I wanted to dedicate a post to summarize our Bandon Dunes trip. It was such a wonderful experience from start to finish. This is meant to showcase my experience, not to be a trip planner. I am by no means qualified to do that after one trip. I would suggest checking out golftripper.com for an in-depth review of what you need to know for a trip to Bandon.
Getting There: We flew into Seattle for the other parts of our trip. That left us a seven-hour drive. While long, we did get to see enjoyable scenery and it helped build the anticipation for the golf. Portland is about four hours and now Delta has created a route that gets you much closer.
Lodging: We stayed in the Lodge. Originally we were supposed to have dunes view, but they moved us to the ocean view with no charge! The room was very nice, but not over the top. It had just what you needed and provided a more than adequate place to rest your head after 36 holes.
Golf: See the course reviews posted over the last couple of weeks. I didn’t get to play Preserve or the Punchbowl. Two good reasons to come back.
Food: We ate at the Tufted Puffin (which featured the Gallery menu at night) and McKee’s. My wife had what she called the best meal of her life at the Tufted Puffin (duck) and really enjoyed the chicken pot pie. I had a great cheeseburger at Tufted Puffin and some wonderful fish and chips at McKee’s. We didn’t make it to the Bunker Bar for this trip.
Extras: I was mostly there for the golf, but we did do some other things. We walked out to the Labyrinth which was a cool, quick activity. My wife did some of the walking trails and enjoyed them. They go all the way down to the beach and can provide some good times for non-golfers. The spa is also on-site, but we didn’t have time for that.
As you can see, that was a quick recap of our Bandon Dunes trip. I hope it gives you an idea of what a first-timer will experience at the resort. I didn’t try to fit everything in and I think that allowed me to really enjoy what I got to do. It also gives me great reasons to go back! So as a closing thought, just go to Bandon Dunes!
You had the same idea we had, except that you didn’t stop at a small little 9 hole goat ranch on the drive to Bandon. I will be writing up my experiences shortly as I prepare to launch my own website. Am looking forward to reading your course reviews tonight. BTW, you should have shoved the Punchbowl in to your schedule- incredibly fun!
Thanks Aaron! Look forward to seeing your stuff. No Punchbowl means I have an extra reason to go back!