May trip to Seattle (Redmond, Snoqualmie: renting, hotel, prices)

[oldradio99]

So we are planning our first trip to Seattle the first week in May. We are staying in Redmond. Is there an easy way to commute? Or do we drive in? If we drive where is an economical place to park? We will be doing the typical Market, Space Needle, Zoo, Argosy Cruise. Any recommendations appreciated.

Thanks

[thatguy950]

I’d take the bus into town, parking prices there are NYC levels and pretty scarce. Maybe hit Snoqualmie Falls too.

Oh and bring an umbrella in May, and LOTS of Purell

[Ruth4Truth]

Here's the May events calendar for Seattle. Free museum days, art walks around the greater Seattle area, etc.

https://www.seattlepipeline.com/events/may/

[Hemlock140]

Park free at the Redmond Transit Center, then take the Sound Transit #545 Bus from Bay 6 there to 5th & Pine, near Westlake Center. From there it's about a mile to 1.5 miles in various directions to the sites you mentioned, except for the zoo, but you could also use Uber or Lyft, or local buses. For the zoo you can catch the Metro 5 bus from Westlake. If you drive in expect to pay $3-11/hour at a lot or garage, or $4/hour at a meter if you can find one available.

https://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/

https://www.soundtransit.org/tripplanner

[oldradio99]

Wow. Thanks for the info.

Now rethinking staying in Redmond and renting a car.

We were going to be 2 miles from the Redmond Transit Center.

Might be better to get a good clean hotel near the tourist attractions.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Park free at the Redmond Transit Center, then take the Sound Transit #545 Bus from Bay 6 there to 5th & Pine, near Westlake Center. From there it's about a mile to 1.5 miles in various directions to the sites you mentioned, except for the zoo, but you could also use Uber or Lyft, or local buses. For the zoo you can catch the Metro 5 bus from Westlake. If you drive in expect to pay $3-11/hour at a lot or garage, or $4/hour at a meter if you can find one available.

https://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/

https://www.soundtransit.org/tripplanner

Doesn't get much clearer than the above. They must have shut down Overlake, forgot about that.

Driving into Seattle from Eastside during business hours isn't too clever, if you can avoid it. They've made it very difficult to park a car anywhere downtown, quite deliberately. Even a motorcycle, I've found, though I've yet to test that theory out thoroughly. In time, perhaps.

I'd load up ORCA card(s) and go for it that way per the above. It's a quite-interesting way to see the sights, I'd not hesitate to spend days doing that. Nothing to worry about there, you can always get in or out the way you came via the websites, or various apps like OneBusAway and more. That, Trip Advisor, and Yelp, could fill a vacation. I toured Lincoln NB a few years ago with nothing else and had a swell time, e.g. just on-foot.

These days I like dropping into new-to-me cities and exploring mass transit, with just a little pre planning for lay of the land. Even for business. Took about an hour online to figure out the only sensible way to get from O'Hare to downtown Chicago was the Blue Line, for example, and damned if that wasn't rather interesting last December. O'Hare used to be hell, but that was downright...if not quite fun, I dare say easy. Will try that again in a couple weeks here. We have nothing so clever in Seattle, though our train isn't the worst either, come to think of it, for various destinations. Check that out, too.

As long as you don't mind a bit of adventure and dodgy weather as a possibility, you'll have a great time.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Oh and bring an umbrella in May, and LOTS of Purell

or sunglasses. May has very variable weather. It could be 80 with sunshine or 58 rainy.

[RockyRoadg]

The Seattle Duck is a lot of fun and it covers a lot of sites.


Seattle Center | Ride The Ducks of Seattle

[leastprime]

East of Redmond? or
West of Redmond?
Why so far out of Seattle?
Ever thought of an Airbnb, closer in?

[Canamlian]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

or sunglasses. May has very variable weather. It could be 80 with sunshine or 58 rainy.

Yes, on average Seattle is as sunny as NYC in May with half the volume of rain, but I’m willing to bet it has a higher variance.