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Two Days in Seattle Area before cruise


twobluecats
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Hello! We've cruised to Alaska several times, some from beautiful Seattle. But, we are bringing friends who have never cruised and never been to Seattle or Alaska. Seattle hotels are quite expensive (and I hesitate to use my Hyatt points when they have to spend $300+ per night there). So, in my wisdom, I was thinking we would maybe spend one of the nights elsewhere as part of our planned sightseeing anyway.

 

We will have a car, and I was already thinking of driving the scenic route to Fairhaven after we arrive (around noon) and then maybe the the next full day do a ferry/island trip. Would it make sense to just skip Fairhaven and ferry to an island on arrival and spend one night--come back next evening and stay one night in Seattle to be ready for cruise? Any recommendations on which ferry/island. I'm pretty clueless with that. Thanks for any and all advice. We will be staying in town and visiting the Market and surrounds the return day. Thanks!

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I've looked into hotels and B&Bs in the San Juan Islands since we returned to WA state last year and ran into both high rates (almost as high as Seattle) and 2-3 night minimum stays. For a ferry & out of Seattle experience I might suggest Port Townsend or Sequim with side trips to Hurricane Ridge (weather permitting) and Dungeness Spit. Also has the advantage of being in the rain shadow.

 

Fairhaven/Bellingham would be OK too with(depending on how late in season) a drive up to Heather Meadows at Mt. Baker (via SR-542). Stunning mountain scenery if the weather is clear. Go very early to beat crowds and watch out for crazy bicyclers.

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My recommendation would be to drive to the cute coastal town of Mukilteo on the mainland, around 40 min. north of the airport, and stay at the Silver Cloud hotel that sits over the water - https://www.silvercloud.com/mukilteo/ . You could stop on the way at the Boeing Everett plant - biggest building in the world - for a tour of the wide-body jet (747s, 777s, 787s) production line - https://www.futureofflight.org/

 

There's an excellent brewpub in Mukilteo and two rather iconic regional restaurants, Arnie's (uphill, a little fancier) or a branch of Ivar's (a Pacific NW institution) right next door to the hotel. After dinner, walk past the ferry dock to Mukilteo's cute lighthouse and adjacent driftwood-covered beach to watch the sun set behind the Olympic mountains.

 

20140531_3Ha.jpg

 

The next morning, get on the ferry that leaves next door to Ivar's and go to Whidbey Island, around a 20 minute ride. Drive up Whidbey to the picturesque waterfront villages of Langley and Coupeville, then visit Deception Pass, the stunning gap between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands - beaches with views of the Olympics, and of the bridges over the pass, e.g.

 

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and

 

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Then take the bridges back to the mainland, maybe stop at another pretty waterfront town in La Conner, then back to I-5 and south to Seattle. Here's a map - https://goo.gl/maps/o9tS5P7yUK12

 

Note you could do this in reverse on your arrival day; that would put you in Mukilteo later in the day but would allow you more time in Seattle (or elsewhere) the following day. From the airport it's around a 90 minute drive to Deception Pass, so you could easily be in Mukilteo by dinnertime.

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If you do decide to visit Fairhaven/Bellingham, you may try airbnb for lodging. There are some real cute homes in Fairhaven. To reach the San Juan Islands, you will need to jump on the ferry in Anacortes. Might want to stay in Anacortes and just take the ferry for a day and leave your car and explore the island(s) by foot.

Bellingham has exploded with hotels in the last year and has a HUGE Costco for your allowed bottles of wine.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hoping you all are still hanging around as I have a new question :D.

 

Sadly, we won't do the Boeing gig this trip as the other couple traveling isn't interested (I am! I work for an all-Boeing airline!). So........

 

Arrive Seatac noon Wednesday:

 

What are your thoughts on driving to Fairhaven via Chuckanut-will need a lunch option closer to Seatac learned that last noon arrival-as its a few hours before your are in the "charming" Bow Edison area?

