Flying into Sea-Tac right after Labor Day to start a two week trip to the great northwest..My husband and I will spend our first three days in Seattle. I was about to book a downtown hotel near Pike's market and that precipitated a discussion about our car rental. My thought is we are better off without a car and can use cabs, public transportation, etc.(rental rates off-airport are often better.) My husband hates it when he doesn't have a car and looks at cities as a challenge and I do admit he is great at driving, navigating and finding parking. His preferred method is to stay out a ways, get a motel and work his way in. So,experienced Seattle travelers which is it? One way definitely better than another or it simply doesn't matter? Thanks Fodor, you make our trips!! Carol
PS.Top three don't miss things to see or do in Seattle??

Pike Market
www.tomdouglas.com (we really like Dahlia Bakery)
visit several of the coffee place Cafe Vivace was awesome

Take a Ferry somewhere
My parents enjoyed the Space Needle

Yes, I know mine are all very touristy.

My thought is we are better off without a car and can use cabs, public transportation, etc.

You are correct.

His preferred method is to stay out a ways, get a motel and work his way in.

Has he told you where he wants to stay? I can't think of any place, and I've lived here for a long, long time.

Fifth and Pine is the heart of the retail, dining, and entertainment core. A hotel in that vicinity or as far west as 1st Avenue would be a good choice.

HTTY

PS Our historic market is named after the street where it started and where it remains--Pike Place. It is Pike Place Market.

I would get the rental car at the airport AND stay downtown.

Suze....good call re:car rental, read your reply and I like it!

Top three for Seattle: Space Needle (or Smith Tower, or somewhere up high for the view) & Pike Place Public Market, those two for sure.

Then a tie for 3rd... Pioneer Square historic district, Chinatown/International District, a ferry ride, Japanese Gardens at the Arboretum, Lake Washington, Olympic Sculpture Park, the Locks, etc. etc.

No way do you get a rental car at the airport and then stay downtown!!!

Central Seattle has become easy to tour without a car... and as you plan to stay 3 days upon arrival, at the very least, you take the Link Light Rail (to or)from the airport, into downtown, and rent your car at a downtown locale.

Furthermore, as some downtown hotels charge $40 and up for overnight parking, you're much better off if staying at a hotel, sans car, and then renting the vehicle when you're ready to drive off toward another destination. (or at least, delaying rental by a day or two, and saving the overnight parking fees, mostly for not needing the car while touring the downtown sights)

At any rate, the idea of renting downtown vs. at the airport, will save enough money on airport taxes to pay for most or all of the overnight parking fees.

With just two of you, you should use Priceline.com to land an inexpensive room at a 3- or 4-star downtown hotel (which would hopefully be not far in price from the out-a-ways motel so enjoyed by your husband).

(while I don't mind the idea of lodging-on-the-cheap, in an outlying area, and then making do... it just isn't cost/convenience-effective in this case)

The conveniences of being downtown and near everything will be worth a whole lot relative to that random outlying motel, not to mention the relative luxury of one of the better hotels.

See if that makes sense to you.

We thought it was incredibly easy to visit Seattle without a car. In fact, I'm sure it would have been a hindrance.

NorthwestMale is correct! The Link Light Rail is fabulous. My family visited Seattle in 2011. We were shocked at how inexpensive it was for the three of us to travel to downtown Seattle--less than eight dollars for all of us! I wish EVERY city had an option as great as this. After four days we picked up our rental car and headed to Vancouver and Victoria. We actually got a great price for a rental at the airport and just took the Light Rail back to SeaTac and picked up our car. We love NOT having a car in cities, We live in the suburbs and find pedestrian cities refreshing, and I love the challenge of using public transportation. Have fun!

<No way do you get a rental car at the airport and then stay downtown!!!>


Sorry but that's what all my out-of-town friends do when they come to visit me here in Seattle. They think it is worth the price for the convenience, and we're not talking a rich crowd.

I too refuse to jump on the "no car" bandwagon. Sure, it's possible - even enjoyable - to survive a few days staying in downtown Seattle without a car, but I have a couple of views that may not be shared by many people (but are shared by other Seattle-dwelling relatives and friends.)

