Bainridge Island
 

My daughter (22 Years old) and I will be visiting the Seattle area in early October. One of the places on our "maybe" list is Bainridge Island. Is there much to see and do there? She wants to do lots of shopping!

Bainbridge Island is pretty big, but doesn't offer too much in the way of shopping (a few galleries etc. in the main town of Winslow, but that's about it.) It's principally a bedroom community for Seattle (and for other communities in Kitsap County, like Bremerton or Silverdale.) The ferry ride to Winslow from Seattle is one of the most scenic outings one can take in the Puget Sound area; it's a great thing to do for an afternoon/evening - head over to Bainbridge in the PM, maybe have a beer or a glass of wine, shop a little, then head back into town (against the "traffic") around sunset for stunning views of the city skyline and (hopefully) the Olympics silhouetted by the setting sun to the west. Killer.

Hmmm... Bainbridge Island is no place I'd ever think to visit. Nothing against the place, I'm just not sure there's all that much to do.

Lots of shopping, seems like you'd want to spend time downtown. And maybe hit one of the mega-malls. Bell Square (Bellevue) is excellent.

Thanks for the input, very helpful! Certainly won't make a day of it, but Gardylog - what a wonderful suggestion, if we get a nice day we will definitely do that. We are coming from Wisconsin - we can handle weather!

Hi R,

I took a vacation to the area this summer and we drove over Bainbridge Island on our way to Port Townsend, our first destination.

We loved Port Townsend! Very charming town, lots of wonderful shopping and art galleries, great restaurants, great small Saturday farmers market. Highly recommend.

We stayed at Holly Hill House, a lovely Victorian B&B with gorgeous gardens and excellent breakfasts. Also would highly recommend them too!

The main reason to take a ferry to Bainbridge Island is for the view of the Seattle skyline and, on a clear day, Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, the Olympics, and even Mt. Baker (near the Canadian border).

The trip is thirty minutes each way with waiting time in both directions. Plan two to three hours. The trip will eat into your daughter's shopping time, if that is her main interest in coming to Seattle.

If you let us know what kind of shopping she wants to do, you will probably get suggestions that wouldn't occur to her.

do not miss this scenic ferry trip.

the best place to view seattle is from the water.

at least do as happytrails suggests and have a drink/meal at the ferry landing. you will not regret it.