 

Spend the night in Fairhaven with dinner somewhere up there. I did find a B&B to consider.

 

Depart Fairhaven Thursday morning and head to Whidbey via Deception Pass. Lunch on the Island, ferry to Mukilteo with dinner there before returning car at Seatac and dropping everyone at airport hotel (shuttling to port following morning?).

 

I'm still totally open to original way to drive up to Whidbey and not married to Chuckanut at all. Just thinking if we don't do the Boeing tour, arrival and overnight in Mukilteo will result in wasted Wednesday hours.

 

In fact, I already reserved Silver Cloud for Wednesday, so I'll need or cancel if we alter. I will say the other couple does driving trips a lot, so extensive driving for scenery and cute towns won't be an issue for anyone.

 

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

BTW, we plan to shuttle to airport hotel upon a Friday rerun from cruise and light rail back for super casual Pike Market visit.

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Chuckanut Drive is nice, but it's not very long, and there are very few places to pull off to enjoy the scenery. And while Fairhaven is fairly cute, it's not the only cute place in the region.

 

Let me give you another option, just as a thought experiment.

 

Keep the reservation in Mukilteo (I'm a big fan of Mukilteo, so bear that in mind.) When you leave the airport, travel east to Snoqualmie Falls. If you want lunch along the way, stop at the very fun Triple XXX root beer drive-in in Issaquah, around 20 - 25 minutes east of the airport off I-90. http://triplexrootbeer.com/ . Visit the falls (viewing areas at the top and down at river level) and if you're still hungry, and especially if you're Twin Peaks fans, stop at Twede's Cafe in North Bend for a piece of cherry pie and a %#@! fine cup of coffee. http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/ and https://www.yelp.com/biz/twedes-cafe-north-bend

 

After the falls, drive up WA Hwy 202 to Fall City then north on WA 203 through the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley to Monroe, then over to the pretty little town of Snohomish, which happens to be a big antique center - numerous shops and galleries. Pause there or not, but then head to Mukilteo for the night.

 

The next day, cross over to Whidbey Island. Have a walk-around in Langley, then head up to the Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry. You can book space on this ferry as it's quite small - http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/ - and I would do so. If you have some time before your ferry, Fort Casey State Park, next to the ferry terminal, is a lot of fun for a drive-through; there's a pretty lighthouse and cool coastal gun battery.

 

Regardless, take the ferry over to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. Port Townsend is a very picturesque Victorian seaport with a lot of very fine old buildings, great cafes, galleries, etc.

 

Explore Port Townsend, then make your way back to Seattle via Poulsbo and the Bainbridge Island ferry. Poulsbo is a picturesque waterfront town that's VERY proud of its Norwegian heritage, as you'll soon discover. Cross the Agate Pass bridge to Bainbridge Island, and if you want an evening meal on the island (recommended, that way you'll avoid Seattle traffic) then head to the Harbour Public House or Doc's Grill overlooking Eagle Harbor a couple of minutes' drive from the ferry terminal. Then take the ferry from Bainbridge Island to downtown Seattle, south to the airport, badda bing. The view from the ferry as you approach Seattle is phenomenal.

 

Here's a map showing this option - https://goo.gl/maps/VJDBu6QemqE2

 

It's a fair amount of driving, but not a lot more than the original plan, but it will be something of a tour de force of the Puget Sound region - waterfalls in the Cascade foothills, historic towns in beautiful farm country, Puget Sound islands, ferry rides... great stuff. Highly recommended.

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Gardyloo-

 

THANK YOU so very much for what sounds like an amazingly scenic and varied itinerary! This sounds positively perfect for what we could get into our brief time in the region before setting sail. I can't thank you enough for your taking the time to respond and share your knowledge and passion for the area. I promise to pay it forward and also report back!

 

Theresa

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If you're OK with getting an early start, I think you could still explore Bellingham/Fairhaven, the Chuckanut drive and see a bit more of Whidbey Island, including beautiful Deception Pass.

