on the night of the 9th, but we might be able to go on the 8th instead if this event is a must-see. we dont really have a date to come back, but it'll probably be a 7-day thing.

are there anything else worth seeing in the area? ill be checking out some travel books later today

DEFINITELY must see. It's a great show, and a great atmosphere downtown. Don't plan on being able to move much after the show as that many people fill up the streets pretty good.

There's tons of stuff to do, but it all depends on what you like. If you like hiking somewhat, then hike up Grouse Mountain. It's only a 15 minute drive from downtown, and once you get to the top there's a few nice restaurants/lounges you can hang out in. The view from the top of the mountain is amazing. Of course, if you're not much of a hiker, you can take the tram up to the top too :)

Stanley Park seawall is also a great walk. You get a good view of the harbour and what not. Definitely check that out. The fish and chips at Lumberman's Arch (it's on the map there) are great.

UBC is nice to stroll around as well. It's a huge campus with trails through wooded areas too.

Robson street is the high-end shopping street. Granville street has most of the bars and night life (Robson and Granville cross).

A good idea for the 9th if you can do it is start off on Granville at oh, 1 pm, walk down Robson to Denman, and then Denman to English Bay (where the fireworks are). Take your time and check out some stores, get frappucinos, whatever... Then laze around the beach area and get a good seat early. Get some beach food (hotdogs/burgers/fish and chips...) and just hang out until the show starts.

You say family vacation, so I assume there's kids involved... In that case Science World is usually fun. They can run around and play with stuff, and then you can check out one of the movies on the huge dome screen. It's a cool thing to do for an afternoon.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,709
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Originally posted by: simms
Originally posted by: gopunk
i voted for ny and toronto, but i live in seattle so i may be biased :p if you're chinese, then probably seattle/vancouver because vancouver has pretty a pretty good chinatown

toronto also has a great chinatown. in fact Chinese are #1 in population in the Greater Toronto Area (that is when white people are broken into their background/heritage... there are still a lot more Caucasians, but if you were to break it down to Italians, Polish, etc, then Chinese comes out #1).

--Simon

Vancouver has the 2nd biggest Chinatown in the world outside of China :)

(san fran is #1)
 

LS20

Banned
Jan 22, 2002
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Originally posted by: silverpig


DEFINITELY must see. It's a great show, and a great atmosphere downtown. Don't plan on being able to move much after the show as that many people fill up the streets pretty good.

There's tons of stuff to do, but it all depends on what you like. If you like hiking somewhat, then hike up Grouse Mountain. It's only a 15 minute drive from downtown, and once you get to the top there's a few nice restaurants/lounges you can hang out in. The view from the top of the mountain is amazing. Of course, if you're not much of a hiker, you can take the tram up to the top too :)

Stanley Park seawall is also a great walk. You get a good view of the harbour and what not. Definitely check that out. The fish and chips at Lumberman's Arch (it's on the map there) are great.

UBC is nice to stroll around as well. It's a huge campus with trails through wooded areas too.

Robson street is the high-end shopping street. Granville street has most of the bars and night life (Robson and Granville cross).

A good idea for the 9th if you can do it is start off on Granville at oh, 1 pm, walk down Robson to Denman, and then Denman to English Bay (where the fireworks are). Take your time and check out some stores, get frappucinos, whatever... Then laze around the beach area and get a good seat early. Get some beach food (hotdogs/burgers/fish and chips...) and just hang out until the show starts.

You say family vacation, so I assume there's kids involved... In that case Science World is usually fun. They can run around and play with stuff, and then you can check out one of the movies on the huge dome screen. It's a cool thing to do for an afternoon.
well 3 college aged kids and a set of parents but i dont think we'll split off at night for bars or what-not. thanks for suggestion so far... im printing this out :)

 

Phuz

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Jul 15, 2000
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As much as I like Toronto, a city is a city is a city. (with some exceptions, of course).

Go out west, man. The Rockie Moutains are incredible.
 

FoBoT

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Apr 30, 2001
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both excellent choices

Seattle/Vancover are closer together, by quite a margin
in fact, why not NY,NY and Montreal ? montreal is much closer to NYC than Toronto and it is pretty cool