Hi, i am currently planning a roadtrip for myself and a few friends as we are all turning the wrong side of 30 years old now and want to enjoy a lads holiday we can remember! I hope this dont make me sound like someone that needs to grow up, but as a lifelong fan of 'the goonies' i've always loved the scenery in the film and that led to me finding out about oregon and what i've read is one of the best coastal drives in the U.S! from watching 'axemen' we all love the look of the state of oregon and from reading up on the area on the internet i think we would really enjoy what it has to offer. we are not planning to go till 2011, i realise there is plenty of time but i really want to be able to plan a quality trip! at the moment i am looking at renting an 6 person rv in san fransisco driving upto portland via interstate 5 (taking in crater lake etc) then crossing west to astoria then driving down the highway 101 back to sfo. due to us all working the first thing i want to find out is how many days we will need to take off work. would 2 weeks be enough? as i said we are new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated!!! thanks in advance!!! terry
It is a beautiful drive. We made it several years ago. There was a very recent topic on this. Be sure to see the Sea Lion Caves. Also remember we drive on the wrong side of the road here and it is a long way down to the water if you go over. GOOD LUCK http://www.linandnancy.com/centralor1.html http://www.linandnancy.com/columbiariver1.html http://www.linandnancy.com/coosbay1.html
Hi Terry, Let me give you a response to your first question in this post. 2 weeks should be a decent amount of time for your trip if you are talking about 2 weeks in the states. For example, if you arrive in SF on a Sunday and depart SF 2 weeks later on a Sunday that's 2 weeks for the RV portion of the trip. However, if you are talking about taking 2 weeks off for the trip, you are going to lose 2-3 days getting to SF and returning home. At best, you will have 11-12 days for your trip. The trip from SF to Portland will take 3 days since you want to stop at Crater Lake (a don't miss). Any other stops along the I-5 route will add hours if not days to the SF-Portland leg of your trip. 7-10 days for the Astoria - SF portion of the trip would allow you to travel fairly liesurely and stop at the many towns (Newport, Coos Bay, Eureka to name a few) and points (Sea Lion Caves, Redwoods, numerous lighthouses) of interest. I can imagine just coordinating 3 or 4 guys to get their vacations at the same time is going to take some doing. Since you are doing this a year in advance, I see no reason to go into specifics until you know when, how long, and how many of you are taking this trip. Good luck.
My suggestion would be to take the coast highway California State highway #1 instead of I-5. The scenery is much nicer. I-5 takes you inland quite a ways and away from the ocean.
firstly thanks a lot to Lindsay and Jerry for the replys. i werent sure wether to bother registering because u usually dont get a reply or if you do its more an advert for something! so i'm now glad i did! Lindsay i read the recent topic on this thanks, thats actually how i found this website. great pictures by the way! i cant wait to see it myself! Jerry thats a great help, ive now told the lads its got to be the whole 2 weeks, thats a major thing out the way. i realise its basic to you but as we've never been anywhere near oregon before we really werent sure how long we'd need so thanks. 'I can imagine just coordinating 3 or 4 guys to get their vacations at the same time is going to take some doing' - exactly! ive told them at the moment that it will be anytime between may and end of september, as i have read this is the best time??? i was going to avoid august. thanks again thanks nedmtnman i was going to drive one way up then coastal drive down
Hi, Don't forget to allow for Jet Lag. It hits folks in different ways. I'm great when I land--but 18 hours later I'm "off the wall". There are thousands of things to see and do on a trip through that area. Have a great time.
tez: I grew up on the Oregon Coast and, although we have lived on the coast of Maine for 35 years now, I still consider Oregon to be one the most beautiful shorelines in the world (close "comparables" might be the Norway coast from Narvik to Trondheim and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from Ingonish to Inverness). For Oregon, two weeks seems a little thin to me, especially with a stop at Crater Lake (which is nice). The best part of the Oregon Coast runs from Lincoln City to the Sea Lion Caves (just north of Florence). Don't skimp on this part, especially as you get south of Newport/Waldport/Yachats. if the weather is good, it is scenery and beaches to die for! Devils Churn, Cape Perpetua, and all of the day parks in this area of the coast are wonderful. My grandparents lived in Astoria...don't tarry here or at Seaside/Garribaldi. Get on down to Canon beach, Manzanita, Oceanside, and Lincoln City/Depoe Bay ASAP! Add a few days to your trip...have fun...and I wish we could join you. MaineDon
thanks pianotuna, as its going to be 4 or 5 guys who are all willing to drive, we are thinking of staying in sfo for 1 night then picking up the rv, whoever needs to have a sleep due to jet lag can have a sleep and the others can take care of the driving for a bit. so we can get on our way. By the way im currently looking at renting an rv from a company called 'cruise america' in sfo. does anyone know if they are a decent company to rent from? thanks MaineDon, it must have been amazing growing up along that coast!!! I totally realise what you say about two weeks being a bit thin! but the problem is everyone getting the same time off work! we are trying to study where are all the must see parts are(your advice is quality by the way!) and then have a couple of catch up days where we will have to take a couple of long drives, as its all of us driving it shouldnt be too bad! thanks again!
