Visiting Seattle mid-June ideas (Starbuck: spring break, how much, pierogi)

[leastprime]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

I'm visiting with kids next week, staying downtown. Any must eat restaurants?

Nice to have a sunset at a PikeMarket restaurant. May be spendy but the view and sunset is unbelievable.
A salmon sandwich. A clam chowder. A whole dungeness crab.
Stunt their growth at Starbucks. SBux #1 should be OK next week- unless SpringBreak week (?) lots of eateries in Pike Market or surrounds.
Skip the local donuts or any donut shop.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Montezia

So I am visiting Seattle from June 10-14 from NYC. I am leaving pretty early (9am) on a flight from JFK. The ticket I have allows for dates to be changed if needed.

I am a single mid-20s female that will rely on public transit to get around. My main reason for visiting is to get a feel for Seattle since I am looking to relocate out of NYC. I am looking to keep general entertainment/eating out under $500. The only thing I can think of doing is seeing the Space Needle. I am going to skip hiking because I am going solo and would feel more comfortable in a group.

Cheap eats:

Dick's Drive In: https://www.zomato.com/seattle/dicks...itol-hill/menu

Locations in Seattle: Wallingford (Original), Capitol Hill/Broadway, Lower Queen Anne, Crown Hill/Ballard.

Beth's Cafe (Green Lake): https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ashington.html

Kau Kau Restaurant (Chinese Barbecue/International District): https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ashington.html

Fare Start: https://www.farestart.org/restaurants-cafes

Various locations: Helps lift people out of poverty by training to work in the food industry.

Pretty much any Pho shop: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...sPriceRange2.1

Cafeterias: Warehouse 345 (South Lake Union/the Dawson Bldg), SODO Kitchen (3rd floor, Starbucks' Corporate Headquarters, SODO District), Tower Cafe (U District/https://hfs.uw.edu/Eat/Dining-Locations/Tower-Cafe).

Lot's of cheap eats along University Way ("The Ave").


Free attractions:

Pike Place Marker: http://pikeplacemarket.org/

Seattle Center: http://www.seattlecenter.com/

Klondike Gold Rush Museum (Pioneer Square): https://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm

Ballard (Chittenden) Locks (west Ballard): http://ballardlocks.org/

Frye Art Museum (First Hill): https://fryemuseum.org/

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop (Waterfront): https://yeoldecuriosityshop.com/

Olympic Sculpture Park (Waterfront): http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visi...sculpture-park

Archie McPhee's (Wallingford): http://archiemcpheeseattle.com/

The Northwest Nikkei Museum (International Museum): https://www.jcccw.org/museum/

Parks: Washington Park Arboretum,Gas Works Park, Discovery Park, Myrtle Edwards Park, Woodland Park/Green Lake Park, Kerry Park (viewpoint).

Is there also a gondola I can ride?

Crystal Mountain Gondola:

https://www.crystalmountainresort.co...MIbg&gclsrc=ds

https://www.crystalmountainresort.co...-summer-tours/

Or join ZipCar and drive yourself there: https://www.crystalmountainresort.co...g-here/zipcar/

Lodging

I haven't reserved rooms yet because I am undecided. I am looking to spend no more than 50 per night for lodging. I really don't know if I should do a hostel, airbnb (and even then debating on getting a whole place vs. a private room) or hotel near SeaTac). Suggestions would be helpful.

Hostels will be the cheapest. The Green Tortoise is the most popular, but make your reservation now!

See: Seattle Hostels Listing - All Hostels in Seattle at Hostels.com

Most hotels near Sea-Tac Airport have free shuttles that will take you to or from the airport. From there you can catch Link light rail to Downtown Seattle.

At any Link Station: Get an ORCA card ($5) and add all-day passes ($8.50 each). Will cover fares up to $3.75 on Sound Transit (Link light rail., Sounder commuter rail, and ST Express Buses), K (ing County Metro Transit, Community Transit (Snohomish County), Everett Transit, Pierce Transit (Pierce County), Kitsap Transit, Seattle streetcars, and water taxis (West Seattle and Vashon Island).

Is June in Seattle considered late Spring? What are the temps like and what are good things to wear? Also, is 3 solid days enough time to go looking around for places I want to work? I am a homecare nurse and thought about visiting one specific homecare agency.

Early June can be very variable, from wet to dry, cool to warm. Layers work well. Bring good walking shoes, a sweater, and a hat or other head covering.

What are good an inexpensive hobbies for a single female? And where are good areas to go for people in my age range? Is there anything else I should know?

Join a chess club: Nine males for every female!

Lots of live music and comedy clubs: https://www.thestranger.com/things-to-do

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by Montezia

I guess I'll just stick with airbnb then. I've seen a ton of rooms for this range but I don't know how far from downtown they are. I have to wait to get home to look on my tablet. Right now there's still a lot of options for me. Thanks for the info about the buses. And I'm not sure about a traveling companion. I've never heard of it but it would be nice to have someone with me.

I'm generally an easygoing and laid-back person. Also, can one reserve hotels this far back from June?

Edit: Already got a Delta nonstop plane ticket. I am getting to Seattle just after 10 am. I found a roundtrip for 252.

Great score on the ticket price!

