NWR - Kiwi needing suggestions for West Coast North America holiday

Greenjinjo · April 2017

H and I are in the process of planning an end of year trip over to North America!
Since so many users on this forum are from that neck of the woods I would love to hear suggestions/thoughts/additions on our very sparse plans. So far we have:

- Fly to LA From NZ
- Universal Studios (Harry Potter!!!) three day pass
- Portland (only just decided to add this stop today)
-Vancouver
- Whistler
- Fly home

One thing we really love is craft beer. Would love to hear recommendations on breweries, bars, pubs, dives etc to visit in those regions. I have a few written down for Portland already.

Food, coffee, museums and nature are also big items for us. We are thinking of going skiing in Whistler.

We are aiming for around 3 weeks all up on the trip, but don't want it to be too jam packed with activities. Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated!

ETA:
Forgot to ask about tipping and taxes. From what I have read online the sticker price of a product is pretty much never the final price (wtf?!). What is the standard etiquette on tipping and who should you tip? Also addition of tax - is this actually not accounted for in the ticket price?

Y'all need to get rid of tipping...

STARMOON44 · April 2017

Are you planning on driving or flying between stops? Those are long distances, if you're driving you'll be hard pressed to fit them all in enjoyably.

There are lots of good articles on tipping. Most important is restaurant meals- if a waiter brings you the food, you should tip 20%.

For buying goods the sticker price usually doesn't include sales tax, which is about 7.25%. The price of food on a menu usually won't include tax or trip.

Greenjinjo · April 2017

@STARMOON44 at this point we are looking at flying between those points. We would probably consider driving the US West coast if we were going to add more stops in.

Cool, I will do some more research on sticker price vs. final price. I'm very aware of how important tipping is for FOH staff (and to be honest I think it's bullshit that it isn't just worked into the cost of the food initially) and will definitely make sure to tip them at least 20%.

OurWildKingdom · April 2017

FW highly recommends Voodoo Doughnut in Portland:

http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/

ETA: Here's a helpful article on tipping:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html

Greenjinjo · April 2017

@OurWildKingdom those doughnuts look unreal! I'm adding this to the list, cheers!

OurWildKingdom · April 2017

STARMOON44 said:

Are you planning on driving or flying between stops? Those are long distances, if you're driving you'll be hard pressed to fit them all in enjoyably.

There are lots of good articles on tipping. Most important is restaurant meals- if a waiter brings you the food, you should tip 20%.

For buying goods the sticker price usually doesn't include sales tax, which is about 7.25%. The price of food on a menu usually won't include tax or trip.

In the U.S., sales tax can vary from state to state and even county to county.

Here's an article on taxes in Canada:

http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatravelplanner/a/How-Much-Is-The-Sales-Tax-In-Canada.htm

OurWildKingdom · April 2017

Also, if you can manage a stop in Seattle, check out the Pike Place Market.

Greenjinjo · April 2017

@OurWildKingdom thanks for the links! I think H is going to be a bit shocked when I show him this tonight..
From reading those two pieces it looks like I'm going to be carrying a lot of cash with me, which is something I pretty much never do these days as I just paywave everything.

ernursej · April 2017

You can add tip to any credit card payment for restaurants. Most North American restaurants accept credit cards. Use UBER instead of cabs and you will likely need minimal cash. H and I haven't carried cash in the last two years (hitting Vancouver, Whistler, Portland, Seattle, LA and San Diego).

For Portland beer recommends, check out -

http://www.portlandbeer.org/breweries

Whistler is probably your most expensive stop. I remember finding everything very pricey. It has recently been taken over by Vail Resorts so price could be up or down depending on how it fits into their brand.

ernursej · April 2017

For Portland, I've tried to group together as best as possible. Far too many places to eat.

