Getting There

By Plane

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (tel. 206/433-5388; www.portseattle.org/seatac) is served by about 30 airlines. The airport is commonly referred to as simply Sea-Tac, and the airport code is SEA. Major airlines serving Sea-Tac include Air Canada, Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue Airways, Northwest Airlines/KLM, Southwest, United, and US Airways.

Seaplane service between Seattle and the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia, is offered by Kenmore Air (tel. 866/435-9524 or 425/486-1257; www.kenmoreair.com), which has its Seattle terminals at the south end of Lake Union and at the north end of Lake Washington.

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- International visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. U.S. airports have considerably beefed up security clearances in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and clearing Customs and Immigration can take as long as 2 hours.

Getting into the City from the Airport

By Car -- There are two main exits from the airport: From the loading/unloading area, take the first exit if you're staying near the airport. Take the second exit (Wash. 518) if you're headed to downtown Seattle. Driving east on Wash. 518 will connect you to I-5, where you'll then follow the signs north to Seattle. Generally, allow 30 minutes for the drive between the airport and downtown -- 45 minutes to an hour during rush hour.

During rush hour, it's sometimes quicker to take Wash. 518 west to Wash. 509 north to Wash. 99 to Wash. 519 (which becomes the Alaskan Way Viaduct along the Seattle waterfront).

By Taxi, Shuttle, Bus, or Light Rail -- A taxi into downtown Seattle will cost you about $35 ($28 for the return ride to the airport). There are usually plenty of taxis around, but if not, call Yellow Cab (tel. 206/622-6500) or Orange Cab (tel. 206/522-8800). The flag-drop charge is $2.50; after that, it's $2 per mile.

Gray Line Downtown Airporter (tel. 800/426-7532 or 206/626-6088; www.graylineofseattle.com) is your best bet for getting downtown. These shuttle vans provide service between the airport and downtown Seattle daily, every 30 minutes from 5:30am (5am from downtown) to 11pm. Passengers are picked up outside the baggage-claim area, at Door 00 just past baggage carousel 1. Shuttles stop at the following downtown hotels: Madison Renaissance, Crowne Plaza, Fairmont Olympic, Seattle Hilton, Sheraton Seattle, Grand Hyatt, Westin Seattle, and Warwick Seattle. Fares are $11 one-way and $18 round-trip for adults, and $8.25 one-way and $13 round-trip for children 2 to 12. Connector service to and from the above hotels is also provided from numerous other downtown hotels, as well as from the Amtrak station, the Washington State Ferries terminal (Pier 52), and the Greyhound station. Connector service costs $3 one-way; call tel. 206/255-7159 an hour before you need service to arrange connector service. The biggest drawback of this shuttle service is that you may have to stop at several hotels before getting dropped off, so it could take you 45 minutes or more to get from the airport to your hotel. If you're traveling by yourself or with just one other person, though, this is the most economical choice besides a public bus.

Shuttle Express (tel. 800/487-7433, 206/622-1424, or 425/981-7000; www.shuttleexpress.com) provides 24-hour service between Sea-Tac and the Seattle, North Seattle, and Bellevue areas. Rates for scheduled shuttles to downtown Seattle are $28 for one or two adults, $36 for three, and $48 for four. Rates to University District hotels are $32 for one adult, $40 for two adults, $48 for three, and $64 for four. Children 12 and under ride free. You need to make a reservation to get to the airport, but to leave the airport, simply head to the Ground Transportation Center on the third floor of the parking garage.

Metro Transit (tel. 800/542-7876 in Washington, or 206/553-3000; http://transit.metrokc.gov) operates two public buses between the airport and downtown. These buses leave from near Door 6 (close to carousel no. 5) of the baggage-claim area. It's a good idea to call for the current schedule when you arrive in town. Bus no. 194 runs every 15 to 30 minutes; it operates Monday through Friday from about 5am to 9pm, Saturday from about 6:30am to 9pm, and Sunday from about 6:30am to 7:30pm. Bus no. 174 runs every 25 to 30 minutes; it operates Monday through Friday from about 4:50am to 2:35am, Saturday from about 5:20am to 2:45am, and Sunday from about 6:25am to 2:40am. Bus trips to downtown take 30 to 50 minutes, depending on conditions. The fare is $1.50 during off-peak hours, $2.25 during peak hours.

