Visit Seattle, Olympic NP, Mt Rainier NP, Portland, Oregon Coast, Crater Lake NP, Redwood NP, Sonoma Valley & San Francisco.
This road trip visits the Northwest’s best destinations as you move through the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon and northern California. Anyone who has enjoyed a California road trip in the past will love this route, along with those looking for quieter National Parks and roads.
Key road trip highlights:
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We’ll suggest properties to match your preferred budget, be it low-cost, mid-range or high-end luxury that you’re looking for. We can also mix it up so you’ll experience a range of standards and experiences along your road trip.
All of our American road trips can be tailored to meet your requirements. Do you have more or less than 14 days for your road trip? No problem, we can bolt on extra nights to allow more time to explore or shorten the number of destinations as required.
Fly direct from the UK to Seattle in the northwestern corner of the US. After checking in to your chosen hotel, why not have dinner at one of Seattle’s great seafood restaurants?
Emerald City is one of the fastest-growing cities in North America, made famous for its coffee, grunge music and an expanding tech sector. It has a laid-back charm with visitor highlights like Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and Pioneer Square, to name just three.
The words rugged, craggy and remote come to mind when thinking of Olympic National Park. Situated in the far Northwest corner of Washington State, this is one of the wildest places you’ll be likely to visit. You won’t be alone though, Roosevelt Elk thrive here amongst the many trees, alpine meadows and waterfalls.
Rialto Beach is a magical place with massive pieces of driftwood and huge sea stacks on a black sand beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Tonight, you’ll stay on Lake Quinault, uniquely located within the Quinault Rain Forest, which makes for numerous opportunities to take scenic short walks.
The largest mountain within the Cascades range, Mount Rainer, hasn’t been an active volcano for many years, but it’s still a prominent attraction and a protected National Park. Filled with meadows, craters, glaciers and abundant wildlife, flora and fauna, this is one of the most scenic locations in North America.
After three days in the great outdoors, it’s time to cross into Oregon and stay in it’s biggest city, Portland. As always, your Road Trip Pack will help you plan a couple of days of sightseeing. A distinctively trendy city, Portland has a range of activities to suit all interests. On the way to Portland, we recommend a route that passes the beautiful Multnomah Falls in the magnificent Columbia River Gorge.
A full day to enjoy all the pleasures on offer in hip and unique Portland. The Japanese Gardens in Washington Park is a must-see for the team at The American Road Trip Company. Like to shop? Portland is the place due to the lack of sales tax in the city.
Once you’ve ticked some of Portland’s must-see places and enjoyed the tax-free shopping, you’ll head west to the Oregon Coastline along the Sunset Highway. You’ll soon find the ocean near Cannon Beach and the amazing Ecola State Park.
Today, you’ll drive the sublime Highway 101 south along the Oregon Coastline. While California’s Highway 1 gets much attention for its abundant scenery, the 101 through Oregon has it all and perhaps more. Complete with quiet seaside coves, numerous lighthouses, and secluded hideaways, today’s drive makes for a scenically memorable one.
Today, you’ll leave the coast and head up to the unique scenery of Crater Lake National Park. No place else on earth combines a deep, pure lake, so blue in colour; sheer surrounding cliffs, almost two thousand feet high; two picturesque islands; and a violent volcanic past. It is a place of immeasurable beauty and an outstanding outdoor laboratory and classroom.
Yet another scenic drive today – down to Redwood National Park in northern California. Redwood trees were once common throughout North America. Sadly, now they are primarily found only in Oregon and California. The ultimate Sequoia experience is here in Redwood National Park. These true giants stand up to 100m high and 11m in diameter.
Both the neighbouring valleys of Napa and Sonoma offer gorgeous scenery made up of perfectly manicured vineyards stretching across rolling hills. A foodies’ heaven, with an emphasis on ‘farm to table’ dining, you’ll be spoiled for choice on where to eat and drink.
Continue south and over the Golden Gate Bridge to cross Sausalito Bay into the City of San Francisco. After returning your hire car and checking into your San Fran hotel, you may want to ride a cable car or stretch your legs by exploring on foot. Full of Victorian charm and a cosmopolitan vibe, San Francisco is an excellent all-rounder with world-class attractions unique to this city on the bay.
A second full day to explore San Franciso’s must-see places. Included in your Road Trip Pack are all our favourite recommendations listed for convenience. Coit Tower, Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies, Union Square and Alcatraz are just a few to get you going. If you’re flexible on time, adding an extra night here is well worth it. Just mention this when you request your personalised quote.
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You’ll find answers to most of your questions right here. If you still need assistance, Feel free to get in touch, and we’ll be sure to get back to you promptly!
Not a problem. If you are lucky enough to have extra time to explore more places or add more rest days, then just let us know and we’ll adjust your trip to match your preferred timescale.
We strongly advise that you purchase travel insurance for your holiday to cover you against medical expenses, theft and other financial costs. Should you need to cancel before travelling, some insurance policies may pay out for any loss of funds that have been paid to us and which cannot be refunded under our cancellation policy.
Many of our trips have a different end destination than the starting point, so this is not a problem. Please note a fee sometimes applies for one-way rentals between other regions or states, which will be paid to the supplier directly when collecting the vehicle. We’ll endeavour to inform you of this charge within your quote.
No, far from it. We work with a range of properties from 3* to 5*, so we can adapt the trip to match most budgets. We have access to rooms in more than 800 hotels, motels, lodges and B&Bs across North America.
The minimum age to rent a car is 21 in the United States or Canada, although, in addition, any drivers under 25 years of age will generally incur a surcharge.
Please use the form below to request a quote from our team. Fields marked with an * are mandatory. Please note that we currently only serve customers based in the UK & The EU.
Not quite what you’re looking for? Get in touch to discuss your Bespoke Road Trip plans, or check out these similar road trip itineraries…
ARTCo customers can be confident that we only work with the very best service providers, such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Alamo. Any payments made to us are fully protected via the government’s ATOL scheme (Flight packages) or Financial Failure Insurance (Non-Flight Packages).
