Advice from Puget Sound members

[Justin_NSA]

My wife and her sister are planning our 2020 vacation already. Mainly because where they think we ( those two and us husbands) want to stay books up early. Are any of you familiar with the Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island? I'm not a spa guy. I'm hoping for a nice place as a base for mini excursions in and around the San Juans and Seattle area. We'll have a car. I've been up there many times while I worked for Boeing Wichita. It's a beautiful place. I want to go in July or August. Any comparable places to stay or is Rosario a must see? We do it up big (for us) every few years.

 

[Charles Erwin]

Justin

I will be at Rosario over Thanksgiving - probably 2 3 days. Do you want me to furnish a sort of report confined to Rosario Resort itself or one about touring on all four of the islands served by Washington Ferries?

Charles

 

[Justin_NSA]

Either would be much appreciated Charles! We won't have a boat so it's the ferry system for us. I promised them Butchart Garden in Victoria too.
We'll probably be staying almost 2 weeks, cost permitting, so we plan on seeing as much as possible. As much as we can with a 70 year old sis-in-law that has a bad back and both hips replaced.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I’ve (miss)spent too much time on Orcas in my teens, my mother cooked for the Y camp there so stay was where I spent 3 summers + the family cabin on Lopez. The hike up from twin lakes to Mt Constitution is nice. Not sure how it compares but Olga’s Resort was popular back then. Personally I think San Juan Island has more to offer visitors than Orcas. Roche Harbor is extreamly nice.

Les

 

[Charles Erwin]

OK I will get back to you after the 22 nd

 

[Justin_NSA]

OK I will bet back to you after the 22 nd

Great! Enjoy your stay!

Les, we stayed in a B&B on San Juan Island once. Learned about the Pig War there

 

[kloudie1]

Dunno if you like Bed & Breakfast places, but there are some fie ones in the area.. I stayed at The Highland Inn a few years ago and had a great experience, but it may not be as friendly any more.. It was fine to watch the orcas from the deck .. (binoculars needed).. we rented bicycles and toured the island. Really liked Roche and the gardens and the old inn there.. Enjoyed the wine maker on the road between Friday and Roche.. great place.. We did ferry around to the other islands as well.. had a fine lunch at the old Rosario Inn ..
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...or_San_Juan_Island_San_Juan_Islands_Wash.html

 

[David in Sandusky]

Another alternative is to charter from Anacortes Yacht Charters. They have boats with two spacious staterooms, and two heads. That way, you can visit Rosario and the rest of the San Juans destinations from the water. And, there are truly great anchorages you won’t reach by ferry. We have sailed with orcas both times we chartered there. Finally, you could sail over to Victoria, BC, and see the Butchart Gardens on a day trip from the harbor.

We have chartered around the world, and the San Juans are the best in our eyes.

 

[Justin_NSA]

David, that would be so cool. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who really knows how to sail a boat and I'm not great at it. Especially navigation. They only big water we've done are the BVIs, and that was like Disney on water.

 

[David in Sandusky]

I hear you Justin!

Yet, here is a quote from Anacortes Yacht Charters web site:

“AYC can introduce you to several qualified skippers and help make arrangements for them to captain any of the vessels in our bareboat fleet.”

You could sail with back-up, and effectively with an instructor. You and the “qualified skipper” would probably agree after some days of a cruise that you and you crew could do without him.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I'm hoping for a nice place as a base for mini excursions in and around the San Juans and Seattle area. We'll have a car.

You do realize that you will be on an ISLAND?!?
Even with a car, you have to get on a limited schedule ferry to get anywhere. Check the ferry schedules and the TIME it takes to get to different places. You will be dependent on the WA State ferry system. It works just fine, but unless the ferry schedule works for you, both coming and going, you simply can't "get around" as much as you may think you will be able to do. You might find yourself staying over on one trip in a hotel room somewhere else, while you're still paying for your now-empty room at Rosario. Unless you figure out a way to be in two places at once!
Plan ahead...
I haven't been to Rosario, yet, only Deer Harbor, but Waggoners says good things about the resort. Read Waggoners with a chart of the area to get the big picture & to get a feel for what's going to be around you.
It's drop dead gorgeous.
Enjoy your planning. My wife says that's half the fun. I say: Not until we're pulling out of the slip!

 

[LeslieTroyer]

One other thing - the ferry will be ~$100 (car driver + 3 adults) so going on and off will be pricy.

 

[Dave Groshong]

5 days of a captained charter, 4 nights at Rosario and 4 nights at Roche Harbor resort, that would be ideal!

