Dilema - Stay near Airport or Downtown ?

Question

I need help to make decision to stay in downtown seattle or near the airport. I have the following questions :-
1. Does the airport have a direct bus to downtown Seattle - Pike's place , ,etc? ?
2. how much does it cost and how long does it take by bus to travel downtown ?
3. If I stay near the airport , can i use the courtesy bus to the airport and catch a bus downtown ?
5. How much does it cost to park downtown Seattle per day or per hour ?
4. which hotel near the airport will you recommend for Q3?

Answer 1

Here are the best answers I have to your questions:

1. There are two options here.
-- The Seattle Downtowner (run by Gray Line) is $10.25 each way from the airport to downtown.
http://graylineseattle.com/airportexpress1.cfm
-- Take a Metro Bus. The 174 and the 194, both go directly downtown. This will cost roughly $1.50 each way and you can get a transfer ticket to ride the bus to any other location for the next few hours. I'd recommend using their Trip Planner:
http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl?resptype=U

2. I've already covered the cost, but both buses will probably take at least 30 minutes from the airport. Depending on traffic, it could take longer.

3. That would depend on the hotel, most higher scale hotels will have a free shuttle to the airport that you can use anytime. One extra cost that you might consider with this is tipping...the drivers are usually tipped a few dollars each way.

4. If you get into Seattle early (before 9am), you can usually pick up an "Early Bird Special" in a lot that would only cost about $9-12/day. If you miss that, then you are looking at upwards of $20-30 a day. Parking at meters is free after 6pm and all day on Sundays. Many lots and garages offer $5 all day parking on Sundays as well.

5. I'm not sure what you mean by Q3, but I stayed at the La Quinta before. It's not upscale by any stretch of the imagination, but it's clean, moderately priced and the staff was helpful. It's very near the airport and there is a courtesy shuttle.

With all of that said, I have to recommend that you stay in the city. The hotels are more pricey, but you end up saving money and lots of time by not having to take the bus to and from Seatac everyday. Also, you'll save a lot of money not renting a car and parking downtown. From downtown, you can catch a bus to any neighborhood in the city in a reasonable amount of time, you can catch a ferry to Bainbridge Island, the Victoria Clipper to Victoria for a day or you can take a train up to Vancouver for a day. Staying downtown seems pricey at first, but overall, you'll have a much more enjoyable experience.

HAVE A GREAT TRIP!

Answer 2

properly ... if by using "October" you mean October 2010, you're in success. a easy rail link between the airport and downtown is meant to open by using the top of 2009. till then: it is not ordinary to get downtown or hop around Seattle from the airport, in my view. i could evaluate it a extremely substantial worry to get from the airport to Seattle middle or downtown Seattle (or countless different places to which it is advisable to hop around). i could propose staying someplace extra handy, till you're renting a automobile.

Answer 3

airport. next

Answer 4

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60878-Seattle_Washington-Vacations.html