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    Tahlequah Ferry Terminal

    3.0 (18 reviews)

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    The turnoff before boarding the boat
    Babette C.

    Was in town for the Yelp Passport to Vashon Event and with our bellies full and souls recharged, we got in line to board the ferry. The GPS took us straight to where it was easy to see we needed to load. On the way onto the Island we did the touristy thing and hit the deck for the views, but this time we were spent and needed to nap. Luckily the boarding process was easy and once we were on board, we elected to stay in the car for the trip back to the mainland. Sis had no idea the boat had even left the dock because suddenly I was driving off the boat after a quick sail. Getting off the island was even easier and I appreciated the no fuss, no muss ethic as I drove home.

    A beautiful summer day as the ferry heads towards Vashon Island.
    Alden C.

    It's a short ride from Tacoma to Tahlequah which is located on Vashon Island. Despite the ride not being too terribly lengthy you do have enough time to go up into the ferry and get a good view as long as the weather is clear. The fee may be a bit steep but in the broad scheme of things not too bad. The return trip is "free" so what you are paying for is more of a round trip. With that in mind in the past we have felt that we should take our time and enjoy Vashon Island without having to rush back to Tacoma and from previous trips over there that isn't too hard to do. I see some complaints by other reviewers about the ferry staff. I'm not sure if that is because the other reviewers are more frequent travelers to the island or if it's something else but I haven't had any trouble with the ferry staff on the actual boat or at the booths where you get your tickets but I only come to Vashon on average once a year. As I said this is a very short ferry ride... if you want longer ones perhaps the ferries in the San Juan Islands would be something to explore but those require reservations ahead of time so don't forget that. I also notice... for obvious reasons... loading up on this ferry is easier than the one that goes out north of the island to West Seattle. The line for that West Seattle ferry can be very long... partly because there are a lot more passengers going that way in general and the trip to West Seattle is just a bit longer than this ferry trip back to Tacoma.

    Gettin into the ferri
    Brenda L.

    Pretty great, we had a great ride, you can get off your car and hang at the deck during the ride. We had a sunny day, it was pretty relaxing, the car space is good. It was on time and smoth ride, I felt it was a little pricy for a 15-20min ride, cause they charged per person instead of per car. :/

    Elizabeth W.

    Omggggg I have never received such an unkind ferry attendant. The guy was extremely upset that our tickets weren't printed right even though we had followed the instructions. It took us about 1 minute to pull up the tickets on the phone and the guy was yelling "GOD DANGIT" and other low key obscenities expressing his frustrations because there was indeed a small line but also the ferry hadn't even arrived yet and we had plenty of time to get everyone through. I understand his frustration but the lack of kindness and aggression was completely uncalled for. We were all totally taken aback by this mans poor attitude

    Old, dilapidated pier next to the ferry port
    Richie D.

    For those visiting Vashon Island, this is the island ferry port leaving/heading towards Point Defiance, Tacoma/Ruston. Compared to the West Seattle Fauntleroy-Vashon Island port, Tahlequah is less busy and urban. The views are spectacular being one of the narrowest passes of the Puget Sound. If you're lucky, you may see orcas making passing through. Drive slowly when heading down the Vashon Highway since there is a steep hill and turn before reaching the ferry. You don't want to rear-end the idled cars on the far right. The ferry leaves you off right at the entrance to the vast Point Defiance Park and is sort of "free" since you pay to arrive at the arrival to Vashon Island.

    Josh B.

