We are going to seattle the end of July for 10 days. I rented a house in Poulsbo and have heard horror stories about the bainbridge ferry ride, ie: it usually takes about 4hrs to get on the ferry with a car..and if we want to do a day trip and drive to the city we should just get a hotel because it will be an 8hr ferry ride there and back?? Please tell me that isn't true..are there certain times that are less busy? I don't have small children only teenagers so a couple hours of waiting wouldn't be too bad. Sincerely Freaked out visitor

The Bainbridge ferry is the fastest and most efficient of all the boats in the system. You must be confusing that service with some other operation, because the thousands of people that commute daily on the Bainbridge boat never have to wait that long.

The worst waits, at peak commuter times, are at most one boat (every 45 min. at peak) and usually you get right on the next sailing right away. The crossing takes 35 min.

The only 4 hr waits I can think of in the system would be the San Juan Islands - Anacortes delays on peak holiday weekend days - Labor Day Monday, for example. Even then, 4 hrs would be somewhat unusual.

Figure an hour and a half from Poulsbo to downtown as the worst case (ie you arrive at the dock just as the boat sails.) Otherwise, less.

Nobody would wait 4 hrs for Seattle-Poulsbo via Bainbridge. You can drive it via Tacoma in half that time.

Thank you so much for the information, just goes to show that you can't listen to people who don't know what they are talking about...We can't wait for our trip the area sounds great..

Gardyloo is correct - the San Juans are the only place you would possibly be forced to have such a long wait.

What are you planning on doing in Seattle? If your plans are just to visit the downtown area, consider leaving your car on Bainbridge and walking on to the ferry. The fare is less - $13 vs. $34.70 with a car and passenger (fares are collected for passengers westbound only) and you won't have to worry about finding parking in downtown Seattle. Seattle also has a great bus system so you can get around to different neigborhoods easily and downtown is a Ride Free area. You can also hop on the Water Taxi to visit West Seattle. Check out the Metro website: http://transit.metrokc.gov/.

Have a great trip. It's a great time to visit.

That was my thought too, that for a day trip to see downtown Seattle you should just walk on the ferry, leaving your car at the dock on the Bainbridge side. It brings you right to the waterfront downtown where you can then easily walk or take a bus or taxi around to Pioneer Square, the Pike Place Market, etc.

Agreed-only bring your car if you are going outside of downtown Seattle.

what should we do if we want to see whidbey island? I heard there is a ferry from the island we are staying on by Poulsbo, is the wait the same and should we definitly take our car?

To get from Poulsbo to Whidbey is rather complicated (and BTW Poulsbo is not on an island, it's on the Kitsap Peninsula.)

You can go via the Bainbridge ferry to Seattle, or via the Kingston ferry to Edmonds, then take I-5 north to Mukilteo then the Whidbey ferry from Mukilteo, or you can cross the Hood Canal Bridge from Poulsbo, drive to Port Townsend, then take a different Whidbey ferry from there.

Either way you're looking at a couple of hours to get to Whidbey from Poulsbo.Get familiar with the lay of the land/water - use the ferry system's map here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/info_desk/route-maps/. Note Poulsbo is more or less beneath the Hwy 3 symbol just west of Bainbridge Island.

I second (or third?) the recommendation to leave your car on Bainbridge and walk on the ferry to get to Seattle. It's much less expensive, and there is no waiting in line. Also, you avoid parking in downtown Seattle. There is a large parking lot right at the ferry, although sometimes it fills up and you have to look further afield.

I lived on Bainbrige for 16 years and never saw a 4-hour wait. Sunday afternoon and early evening (in the summer) is the one really bad time to try to leave the island; the cars line up the highway and the wait is often 2 hours. But not 4!! Morning commute hours there is a bit of a wait too. But as walk-on passengers you will avoid that. Just so you know---you don't need a ticket to walk on the Bainbridge side; just get on the ferry. You buy tickets for the return trip (leaving Seattle) only.

To visit Whidbey, you could drive from Poulsbo up to Port Townsend (worth a visit in its own right), and take the "Keystone" ferry from there over to Whidbey Island---you end up right in the middle of Whidbey. That ferry is not as large, so there sometimes is a bit of a wait. I'd avoid doing that on a weekend.

The other ferry to Whidbey Island leaves from Mukilteo, north of Seattle, and you'd have to take still another ferry to get there. So Port Townsend is your best route. It's about a 45-minute drive from Poulsbo, unless there is a problem at the Hood Canal Bridge (Hmmm---is that a possibility? I didn't check the construction website).

You'll enjoy Pouslbo. Your teenagers might like kayaking in Liberty Bay; there is a rental place right downtown.