Suggeston for Seattle visitors

[chewap]

I would advise those that are flying into Seattle to come 2 or 3 days early and rent a car and drive to Mt St Helens and stay at Mt Rainier at one of the lodges. Through the town of Morton you can take a trip on the Northeast side of Mt St Helens to Johnson Ridege about a 3 hour drive from Seattle. On the way back at Morton go east for 30 miles and you can stay at Paridise Inn on Mt Rainier. Since this is a low snow year, the snow will have melted around the lodge by July 10th and the flowers will be out. The trip is well worth it to see the destruction at Mt St Helens and it is acitive now.

[GloriaF]

We visited Mt St Helens in 2003, and Mt. Rainier, and the area is very beautiful. We were there over July 4 and there was no snow.

 

We will be in Seattle only one afternoon and evening, May 30. We have reservations at the BW Exec Inn near the Space Needle and want to visit Pike's Market. Any "don't miss" suggestions for such a short time in the downtown area?

[momthecruisedirector]

Try a ferry ride in the evening - a beautiful way to watch the sunset. There are fun restaurants on the waterfront - the Crab Pot, Ivars, Red Robin... See the Ol Curiousity Shoppe, take in an IMAX movie at the aquarium. You can make a day of visiting the waterfront and walking up the stairs to the Pike Place Market. Check out the fish throwers, the magic shop, bakeries and flower shop. Walk east to Westlake for shopping at Macy's, Sephora, etc and take the monorail to the Seattle Center. Lot's to do.

[frani]

How far is Mt. St. Helens from Seattle. We will be in for a day before our cruise and would love to see it, but it may be too far?thanks

[katman]

Assuming light traffic, probably about 2 hours .... definitely an easy day trip and well worth it if you've never visited, especially if the weather is sunny.

[DALSAL]

We will have a day and a half in Seattle before cruising (May 25th and 26th).We wanted to go to Mt St Helens,but wasnt sure if we would have enough time.Besides a quick tour of the Pikes Market we only had 2 other things we might be interested in.The Spirit Of Washington Dinner/lunch train and a ferry ride.I cant remember which island is suppose to be the best,any ideas?? Dot

[DALSAL]

Forgot to ask...I read somewhere that Mt Rainer is about 70 miles from Seattle and St Helens was 90...would these be in the same direction so that we might check them both out?? Dot

[love2cruiseseattle]

There are many different boat tours around the Seattle area. There is the http://www.argosycruises.com which gives you a choice of many different tours. The tours are from 45 minutes to a couple of hours. There is one that cruises through the Ballard Locks which is a nice tour, you get to see Puget Sound as well as Lake Union. There is also the Duck which is a city / water tour http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com . The Elliott Bay Water Taxi will start running on May 1st through the summer months. This takes you from the waterfront over to West Seattle, it is about a 15 minute ride and once over there you have a wonderful view of the city.

 

I hope these water ideas help you out. Check out some online website of Seattle to give you some ideas on what attractions you can see.

[RubyLee]

love2cruiseseattle,

Where can you buy tickets and board the water taxi. We're only in town the afternoon before we cruise and this sounds like a fun way to check out the waterfront.

 

-Jinny

 

Mercury - Alaska

[GloriaF]

Water Taxi? That sounds like fun! I'll be watching this space for the answer, too!

[love2cruiseseattle]

It is a smaller walk on boat that takes you from the waterfront across the sound (about a 10-15 minute ride) to West Seattle. They have said in the past that it may get discontined, but it appears it will run again this year. I would keep checking this link I have listed for details when they start posting them. http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/oto/water_taxi.htmlHere is a article on the water taxi, I am not sure how old this is, but the information is accurate http://www.gocitykids.com/browse/attraction.jsp?id=29110

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[GloriaF]

Thanks, that looks interesting. I read the article and wrote down the web site so I can check later.

[CindyinSeattle]

It will take you most of a day to get to Mount St. Helen's and back to Seattle, and you won't be able to miss Mount Rainier if it's a clear day! Locals around here just refer to it as "the mountain's out" - it's that big! Certainly don't miss going to Pike Street Market - take the trolley or monorail but try to get there early in the morning as it tends to get crowded, especially on weekends. There are several excellent restaurants within the marketplace, or try the Crab Pot restaurant downtown. I would suggest renting a car and driving to Snoqualmie Falls, about a 45 minute drive from Seattle off of I-90 near North Bend. It is truely beautiful and is as tall as Niagra. North Bend also has a great outlet mall if you're into shopping, or there is the Supermall, an indoor outlet mall in Auburn, about 18 miles south of downtown Seattle. Taking the ferry to Whidbey Island, Orcas Island, Bremerton or Port Orchard is always relaxing and enjoyable. Rent a canoe at the University of Washington, take a hike through the Arboretum. We like "The Ducks" tour, especially when it goes by the houseboat from "Sleepless in Seattle". Don't miss the new library downtown - truely an architectural wonder!!

