First trip to seattle with the kids
 

Hi all, Dh has a one day conf. first week of August at the Hyatt Hotel. We have been to Vancouver and Whistler and loved it. We will be the two of us and two of the kids 12 & 11. Plan to stay 6 nites and I could use some help with a list of nice things to do together. Would you stay the whole time at the Hyatt, is the location good? Do we need to rent a car to see the sights? We would consider staying a few days somewhere else and coming back for the last 2 days at the Hyatt. Thank you all

I'd suggest a couple of things (for which you'd need a car):

Take the ferry out of Anacortes to Victoria (there are other options but that's the one we took). We made a day trip out of it and ate lunch at the Empress Hotel. Very scenic and the kids would love the orcas, etc.

Visit the Boeing assemply line in Everett. It's free and I thought it didn't sound too exciting but friends in Seattle said it was worth it. Turned out to be very fascinting. Right now Boeing is assembling the first 787, but you should be able to see several other models as well. Think you and the kids would really enjoy.

Can't answer about the Hyatt. Didn't stay there, but did stay downtown our entire visit and had no trouble using that as a base.

There is so much to do! Definitely catch a Mariner's game. Even if you are not a huge baseball fan, it really is fun and the stadium has some great views. If the kids are into music at all, then the EMP. Definitely the Space Needle, but skip the dining there and just go for the views. Personally, our kids and us did not care for the Ride the Ducks tour when we lived there, although many people do like it. Pike Place Market is great first thing in the morning. We like to sit at Le Panier and have coffee and a croissant and watch the vendors set up, then hit the market right after. Picnics and kite flying at Gasworks Park. Climb the wall at REI, visit the Ballard locks, go to Woodland Park Zoo. The Museum of Flight is just south of downtown a bit and is great, as is the tour up in Everett at the Boeing plant.

As far as needing a car in the city, no you won't need it for most things. But for a few, like Gasworks Park, the zoo, and the locks you would.

How far away from Seattle do you want to go for a few days? Victoria is beautiful, but with such a limited amount of time I would stay closer. Leavenworth is only 2 hours from Seattle and the drive over is beautiful. Or you could head north and hit the museum in Everett and then catch the ferry over to Whidbey Island. You might enjoy a night up there and checking out a few parks there, including Deception Pass.

The Boeing tour is no longer free, but is included in the Future of Flight package - http://www.futureofflight.org. I don't think the 787 "line" is particularly visible from the tour gallery, but since the first 787 is to be rolled out the month before you arrive (and the first flight around the time you're here) it's hard to say what you'll be able to see. (It rolls out on July 8 - 7/8/07 - get it?)

The Museum of Flight - http://museumofflight.org - is in Seattle and is extremely interesting, with a great gift shop. Second only to the Smithsonian in N. America (for air and space.)

There are many many things to do with the kids over that timespan. Do a search on Seattle on this forum and you'll see...

The Hyatt is a very nice hotel located in the heart of the retail district. However it's more geared to business travelers than families, so I'd suspect that 2 or 3 nights there would be optimal, with the rest somewhere out in the Puget Sound country. Have a look at the Silver Cloud Inn in Mukilteo (http://scinns.com/12home.htm) for a fun destination convenient to the Boeing factory and next door to the ferry to Whidbey Island. Kids love Fort Casey State Park on the island; you'll enjoy Deception Pass State Park and/or the ferry from next to Fort Casey over to Port Townsend.

If you're in town the first weekend in August (Aug 3-5) that's when the Seafair local festival (www.seafair.com) ends with hydroplane races on Lake Washington and the Blue Angels scaring every cat and dog in King County. Book early as that's a peak visitor period.

gardyloo - thanks for the update on Boeing admission. Sounds pretty reasonable and still think it would be worthwhile.

Thank you for your thoughts. Flying into Seattle, where do you suggest we stay arriving on a Mon. and needing to stay at the Hyatt on Fri. for a Sat am conference. Being from the North East the scenery and water is what we are looking for. We did a similar trip with a conf in Vancouver and side trip to Whistler. Any thoughts for something along these lines? Thanks

Forgot to say this is our only trip for the summer so we like to travel comfortably. So we are not worried too much about budget TY

I think the location of the Westin is excellent. It is perfectly centrally located for tourist sights in Seattle. You can get around on foot, taxi, and Metro bus for everything within the city proper.

