Please help me plan a stopover before Hawaii that includes whale watching

Tesh11 · 16 May 20, 09:48 AM

Hi hopefully someone can give us some ideas, we are planning a trip to Hawaii next year and initially thought we would go straight there and change at LA or SFO but after reading on here about whale watching at Monterey bay I’m wondering if we could include this in our trip somehow any ideas how this could be done? stay in San Fran a night then Monterey bay a night and back to SFO to fly to Hawaii? It’s literally been a life long dream to see orcas in the wild and seems crazy to pass on an opportunity when we are literally so close to a spot to see them! We will have our son who will be 10 so any other fun things to do? That won’t involve to much travelling? We are also used to package holidays have never driven in America so want to make it as easy as possible as this will be the most adventurous trip we’ve ever done! Would appreciate and ideas/advice

skalexander · 16 May 20, 09:53 AM

Another option would be to go via Vancouver - you could do a trip picking up from Vancouver or have a couple of days on Vancouver Island?

Tesh11 · 16 May 20, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by skalexander

Another option would be to go via Vancouver - you could do a trip picking up from Vancouver or have a couple of days on Vancouver Island?

Oh that sounds like a good option! I’ll have a look into that, I want to make it’s as easy an and stress free as possible. That could work well. Thank you!

KarenG · 16 May 20, 11:58 AM

I would also suggest Vancouver (although I’ve never been there). Other places with direct flights to Hawaii (currently) are San Diego and Seattle. I’d recommend both for a stopover but have never explored whale watching so can’t help there.

**Sandraoh40** · 16 May 20, 05:32 PM

Monterey is a fab place to visit. You could drive down from sf. Personally I would stay more than 1 night, really just so you could enjoy the town and not feel rushed. With a 10 year old, the aquarium would be great. We went whale watching 4 years ago from here and were extremely lucky to follow a pod of orca for about an hour. They got more and more playful with us which ended up in me getting this photo.

I know it would be a bit of an adventure to drive down and back to SF but that’s what adventures are all about!

Tesh11 · 16 May 20, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by Sandraoh40

Monterey is a fab place to visit. You could drive down from sf. Personally I would stay more than 1 night, really just so you could enjoy the town and not feel rushed. With a 10 year old, the aquarium would be great. We went whale watching 4 years ago from here and were extremely lucky to follow a pod of orca for about an hour. They got more and more playful with us which ended up in me getting this photo.

I know it would be a bit of an adventure to drive down and back to SF but that’s what adventures are all about!

Oh wow that sounds amazing! Would get so emotional seeing this, such an amazing thing to see. I’ve got some options to explore to keep me busy 😀 Thankyou

Scaramouche · 17 May 20, 05:50 PM

Vancouver was our decision

sadly it’s on hold now but our honeymoon was to be Vancouver, Hawaiian cruise and then Aulani

Tesh11 · 17 May 20, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Scaramouche

Vancouver was our decision

sadly it’s on hold now but our honeymoon was to be Vancouver, Hawaiian cruise and then Aulani

I’m so sorry you’ve had to put all that on hold that’s just terrible, I feel so so sorry for people who were due to get married. It sound like an amazing trip! Hopefully you won’t have to wait to long.

**Bootrip2** · 17 May 20, 06:17 PM

Sounds amazing!

xcited · 20 May 20, 12:54 PM

Friday harbor, San Juan islands in Washington state. Fly into Seattle, short drive up. This would be my choice.