This tour made me so happy. Kevin and Russ were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and their passion (and…read morenerdiness) for the public arts was infectious and endearing. I'll never walk over another hatch cover the same again. I'm excited to go home and see what's beneath my feet there. I would highly recommend this off the beaten path tour to anyone and i'll be happy to do it again the next time i'm back in Seattle. Thanks guys!

I am always looking for low cost, less formal ways to learn about places I either live in or visit…read moreand have done many free tours both in Seattle and while traveling. I learned about this tour from a friend and I think it's fairly new. At any rate, interesting tour. Not your typical here's the city and these are some of the landmarks and here are some fun facts. The difference is this tour was focused around the public art that can be seen everyday along the streets and sidewalks, built into the infrastructure, in the form of manhole covers or hatches as they are referred to. The folks conducting the tour included information of the various artistic manhole covers, combining it with first hand information from the artists and discussed the history of the work and how it fits into the identity of Seattle. They also provide information on the history of the city and how Seattle became the city you see as you take the tour. Pretty neat concept exploring aspects of the city that folks often take for granted as they pass by. Another fun fact about this tour is that it evolved out of an art project. I thought that was particularly interesting. Some of the prints, etc are pretty cool and again not what you would typically expect or encounter from one of these free tours. I'd recommend this tour to anybody to who wants to learn more about the history of Seattle, who appreciates public art or art in general and who has a free hour or so on a Saturday morning.

What a wonderful way to learn about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the issues they're…read moretackling. Everyone working there was so friendly and welcoming. The exhibits are interactive and fun for both adults and children. I attended one of their scheduled talks on the toilets and it was eye opening to learn about the issue and also the prototypes that have been built. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area! Pro tip: If you're making a quick-ish visit, you can park at the QFC a block away after you do your groceries ;)

Small visitor center that is free and open to the public. It is staffed by very knowledgeable…read morepersonnel (take the tour) and offers interesting insight into the history and efforts of the foundation. It is interesting to see what causes they have chosen to focus on, and the strides that they've been able to make. There is some debate as to whether a private citizen should be dictating global policy, but there's a lot worse things that the Gates could be doing with all their money. I enjoyed the visit and thought it was worth the education.

James was amazing. Had lots of great suggestions for things to do. We did alll of them and did…read morenot regret one decision. Give that man a raise!!!!!!

Perfectly located just in front of Seattle's largest tourist attraction, the Pike Place Market…read more This kiosk is filled with travel guides and coupon books. It is also open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m with a concierge to help you maximize your time in the Emerald City. The staff member covered all the bases from transportation to restaurants to tours of the city (walking, bus and boat). They will even help you book reservations for certain activities. He pointed out a few random things to see at the market (gum wall, ewwww) and the surrounding area and was great all around welcome wagon for the city. Make sure you pick up both a Seattle Deals and Seattle Premier Attractions booklet which contain coupons for tours, restaurants and shopping. We used several during our trip.

I utilize the Edmonds Ferry Terminal monthly for work, consistently I've experienced easy access,…read morefriendly staff, great car waiting area with restrooms and coffee baristas. I definitely recommend planning ahead during the summer months if you're needing to arrive to your destination at a particular time. Many thanks to this terminal crew for always being courteous and dependable; I highly recommend!

Easy crossing from Edmonds to Kingston. A quick trip, easy on and off, adequate seating and food…read moreavailable. Try the soups they are excellent.

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

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.

With the recent opening of the expansion of the 2 line going to Lynnwood from Redmond, this…read moreWestlake Station (like all the other stations in downtown Seattle) now services both the 1 AND 2 lines of the Sound Transit Link system. This means that one can take one train without transfer from here to Bellevue and Redmond, crossing Lake Washington on the world's first light rail pontoon railway. My wife and I took this route while visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Bellevue, and the crossing was a routine non-event, just like it is supposed to be. My last review for this station was 2 years, at which time, only the 1 line serviced this station. Because of the way they designed the routes, the inclusion of the 2 line was seamless, requiring no station outages during the transition. My only small gripe is the signage at a major connection point at the center near the elevators, still only shows the 1 line (with its stops at the airport and university), instead of now the opening of the entire East side of Puget Sound area, accessible via the 2 line. It's confusing for visitors...better just to state that lower level is for Sound Transit, instead of explicitly naming each line, if they don't want to change the signage every time. Another big addition that occurred earlier this year (Feb '26), is the use of tap-to-pay (using a tap enabled payment card to pay for fare at the point of entry) at all stations and bus lines (like NYC and London has). We still ended up using our preloaded Orca card this trip, but can discontinue that for future (unless taking the Monorail, which still requires an Orca card). Transfers are free for 2 hours from the first tap (excluding the Monorail), with initial charge being $3. There are no gates, with the pay stations being intentionally out of the way...it really is about the honor system to tap. We also used Westlake station as the transfer point to get from the monorail on the 3rd floor of the Westlake shopping center down to the lower level where the station actually is. Connecting to the 1 line, we got to Sea-Tac airport station in 41 minutes (though from there, it's quite a walk to get to the terminal area).

So this is a major hub station and named after the most obvious point nearby - Westlake Shopping…read moreCenter - with its accompanying plaza (often free events and music here), major shopping, and major hotels and dining. This station has had some safety issues in the past so I don't frequent it as much as I would if it weren't for that concern.

Keep doing your fun on vacation by going on these tours, the one I am on is free (check their…read morewebsite for times) and limited to small numbers in the group. It is a walking tour that is historic, entertaining, and you meet some great out-of-towners. I'm from Seattle, and I found the tour worth it! Would do it again.

I found this tour on the web (naturally) since it is not that well advertised on every tourist…read morestand everywhere. As a result this was totally non-commercial personal tour of Seattle. Almost as if your friend is showing you around the town he loves. We avoided the crowds (it was on Saturday). Terry, who is the guide and the owner of the company, showed us some of the most interesting places in Seattle that surely would be missed if done with some of the larger companies. But be ready to walk - this tour is definitely lives up to the walking category.

I had a great experience on the free Downtown Seattle walking tour with our guide, Emmett. He was…read morefriendly, knowledgeable, and did an excellent job bringing the city's history and highlights to life. A great way to get oriented and see Seattle from a local perspective--I'd definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the city.

I was visiting Seattle for a couple nights from San Francisco and thought it would be nice to take…read morea tour of downtown. I heard of street savvy through a friend and decided to give it a go. I met with Sean, our tour guide, and he proceeded to give us the tour. It lasted a couple hours which I thought was perfect. The tour guide, Sean, was very knowledgable and also had a good sense of humor. I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to check out Seattle! Or even anyone from the area wanting to learn more about some local history.