The Hyatt is, of course, nice but we just got back from a Seattle to Jasper run and stayed at the Waterfront hotel in Seattle. Here is the review I just submitted to TRIP-Advisor:

We loved it! Large Retro rooms w/ nice view from the upper floors. Plus FREE bike's to use! We spent all morning biking down to the water-front and along the Seattle bike-path. Its a 15-20 min. bike ride to the water-front w/ a few busy intersections; but once you get down to the water-front its really a great way to see the city. Coming back is slightly up-hill. And the restraurant just down the block from the hotel (The Portage) is Fantastic.
In fact, the Portage does a FREE wine sampler in the hotel eatting area a few nights a week. They also serve tasty appetiziers which we made a meal out of on our last night....Good!

FYI: Once you are down-town, on bikes, it's a 1 or 2 block walk uphill to see the Pikes People Market.
Lock the bikes up where everybody else does....

Great Breakfast here too! Plus they offer a FREE "cart" service. ie" We wanted more books to read, at the end of our trip, so they sent up the "Book Cart" which had like 20 books and we swapped out a few. They have a video cart, a computer cart, a kids cart---etc....(15 different carts).

Anyway, its a bit different----no pool though (I didn't see one)if that is an issue. Oh yeah go see Leavenworth and if you have the time on up to Winthrop---where the whole town is "Old West". Enjoy....

Where is the Waterfront Hotel in Seattle? I tried to find a listing, but couldn't. Is it downtown?

I believe he was referring to the <i>Watertown</i> Hotel - http://www.watertownseattle.com/ - in the U district. They have bikes to rent and the Portage Bay Cafe is just down the street in the sister property, the University Inn. It's just up the hill from the Burke-Gilman bike trail.

We've seen a lot of weird names for the Pike Place Market in this forum, but Pike's People Market is a first.

I would not recommend the Watertown, only because it is in the U-District, not exactly the most convenient if what you are interested in is downtown.

If you go to the Ballard Locks, you can also go to Stone Gardens for climbing http://www.stonegardens.com/. Your kids will LOVE Archie McPhee's. http://www.mcphee.com/ It's a store full of crap. Fun, cheap crap, I should note. Everyone loves Archie's.

For kids of that age - here are things I think teens might be interested in:

Shopping and hanging out in the cool parts of town: Ballard, Capitol Hill, U-District, and Downtown. Touristy stuff at Pike Place Market and along the waterfront, not so much teen-friendly as other parts of town but still interesting.

Visiting the brand-new Seattle Art Museum.

Going to the Woodland Park Zoo is direct and fairly quick (about 20 minutes) by bus from downtown. It's an open-plan zoo, so it's big and more like the animals' natural environment.

Going to Fremont and seeing the troll. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAtroll.html And then getting a gelato and people-watching.

I second EMP. There's also the Pacific Science Center, but it's nowhere as great as the ones in Portland or Vancouver.

All of these destinations are within 20-30 minutes by bus. I doubt that you need a car.

Here is the local bus trip planner.
http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-b....pl?resptype=U

Feel free to ask me any questions!
http://happyjetbaby.blogspot.com

Um, and please don't ride the duck. Please.

From Pete 1222's post I suspect he is describing the Watertown, but my first thought on reading the post was &quot;Perhaps he means the Edgewater.&quot; That doesn't seem to be the case, but the Edgewater is certainly worth looking into...great location, views over Elliott Bay, and nice NW ambience.

Yes the Edgewater Hotel, or the Marriott Waterfront are both good suggestions. But both slightly less central, down on the waterfront, than the Hyatt as originally mentioned.

Yes, sorry, Water-town Hotel.
Also, Suze is right, the hotel is at least 5 miles from the downtown area.
Cheers!
pb

Thank you all for your thoughts. I gather you all recommend we stay in Seattle proper as there seems to be enough to keep us busy.I am interested in finding a nice hotel for the family to help make a business trip feel more like a vacation. I will look into the hotels you have suggested.

If you have six nights, I would definitely recommend getting outside the city for one or two of them. Seattle is great, but it doesn't have the depth of tourist attractions inside the city that you find in NYC, for example. On the other hand, Seattle is within 2 to 4 hours of unspoiled national parks and island destinations, including Mt. Rainier, the North Cascades, the San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, etc. It just depends on your interests. August is also prime whale-watching, hiking and boating time, so getting out on the sound or into the mountains would make for a more memorable trip for your kids. A whale-watching trip from Anacortes, Friday Harbor or Bellingham would probably be a big hit. And if you like hiking, the Casades have so much to offer. If money isn't an issue, there are plenty of options for overnights. Check TripAdvisor for Whidbey Island, Winthrop/Methow Valley, Leavenworth, Orcas Island and Olympic National Park.