Ferry ticket from Langley to Mukiteo
 

Just one last question....

We will be in Bellingham for a couple of days next week and want to drive around Puget Sound on our way to Salish Lodge. Thanks to Gardyloo's answer to another poster, we have a route. So, do we need to get ferry tickets ahead of time to get over to Mukiteo? Also, do we need to line up an hour ahead of time? We will be leaving Bellingham on Friday, October 7th.


Thanks for any hints.

Buy a ticket when you board. Ferries are not usually full in Ovtober. See the Washington Ferry web site for specifics at the time you wil sail.

Here is the schedule for that route: http://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedul...x?route=muk-cl

As you can see, there are ferries half-hourly for most of the day. You can buy your tickets at the ferry dock. No need to line up an hour ahead. If it so happens that the one you were aiming for is full, you'll only have to wait half an hour for the next one. If you'd like (since I know you are planning move to the area) you can set up a "Wave to Go" account and buy and print your ferry tickets ahead of time. Certainly no need for this trip.

You are really getting a great tour of the Puget Sound area. If you like mid-century modern architecture, Mukiltio used to be a treasure-trove of such homes. I haven't been there for a while, and I know my neighborhood in Seattle has lost many of the best examples to people who have remodeled the character out of these houses.

WARNING:
late Fri to Mon Oct 7-10 is Columbus Day weekend.
If the weather is good, expect long multi-ferry waits for the ferry in the direction FROM Seattle (FROM Mukilteo TO Whidbey) on Fri afternoon and Sat. morning, and returning FROM Whidbey to Mukilteo all day Mon. Oct 10.

Waits may be less severe at other times during the weekend, or in opposite direction to the Seattle crowd.

Unfortunately, you can not make reservations for the Mukilteo route.

However, if you are planning to take the ferry between Port Townsend and Whidbey, reservations are available and usually needed on holiday weekends.

Agree with you about Columbus Day week-end! We have relatives in Mukilteo (they live about 1.5 miles from the ferry terminal) and on the holiday week-ends, the lines can be quite long.

Yes, with a holiday weekend I would absolutely get in line early.

Are you staying on Whidbey or just passing through. I ask because of the ferry question.

On Friday, October 7, ferries from Mukilteo to the island will be full, but the other direction should be fine. On Monday, October 10, ferries from Whidbey to Mukilteo will be full.

PS Good catch, elbegewa, I completely missed the Columbus Day dates.

We were going to modify Gardyloo's map https://goo.gl/maps/FTBgmn6qRyw

Rather than starting from Seattle, we would start from Bellingham and end up at Salish Lodge which means we would be coming to Mukiteo from Langley. We figured we would leave Bellingham around 8:30am and it would be about an 8 hour trip with stops, maybe a bit longer if the weather is nice. That would put us in the ferry line around 5pm. What do you think?

We usually get a goal in mind and ignore everything except getting there. This trip, we are trying to be more laid back and just go with the flow and see what we find. While I don't want to spend lots of time in line at the ferry, on the other hand, I'll have a couple of really good books with me. We are also attempting to cut the cord on electronics!

You shouldn't have any trouble at that time coming southbound, although there's a possibility of catching the tail end of commuter traffic once you get back to the mainland. I'd probably take I-405 south instead of I-5 through Seattle.

I'd also try to time it so that you get to Snoqualmie Falls while it's still daylight; sunset on Friday is around 6:30 pm.

On google maps, it looks like taking the 405 and then hitting 90 at Mercer Island would get us to Salish Lodge in about an hour. Does that sound right?

This is a Friday evening, right? An hour is a optimistic estimate for non-rush hour. It may be rush hour by the time you get there and it's a Friday before a 3-day weekend. I'd double that estimate, but you might get lucky.

Unfortunately the HOV/carpool lanes on I-405 are tolled (electronically - they take a picture of your license plate) between Lynnwood and Bellevue, so if you want to avoid the tolls (and punishment by the rental company) you'd have to travel in the mainline, which could well be pretty slow going.

Frankly I'd be tempted to go around the problem by going north briefly on I-5, east on US 2 (which might also be a little trafficky but not bad) from Everett to Monroe, then south on WA 203 through the Snoqualmie Valley all the way to the falls. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/aGBMVMGmHi52

SR 203 is a lovely road passing through farm country and the old towns of Duvall and Carnation (whence came the milk before Nestle bought them out) and traffic won't be an issue. It might take 5 or 10 minutes longer than the freeways under ideal conditions, but if conditions aren't ideal it could save time and be a prettier drive all in one.

I grew up in that area and it's lovely. You will have traffic.

Thanks for the alternate route Gardyloo. Too bad there's not a way to pay the tolls beforehand.