Hi. My mom and 19 year old daughter just had an organized trip to the Canadian Rockies (leaving tomorrow) cancelled. They are both disappointed and we are trying to pivot and come up with an alternative trip for them. We were thinking Seattle. Please give me any and all tourist suggestions for Seattle. How much time would you spend there? I imagine necessary to rent a car? What areas are good to stay in? What are must do things, especially nature related. They would be interested in visiting Victoria as well. Is it best to do this as a day trip or stay for a couple of nights in Victoria? Thank you!!
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Pike Place and the Space Needle are classic tourist spots. You could catch a Ms game if they’re in town. A day trip to Roslyn and Snoqualmie Falls would be fun. If you go to Victoria, I highly recommend a Kenmore Air floatplane flight. Trips out to the peninsula are fun too. You can ferry to Bainbridge or drive out through Tacoma to cool little towns like Gig Harbor.
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Was just there - the issue is two fold:
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The cool places like Pikes Place - mobbed - absolutely mobbed - and no masks - I mean, hundreds, thousands packed in a dense place…with covid rates way up, just unbelievable really.
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The restaurants, etc. in the city - half seemed closed or limited hours. I asked the hotel why - no labor.
Normally, I’d say there’s enough to spend 3 days in the city - but not sure I’d go there now.
If you go, prepare to spend $250 a night - likely over $300. But the city is not running full speed.
What you might like is a day in the city and then the rest of the time in the San Juan Islands in the NW of the state - although i’m not sure if they are operating in full capacity.
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we visited seattle many times when my sister lived there. we loved it in the summer. i agree with snoqualmie falls for hiking… . .i think the chihuly glass museum is awesome . . we kayaked in lake union near the gas works and the water lily arboretum . . . saw the fisheries hatchery . . . the fish market . . . and one time we happened to be there when they had a “street of dreams” house parade thing that was great fun. If seattle had its summer weather year round, there’d be ten times the number of people living there. it’s awesome!! We also went to victoria on a speed ferry; ran into someone from work (1800miles away!) at butchart gardens (gorgeous).
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We took a great boat tour in Seattle that went to a Tillicum Village. Included a fun salmon lunch.
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Was also just there. Didn’t do anything downtown as was with elderly relatives.
Any of the ferries make for a lovely day. We took the Edmonds to Kingston ferry and just had some coffee & crepes at an outdoor cafe, then turned around and came back.
A nice drive east on Route 2 through Stevens Pass brings you to Leavenworth - a lovely tourist trap modeled on a Bavarian village. There are lots of hikes along this route - Great day trip.
North Cascades park - I didn’t go on this trip but have been before - is also a great outdoor destination.
More hiking info: https://www.wta.org/go-outside/hikes
But yes, you’d need a car. If you wanted to spend a couple days downtown and then head off to outer areas/Victoria, maybe rent the car at that point, because parking downtown isn’t easy/cheap.
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There are lots of Seattle area residents on the boards so hopefully will give current advice. I’ve visited our son many times and love Seattle - but would hesitate to try for a last minute vacation this summer.
First, it’s the peak of cruise season which means (1) all hotels are absurdly high rates and (2) it’s packed everywhere, especially on weekends.
Second, if they are thinking the next couple of weeks, Seafair is back in full force, which means even more crowds, closed streets, etc. https://www.seafair.org/ We went to Seattle a few years back, saw the Seafair parade, did a day trip to Mt. Rainier, and more - but planned well in advance for everything.
Third, from everything I read on the Trip Advisor boards, there are issues with not only restaurant staffing, but also ferry staffing and cancellations and changed schedules. So you have to plan ahead and be fluid.
All that being said:
Go to Pike Place first thing in the morning, grab breakfast (maybe cinnamon rolls or donuts or crepes to go and sit out overlooking the water), stroll around, then get out of there by mid-morning.
Love love love the Chihuly Museum. The Space Needle is fun to see but really no strong need to go up. Lots of people recommend the Smith Tower as an alternate observation deck.
Best to do Victoria as an overnight if at all. The San Juan’s are likely completely booked up for the summer; also staffing problems there.
Interesting nature in addition to the above - Ballard Locks https://www.ballardlocks.org/ ; Volunteer Park Conservatory https://www.volunteerparkconservatory.org/
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Thought this should go in its own post - perhaps instead of Seattle, they could consider Portland. I’ve only been there once but was astounded by how much natural beauty is so close.
Washington Park has the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and Zoo. https://explorewashingtonpark.org/
The Waterfall Tour loop take you not only to gorgeous waterfalls, but other points of interest. https://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/ger_misc_waterfall_loop.pdf
Plus excellent restaurants and winery tours.
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Hi - I agree with Marilyn’s points and want to add a bit more info, too. I live in Portland but grew up in Seattle and my extended family lives there (yes, in Seattle proper: think Capitol Hill, Laurelhurst, Madison Park).
I’d actually dissuade you from going next week (or the next couple); it’s going to be very hot and air conditioning is not universal here in the PNW. It’s also going to VERY CROWDED as it is high tourist season. Pike Place Market at this time of year is only comprised of tourists, people that live there do not go there in the summer as it’s absolutely packed to the gills with tourists and you can barely move. (I used to work there as a young person and even back then the locals stayed away in the summer. These days it’s far, far worse.) If you’d like to see Pike Place when it’s close to being a working market - that’s from about October through April.
And yes, the cruise ships are there now and everything is more expensive and more crowded.
If you’d like to come to the PNW (after all my caveats!) Here’s what I’d do: get out of town!
For example, rent a car and take the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton or Bainbridge. Then head up the peninsula and hike at Dungeness spit (and also maybe near Lake Crescent or the north end of Olympic National Park). You could pop in to Port Townsend too. Then take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria and take a few days exploring Vancouver Island.
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Everyone is suggesting outdoorsy, active things. OP, is your mom up to that?
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We LOVED the Museum of Pop Culture! A must see!
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If you do decide to to rent a car and explore the area around Seattle, I highly recommend visiting Whidbey Island. You can either drive onto the island by driving north on I-5 and cross onto it via Deception Pass. Beautiful area around the pass, but can get crowded. Alternatively, you can take a ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton (about 15 minutes on the ferry) and enjoyed visiting local beaches and Fort Casey.
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If arts and crafts fairs are of interest, I can recommend the Anacortes Arts Festival, which is the first weekend in August, and Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival, on the second weekend in August. Both make great day trips.
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East Asian food in town is really good.
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If anywhere is open. This was the problem when I was there two weeks ago for an Alaskan cruise…on Saturday. Most places closed or limited and that included maybe all the Starbucks other than the Pikes Place one.
That’s why I’d caution against.
Don’t know about Portland, Bellingham, the islands or Victoria but Seattle has a huge labor crunch.
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Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and feedback, much appreciated. In the end my mom and daughter decided against Seattle for now but THANK YOU and I will certainly come back to this thread when we can plan things out more. And I’ll know to avoid the height of summer!
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