You can take a bus to Ballard to see the fish ladder at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks if that interests you, to see fish swimming upstream to spawn.

Wall of chewing gum

I love Kell's. The cover is $5, but if you show up before 9 pm, when the music starts, and head to the back bar (there are two rooms - go to the one that's further north), you will usually be grandfathered in and will avoid paying the cover.

I'm gonna plug Il Bistro for HAPPY HOUR. Food is cheap and good and it's conveniently located in the Pike Place Market. I agree about Bainbridge and then walking into the town. Very pretty and you feel like you've gotten away. Alki is a nice walk. If you can get to Georgetown (bus) there are some tasty dining options and it's a cute, small, area. I like Volunteer Park and Discovery Park. I think just walking around the city is fun. Also, for cheap drinks, consider Diller Room by the SAM (Seattle Art Museum).

Thanks for the suggestions - reading them all has made me even more excited for my trip!

From what I can tell, the two most popular hostels in Seattle are City Hostel & Green Tortoise. They seem to be pretty comparable in price, but it looks like Green Tortoise might offer more for a single traveler. Does anybody have insight into pros and cons of each? Thanks!

Green Tortoise has a very good location right AT Pike Place Market. City Hostel is newer and in Belltown (also convenient a bit further north within downtown) and I think overall gets better reviews?

I notice Green Tortoise has many more "poor" and "terrible" ratings than does City Hostel. Pike Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd attracts a down-and-out crowd, and it isn't much fun after the Pike Place Market closes. Belltown is the happening place for venues that attract a young crowd.

HTtY

Pike Place Market area is genuinely creepy after dark. Down and out folks as said above, and I choose not to walk around down there late. I have not stayed at Green Tortoise because the reviews have discouraged me from doing so, but I have stayed at city hostel. I've checked out Green Tortoise: in comparison to city hostel, it looks run down, shady guests, and generally gross. City Hostel is in a nice historic building, generally clean, only guests can get in. Rooms have cool murals done by local artists. You can get a 4 bed dorm with ensuite bathroom, which is my preferred set up. Friendly crowd, but they actually enforce their quiet hours (partying in the lobby gets kicked downstairs after a certain time). And most important (for me) is that it is surrounded by relatively decent bars, food options- as mentioned above- Belltown is well lit and hopping at night. You really aren't far from Pike Place Market either- I usually walk down there for breakfast, and it's maybe 15 minutes. My only complaint would be that the workers are abrupt and too cool for school sometimes...but, it IS Seattle lol.

One thing I should probably mention though- I enjoy staying in hostels, but I'm picky. I don't go to party- I got for a clean shower and safe cheap accomodations. Other than the basement beer pong tournament one visit, most of the guests I've met there are similar- if they party, they do it outside the hostel.So if you are the grungy international backpacker sort, you'll probably be perfectly happy at Green Tortoise!

Hope that helps:)

Suze, HTtY, & Marvelous Mouse,
That's all very helpful - thanks! I've only done the hostel thing in Europe, and that was always with a group of other people, so I appreciate the insight and advice on doing this alone in the US.

Surprised not to see a mention of the Seattle Architecture Foundation tours - http://seattlearchitecture.org/tours/downtown-tours/

Not free, but I really enjoyed the one I took.

I can't imagine going to Seattle without visiting the Chihuly glass garden, but it isn't a budget destination.

<i>Surprised not to see a mention of the Seattle Architecture Foundation tours.</i>

I'm not. I gone on them, but I've never seen them mentioned here in the ten years I've been a contributor. No doubt it's because there are only a few tours each month and we suppose that those who have a particular interest in architecture will search for them on their own and plan their itineraries to coincide with their infrequency.

HTtY

The OP is going in August. There seem to be tours Thursday through Sunday, with several options on Saturdays.

For me, it's mostly that if they are interested, they either find it themselves or mention it. If they are not interested, their eyes are likely to glaze over at the mention of "tour", "history" or "architecture" lol. I usually mention something I find locally unique and exceptional (chihuly) or accessible to even the museum haters (EMP) but I find myself heavily self editing when it comes to something I love that I know most people just don't care about. Like, say, architecture tours or a detailed description of my favorite bookstores, or where to get the best espresso (anywhere that is NOT Starbucks.). I've learned that to most people, a building is just brick and mortar, a book is a book and Starbucks is the epitome of espresso culture. Those poor unfortunate souls;)

@marvelousmouse - unless the OP is very specific about their interests - which this one was not - I think that's a pity. You may be right about "most people" but I doubt you are right about most Fodors' posters. I would certainly want to know about alternatives to Starbucks, lol! And people who don't live there might well be unaware that there is any interesting architecture in Seattle in the first place.

I don't try to curate for someone else, just put out here anything I've enjoyed in the city and they can figure out for themselves if it fits their interests, or not.

The Moore Hotel might be another option to either of the hostels. It's the only reasonably priced hotel in the central downtown core.

Suze- have you by chance stayed at/seen the inside of the Moore? I've been curious, but every time I've tried to stay there on a whim, they've been booked. Location and price look excellent. Although probably still too expensive if the OP's budget is actually hostel.

Thusdaysd- "I doubt you are right about most Fodors posters"- true! One of the reasons I like this board! So many foodies and historians:) But I suppose I was thinking more of first time posters/more ordinary tourists.

I'd love to hear about favorite bookstores & independent coffee shops!

Nope, since I live here I haven't stayed at any hotels (well once in a snow storm I overnighted at The Warwick).

But I have friends who have used The Moore as a base in the past. They liked it fine. And I do know it from the outside, and know the neighborhood well, because my old office was just a couple blocks away.

Peterson~ So you think you'll stay somewhere downtown?

I ask clarification only because to recommend bookstores could be in the 100's and independent coffee shops in the 1000's if we tried to cover all areas of greater Seattle!!

Peterson- if you like mysteries, my favorite hole in the wall bookstore is Seattle Mystery Bookshop on Cherry. All they sell are mysteries and I've found some really interesting/unusual novels there.

Elliott Bay is the local big indie and has something for everyone- I've spent a lot of time browsing in the Capitol Hill location. I mostly go there for local authors, poetry, and art books though, so couldn't tell you about their selection otherwise.

There used to be a terrific bookstore in upper Queen Anne but I think it's been at least a few years since I've been there, don't know if it's still open.

Coffee really depends on where you are staying and what you like. In particular, I go to Ghost Alley (Market) for salty nut latte and Bedlam Coffee in Belltown for the fireball mocha. As Suze says, though, there are 1000s- just head any direction, especially Capitol Hill- I seriously don't think I've had an awful cup of coffee at any of the indies- Seattle is very serious about coffee! (And I drink a lot of coffee lol) local chain caffe ladro is usually a good bet. Here's a link to Seattle eater that you might like to browse through:

http://seattle.eater.com/maps/where-...ttle-right-now