First, Seattle is a city of neighborhoods. Sure, you can access the neighborhoods by bus, but do you want to spend hours deciphering the bus schedules, never mind sitting through blah neighborhoods to get where you want to go? A late dinner in Columbia City then a bus ride back to downtown? You bet.

Second, Seattle is a city where there are, for lack of a better description, "linear views." Take a bus through the Arboretum or along Lake Washington or up from Ballard to Shilshole to Golden Gardens? And back? How about a bus around Harbor Avenue and out to Alki Point and down to Fauntleroy for the Vashon ferry? C'mon.

Third, a car means you can stay close in and go places, without it breaking the bank. Stay at the Silver Cloud on Lake Union and park for free, then walk 150 yards to the streetcar line to downtown and Bob's your uncle. Or up at one of the places in South Queen Anne (like the Maxwell) with free parking or any of a number of other places in the U District.

It's great that people can stay in downtown, without a car, and have a great time. But if people want the convenience and the freedom, and don't find the parking fees oppressive, why not?

Ha! I did both, just exactly as Gardyloo outlined. Stayed at Silver cloud on South Lake Union and took the car out when I had a ways to drive and hopped on the street car when I wanted to wander around downtown.

Here is something I wrote about San Juan Island two years ago:

"On Tuesday, August 17, we parked our car at the Anacortes Ferry terminal ($10) and went to Friday Harbor as foot passengers on the ferry ($12.15 each, round trip).

We walked around Friday Harbor and had a good lunch on the deck of the Downrigger, overlooking the harbor ($40).

After lunch we took the bus to Roche Harbor ($10 each, round trip).

The trip to Roche Harbor included an excellent narration about the island and drop-off points on the route such as a lavender farm and the Limekiln Whale Watch Park.

Roche Harbor is a delightful up-scale resort with two restaurants and a huge yacht harbor. We enjoyed the historic buildings, the gardens, and the yachts. We bought ice cream at a kiosk and ate it at an outside table with harbor view ($7).

We took the direct bus back to Friday Harbor, purchased food at King’s Market on Spring Street ($18), and enjoyed a delicious picnic on the evening ferry back to Anacortes.

It was a delightful day—hassle free and inexpensive (about $120 for the two of us)."

xxxxxxx

We were on Whidbey Island last week. Our routing from Bellingham was Chuckanut Drive, Edison, Samish Island, Deception Pass, Penn Cove, Coupeville (a delightful little town completely overrun with visitors). The drive down the middle of Whidbey Island to the ferry is about as uninteresting as the drive down the middle of any other island.

I like the north end of Whidbey Island, I like a relative's farm I visited there until he died a few years ago, and, as a child, I spent a memorable week there living on a beach and fishing. Today, though, only the north end holds much interest for me. Perhaps others can spell out what is good for visitors elsewhere on the island.


HTTY

Wow!... Great back and forth! Fodor replies are getting a little heated and I'm loving it! Some really excellent info. Took notes on everything. Confident and ready for Seattle because of well intended, informative travel tips from you guys. Thank you. I don't go anywhere (that includes Columbia City!)without checking here first. Two weeks in the great NW, can't wait. Hey Gardy, I do try to bring a bit of the whimsey on our road trips...I already promised a trip to the Boeing Museum for Rob for a trip to the Maryhill Museum for me! Eh?

Well I'm not loving it. I think it's incredibly rude so I'm going to let this one go.

Hey Suze...chin up, your stuff is spot on and so are you! Thanks again, Carol

When questions about the NW dry up this forum becomes too much like the dreaded Lounge.

I have reported as abusive ("extremely offensive and insulting") the description of a member's contribution as "brain dead."

HTTY

"but do you want to spend hours deciphering the bus schedules"

Totally unnecessary. Use http://seattle.hopstop.com/ Or google maps and ask for directions using public transport..

In case you're still thinking of hotels...... we had a delightful stay at the Inn at the Market.