Seattle Guide

Welcome to Seattle ✈️

East Coast flight · Long day · You made it. Let's get you to the hotel.

ArriveSEA

✈

At the Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

After baggage claim

Collect your bags from baggage claim — it runs the full length of the lower level. All concourses (A–D, N, S) exit into the same main baggage claim area. Satellite terminals N and S require a short underground train ride to the main terminal first.

💡 Once you have your bags, you have two good options to get downtown. See below — choose based on energy level.
🚦Choose your route to the hotel — both work great
OptionA

🚈

Link Light Rail (Recommended)

SEA → Westlake Station → short rideshare · ~55 min total

~$3.50/person Trains every 8–10 min

Step 1 — Find the station: From baggage carousel 16 (north end), take the escalator up one floor to the skybridge level and follow signs to Link Light Rail. A free electric cart also shuttles between the terminal and the station — available 5am–midnight, just ask any airport staff.

Step 2 — Buy a ticket: Ticket machines are on the platform. Tap your credit/debit card directly, or buy a ticket. One-way to downtown is about $3.50 per person.

Step 3 — Board northbound: Take the 1 Line northbound toward Lynnwood. You want Westlake Station — it's 38 minutes, 14 stops. Stay on until Westlake (the big downtown hub — you'll know it).

Step 4 — Westlake to hotel: Exit Westlake Station. From here the Element is about a 9-minute walk north on Westlake Ave, or a 3-minute rideshare. With luggage after a long day, the rideshare is the right call — it's only $8–12.

🧳 The luggage caveat: Link cars have designated luggage areas and are spacious, but stations have escalators (not elevators everywhere). Totally manageable with rolling bags — but if energy is low, Option B gets you door to door.
— or —
OptionB

🚗

Direct Rideshare

SEA → Element Seattle Downtown · ~30–45 min

~$40–55 depending on traffic Door to door

Open Uber or Lyft after you have your bags. The rideshare pickup area at SEA is on the 3rd floor of the parking garage — follow signs for "Rideshare" from baggage claim (not the taxi/car service area).

Tell the driver: Element Seattle Downtown, 700 Westlake Ave N, Seattle.

💡 Evening traffic on I-5 from the airport can add 10–20 minutes. Arriving between 6–8pm is peak rush. If the fare estimate looks high, the Link option above actually saves significant time and money during peak hours.
🏨 Hotel — check in, drop bags Navigate ›
CheckIn

H

Element Seattle Downtown

700 Westlake Ave N · South Lake Union

Free breakfast included

📍Go

The Element is a Marriott brand designed for longer stays — rooms are larger than standard hotels with kitchen areas, which is a nice bonus. Free breakfast is included each morning, which saves money and time on Day 1.

💡 Ask the front desk about luggage storage if you arrive before check-in time. The 24-hour front desk means no stress about late arrivals after a delayed East Coast flight.
📞 (206) 588-5000
🍽Dinner — low-effort options nearby
DinnerEvening

🍽

Dinner — Two Easy Options

You've had a long day. Keep it simple.

5-min walk 📍 Go
Duke's Seafood South Lake Union Right on Lake Union waterfront. Upscale-casual Pacific NW seafood — chowder, salmon, fish & chips. No dress code, no fuss. Perfect for a tired travel night with a beautiful view.

Zero effort
Element Hotel Bar & Restaurant On-site restaurant and rooftop terrace bar. Can't get any easier — eat in the building, then go to bed. Totally valid after a cross-country flight.

💡 Save your appetite and energy for Day 1. Tomorrow's itinerary has the real food highlights — Pike Place chowder, fish throwing, the works.

Your HotelElement Seattle Downtown · 700 Westlake Ave N

9:00AM

1

Chihuly Garden & Glass

305 Harrison St · Seattle Center

🎟 Book Online90 min

📍Go

Start here before crowds build. The Glasshouse is the highlight — a massive suspended glass sculpture with the Space Needle visible through the ceiling. Live glassblowing demo included.

💡 Buy the Chihuly + Space Needle combo ticket at spaceneedle.com — saves money and covers timed entry for both.

