Hello, we're attending a wedding on Orcas Island that will be held the Sunday of Labor Day. Never been to Seattle and have always wanted to visit there too so we're trying to decide the best way to spend a 3 night trip. 2nts in Seattle, 1 on Orcas (to attend the wedding) or vice versa? Like natural sites, but also enjoy the city life. Also have been reading about these terrible ferry waits, and I can't even imagine how bad it will be that weekend.

Any advice on how to split the stay?

Any advice on the best day to take the ferry to Orcas...do they have early AM trips if we were to arrive the day of the wedding? Would it be super busy that Sunday morning of Labor day weekend going from Seattle to Orcas?

Or would the most efficient way be to catch a Ferry Saturday afternoon for a check-in on Orcas Island Saturday night?

Sorry for so many questions but I'm clueless on travel to these areas.

Thanks for any assistance.

Going to Orcas on Sunday shouldn't be a problem. It's coming back on Monday that will definitely be a problem. Crunch time of crunch times.

You might want to think about taking the last boat back on Sunday, or think about flying to Rosario from Lake Union in Seattle on Kenmore Air's floatplanes - www.kenmoreair.com. It won't be cheap (but it will be great fun) but it will be a surefire way of making the most of your time in Seattle.

Labor Day weekend in Seattle is when the great Bumbershoot arts orgy takes place at Seattle Center. If you like big-city arts scenes - music, drama, you name it - then Bumbershoot should be on your calendar. http://www.bumbershoot.org/

Ferry schedules are here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm

Gardyloo---do you know if they can make reservations for their car on the ferry (Anacortes-Orcas)? I haven't been up there for years, but I thought reservations were possible. Or is that only for the international ferries?

ggtrist---if you can do without a car on Orcas, you can park in Anacortes and walk on to the next ferry, with no waiting in a queue.

No reservations on domestic boats, only the international ones.

Gardyloo & enzian, Thanks for the tips. The arts festival will definitely be on my list (guess you figured it would due to my screen name ) We definitely like the arts city scene so I'm thinking I'd like to try to spend more time in Seattle than in Orcas.

Taking a car on the ferry isn't a must, so if there are places to park for a fee, we would consider renting a car at the airport, then staying 2 nights in Seattle, leaving the car in Anacortes on Sunday morning and walking on the ferry to Orcas for an overnight stay. Will their be a crazy wait on the ferry as a walking passenger on Monday or is that mainly for those with cars?

We'll also look into the floatplane option, but one we don't have a lot of $$ to blow.

Thanks for giving me this info to start planning ideas with and if any others would like to offer more info, please do.

Where is the wedding? Orcas isn't necessarily navigatable without a car. Some of the hotels may run a shuttle, but I've always had to drive there (in order to get around once on the island).

There is "never" a wait for walk-ons. At least, in 16 years of taking the Bainbridge ferry, which is sometimes very crowded, there was only one time when they stopped letting people on because of overcrowding (that is, apart from the 4th of July when everyone wants to be on a certain ferry to see the fireworks). So---assuming there is room in the parking lot at Anacortes, AND you can get picked up at the ferry by other wedding attendees, you will save a lot of waiting-in-line time by leaving the car in Anacortes.

Gardyloo's suggestion of the Kenmore Air flight (on a floatplane) is also a good one. You can reserve that; I have no idea how much it costs, though.

Bumbershoot goes on all weekend, and you can check the schedule and plan what you would like to see/hear.

thanks. We may try to shoot for the park & ride first, I don't want to fly from So Cal for my first trip to Seattle and spend hours and hours waiting for a ferry..lol

The wedding is in Eastsound, and the couple said it's even walking distance from a couple of the inns there.

Of course, having heard how rainy Seattle is, does it rain a lot in Orcas and does it rain much at this time in September usually?

September is probably our driest month; we can generally expect more sunny weather than in any other month. That is when I plan most of my hiking. No promises though---once we did experience a little drizzle at Bumbershoot.

Orcas is in the famous "rain shadow"---so experiences less rain than Seattle throughout the year.

Another possibility for getting there would be to drive up to Port Townsend (a nice little Victorian town with a large artist population) and take the "Redhead" express passenger boat from there:
http://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/index.html
However, it only goes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, so you would have to do a ferry transfer from there.

My only concern about parking at the Anacortes ferry dock would be that it might be full if you arrive on Saturday. The ferry does have an info person you can call (look on their website)-I'd see if you can find out if the lot fills up on holiday weekends. Walking on the ferry is definitely easier than driving on (assuming you can get a ride into Eastsound), though flying via Kenmore air is a good option, too (though more expensive).

Check www.kenmoreair.com for flights. I shudder to think of about state ferry system on Labor Day weekend. We used to say, "throw out the schedule; it gets there when it gets there and it leaves when it leaves" on holiday weekends in the summer.

I really think you'd enjoy Seattle. In any case, you're going at the perfect time of the year. It doesn't get any better weather-wise. Enjoy!

You can pick up a shuttle or cab on Orcas Island. We've taken taxis on the island with no problem. Here is a link.

http://www.orcasislandshuttle.com/

Hi all, again, I appreciate all the comments...the news about the hastle of this ferry deal has been so daunting that I still am trying to think about my best options.

At this point, we know we'd like to be in Seattle Friday thru Sunday so we can get the most out of the city and even check out Bumbershoot

dang it, accidently hit post reply,

To continue... $200pp for Kenmore is way out of the budget considering we already have to pay for LAX-SEA flights to go to this wedding. So..in worst case scenario, if we got up early Monday morning in Orcas to catch the ferry back (having taken our car), what type of wait are we looking at?

Will it be so crowded that we won't get on a ferry all day and be stranded on Orcas?

How do you go about waiting to catch the ferry that Monday of labor day, is it just hundreds of cars lined up and you sit in your car and wait? Or do you go to a ticket booth and they'll tell you what time your departure will be so you can at least find something to do until your departure time? I saw in another thread that even waiting to catch the ferry Tuesday after labor day would be a long wait, and if that's the case, we'd rather just wait it out Monday.

Thanks for any info.

Anybody? It's been more than 20 years since I waited for the Orcas ferry. Can somebody else explain how the line works? I can't answer the OP's question. . .

oh geez, more than 20years? It really must be terrible! I guess I could try calling the ferry to see if they can answer some of the wait & ticketing questions. Why on earth the happy couple would decide to get married on a Sunday knowing it was this awful is beyond me!

Well, if you go back Monday, leaving early in the morning would be your best bet. THe earlier the better of course. You won't wait all day and then be stranded.

You line up in your car and you can ask the attendent which ferry you'll get on-you don't get a ticket because you don't pay going back to the mainland. You can leave the car and walk around-there are some shops and restaurants, as well as a grassy picnic area-that cater to ferry-waiters-but just make sure one of you is at the car when a ferry pulls up so you can move forward.

Oh, and the ferries do have an info person you can call-it might not be a bad idea to ask how long expected waits are on the mondays of holiday weekends.

Great, thanks for this info. We'll call too and ask how early people usually start waiting in line. I don't mind getting up at 5am if we have to and finish sleeping in the car till the ferry comes...lol