seattle to tacoma
 

my daughter and i will be in seattle in august, are planning to rent a car and drive to tacoma to see the museum of glass. is there anything on the way of interest, towns, etc? thank you

Tacoma is about 35 miles from Seattle, and there is nothing of particular interest on the I-5 route unless you are into big shopping malls or airports. Some stretches of 509, which runs along Puget Sound north of Tacoma, afford beatiful water and mountain views.

If you have the time and don't mind ferry tolls, by far the most attractive way to get from Seattle to Tacoma is to take the Vashon Island ferry (from the Fauntleroy dock in West Seattle - 15 min. drive from downtown) then cross into Tacoma at the south end of Vashon. Vashon is a gorgeous island - nice coves, rural drives, cute village at Quartermaster... That route will take a couple of hours to complete, but if you're on vacation anyway, it's a great way to go to/from Tacoma (use freeway in the opposite direction.)

thank you so much for your help. i had no idea abt the ferry to tacoma. that's a great idea. thanks again

You can also get to Tacoma from Seattle by driving I-90 to Snoqualmie Falls and then Route 18 into Tacoma. Or, you could take the ferry to Bremerton, go South on Route 3, through Olympia, and then back up I-5 to Tacoma. Once a year somebody has a reason to use one of these routes or the one that goes by ferry via Vashon Island.

My town of Federal Way is viewed, with some justification, as a suburban wasteland. However, you might consider a visit to the Bonsai Garden and the Rhododendron Species Garden on the Weyerhaeuser Corporation campus. The Bonsai Garden can be visited quite quickly or you can linger. It's very close to I-5 so stopping along the way to Tacoma is easy. You could drive down Vashon in one direction and back up I-5 in the other. If you come across the Vashon Ferry to Tacoma, a drive through Point Defiance park is also recommended. It is basically right next to the ferry terminal.