A "New Moon" weekend getaway in Forks, WA

Just for fun, I’ve put together several trips to the Olympic Peninsula that roughly coincide with the projected November release of the second “Twilight” series film adaptation, New Moon. In all three scenarios, I used the same airline and car rental agency (because there really wasn’t a better price) which means the main difference, obviously, is in lodgings.

My choices of airports for each scenario are Cleveland-Hopkins, Akron/Canton, and Pittsburgh International. The cheapest rate available for me was at Pittsburgh International, through Delta Airlines. For a 3 day, 2 night round trip ticket from Pittsburgh to Seattle Tacoma International, the fare was $205 per person. The next cheapest was $293 on Frontier Airlines out of Akron/Canton. Since both flights have 1 hour layovers, the question for me becomes “which would be more within my budget: an additional $88 for airfare or roughly $60 to fill my tank twice driving between Pittsburgh and Cleveland”? Add in airport parking fees, and its looking like driving out to PA is the better deal.

Once you arrive in Seattle, you have a 3-7 hour drive ahead of you (depending if you decide to travel northward or southward). For airfare, I used TripAdvisor.com but for the car rental – since I’m a huge fan of William Shatner – I went with Priceline.com. Of all car rental agencies available at the Seattle Airport, Dollar Rental offered the best rates. An economy car is roughly $30 a day or $92.47 for our 3 day trip.

Your choices of lodgings are based on your accustomed level of comfort and your expected daily travel times. In scenario #1, I chose the Forks Motel. Their off season rates begin from 10/15 to 5/14, so in November the daily rates for a room with one queen sized bed and shower are $52 (single occupancy), $57 (double occupancy) and $59 (double occupancy) for 2 queen beds (why anyone might want two beds for a single occupancy is beyond me, but that rate would be $54 a day). The Forks Motel is located on Highway 101 right in town so you are, essentially, right in the heart of the story. For a two night stay is scenario #1, the total cost is $104-$118.

Scenario #2 – We move south of Forks to the Kalaloch Lodge, located right along the pacific coast. Their daily room rates currently ranges anywhere from $149 to $188 single or double occupancy, they are a little pricey but you have your choice of private cabins, the secluded Seacrest Building or staying in the Main Lodge itself. They also offer two “Twilight” themed room packages (1 night for the New Moon package and 2 nights for the Twilight at Kalaloch package, $149+ and $199+ a night respectively) which include a Forks area map highlighting all locations listed in the book, Twilight water bottles, Twilight Trivia and a Special Twilight dessert. The amazing coastal views, beautiful pacific -northwestern woodland surroundings and spectacular room amenities, this is the most comfortable of the three choices but also the most expensive. Since the entire purpose of the trip is a “Twilight” themed weekend getaway, I’d choose the Twilight at Kalaloch room package; making the total cost for the two nights stay $398+.

From the extravagant to the minimal, scenario #3 is the least expensive “travel package” but it requires a certain amount of willingness to “rough it”. The Rain Forest Hostel is 13 miles closer to Forks than Kalaloch and offers common rooms, campsites and trailers for couples. Their daily rates start from $5 per person for the camping areas to $21 per couple for the trailers. They provide blankets and pillows, but there is an additional one time charge of $1 if you don’t provide your own sheets. There is also a full kitchen, showers and laundry room that are shared by all guests and you have to do 15 minutes worth of chores for each night you stay, but really the price can’t be beat. I’m kind of a private person, so I’d either chose a campsite or a trailer, which means my total cost for a 2 night stay in the final scenario would range from $10 to $42 dollars (plus a half hour worth of chores).

Totaling it all together – airfare, car rental, and lodgings – the total cost for each scenario package is:
#1 – $401.47- $415.47
#2 – $695.47+
#3 – $307.47 – $339.47

Airfare and Car Rental prices are subject to change, so the earlier you reserve your trip, the better.