Renting a cabin/house for vacation... (Seattle, Tacoma: rentals, how much, houseboats)

[MsNikkiBelieves]

We are looking to relocate to Washington this fall and we're taking a vacation in March to Wa. We're looking at Olympia and surrounding areas...can anyone provide us with nearby cities that we could fine on vrbo.com that would be nice to "vacation" at? TIA.

[allforcats]

First, how long will you be here on vacation in March? 4 days? 2 weeks? That can determine how much geography you can cover.

Second, do you want March to be just fun, or just research for your move?

Third, a splendid site for travelers' honest reactions to places is TripAdvisor.com.

All the locations right around Olympia seem to be included in vrbo.com under "Puget Sound, Olympia". If you have time to be about a half-hour drive from Olympia proper, you might want to vacation fairly near on the Olympic Peninsula. The closest place on the list seems to be "Puget Sound, Shelton". North of Olympia along Interstate 5 is also Tacoma on the list.

As a resource for rentals, you might also want to check the major newspaper for the Olympia area, The Olympian and their Classifieds.
Thurston County's Homepage - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington
And have you checked Craigslist?

[MsNikkiBelieves]

Wow, thanks, Allforcats.

1. We'll be there for a week. We'll also have our dogs with us, so we need a pet friendly area.

2. The trip can be both- we want to do research, but we'd also like to have some fun. Though, the research is of more importance.

3. I'll check it out!

I've not checked craigslist for vacation rentals, but I will. I have looked there to get a feeling for housing prices, though.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Sandy Nelson]

MsNikki,

I would recommend Anderson Island. We rent a house there every summer. I work in Olympia, and it allows me to get away from it all and still be able to be at the office in under an hour.
Anderson Island is a 20 minute ferry ride from Steillacoom. Anderson Island is a full service island and has two lakes, parks, tennis courts, a golf club, a restaurant, a quaint general store, coffee shop and many more amenities. We rent a house directly on Lake Florence, where we can kayak around the lake first thing in the morning and then have breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake and watching the deer walk through the yard. We also like to go for walks on the beach, ride bikes, fish and play golf. The ferry runs every hour during the day (except for a break at lunch). Being on an island makes you truly feel like you're vacationing because the pace of life is slower and because of the separation from the main land, yet you can be in Olympia or Tacoma in an hour.

Another alternative could be Hoodsport, a small town between Hood Canal and Lake Cushman.

I hope you'll enjoy your vacation and you'll have a good move to Olympia.

Sandy

[MsNikkiBelieves]

What will the weather be like in late March?

I'll take a look at those areas that you mentioned, Sandy, thank you.

[allforcats]

Late March, hmmmmm, how about: cool (in the high 40s and/or low to mid to high 50s), occasionally rainy (which here means anything from mist to heavy drizzle to showers), occasionally cloudy, occasionally sunny (with "occasionally" meaning anything from 20 minutes to 10 off-and-on hours per day), and lightly breezy sometimes with momentary heavier gusts of breeze. :-)

MsNikki, sorry to sound ridiculous but in late March that's what one can expect with the weather in this area! :-) The general "Seattle" area is in a location which gets its weather from four different directions/bodies of water/land masses, and it's so difficult to forecast weather here that they say if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change! So charts of average annual temperatures, rainfall, etc. are fun but pretty useless on a real, daily basis as the weather gods happily live whatever lives they wish, regardless of "averages".

Plan for a raincoat or jacket, normal footwear but not sandals, a collapsible umbrella if you don't like the feel of rain on your head, a handbag that will withstand some light rain, and an extra sweater under the coat or jacket for the evenings, and be sure to use UVB/UVA sunglasses.

Have fun!!

[MsNikkiBelieves]

Allforcats- not ridiculous at all. I asked as I've no clue because I've never been there. I thank you for your honesty.

[bmsea]

Hi Ms Nikki,

I know that there are weekly rentals on VRBO in downtown Seattle, and that is where I would personally stay if I had one week in Western Washington (and had never spent a lot of time here).

Anderson Island is nice, but I'm not a big fan of being dependent on the ferry schedule personally.

If you are looking for more of a "relaxing" or quiet stay, I would also suggest you look at the coast, which I am a huge proponent of Westport (you can see some of my other posts for details, but in March, you might be here during a clam dig weekend, or drop a crab pot at the boat basin for super fresh crab).

For another getaway (far away) there is the Quinault Rain Forest on the peninsula that has several rental options, including the Lake Quinault Lodge. Very pretty. Very secluded.

If you need to be close to town for your research, there are rental options right there in Olympia, and like Seattle, I think you could stay somewhere that is not necessarily a "vacation" atmosphere, but would still be a fun home base for exploring the South Sound area.

Good luck!

[MsNikkiBelieves]

Thank you for your insight as well, bmsea. I appreciate the help everyone.

[Sandy Nelson]

MsNikki,

Allforcats is right on with the weather. It's terribly unpredictable in the spring. As another option that just came to mind is houseboats for two.
House Boats for Two, Pleasant Harbor, Washington State

I do hope you'll be lucky with the weather when you come up here.

Sandy