Visit to Seattle/Tacoma Itinerary and Things to do/stay (Mukilteo: renting, hotel)

[Nevara]

We are making a 6-7 day trip to Seattle area in the next two weeks. We weren't expecting to do so, so things are quite rushed.

Probably flying in through Sea-tac and renting a car. Otherwise we will just drive it from Boise, but that's just a lot of miles on the car. We have a 6 year old son. I use a walker and sometimes a wheelchair, so things that require a bunch of walking are out. Hubby hates driving in city traffic, so I'd love a tour bus for our Seattle day.

Should we stay in Tacoma in a hotel or air bnb as our base of operations with visiting these following locations? Order is not set.

-Camano Island (to see a friend for a few hours) and experience Ferries to San Juan area
-Mt Ranier (maybe stay in an air bnb a-frame, or take a train, or something touristy)
-Centralia (to see a friend for lunch)
-Vashon Monastery for a service/visit
-Ollala (Visiting family for a half day)
-Seattle (Music Project thing, Space Needle and other disability friendly sites (can't do pikes, too much walking))

I feel like Tacoma makes sense as a base. But I don't know what to expect for safety. I'm pretty picky about that.
We are used to several hours of driving to visit things. We're from Idaho after all.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate all advice. Also, anything a kiddo should definitely get to experience? He is very smart, calm, and LOVES animals. But we are doing San Diego Zoo in June, so animal visiting is not a must.

[homesinseattle]

Hi Nevara, Does sound (based on your activities) that Tacoma would be a good base. Grab an Airbnb in the fun and vibrant North End neighborhood. LeMay car museum in Tacoma is world class and kids love it. Museum of Glass is cool too.

[Nevara]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Hi Nevara, Does sound (based on your activities) that Tacoma would be a good base. Grab an Airbnb in the fun and vibrant North End neighborhood. LeMay car museum in Tacoma is world class and kids love it. Museum of Glass is cool too.

Thank you for the neighborhood recommendation. That helps quite a bit! Is there anything to know about the ferries this time of year? I know there's a very limited schedule to them. How far is it to the closest island?

Thanks for the car museum and glass museum recommendations as well. They both sound amazing.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Nevara

Thank you for the neighborhood recommendation. That helps quite a bit! Is there anything to know about the ferries this time of year? I know there's a very limited schedule to them. How far is it to the closest island?

Thanks for the car museum and glass museum recommendations as well. They both sound amazing.

You bet. You are going to take the Point Defiance-Talequah ferry to get to Vashon, you should be fine as long as you aren’t going during commuter hours. If you have to wait in line for a boat, both sides are pretty spots.

[mayfair]

Camano Island is a long drive through traffic from Tacoma, so time it away from rush hour and consider heading north from Camano to the San Juan ferries (assuming you are gettting the San Juan island ferry at Anacortes) and combining those trips.

[Nevara]

Thank you all!

We are about a week ahead of the opening of the tulip festival. Can we still drive through and see the fields? Or is it only really open to people starting April 1?

[Diana Holbrook]

Northwest Trek might be good if you're interested in local fauna, and if the weather will cooperate! It's on the way up to Rainier. It's a huge area, but there is a tram that will tour you through much of the free-range animal park without a lot of walking. You will see animals, sometimes they don't want to get out of the way! :-)

https://www.nwtrek.org/

Looks like they are on restricted hours for winter, OPEN Friday-Sunday Closed, Mon-Thurs.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Nevara

Thank you all!

We are about a week ahead of the opening of the tulip festival. Can we still drive through and see the fields? Or is it only really open to people starting April 1?

Sure, go for it. Even if it isn't officially "open", you'll probably see plenty of tulips from the road or getting out and walking. Bonus: not nearly as many crowds. A great day trip is to drive there in the morning, then loop through pretty LaConner, through Anacortes and onto Whidbey island, stop at stunning Deception Pass, hopefully park and take a little hike there. Then go down and see Coupeville waterfront, Ebey Landing and Langley, take the ferry from Clinton back to Mukilteo and drive back to Tacoma.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Nevara

Thank you all!

We are about a week ahead of the opening of the tulip festival. Can we still drive through and see the fields? Or is it only really open to people starting April 1?

The tulips might be late to bloom with the colder than average weather we're having. The bloom times vary greatly year to year. The daffodils bloom before the tulips so you might be able to see some early daffodils in bloom at that time. It's dependent on what the weather does.

[NeedSun25]

You might want to see if you can find an Air BnB in Gig Harbor-it is right across the Narrows from Tacoma and a very lovely, safe town. If you can combine your Olalla/Vashon day you can drive to Olalla and then on to the Southworth ferry in Port Orchard to go to Vashon.