If all goes according to plan, sometime in late 2009 you will be able to take the Link light-rail line from the airport to downtown Seattle. For information, contact Sound Transit (tel. 800/201-4900 or 206/398-5000; www.soundtransit.org)

By Car

Seattle is 110 miles from Vancouver, British Columbia, 175 miles from Portland, 810 miles from San Francisco, 1,190 miles from Los Angeles, 835 miles from Salt Lake City, and 285 miles from Spokane.

I-5 is the main north-south artery through Seattle, running south to Portland and north to the Canadian border. I-405 is Seattle's eastside bypass and accesses the cities of Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland on the east side of Lake Washington. I-90, which ends at I-5, connects Seattle to Spokane in the eastern part of Washington. Wash. 520 connects I-405 with Seattle just north of downtown and also ends at I-5. Wash. 99, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, is another major north-south highway through downtown Seattle; it passes through the waterfront section of the city.

Car Rentals -- Car-rental rates vary as widely and as wildly as airfares, so it pays to do some comparison shopping. In Seattle, a compact car rents for between $40 and $90 per day during the summer, with weekly rates ranging from $335 to $395. Rates are highest in the summer and lowest in the winter, but you'll almost always get lower rates the farther ahead you reserve. Be sure to budget for the 18.7% car-rental tax (and, if you rent at the airport, additional airport concession fees and various other charges that will increase your total cost by close to 40%!).

All the major car-rental agencies have offices in Seattle and at or near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Companies with a desk and cars inside the terminal include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National. Companies with desks inside the terminal but cars parked off the airport premises include Advantage, Dollar, Enterprise, and Thrifty. Off-site rental-car companies include Fox Rent A Car and E-Z Rent-A-Car.

By Ferry

Seattle is served by Washington State Ferries (tel. 800/843-3779 or 888/808-7977 within Washington, or 206/464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries), the most extensive ferry system in the United States. Car ferries connect Seattle's Pier 52 and Colman Dock with both Bainbridge Island and Bremerton (on the Kitsap Peninsula). Car ferries also connect Fauntleroy (in West Seattle) with both Vashon Island and the Kitsap Peninsula at Southworth; Tahlequah (at the south end of Vashon Island) with Point Defiance in Tacoma; Edmonds with Kingston (on the Kitsap Peninsula); Mukilteo with Whidbey Island; Whidbey Island at Keystone with Port Townsend; and Anacortes with the San Juan Islands and Sidney, British Columbia (on Vancouver Island near Victoria).

If you're traveling between Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle, several options are available through Victoria Clipper, Pier 69, 2701 Alaskan Way (tel. 800/888-2535 or 206/448-5000). Ferries make the 2- or 3-hour trip throughout the year, at prices ranging from $97 to $152 round-trip for adults (the lower fare is for advance-purchase tickets). You can also expect to pay some sort of fuel surcharge. Some scheduled trips also stop in the San Juan Islands.

By Train

Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com) service runs from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle and from Portland and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, on the Cascades (a high-speed, European-style Talgo train). The train takes about 4 hours from Vancouver to Seattle and 3 1/2 to 4 hours from Portland to Seattle. One-way fares from Vancouver to Seattle or from Portland to Seattle are usually between $28 and $47. There is also Amtrak service to Seattle from San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland on the Coast Starlight, and from Spokane and points east on the Empire Builder.

Like the airlines, Amtrak offers several discounted fares; although they're not all based on advance purchase, you'll have more discount options by reserving early. The discount fares can be used only on certain days and during certain hours; be sure to find out exactly what restrictions apply. Tickets for children 2 to 15 cost half the price of a regular coach fare when the children are accompanied by a fare-paying adult.

Also inquire about money-saving packages that include hotel accommodations, car rentals, tours, and so on with your train fare.

By Bus

Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com) bus service provides connections to almost any city in the continental United States. Seattle's Greyhound bus station is located at 811 Stewart St. (tel. 206/628-5561), a few blocks northeast of downtown. Several budget chain motels are located nearby, and you can grab a free ride into downtown on a Metro bus.