 

Start the day from Mukilteo, but rather than immediately taking the ferry, head north via I-5 to Fairhaven. It's just under an hour and a half in what is honestly the least-congested, most-beautiful part of all of I-5. Head back via the Chuckanut Drive and connect to Hwy 20 , which will take you over to Whidbey Island via Deception Pass State Park, which is postcard-grade stunning. Continue down to Coupeville and resume the itinerary.

 

It depends if you want more scenic touring or more time in the towns along the way. I'm never going to argue with any of the options you've been presented, but I have an iron butt and like a good scenic drive.

 

When on Bainbridge or in Poulsbo, save room and time for locally made ice cream from the insufferably snobby Mora Iced Creamery. I hate everything about their pretentious business model (never before have I been asked to buy ice cream I couldn't look at), but they do make exceptional ice cream - the coconut flavors are especially noteworthy.

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Deception Pass - time your visit (if possible or practical with other stops) to be at a tide change when the flow of water through the pass is fastest and the whirlpools and eddies are strongest.

 

Current Chart (scroll down for the next week)

 

We're going to need a bigger boat! -

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  • 2 months later...

Good morning! Just a quick note of appreciation as we prepare to head to Seattle tomorrow morning. Gardyloo, we are taking your advice to the "t" and tracking to Triple XXX Root Beer Drive In for lunch (we will be hungry coming from Texas!). Then, on to Snoqualmie the route up and over to Mukilteo for the evening. We will be at the Silver Cloud overnight and then on to Whidbey (dinner at Ivars probably), over the Coupeville bridge, Port Townsend and down to Bainbridge ferry and back to Seattle on Thursday.

 

We booked the 2:45pm ferry Coupeville to Port Townsend, and I so appreciate the advice to book early as several were already full! We DID NOT book for the Mukilteo/Clinton or Bainbridge/Seattle ferries.

 

Do you think if we get on the 9am Mukilteo ferry we will have enough time on Whidbey? I figure about four hours for Langley up to Coupeville, lunch in Coupeville and get in line at 2pm for the ferry? I know that means around 3:45 arrival in Port Townsend, which I don't love, but it it what it is. I want to have plenty of time to stroll around Port Townsend, Poulsbo and dinner in Bainbridge before the ferry (and waiting out the Seattle traffic).

 

Anyway, thanks so much for the information. We are so excited!

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Good morning! Just a quick note of appreciation as we prepare to head to Seattle tomorrow morning. Gardyloo, we are taking your advice to the "t" and tracking to Triple XXX Root Beer Drive In for lunch (we will be hungry coming from Texas!). Then, on to Snoqualmie the route up and over to Mukilteo for the evening. We will be at the Silver Cloud overnight and then on to Whidbey (dinner at Ivars probably), over the Coupeville bridge, Port Townsend and down to Bainbridge ferry and back to Seattle on Thursday.

 

We booked the 2:45pm ferry Coupeville to Port Townsend, and I so appreciate the advice to book early as several were already full! We DID NOT book for the Mukilteo/Clinton or Bainbridge/Seattle ferries.

 

Do you think if we get on the 9am Mukilteo ferry we will have enough time on Whidbey? I figure about four hours for Langley up to Coupeville, lunch in Coupeville and get in line at 2pm for the ferry? I know that means around 3:45 arrival in Port Townsend, which I don't love, but it it what it is. I want to have plenty of time to stroll around Port Townsend, Poulsbo and dinner in Bainbridge before the ferry (and waiting out the Seattle traffic).

 

Anyway, thanks so much for the information. We are so excited!

Yikes, no pressure... ;)

 

If you can make the 9 AM boat I think you'll have plenty of time to get to the Port Townsend ferry. By the way, there are no reservations for the Mukilteo or Bainbridge boats - just show up.

 

Have a great time!

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