From Seattle airport to the city

Old Nov 25th, 2014, 01:57 AM
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From Seattle airport to the city

Hi,
I am hoping to get some local advice please. We are flying into Seattle (via LA and from Australia!) on Sunday the 21st December. We arrive late morning. We need to get into the city centre (Spring Street to be precise). Apart from a cab, what other options are available on a Sunday? I believe a cab would be quite expensive as the airport is a fair distance from the city?
thank you in advance

Kym
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Old Nov 25th, 2014, 04:51 AM
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Light rail service on Sunday: http://www.soundtransit.org/Schedule...il?tab=Sundays
Unless you have a large amount of luggage or your hotel is far from a light rail station, the light rail will be easier and cheaper.
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Old Nov 25th, 2014, 07:08 AM
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Spring Street in the downtown area is one of the steepest hills in Seattle, which is saying something. Depending on where on Spring Street you're going, it could be a short walk from one of the light rail stations, or a long and strenuous one, and probably in the rain. After flights from Oz, I expect you'll be pretty tired.

A town car or taxi from the airport to downtown will cost around $45, which might be a good investment, particularly if you have luggage.
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Old Nov 25th, 2014, 11:55 AM
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You can use Light Rail public transportation. It's $2.75 per person and takes 40 mins.
As above, taxis from the airport into downtown run approx. $45USD and may well be worth it is you are more than 1 person traveling together and assuming you have luggage.
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Old Nov 25th, 2014, 12:49 PM
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My wife and I did this back in the summer. Gardyloo's advice is very good - the hill from the water up through downtown Seattle is VERY steep. We decided to take the light rail anyway, perhaps indicating that we're cheaper than we are smart. I believe this was also on a Sunday. The light rail was a bit of a walk from the airport, through the parking garage and along an elevated walkway, but not a big deal. The train was cheap & frequent, it was pretty easy to manage the bags, and I thought the ride was fairly interesting. As I recall, it took about 20 to 30 minutes. I can't remember what station we exited from in the downtown area, but it put is out on 3rd Avenue, & we had to walk a few blocks laterally, then uphill to 6th to get to our hotel. We were really huffing and puffing by the time we got up there, but all in all it was fine. If your hotel is around 3rd, or in one of the lower blocks downhill toward the water, it should be no problem unless you lose control of your luggage while going down the hill & start knocking down pedestrians like bowling pins.
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Old Nov 25th, 2014, 11:37 PM
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Now that was a very funny last thought there smetz1! Thanks for the advice everyone, our Hotel is on the corner of Spring and 4th streets. Does this sound like easy walking/hauling/puffing distance or would a cab be more sensible? We actually arrive from Australia the day before so we have 24 hours to recuperate in LA before flying north to Seatle.
The local advice is awesome, thanks to you all.
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Old Nov 26th, 2014, 07:54 AM
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At Third and Spring (Monaco? Executive Pacific?) the walk from the University Street light rail station would be around two blocks, one of them (Seneca Street) fairly steep uphill. With rolling luggage it's certainly doable. The light rail takes around 40 min. from the airport to the downtown stations, and as mentioned it's around a 10-15 minute walk through the airport parking garage to get to the train station, so counting time from bag claim to station, wait for a train, the train ride itself, then the walk to the hotel, you're probably looking at the better part of 90 minutes door-to-door, the last 10-15 of which may well be in the rain, uphill.

Set against, a 5-minute walk from the bag claim to the taxi/towncar queue, then a 20-minute ride to the hotel front door. Your choice.

I'd also mention that it's not certain at all you wouldn't experience quite a few people vying for luggage space on the light rail. There will be a LOT of people traveling on the Sunday before Christmas.
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Old Nov 26th, 2014, 07:55 AM
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Sorry, I meant 4th and Spring. (Note east/west they're "streets," north/south they're "avenues.")
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Old Nov 26th, 2014, 08:17 AM
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I'm local but to me the taxi fare to and from the airport is worth paying for the convenience, especially if you have luggage of any substantial size.

I do use the Light Rail too, but only when I'm flying somewhere nearby (Spokane, Eugene, Portland) and just have a day bag with me.
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Old Nov 26th, 2014, 10:59 AM
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Taxi it is then, thank you all. I knew it was worth the post!
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Old Nov 26th, 2014, 01:51 PM
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Ahh... You're smarter than you are cheap!
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