 

[Terry Cox]

We've been to Rosario a few times by boat and by car long ago. Well worth the visit. Too pricey for us cheap seats. As Stu said, the ferry system has but one schedule, theirs. So plan on spending lots of money and wasting plenty of time trying to get to one place or another along with all the other tourists trying to do the same thing. Ferry reservations a must during that time of the year. No wet blanket here, but would like to hear more about what interests you before offering any other suggestions.

 

[Justin_NSA]

You guys make some good points regarding the restrictions and cost of the ferry system. We are planning on 2 weeks, and speaking for myself, there's a lot on the mainland I would like to do. I haven't seen Mt. St Helens since the 80's.

 

[Charles Erwin]

About $35 -$50 car and driver Anacortes to Friday Harbor/Lopez/Shaw/Orcas/Sidney BC. Inter- island is about $20. Passengers are free inter island and to Anacortes. Car prices are round trip - except Sidney I think. Certain restrictions on inter island vehicle loading.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/pdf/CurrentFares.pdf for details

Charles

 

[Terry Cox]

I haven't seen Mt. St Helens since the 80's.

Not much left of her, Justin. Kind of a big hill after blowing her top. That Sunday morning as I walked out to the mailbox to get our Sunday paper, I heard what sounded like a sound barrier breaking a long way off coming from the south. We lived maybe 120-130 miles north of the mountain in Mukilteo. Turned the TV on in the kitchen and watched the first eruption taking place. Most all of the smoke and ash winded easterly that time.

Sometime later we were on our way back home from North Bend, Oregon and as we crested over the Terwilliger curves south of Portland we watched as the second eruption had just taken place. All the smoke and ash that time drifted northwesterly. We drove through that mess with all the other traffic from Longview to Chehalis doing maybe five to ten miles per hour in the thickest smoke and ash I have ever experienced. Unable to see anything let alone the car ten feet in front of us. Grey powder covered everything.

 

[Terry Cox]

Any comparable places to stay or is Rosario a must see

Just a suggestion, Justin. Rather than stay at Rosario Resort, find a small B&B to stay in East Sound, then do a car day ride to tour Rosario and their spa, pool and other amenities a short distance away. The women (maybe the men, too) will really enjoy the eclectic little town of East Sound that abounds with artisan shops, eateries and other pleasantries to wile away your time. The view from Mt. Constitution is quite spectacular that time of the year, another short drive away. Then drive over to Deer Harbor to soak up what they have to offer; kayaking, day sailing, biking, hiking, etc. You can spend several fun and enjoyable days just on Orcas rather than wasting your time fussing with this or that ferry. Just say'n.

 

[John Nantz]

You do realize that you will be on an ISLAND?!?
Even with a car, you have to get on a limited schedule ferry to get anywhere. Check the ferry schedules and the TIME it takes to get to different places. You will be dependent on the WA State ferry system. It works just fine, but unless the ferry schedule works for you, both coming and going, you simply can't "get around" as much as you may think you will be able to do. You might find yourself staying over on one trip in a hotel room somewhere else, while you're still paying for your now-empty room at Rosario. Unless you figure out a way to be in two places at once!
Plan ahead...

Totally agree with what Stu said.
Your schedule is for the typical tourist season because it is summer ... when it gets HOT. Because it is tourist season plan on long wait times in the car in the ferry wait line. Can't speak for the San Juan ferry but the Kingston to Edmonds ferry often has 3-HOUR wait times, especially on weekends and holidays, going and coming.

The other thing to consider, due to Global Warming the weather has become noticeably hotter and drier so there have been a lot more forest fires (not just the California ones, but also Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia). The smoke from the fires lasted for a good part of the summer.

The smoke was typically very smelly and ugly. We wound up putting extreme filters in the HVAC system and we practically never got out on the boat. One would have to get basically up as far as Port Hardy at the Northern tip of Vancouver Island to get to where there was half-way clean air. Suggest maybe a spring time trip to avoid all the problems. Just can't imagine sitting in a hot car for hours on end and dealing with the smoke anytime you want to go anywhere. It's a small Island so after a day you've seen it all.

Edit: picture was taken at ~ 8 am
Another Edit: we recently were getting smoke from the California fires here! And this is Mid NOVEMBER!

 

[Justin_NSA]

You guys have given me a lot to discuss with the family. They think we need to reserve now for the Rosario before it gets booked. I think we'll be having a discussion over Thanksgiving on this plan of theirs.