From my research in 2015:

Sunday
Activities

http://www.mthood.info/
http://www.crgva.org/ Columbia Gorge

Lunch

http://www.timberlinelodge.com/dining/mt-hood-brewing-co/ (my first choice for lunch when we go to Mt. Hood)

Dinner

http://www.pazzo.com/menus/our-food.htm (Italian)
or
http://caffemingonw.com/wnogni/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/caffeMingo_menu_091015.pdf (Italian - )

Dessert

http://www.saintcupcake.com/#cupcakes
or
http://www.bluestardonuts.com/

Monday
Breakfast

http://wafflewindow.com/food/
or
http://www.tastynsons.com/brunch/

Activity

http://www.powells.com/ Powell's City of Books

Snack

http://voodoodoughnut.com/doughnuts.php

Activity

http://www.omsi.edu/calendar?start%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&end%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&keys= Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

Lunch/Dinner options

http://www.rogue.com/roguemeetinghalls/
http://www.andinarestaurant.com/food/entrees/
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/

Food Pods
http://www.foodcartsportland.com/category/location/downtown-location/sw-10th-and-washington/
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zBwrQkvFyvi8.k7T1OA_J6anE&msa=0
http://grilledcheesegrill.com/

Activityhttp://www.travelportland.com/article/portland-rose-garden/ Rose Test Gardens
Lunch
http://www.bridgeportbrew.com/
Snack
http://saltandstraw.com/flavors/
Dinner
http://tinshedgardencafe.com/#menu
or
http://dovevivipizza.com/daily/
or
http://kensartisan.com/#/pizza

Greenjinjo · April 2017

@ernursej Oh my goodness, thanks! That brewery list is massive. OMSI looks really fun and interesting, will definitely have to check it out. Will also definitely have to go to the Rouge pilot brewery.

kahluakoala · April 2017

If you're interested in craft beer I highly recommend a stop in San Diego!

ILoveBeachMusic · April 2017

I agree that cash isn't as necessary as you might think - credit cards allow tipping to be added. The only thing I can think that you would need to tip for is meals in a sit down restaurant. If you go to fast food places (which I wouldn't recommend unless it is a special local place) you don't tip there. Also, like someone else said taxes vary a great deal- city, county and state.

short+sassy · April 2017

Tipping:

People have already mentioned tipping in restaurants. At a bar, I'll usually tip $1-$2 per drink.
You'll also want to tip cab or Uber drivers. For those people, I usually add a few extra dollars. Most of them take credit cards and tips can be added to that.
If you have a doorman help you all with your suitcases to your room, you should tip about $1/bag. However, obviously if you all don't use a doorman, than no need to tip.
If you get any spa services, that is also about a 15% tip.
It's not necessary to tip at a coffee shop, however, most people will throw their extra change (coins) from the total or a $1 into the tip jar.

My H is originally from Oregon and we went to Portland the Oregon coast on our honeymoon! It's beautiful up there and Portland has a lot going on. Good news on sales tax, there isn't a state one. Some of the counties might add a small sales tax, but I don't think Portland does.

But in U.S. areas that have a sales tax, it is almost never included in the listed price. In Los Angeles, the combined sales tax is 9%. Gas is an exception. Sales tax IS included in the per gallon price.

[Deleted User] · April 2017

Yay for craft beer! We took a trip to the NW of the US just last September (from Chicago). Every night after our touristing, we'd use Yelp to find a local brewery. Lots of breweries don't serve food, but if they don't they will allow you to bring food in or order food to be delivered to your table, and sometime will even have a food truck parked outside. My favorite brewery visit that trip was in Vancouver with an Indian food truck outside. Yum. I'd definitely just get on yelp and find breweries along your route. We accidently found a place outside Seattle where people had paid to use their location to brew their own small batch of beer. So we tasted the house beer while we watched a retired couple count scoops of hops, time their heating time, and take the temperature of their brew. Once, (a different trip) we had beer at Karl Strauss after visiting Universal Studios in LA. More good beer, baby.

anidorikiladra · April 2017

For Vancouver breweries, try Steamworks (located in Gastown) or Granville Island brewery.
I've never gone to Whistler but my husband has. Like pp said, it's pretty expensive. It's also apparently very crowded for skiing so be ready for that.

bookmaiden17_ · April 2017

My fiancé loved Whistler. One of his favorite places to visit. He was there in the summer so can't speak to the skiing, but the mountain biking was great. If you want to drive between places going up route one in CA is beautiful, right along the cost. Portland also has a lot of food trucks. there are spots in the city that have groups of food trucks parked and you can eat your whole meal at different ones. Mt. Tabor is a cool park in the city that has great hiking. I also use trip advisor to get ideas on places to go in different areas.

TrixieJess · April 2017

Vancouver is beautiful but OMG sooooo expensive! If it wasn't for the fact that we stay with family and fly out on a family discount, we would never go there.

My recommendation is Victoria, still slightly more expensive but less so than Vancouver. Also, more picturesque.

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