Transportation to and from Seatac for 4

[bkerber]

We are flying in to Seattle with a stay downtown for a few days then off on our cruise. Could someone tell me the cheapest/easiest way to get from all points. I am worried about how much luggage all four of us will have. Easy enough to handle on the iight rail? Will it all fit in a cab?

Thanks much for your responses.

[Budget Queen]

Pack light and do laundry.

 

I use the light rail and city buses (was in Seattle a month last year) so I have no problem using the cheap way. But a lot of people do. :)

 

Depends where you are staying and where you are cruising out of ???? I stay out at Seatac- again the cheap option for me.

[bkerber]

We are staying downtown, so we need to get to the hotel, get to Pier 91 and then back to Seatac from the cruise.

[mapleleaves]

If you can't easily manage your luggage, STILA has the contract for car service at the airport. Currently it's $55 for a towncar to downtown. You call them from the courtesy phone at baggage claim and they arrive moments later at the curb. Very convenient.

http://www.portseattle.org/Sea-Tac/Parking-and-Transportation/Ground-Transportation/Pages/Taxis-and-Limos.aspx

 

The fee will be higher for pier 91 to seatac as the pier is about 5miles north of downtown.

 

Light Rail is the cheapest option from Seatac to downtown.. $3 pp for the 40 minute trip to Westlake (the last stop). However you must be able to manage your luggage easily as there is some walking involved . It's about a 7-10 minute walk to the station from Baggage Claim; a flat surface and covered (you're walking thru the parking garage). Then another walk from Westlake to your hotel.

 

http://www.soundtransit.org/schedules/light-rail/link-light-rail

 

p.s. a cab to pier 91 will be around $25. http://www.eastsideforhire.com is a flat rate taxi company. Or Yellow Cab is the biggest company in town. Call both for quotes

Edited January 24, 2016 by mapleleaves
p.s.

[kennicott]

Over the years I bet we have stayed in every one of the hotels at Seatac airport. We have settled on the Quality Inn and Suites there. We stay there even if we are going to spend time in downtown Seattle. Gives us by far our most bang for the buck. We always book a suite, gives us a lot of elbow room particularly since we have cruise luggage with us most of the time. We have always had clean modern rooms, free wi-fi, free boarding pass printing and they not only have an excellent free breakfast buffet but it is clean as well. Shuttles to the airport do us all kinds of favors. If you check the reviews in Tripadvisor they don't look all that hot, I disagree. But then if you check the reviews for other hotels there they don't fare much better either, I guess air travelers are very picky.

 

Pier 91 is on the North end of Elliott Bay close to the industrial section and railroad yards, not many, if any, hotels close by.

 

It has been years since we stayed in downtown Seattle but used to do that a lot. My recommendation would be to stay at Quality Inn & Suites Hotel Seattle Center. It is located on Hwy 99 and pretty close to Denny Way which leads into Elliott Avenue which goes right up to Pier 91. I'm not sure if they have those two room suites there like the airport has. It is also close to the Space Needle and all sorts of inexpensive eateries should be close by. A cab shouldn't be all that bad, cost wise, up to the pier from there but I notice they have shuttles to the "cruise terminals".

 

From the airport to downtown, I would do the Light Link Rail, it leaves from the terminal and goes downtown, very nice ride some of it above the city, good views and very inexpensive. You can carry your luggage on it as well. If you have those suitcases with four wheels it is a snap to roll them over to the terminal. Seattle is a progressive community and that rail service demonstrates so.

[VacationCharlene]

We have used the light rail system and like it. We have used it from the airport to Downtown Seattle and THEN we LOVE AJ at SeaTac...

A towncar service that I can't say enough about...

I highly recommend SeaTac Towncar Services while in Seattle. AJ is so nice, I know, because we have used him a few times for transportation needs while in Seattle. His number is (206) 697-5577. He is happy to give you a quote over the phone, he has a towncar that seats 4 comfortably that I think is $55 from the airport to Pier 91 or $45 to Pier 66 downtown...also hotels downtown. He has a SUV Chevy Suburban that is $65 from airport to Pier 91. I also think he has a 10 passenger van that is $12 per person (minimum 7 people). We have had him pick us up from Pioneer Square and also downtown Seattle for about $25 and was ALWAYS on time, friendly, and great competitive prices. Here is his website that I just looked up. www.seatactowncar.com You will be happy you gave him your business Hope this helps you and others looking for transportation reviews. Hello from San Diego!

[Glaciers]

The light rail would be the least expensive although it also depends on where your hotel is downtown. If you’re hotel is a ways from the light rail station you may need to look at transportation from there to your hotel. Due to the inconvenience of this it would be the easier option just to get transportation from the airport that will take you direct to the hotel.

 

We always take the light rail and have never had issues with finding a place for our luggage by the door. It’s the first stop on the line and I’ve never seen it more than about ¼ full although it can get busy during events.

[Mindershire]

My husband and I spent a few days in Seattle before our cruise last year. We used the light rail to get from/to the airport to Westlake, and then took Uber (an on demand car service you can book through your phone) to get from the train station to the hotel. We each had 1 large wheeled suitcase, a carryon sized wheeled suitcase, and a backpack or laptop bag and were able to manage it OK although the escalators were a bit tricky. See attached image of luggage we hauled for perspective. The train ride was about 45 min - 1 hr, so suggest you have a book to read or listen to some podcasts about Seattle.

 

If you want to read the details of how we got around, where we stayed, and what we did, check out my travelogues from the trip starting in Seattle:

 

http://72hourstogo.blogspot.com/2015/07/day-1-seattle-washington.html