[NW4me]

If you're considering a hostel, I'd recommend this one: thehello.com/locations/hotel-hotel-fremont.
I found it considerably nicer than the Hosteling Int'l property in the International District (ID),
and Fremont is a fun part of town. The ID is better for transit access and food options, though.

Here are some free explorations:

Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square... they're touristy, but so what?

Watch boats passing through the ship canal.

If the weather's pleasant, people gather at Gas Works Park in the evening to see the sunset.

If you're not going on a hike, do an urban walk or two,
e.g. go up to little Kerry Park for the famous postcard view of downtown;
I also enjoy seeing the variety of architecture in that neighborhood (Queen Anne).
Or wander the Washington Park Arboretum.

The giant REI store is worth a look.

[mhays25]

There are a lot of misconceptions of the Pike Place Market's name on this thread.

[CrazyDonkey]

Look for an Airbnb in Belltown/Denny Triangle, South Lake Union/Cascade, Lower Queen Anne (Uptown), Queen Anne Hill, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Westlake, Eastlake, Fremont, or the University District. Ballard, Wallingford, or Green Lake are also good, but will take longer to get to Downtown.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by leastprime

Buses are frequent and convenient. Orca card lets you board as many times as you want within 2.5 hours on any mode; LINK, bus, streetcar from Seattle to Redmond (east). Seattle to Tacoma to the south or to Shoreline (?) to the north.

Take the ferry (bainbridge ferry is shorter and is a nicer town) at just before sunrise (4:00am PDT) or at dusk (10pm). Its like the Staten Island ferry.
You probably have a Jump bike app. -skip it. Use the bus. Seattle is very hilly and dangerous on a bike with lots of tourists in rental cars.

Skip the Seattle Art Museum.

WHOA, whoa! "Frequent and convenient" really depends on what you're comparing to. They are NOT frequent, compared to NYC or San Francisco transit schedules. Maybe on a few certain routes, like going from the University District downtown they're frequent, because there are 3 different lines covering that route, but for most of the city, 20-30 minute waits between buses are the norm.

Unfortunately OP, the Asian Art Museum is closed It's in a nice park. You could check out Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. There's a nice view from there, and there's a plant conservatory up there, that's nice to visit. Also, the University of Washington north of downtown, has beautiful grounds to stroll around in, and a good anthropology museum, the Burke Museum.
Burke Museum

The public market, a combination of farmers' market, fish market and craft market, is always interesting, downtown at Pike Street. Second Avenue, which crosses Pike, has some interesting shops and a Native art gallery, the Legacy.
Welcome to The Legacy Ltd.

There's another Native art gallery at the other end of downtown, Stonington Gallery. These galleries focus on regional tribal artwork, mostly in the Northwest Coast style.
https://stoningtongallery.com

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Look for an Airbnb in Belltown/Denny Triangle, South Lake Union/Cascade, Lower Queen Anne (Uptown), Queen Anne Hill, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Westlake, Eastlake, Fremont, or the University District. Ballard, Wallingford, or Green Lake are also good, but will take longer to get to Downtown.

I'm not sure about recommending the U District for a visitor. It gets really weird at night, with all the homelessness. Even students getting off the bus to go to classes at the UW have been known to be followed and threatened by homeless men in broad daylight. The U District directly north of the UW, between the UW and Ravenna Park would be ok, but much of the rest of it is sketchy at night.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

WHOA, whoa! "Frequent and convenient" really depends on what you're comparing to. They are NOT frequent, compared to NYC or San Francisco transit schedules. Maybe on a few certain routes, like going from the University District downtown they're frequent, because there are 3 different lines covering that route, but for most of the city, 20-30 minute waits between buses are the norm.

Not every route is frequent and not every area has a frequent route. In general, however, Metro has moved to a frequency model and away from a coverage model in providing service, by reducing routes and stops, but increasing frequency. Those who can't drive, be driven, or walk to a stop will need to use Access or DART (where available).

All-day routes running every 15-minutes or less until 6pm M-F include:

A, B, C, D, E, F, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 21, 36, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 60, 62, 65, 67, 70, 75, 101, 106, 120, 124, 150, 169, 245, 255, 271, 372X, 545, 550

I remember when the #60 ran once an hour - now it runs every 15 minutes or less.

[leastprime]

^ Kudos to SoundTransit and KingCounty Metro, during last month's snow days. B, 545x, 248 all ran, although on snow routes and a slightly longer frequency-"OneBusAway" app was accurate.

The distance by foot from KingStreet Station (international district LINK/Amtrak/Coleman Piers(ferry) to SouthLake Union is just 2.8 miles. for any good NewYork City-Manhattan, this is a leisurely stroll, slight rise. Reverse the trip for a downhill trip.
Use a E-bike (Lime or Jump) if you want to do a bike tour from south docks to Ballard Locks or to Fremont Bridge (Center of the Universe/the Troll/Google/Lenin) to Udub to Eastlake bridge to South Lake Union (Amazon) via the sealevel (Burke Gilman) bike -walk path. The only rise will occur when you cross over shipping canal at Fremont or Ballard. Bring helmet. You may drop bike off anywhere. 3-5hrs, leisurely. When you get to MoPo (SouthLake Union) take the streetcar-trolly to Westlake (main shopping District). Bike clothes and easy Saturday look is acceptable anywhere except at highend restaurants.