Our Staycation on Whidbey Island
And all my recommendations for what to do if you visit too!
This is a little longer of a post. If you just want points of interest for your trip, please scroll all the way to the bottom!
Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, we’ve never gone home for Thanksgiving. It’s partly because the short holiday weekend makes the time and expense of travel feel impractical, but also because we love having a holiday to ourselves before heading home for a few weeks around Christmas. Most years, if our schedules align, we plan a little getaway somewhere in the PNW we haven’t explored yet.
As it so happens, few months ago while browsing the Chase Travel portal, I noticed their new partnership with Avantstay which allowed us to use credit card points to book amazing houses at a discount. I searched near Seattle, zoomed out, and found the most adorable spot on Whidbey Island. On a whim, I booked it for Friday to Sunday, figuring we’d relax at home on Thursday before heading out.
We had a very cozy and wonderful Thanksgiving at home and Friday morning we packed the car and headed to Whidbey Island. Since our check-in wasn’t until 4pm, we decided to drive to Deception Pass and explore the island from the north, rather than taking the ferry from Mukilteo. If you’re visiting Whidbey Island I highly recommend driving onto or off the island to enjoy the stunning Deception Pass area and using the ferry for the other leg of the trip. Even though we’ve visited Deception Pass State Park a few times before, we’d never driven across the famed bridge so it was a treat to explore the northern part of Whidbey before settling into our weekend escape.
Our first stop was the iconic Captain Whidbey, a historic inn tucked away in an old-growth forest on the shores of Penn’s Cove near Coupeville. This charming little spot features a restaurant open to the public starting at 4pm and a cozy café offering hot drinks and baked goods. Their guest rooms look stunning, and it’s now at the top of my list for a future weekend escape on the island.
Next, we visited downtown Coupeville, a place I’ve always wanted to see because I love the movie Practical Magic (lol). We started by grabbing pastries from Little Red Hen Bakery and then we wandered through the quaint downtown and out to the Coupeville Wharf.
After exploring Coupeville, we headed south to Greenbank Farm, a massive property with hiking trails that offer stunning views of the coast in both directions. The farm also features gardens, a wine-tasting room, a restaurant, and shops showcasing local artists' work. They host various events year-round and we happened to be there during their holiday local artisan Christmas market.
Our final destination for the day was Langley, which was where our Avantstay was. Out of all the towns we visited, Langley was by far the cutest. The Main Street parallels the waterfront and is lined with restaurants, boutiques, book stores, galleries, and coffee shops. We explored a few stores, made a mental note to visit some of the galleries the next day, and then tucked into a late lunch at Saltwater Fish House & Oyster Bar before heading to our house.
The Avantstay was absolutely stunning. Perched above the coast, it’s a charming little house filled with souvenirs, art, and knickknacks collected from the owner’s travels around the world. Each piece added a personal and eclectic touch, making for a really cool and unique space. We spent our time playing cards and dominoes or reading in front of the massive window in the living room.
The next day started with a relaxed morning at home before heading out to Langley Kitchen for breakfast. That day, they featured a baked French toast bread pudding with blueberries, crème fraîche, and real Vermont maple syrup—it was absolutely insane. They also have breakfast sandwiches (highly recommend) and a smattering of other tasty treats. We would’ve gone two days in a row but they were closed on Sunday. After Langley Kitchen we got second cups of caffeine at Salty Sea Cafe before perusing the different galleries in town.
The PNW has a huge community of glass blowers and I found the most gorgeous hand blown glass pear (random I know) in Museo that I bought as a little souvenir. Also, downtown Langely is done UP for Christmas with nearly every shop decorated for the holidays. While we were there, the town lit its Christmas tree and holiday markets were in full swing — it was honestly very magical.
Also on Saturday, we visited Bayview Garden. I had seen on Instagram that they dedicate a large room entirely to Christmas decorations, and I have to say in person it was even more over-the-top than I had imagined! There were so many cute ornaments and decorations we had to limit ourselves to $100. After shopping through the Christmas room, we wandered to the other greenhouses on the property and then walked next door to the Christmas Market happening on the fairgrounds.
After the Bayview Garden we went to Double Bluff Brewing Co. where we had a few beers and grabbed lunch at the food truck Ikaika Grill. That night they had live music planned but we decided we were too tired so we headed home to have some of the wine we brought with us and then ordered out pizza from Village Pizzeria (the pizza was just okay so you won’t see it on my list of recommendations below). Sunday was a short day on the island because we wanted to get back to Seattle to relax before dinner with friends, but we did stop off at the Flower House Cafe before leaving and I got a very good breakfast burrito. Overall it was a really fun and relaxing weekend!
The only other thing we didn’t experience, but is very common, is seeing whales or going on whale tours. Langely has a Whale Center and many people come to the town to see orcas (J, K & L pods are in the area), gray whales and humpbacks. While we’ve seen the orcas a handful of other times, we didn’t this weekend but one of the pods was in the area and we saw people flocking to the waterfront while we were at lunch one day to watch them.
Below I have a list of all the places I recommend visiting if you’re ever in the area! I think this is best done as a weekend trip, but it is really easy to take the ferry from Mukilteo and make it a long day trip :)
Coupeville:
The Captain Whidbey
The Coupeville Wharf/Beaver Tales Coffee
Little Red Hen Bakery
Oystercatcher
Coupeville Beach
Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room
Kingfisher Bookstore
Back To the Island
A Touch of Dutch European Market
The Crow's Roost
Langley:
Saltwater Fish House & Oyster House
Langley Pies
Double Bluff Brewing Co.
Ikaika Grill (food truck behind the brewery)
Bayview Garden (where the Christmas room is)
Flower House Cafe
Langley Cafe
Seawall Park
Salty Sea Cafe
The Braeburn Restaurant
Prima Bistro
Moonraker Bookstore
Rob Schouten Gallery & Sculpture Garden
Museo