[jonikal]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips, Cindy. We're catching an Alaska cruise in early July and plan to arrive the day before. We'll spend an extra day in Seattle upon our return and will rent a car at that time. However, for the pre-cruise stay we probably won't rent a car and will go on foot. Could you suggest a good hotel from which one can see some interesting sights within reasonable walking distance? Thanks!

Elfi

[love2cruiseseattle]

jonikalThere is some good hotel information on the thread link that I have attached.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=133832

[chewap]

This year there is 9 cruise ships each week, about 20,000 going on a cruise and 20,000 coming off a cruise each friday, saturday and sunday. The hotels in downtown Seattle are filled up or priced very high. I would suggest that you rent a car and get out of Seattle area-Olympic Penisula, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Eastern Washington or Northern Washington.

[jjfla]

We will be spending 3 days in the Seattle area after our Alaskian cruise, we were thinking of driving to the coast, down around Cape Dissapointment at the mouth of the Columbia River, kind of making a loop, maybe going into Oregon and comming back up to Seattle. Is this a nice area, would it make for a great drive!!

 

Thanks

[momthecruisedirector]

It is a nice drive - you won't find beaches like you would in California or another (warm) coastal state though. You can go through Olympia and see the state capital before you head over to Hwy 101 and follow that to Ocean Shores, Westport and around. You can drive over the bridge right on the coast that connects Washington to Oregon, head east and get back in Washington at Longview and drive up I-5 back to Seattle. You'll pass Mt. St. Helens on the way and if the weather is nice you can stop at a look out area. It's a loooonnnnnggggg drive and you'll want to stop to stretch your legs and walk on the beach in Ocean Shores, climb up the Tsunami look out in Westport....

[chewap]

jjfla You may want to check out Olympic National Part that covers the western 1/3 of Washington and most of the coast, including the Rain Forests. There are several lodges throughout the park The loop from Seattle is about 250 miles and really beautiful IF the weather is nice. Laura Bush and her freinds spent 10 days in the park last summer. If the weather is going to be raining, you may want to go to the North Cascades National Park and through the pass over to Eastern Washington where the weather is always sunny and warm and then coming back through Stevens pass to Seattle.

[Owen]

We toured the pennsulia last year before our cruise and it was amazing. We were able to walk along the Pacific..could not believe how cold it was!

Also saw Mt St Helen and Mt Rainer. We fell in love with the area, beautiful sights, clean air and friendly people.

[elmtree]

We will be spending 3 days in the Seattle area after our Alaskian cruise, we were thinking of driving to the coast, down around Cape Dissapointment at the mouth of the Columbia River, kind of making a loop, maybe going into Oregon and comming back up to Seattle. Is this a nice area, would it make for a great drive!!

 

Thanks

 

Last May we flew in to Seattle and drove down to Astoria and then on down to San Francisco and back to Seattle to fly home..We took 10 days, and we had a wonderful time..What a coastline, what view, what a wonderful country we live in to have such diverse areas to enjoy..I know you don't have time for all that, but at least go to Mt St Helens and into Astoria and across the big bridge that is in Astoria. I think it winds around and you can drive back to Seattle that way. We feel in love with the area, so much so that we are coming back in a few weeks to spend a couple days and then cruise to Alaska..

[jjfla]

I really enjoyed reading the reply's, Thanks so much for the info. The Olympic Pennsula was my first choice but I was not too sure how far the loop was and now I know. We will have Thursday after the cruise and won't have to be back to the hotel at the Seattle Airport till Sat. night. We have a rental car and are soooo looking forward to seeing the area, after spending 10 days on a ship I will need to get my land-legs before I get on the plane!!!

 

Thanks again, I so enjoy these boards!!!!

[garycarla]

For those going the end of May should check out the Northwest Folklife Festival at the Space Needle Park. We did this last year and loved it.

 

http://www.nwfolklife.org/P_F/festival.html#general

May 27-30

[DALSAL]

I think we have decided to do a Mt St Helens trip.Any suggestions on which would be the best thing to do..rent a car and drive ourselves,take a tour bus or do a flightseeing? Any ideas would be appreciated.Thanks,Dot

[momthecruisedirector]

Pro's for a tourbus - someone else is driving so you can relax and enjoy the sights and get an explanation of what you are seeing

 

Pros for driving yourself - you pick your own stops.

 

Once you are south of Tacoma traffic really lightens up so it's a nice drive.

 

I'd go to the library and get a Frommer's guide or similar for Washington State and see what you are most interested in. There is a lot to do - Snoqualmie Falls, the Ocean, the Mountains....all within hours or less.

 

Enjoy