    I've rode the Point Defiance to Vashon ferry several times and just like many of the other ferries in Washington, I kind of wish the ride was longer. It's nice to be able to just drive your car onto the ferry at a scheduled departure time and just let someone else do the driving while you take in the view of the beauty of Washington while you cross the water. Honestly Washington has one of the best ferry systems that I know of and I'm glad that taking the ferry is an option as opposed to driving the whole way to a destination which is longer. The shortest way between two points....ya know? There is an option to walk on, take a bike on, or drive a vehicle on and each option costs different, so you can always check prices before you board on the website. I bought my ticket online which made getting on a little bit easier although I forgot how long my car is and bought the wrong ticket one time. It was easily fixed though when the nice lady at the Point Defiance ferry toll booth just charged me for the price difference and didn't make me buy a new ticket. The ferry has plenty of space to spread out on any of the decks or viewing areas during the crossing as well as a cafe, bathrooms, and seats with the ferry to just stare out the windows. If you're looking for a longer ride, check the website. I've taken several other ferries and my favorite is the one that goes between the San Juan islands.

    Top deck of the ferry.

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    9 years ago

    I like when the ferry leaves over 10 minutes early and being treated by an unfriendly troll at the ticket counter.

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    Review Highlights - Tahlequah Ferry Terminal

    “For those visiting Vashon Island, this is the island ferry port leaving/heading towards Point Defiance, Tacoma/Ruston.”

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    Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal - Space Needle

    Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal

    3.8(193 reviews)
    20.1 mi

    From Seattle to Bainbridge, flawless…read more We intended to be on the 2:10 scheduled ride back to Seattle. They started letting us on about 30 minutes late. It's currently 2:39 and just got seated. Highly unprofessional. No communication at all -- announcement about a delay, the cause, when we can expect progress, apology, etc. Let's see when we actually depart. Apparently, just found out it's pretty common for it to be delayed by an hour. Then they should adjust their schedule accordingly. People make plans around schedules! We need transportation schedules to be relatively accurate. DEPARTURE 2:48. 38 minute delay.

    If you're planning on doing a roundtrip to Bainbridge on the Ferry, account for around 3 hours for…read morethe Ferry portion. For walk-ons, they recommend getting there at least 15 minutes in advance. For driving on, it is recommended to get there at least 30 minutes in advance. The ferry runs roughly every 50-60 minutes - the schedule is posted on their website. For us, we decided to drive. On the way to Bainbridge, the car price ($27.81) included the cost of the driver, but we had to pay an additional $11.69 for an adult passenger. The kids were free. On the way back to Seattle, we just had to pay the car price (return tickets are free). We spent well over 3 hours with the ferry due to getting there early to enter the queue, loading/unloading, a delay, and then the transit time on the Puget Sound. For the queue, cars are lined up in columns with employees directing traffic. Once we parked, we were free to explore the upper passenger levels. The ferry is massive, so there is plenty of seating inside and a good amount of railing space on the outside if you want an unobstructed view. In my opinion, of all the different scenic spots we tried to visit, this ride gave the best views of Seattle. Restrooms on board. Coolest sighting - if you watch the water, every now and then, you'll see an Egg Yolk Jellyfish. They're bright yellow and grow up to two feet in diameter. Is it worth it? I think if you have time to spare, it's something worth doing. Definitely avoid if you're in a rush. Brendan's Rating: 4.8 Charlotte's Rating: 4.0 Shanying's Rating: 3.0 Winston's Rating: 4.0

    Photos
    Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal - (10/12/25)

    (10/12/25)

    Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal - Docked ferries...can't WSF restore some and put on the Edmonds/Kingston or Bremerton/Seattle routes?! (11/4/23)

    Docked ferries...can't WSF restore some and put on the Edmonds/Kingston or Bremerton/Seattle routes?! (11/4/23)

    Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal - View of Seattle departing from Bainbridge Island on MV Tacoma (4/26/25)

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    View of Seattle departing from Bainbridge Island on MV Tacoma (4/26/25)

    Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal

    Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal

    3.3(54 reviews)
    14.2 mi•Fauntleroy

    Fauntleroy - what an unusual name. hehe. What a…read morespontaneous visit and ride on the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal and a great experience too!! We were on our way to Point Robinson Park to see the Troll but didn't know we had to take a Ferry to get there, hehe. Even though it was later during the day, I told the other half lets do it, lets go on the Ferry!! hehe. I always wanted to see how the Ferry works with vehicle, last Ferry ride we parked our car and hopped on the Ferry this time we got to try it out, pretty cool. Made me wish Oahu had the ferry- to go to the other islands, so junk that they had to stopped the ferry! I didn't see any info. posted for the cost to bring your car on the Ferry, there wasn't any info. on Ferry schedule either. After asking attendant, we paid $24.95 per car which includes the fare for driver and $14.90 additional per adult. This is for round trip. Need to let the attendant know where you are going, for us its Vashon Island with a V!! Staff will assist you on where to go and when to go on the ferry, pretty cool experience, once the Fauntleroy Ferry runs, I loved the scenic views of Olympic mountain, just loved the experience! So cool, upon arriving we drove off to see and explore Vashon Island. The junk part is we arrived late so not much time, will start bright and early to have an entire day.

    I live on the island, so I use the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal frequently and have a lot of…read moreexperience with the ferry schedule. Overall, the terminal gets the job done, but there are definitely some areas that could be improved. One of the biggest issues is that the scheduled ferry times aren't always reliable. I would estimate that around 30% of the time, the ferry is running late, which can make planning around appointments, work, or other commitments difficult--especially when you rely on the ferry to get on and off the island regularly. That being said, I do appreciate that the staff generally do their best to prioritize people who need to board first and make accommodations for emergencies, particularly when someone needs to get off the island urgently. That can make a big difference for island residents. Another downside is the lack of shaded areas while waiting. During the warmer months, sitting in your car while waiting for the ferry can become incredibly hot, especially when there's no shade available. Overall, the terminal is an essential part of island life, and the staff do their best to keep things moving. However, more reliable scheduling and some sort of shaded waiting area would make the experience much better for the many people who use the ferry regularly.

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    Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal
    Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal
    Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal

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    Bainbridge Island Ferry - On the top deck of ferry

    Bainbridge Island Ferry

    4.6(94 reviews)
    20.2 mi•Waterfront

    For anyone like me who knew very little about ferries and made a pretty last-minute decision to…read moretake this one, fear not! It's easy to catch this one, at least speaking for the Bainbridge Island to Seattle way. Despite the last-minute decision, I was able to research enough to find a crowd calendar-style document on the Washington State Department of Transportation website advising about how frequently each departure is full or not. This gave me peace of mind that if I timed things well, the longest I'd have to wait is for the next departure time. Also, in scoping out directions to get on the ferry, I could see from Google Maps (satellite view) that there is a dedicated lane on the road/highway leading up to the ferry where cars can line up at peak times. There were also lots of signs in the area directing drivers towards the ferry, which I learned after going off my original route to seek out a bathroom beforehand (lol). So upon approaching the loading area for cars, there are booths to pay for passage, and the staff will direct you which lane to drive up and wait. Then when it's time to get on, follow the lanes and directions from other staff to pull up, and you're good! And free to explore the rest of the ferry. Unfortunately, the skies were not clear on the day we took the ferry, so I can't speak to any sights along the route, but maybe that just means I'll need to give it another go sometime :)

    Purchased a pedestrian ticket which is $11.35 from Seattle to Bainbridge (pedestrian is free from…read moreBainbridge to Seattle). Everything was smooth regarding the purchase, boarding, ~30 minute ride, and dismissal to the island. Ferry for our return to Seattle arrived after to island several minutes after it was supposed to have departed. Wasn't a big deal as a pedestrian with a free schedule, but folks with a tight fit might want to allow a little more cushion in their planning. Driving a car on the ferry seemed like it would be a different animal as they were backed up in the parking lanes waiting to load on both ends. Not sure if they were all accommodated or had to wait for the next ferry, but I don't believe they take reservations for such things.

    Photos
    Bainbridge Island Ferry - Car going into the ferry

    Car going into the ferry

    Bainbridge Island Ferry - View of Mount Rainier from ferry

    View of Mount Rainier from ferry

    Bainbridge Island Ferry - Signage

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    Signage

    Tahlequah Ferry Terminal - ferries - Updated September 2026

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