~$30–35 per person
chihulygardenandglass.com ↗
🚶2-min walk — same campus as Space Needle
10:45AM

2

Space Needle

400 Broad St · Seattle Center

🎟 Book Online60 min

📍Go

Next door to Chihuly — two-minute walk. Buy timed-entry tickets online to skip the line. Rotating deck with a glass floor. On a clear August day, Mt. Rainier is visible to the south.

💡 The 1962 World's Fair history exhibit while waiting for the elevator is worth reading — don't rush past it.

~$35–50 per person (or combo with Chihuly)
spaceneedle.com ↗
🚝 Monorail $3 (2 min) or Rideshare ~$10 Navigate ›
12:30PM

3

Pike Place Market

Pike Place at Pike St · Downtown

Free to explore2 hrs

📍Go

Key hits: fish-throwing at Pike Place Fish · clam chowder in a bread bowl at Pike Place Chowder (arrive by 12:30 — line gets long) · Original Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place.

🐟 Don't miss the "Down Under" lower levels — most tourists skip these, but they have the best artisan shops.
pikeplacemarket.org ↗
🚶Short walk west downhill · 5 min
2:45PM

4

Seattle Waterfront

Alaskan Way · Elliott Bay

Free45 min

📍Go

Newly renovated waterfront along Elliott Bay — great views of the Olympic Mountains. This is also where your cruise departs from — a nice preview of what's ahead.

✈️ Your Alaska cruise departs from a pier near here — you'll recognize it on Day 2!
🚶Walk south along the waterfront · 5 min
3:30PM

5

Seattle Great Wheel

Pier 57 · 1301 Alaskan Way

~$20/person45 min

📍Go

Enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas — comfortable even if breezy. ~15 min, 3–4 rotations over Elliott Bay with views of the skyline and Mt. Rainier on clear days.

💡 Open until 9–10pm on weekends — consider returning at sunset.
seattlegreatwheel.com ↗
🍽Evening — dinner options below
5:00PM

🍽

Dinner

Three great options nearby

Special📍 Go
Six Seven RestaurantEdgewater Hotel · On a pier over the water. Make a reservation.

Classic📍 Go
Ivar's Acres of ClamsPier 54 · Seattle seafood institution since 1938.

Near Hotel📍 Go
Din Tai FungPacific Place · World-famous Taiwanese dumplings. Closest to hotel.

Space Needle and Chihuly sell timed-entry tickets online and sell out in mid-August. Book as soon as you have your hotel. The combo ticket (both attractions) is on the Space Needle website and saves money.

Seattle is hilly — especially around Pike Place, which sits on a bluff above the waterfront. The walk down to the water is easy; coming back up is a workout. Comfortable shoes make a big difference over a full day.

Highs in the low-to-mid 70s°F, mostly sunny, very low rain chance. A light layer for waterfront evenings is smart but you probably won't need it. Seattle's rainy reputation is a winter thing.

Downtown parking is expensive and the one-way streets can be confusing. Uber and Lyft are plentiful. Everything on this itinerary is walkable or a $10 ride.

Runs between Seattle Center (next to the Space Needle) and Westlake Center, 2 blocks from Pike Place. 2 minutes, $3 each way. Built for the 1962 World's Fair — same event that built the Space Needle. Fun piece of history.

Pier 66 (Bell Street, near downtown) or Pier 91 (Smith Cove, slightly north). About 3 miles apart. Confirm with the cruise line before departure day — this matters a lot when you have luggage.

Your Hotel

Element Seattle Downtown700 Westlake Ave N · Seattle, WAFree breakfast included · 15-min walk to Space Needle

📍Go

📞 (206) 588-5000

Backup: Hyatt House Seattle · 201 5th Ave N · 📍 Directions

Seattle

At the Airport

Link Light Rail (Recommended)

Direct Rideshare

Element Seattle Downtown

Dinner — Two Easy Options

Chihuly Garden & Glass

Space Needle

Pike Place Market

Seattle Waterfront

Seattle Great Wheel

Dinner

Hotel Breakfast

Morning Pike Place

Cruise Terminal

Your Hotel