Traveling up the coast with kids

Hi. My two kids and I are traveling to Portland in a week. We are planning on staying in Portland a couple of days. Then we would like to travel the coast. I was thinking of heading south on I-5 and then traveling north back to Portland to fly home. Can you offer some insight as to the best places to stay and if I should spend more than 1 night in any town. We will have 4 to 5 days to drive the coast. Any suggestions are appreicated!

Traveling up the coast with kids

Hello and welcome to TripAdvisor. We often recommend that visitors travel from the north to the south on Hwy 101 since it makes it easier to stop at all the turnouts - and the passengers have a better view :-)

The cosst is very busy in the summer so you will need to make your reservations asap. In orde to help you, we need a little more info . . .

What is your budget? What sorts of things are you looking to do? Ages of children?

With only 4 nights(?), you can see about half the coast. YOu might want to drive down I-5 to Hwy 38, and follow it west to Reedsport (seeing the wild elk along the way). Then go north to Yachats or Newport for two nights.

The other two nights could be farther north. Seaside has attractions for children so that might work for you.

Traveling up the coast with kids

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My kids are 11 and 12. We could stay less time in Portland and pick up another day and do 6 days on the coast. I%26#39;d say our budget would be toward the middle range of hotel prices for the area depending...although I don%26#39;t mind a splurge a night or two. I can always do a little budget adjusting in Portland. If you think it would be better to drive from the north to the south, that%26#39;s what we%26#39;ll do! We had 9 days total and are flying home at 7 pm on the 9th day so that leaves quite a bit of time. I just really want to plan my time wisely and really appreciate the help!

Thanks in advance

With kids 11 and 12, I would suggest taking either Hwy 26 or Hwy 30 from Portland to Seaside, then head south on 101. Most kids love Seaside!

My grandkids always like to stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory.

Newport has a great aquarium and two neat lighthouses that are open to the public, tide pools, plus the Wax Museum, Ripley%26#39;s Believe it or Not, etc. on Bay Street. Might want to stay 2 days there.

Continue south to Florence and take a dune buggy ride on the Oregon Dunes. I don%26#39;t usually list Darlingtonia State Natural Site as a must see, but Middle School age kids tend to find stuff like carnivorous plants fascinating.

Continue south on 101 as far as Reedsport then take Hwy 38 back to I-5 and north to Portland.

I would try to stay in Seaside, there are many places to stay with oceanviews on the prom. The Best Western Oceanview, Hi-Tide, Ebb-Tide, Inn of the Four Winds and the Seaside Inn are a few to check out that are steps away from the sand. There is also the Shilo Oceanfront at the Turnaround if you like being in the midst of the action. www.seasideor.com is a nice website for this area.

We spend several weeks a year at our beach cottage in Seaside so let me know if you have any specific questions on this area of the coast. You will be close to Cannon Beach and Astoria which are also very cool places to spend time in. Enjoy your trip! :)