Depending on how much time you have a day doing the “Whidbey Loop” is great. They get to experience a ferry ride as well as see some small towns and beautiful scenery they probably didn’t expect. Places like Langley, Coupeville and La Conner are great places for lunch breaks and Ebey’s Landing near Coupeville is an excellent – and extremely scenic – hike. Come back I-5/405 so they get to at least see Bellevue and a floating bridge.

You could also go up Whidbey and take another ferry (from Keystone) to Port Townsend and drive back via the peninsula. Come back via Bainbridge ferry to give them a real look at Seattle and her surrounding features.

Again, it depends on how much time you have, but if more than 3/4 days I think they would enjoy it.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Smitty.

I like to drive out the 90, to the N 405 to the 520: that circle really shows the breadth of water surrounding the city to the East, and the bridges fascinate.

I enjoy driving by an attraction, telling my guests how wonderful it is, then telling them we aren’t going there today. Like Kirkland, or Fremont

Ditto on the Water Taxi or the Bainbridge Ferry walk-on with brunch at the Streamliner Diner, or the Harbor House and a visit to Winslow and Eagle Harbor Books.

At Pike Place Market search out Spanish Table, and World Spice; using Light rail, visit the ID and Uwajimaya and the Higo Market art gallery, Union and King Street Station and Pioneer Square.

Melrose Market is a low-key version of PPM with great food and some gifts.

Fremont is also good–Seattle weird but tame with unique businesses and maybe the Sunday Market.

West Seattle and our wonder Farmer’s Market, Husky Deli, Easy Street, Coastline, Seattle Fish, West 5…

I like the Underground Tour. Though not in Seattle, I also find that Snoqualmie Falls and Deception Pass are big hits.

Seattle is such a wonderful place, how could I even pick just one thing? I love showing people around this town! I have a few different “tours” we do when we have visitors..

Downtown Seattle – You can make a day of visiting the waterfront (ride the wheel), Pike Place Market, ride the monorail to the Center and back, and you have your choice of all the best restaurants to eat. We like to get a bubble tea at Westlake Center park and then eat at the Yard House or Hard Rock Cafe to end the day. If you do this on the weekend, get weekend rates at the parking garages nearby.

Eastside – Take a drive across the I-90 floating bridge. If your visitors flew in they may have seen the bridge and the tunnel, so they’ve already been wanting to check it out. Make a triangle along 202 and 203 to see the countryside. You get good curvy roads and beautiful scenery. Head to North Bend or Snoqualmie for a meal at one of the breweries.

Northside – Breakfast at the Bay Cafe so you can see Fisherman’s Wharf. Head to the Locks, watch the boats and definitely go look at the salmon ladder if it’s the right time of year. Head to Fremont, check out the troll and go walk around Gas Works park, where you get beautiful views of the city and can talk about the history of Seattle. Head to Green Lake, get food, walk the park or play in the playground with your young ones.

West Seattle – Early walk at Lincoln Park, drive along Beach Drive, visit shops at the Alaska Junction, eat, finish with a walk and dinner on Alki. We prefer to make reservations at Dukes, where we normally can’t eat because of the cost, but hey.. family is in town so go for it! If you have extra time, rent one of those bicycle/cart thingies. Enjoy the sunset, relax.

I pick them up from the airport and then drive I-5 to the WSB exit so they get a glimpse of Boeing Field and a vignette of downtown, take the scenic route through WS down Fauntleroy and into Arbor Heights (cause that’s where we live haha)

After settling in, I drive them downtown and stop at the market first (get it out of the way haha) plus I always have guests fly in on a weekday so there are less tourists tooling around, bee-boo around pioneer square and maybe have lunch or a lunchtime cocktail at one of the several old Seattle haunts, from there head north to Ballard and Fremont, take a long stroll up Ballard avenue for quirky shopping and such. As Happy Hour approaches head to Ray’s Boathouse for unmatched sunset views of the Oly’s and some great eats. Then I do a drive through Wallingford on the way back to WS via 99 for views of the bridges and water!

In the summer time I like to go whale watching either out of Anacortes or Orcas Island. There are always Groupons so it’s not too pricey. The whales never disappoint.